ARRL Field Day is always held on the 4th full weekend in June. This year, the dates are June 26th & 27th. There is a lot of information about Field Day on the ARRL website. Please take a look, there, if you’d like to learn more about the overall event.
The Jamestown Amateur Radio Club will be setting up for Field Day on the island at the Jamestown Reservoir, north of town. We will begin setup a couple hours before the event actually starts, so that we can be prepared to be on the air, right at the 1:00pm start time. Anybody that might be interested in how we set up for remote operations are invited to be present during the setup. You may be asked to help out, just a bit, so be prepared (no heavy lifting involved). During the setup time, we may not be too sociable, just so you’re aware.
Once the event starts, it usually gets really busy on the radio, so if you would like to get a first-hand view of how radio contacts and handled during an event like this, you’ll want to be around at about 1:00pm. Even if you’re not an amateur radio operator, you might be able to make a few contacts of your own, if you’d like.
We will have the grill up and running, later in the afternoon (probably around 4:00pm to 5:00pm). Hamburgers and hot dogs have always been our “menu”. Nothing fancy, so please don’t expect steak, ribs, or anything that is made out of soy. The food will be free, so don’t expect to pay anything, either. There may be a limited supply, though, depending on how many people actually show up, so keep that in mind.
Field Day is a 24 hour event, which (as mentioned before) begins at 1:00pm on Saturday and ends at 1:00pm on Sunday. We will be “working” the airwaves throughout the night, as much as possible. We ask that you do “not” stop up and visit us in the middle of the night, unless you let us know, first. We just don’t want any “surprise” visitors in the wee hours of the morning. To let us know, call or text 7 Oh 1 Two 6 Nine 5 Two 9 Two. We will also be listening to the local repeater and 146.520 MHz.
This year, we will have just a little bit different setup than previous years. Jason (ND0JL) has purchased a fancy schmancy “Hambulance” that he will be operating out of. There’s a little bit different antenna setup than previous years, also. We should also have less use of gasoline powered generators than we’ve had in the past. All of this means that we’ll be trying new things, getting better each year, and making the whole experience more comfortable.
We really hope that everybody that has any kind of interest in ham radio is able to visit us on June 26th. There has always seemed to be a lot of misconceptions about the hobby, and we can answer any questions that you might have. It is also a fairly easy hobby to get in to. There is no need to know Morse Code, and only a 35 question multiple choice test to get started. Even the entry level radios start at under $30. Also, there is absolutely no need for you to buy and ambulance and convert it into a “Hambulance”, unless you really want to, of course!
We hope to see you there! No mask required.