Paul VA6MPM has agreed to co-chair distribution of information for CAARC members’  (and any other interested amateur’s) entries in the ARRL Field Day.

We encourage your participation in the 2020 ARRL Field Day on June 27 and 28, and your submission of your individual station score to the ARRL. The 24 hours of on-air operations start at 1800Z June 27. You may operate for any convenient part of that period.

We are going to publish what we hope are bite-sized chunks about participating in Field DayThe official ARRL Classes for one or two participants are (from easiest to hardest), choose one:

1. Home station using only one of your own call signs (Class D). Another licenced household member may also use this station equipment with only one of their own call signs for a separate entry. Class D stations may not count contacts made with other Class D stations. Using emergency power for a home station changes your class to Class E and allows you to claim a bonus and also allows contacts with any Field Day Station to be counted.

2. Vehicular Mobile (Class C): Stations in vehicles capable of operating while in motion and normally operated in this manner. Normally used by one operator with his own call sign.

3. Small group portable (Class B) set up and operated by no more than two persons. This can be your regular equipment set up so as to operate from your back yard, and I believe, your garage if it is not your regular operating position. A variant is Class B – Battery, in which All contacts must be made using an output power of 5 Watts or less and the power source must be something other than commercial mains or motor-driven generator. Set-up must start later than 0000 UTC on the Friday (Thursday afternoon or evening local time) preceding the Field Day period. Set up your station up with an effort of a total of 24 hours or less.

In the QST Field Day results each class is listed in in its own category, so in essence, you will compete with similar stations.

We will make further posts, about:

1. Which QSOs can be counted and what you have to record for each QSO,
2. Point score for each type of QSO
3. Multipliers and bonuses
4. Reporting your score

Background, official rules, and many hints can be found at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2020/2020%20Field%20Day%20Packet(1).pdf .

Comments or questions to Paul VA6MPM (find his email on QRZ.com), or John VA6SJA, va6sja@rac.ca .

John VA6SJA and Paul VA6MPM