The next Field Day event begins at 2 pm local time Saturday, June 28 and runs until 2 pm local time Sunday, June 29.
MARC will operate as “2F,” as we have for the last several years. That designates two HF stations and operation from an EOC (Emergency Operations Center). One station will be primarily used for SSB, and the other station will be used primarily for CW and digital (FT8). In addition, there will be a VHF station and a GOTA (Get on the Air) station. The call sign for all stations except the GOTA station will be W1NRG.
The VHF station can be used to make simplex QSOs in any mode. Depending on conditions, FT8 on 6 meters may be very productive.
The GOTA station may be operated by any person licensed since the previous year’s Field Day, regardless of license class. It may also be operated by a generally inactive licensee. Non-licensed attendees may participate under the direct supervision of an appropriate control operator. A list of operators and participants must be included on the required summary sheet to ARRL HQ. In most cases, a control operator will need to work with a GOTA operator. The GOTA station will use a call sign other than W1NRG.
Field Day On-air Exchange: Stations in the US will exchange their Field Day operating Class and ARRL section. Example: a two transmitter Class F station in Connecticut which also has a GOTA station and the extra VHF station would send “2F CT” on CW or Digital, or “2 Foxtrot Connecticut” on Phone. DX stations send operating class and the term DX (e.g. 2A DX). FT8 will be operated in “Field Day” mode and will use the required exchange.
Logging: For most QSOs, we will log with N1MM. Each MARC operator will need to enter his or her call sign into N1MM by pressing ‘control O’. The call sign, class, and section must be entered for each QSO. N1MM will warn of duplicate QSOs (dupes). Duplicates cannot be entered for credit.
Food and drink: No food or drink is allowed in the immediate vicinity of any of the radio stations.
Self-Spotting: Field Day rules were changed a few years ago to allow for self-spotting. This allows us to announce the frequency and mode we are using by any means. That would include pre-arranged schedules, the repeater, text messages, and social media. We’d like to take advantage of this rule change and have club members contact the W1NRG Field Day station.
Observers: There’s a wide variety of things going on during Field Day. And, as Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.” Watching a skilled operator working any mode on Field Day can be fascinating. Feel free to be an observer. However, as a courtesy to the operators, please make every effort to be as quiet as possible.