The ARRL Field Day is celebrated every fourth full weekend of June each year. It is an annual amateur radio exercise that is sponsored widely by the IARU regions and member organizations. The day encourages emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators. In the United States, it is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country. Over 30,000 operators participate each year. ARRL Field Day begins at 18:00 UTC Saturday and runs until 20:59 UTC Sunday.
About the ARRL Field Day
ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the USA and Canada. Radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Participants get to enjoy a picnic, campout, informal contest, and practice for emergencies.
What is the ARRL?
ARRL stands for American Radio Relay League. It is the national association for Amateur Radio in the USA which represents over 171,000 FCC-licensed Amateurs. The ARRL is the primary source of information about what is going on in ham radio. It provides books, news, support and information for individuals and clubs, special events, continuing education classes and other benefits for its members.
What is Amateur Radio?
Often called “ham radio,” the Amateur Radio Service has been around for a century. Now, it has grown into a worldwide community of licensed operators using the airwaves with every conceivable means of communications technology. Its people range in age from youngsters to grandparents. Even rocket scientists and a rock star or two are in the ham ranks. Most, however, are just normal folks who enjoy learning and being able to transmit voice, data and pictures through the air to unusual places, both near and far, without depending on commercial systems.
The Amateur Radio frequencies are the last remaining place in the usable radio spectrum people can develop and experiment with wireless communications. Hams not only can make and modify their equipment, but they can also create whole new ways to do things.
History
In 1933, the first ARRL Field Day was held. Ever since then, Hams have gathered in June to conduct emergency communications by setting up temporary stations and by honing their operating skills, often in less than ideal conditions.
Today, emergency preparedness remains an integral part of Field Day. However, it’s only part of what makes this Amateur Radio “open house” special. Over 40,000 people annually in the U.S. and Canada carry on the work of early Ham Radio pioneers by participating in an event that brings all people together for useful demonstrations, experimentation, community outreach, friendly competition, and loads of good fellowship and food. Every year, a 30-foot tower with a tri-bander used to maintain continuous 24-hour operation is set up. It reminds people of the long tradition of Ham Radio, and all the folks who built the foundation for this amazing and important hobby.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, the ARRL Field Day is celebrated every fourth full weekend in June. The upcoming ARRL Field Day will be held on June 26-27.
Why Celebrate
If you are a fan of radio exercise, then you must join this event. You can meet up with people similar to you. You can enjoy various kinds of fun activities like picnic and camping while you all enjoy the hobby you all love to do. Apart from that, it would be good to train yourselves in utilizing radios for emergency situations. You are not only helping yourself but also other people.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the ARRL Field Day as best as it can be:
Enjoy Camping
You can enjoy the celebration of this day by camping. You can go out with your friends and bring some tents, camping clothes, and camping foods that you can enjoy. This will be a good breather for you and away from all the stressful things at work and at home.
Have a Good Picnic
You can also celebrate this day by having a picnic at the field. Prepare some good picnic foods that will be a delight for you because of their tastiness.
Join the Contest
The competitive aspect of a Field Day operating event is to contact as many stations as possible in the given time period (twenty-four hours, during a weekend, if setup commences before the contest starts, or 27 hours if setup commences at contest start time) using the portable station. Each station will exchange information with other participating stations.
The contest portion of Field Day has two purposes. The primary purpose is to test the group’s ability to plan operations that can be effective for an entire twenty-four-hour period, including operator endurance and adequate numbers of operators for a shift operation. The secondary portion is to demonstrate the technical proficiency of the station that has been hastily constructed for the purpose. Point systems are structured to motivate emergency preparedness activities, such as designating a safety officer for the station or incorporating auxiliary power capabilities.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #ARRLFieldDay to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day.