Field Day

 

Plans

Each year the Anoka County Radio Club participates in ARRL Field Day.   This tradition started in our club back in 1955, and pictures for the last decade or two are in our photo gallery.   

Normally we use the club callsign, W0YFZ, although a few years we've used other callsigns (W0ANA in 2008).   Scores for years since 2002 are available on the ARRL contest database

We begin each year with a planning meeting to determine who is interested in participating, and what each person is interested in doing.  

We ask that all persons be present or represented in this meeting if they plan to have a full-time presence at the field day site.  

Each person should be prepared to represent

  • The planned schedule and shelter for their station
  • Station logging setup (N3FJP)
  • Their planned power source
  • Their location within the club site
  • Their planned radio, modes of interest, feedline, and antenna
  • RF and physical safety regarding their setup

We then try and and create a combined plan for Field Day operation that most meets the needs of everyone.   We monitor for lightning and severe weather and have plans in place for disconnecting antennas and/or seeking shelter. 

In the past most years we've ended up with 3 stations, (3A-MN) - one station doing voice modes, one doing CW, and one doing digital modes (FT4/FT8).   The most consistent parts of the plan tend to be:

  • Setup on Friday for station/logging testing
  • Pot luck dinner on Saturday
  • Tear down and cleanup on Sunday

Nature also tends to add a decent thunderstorm or two in there somewhere. 

During the June general membership meeting, we present the overall Field Day plan to club members, as the main topic of the meeting.   

If you are interested in joining our Field Day activities, feel free to reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and watch the website for FD planning meetings in the April/May timeframe. 

 

 

Additional information