Ham radio field day exchange 2013 was a busy event at Dan Morgan W1UR’s farm in Ossipee, NH.

A Brief History of the Ham Radio Field Day Exchange

The first outing for Field Day started in 1933. A one-column announcement in the June 1933 QST states that, for 27 hours starting the second Saturday in June at 4PM local time  there would be an opportunity for “portables” to go into the field to con-tact as many stations as possible.

F.E. Handy,  W1BDI, in the announcement, “The real object of this contest is to test ‘por-tables’ wherever they may be available…. If successful, we want to make it an annual affair.”

To score the event, each QSO with fixed stations will count 1 point, contacts with other portables count 2 points, and DX contacts count 3 points. Multiply QSO points by the total number of ARRL sec-tions, plus countries worked.

The September 1933 QST announces that the winner of the First Annual Field Day is a non-club group signing W4PAW. Club members made 62 QSOs and had a multi-plier of 28 sections/countries for a grand total of 1876 points. The Central Illinois Radio Club, W9ZZAL, tops the QSO totals with 98!

Ll’L’ BRASS KEY (You know the tune)

My rig and I live aII alone Right upstairs,
where we hold our own.
I pound brass from morn till night,
And the way I work is sure a fright.
Hiyi, Hiyi, you and me,
Li’l’ brass key, don’t I love thee!
The signals roam to who knows where,
Maybe  here and maybe  there.
If an Aussie hears it. goodness me,
I’ll be as happy as can be.
Hiyi Hiyi, you and me,
Li’l’ brass key, don’t I love thee!
I caII ZL’s and Aussies too,
But no matter what or who,
I can ne’er an answer get,
ALL I do is sit and fret.
Hiyl, Hiyi, you and me.
Li’l’ brass key, don’t I love thee!
Once a guy was calling me,
I was as happy as could be,
But when the poor soul gave his call
As W9-, ’twas nothin’ a’tall.
Hiyi, Hiyi, you and me,
Li’l’ brass key, don’t I love thee!
I called an “X” the other day,
He calls me back as if to say,
What a note, boy, what a note!!
Sounds like a frog wid a c!ogged up throat!
Hiyi Hiyi, you and me,
Li’l’ brass key, don’t I love thee!
I’ve also called some PY2’s,
But of course I went and blew a fuse,
I threw the pliers at Ye Olde Two Ten,
Called it a day and left the den.
Hiyi, Hiyi, you and me,
Dern old rig, you frustrate me! -· W9EG