The Club has actively participated is this event, being the main field activity. The field day is designed to test the portable operation capability of an organisation. The key intent is to get out into the bush somewhere and operate many bands without mains power.

The contest rules provide an excuse for a contest between Clubs and Individuals to get out and do something.

Historically RDRC have operated multiband stations, and lately have specialised in HF all mode, 24 hours operation. The last three years the Club has secured a place in that category.

The technical challenges of operating 6 QRO stations within a 800 metre radius, with minimal interference is formidable. Over the years we have experimented with various antenna systems, starting with basic dipoles moving up to mono-band full size yagis for 20, 15 and 10 metres. One year we tried a 1/4 ballon carried vertical for 160m! Pity we used a bit of helium the night before for some crazy operating :-)

We have managed to curb most of the phase noise and harmonic related interference using a combination of stub filters and Dunestar bandpass filters. The excellent publication by Inrad - Managing Interstation Interference became our bible. A highly recommended publication.

A bit of an idea of how we operate is here at the Club's Youtube channel @ redclifferadioclub

The contest details are here - look out for us in 2014.

Report on 2013event here