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Field Day is just about 2 months away, and if your club is not already planning for it, now is the time to start.
Field Day is the largest event for hams in America each year.
Hundreds of people will gather in locations that allow them to operate and hopefully promote amateur radio and the many facets of the hobby.
Each club approaches the event differently.
Field Day is not a contest, but many treat it as one.
Clubs do not win Field Day, but the bragging rights of putting up a multi-radio station and operating through the night encourages many.
Teams set up and operate until they get tired in the evening, then they go home and start again in the morning.
Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Service Repeater Group, K6SNY, in Sunnyvale, California, was looking for a place to hold Field Day and allow for casual operating and a place that could accommodate a club gathering.
They managed to get space at a local swim and tennis club.
After a little explanation of the hams’ emergency work, the club offered the facility for 2 days with no fee. This allowed them to hold Field Day, operate, and have a nice, air-conditioned place for family and friends to gather.
Cakes were made, food was brought in, raffles were held, and the entire weekend was fun.
They even made a few contacts on the air.
Thanks for the input on this, Ed Fong, WB6IQN, and Tessa Fong, KJ6QXM."
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Wolfgang Polak, AI6SL (left), and Robert Goodwyn, KN6VMW (right), operated for the Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Service Repeater Group. The team scored 1,590 points. [Ed Fong, WB6IQN, photo] | | | |
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The East River Amateur Radio Club, W8MOP, in Bluefield, West Virginia, wanted a new place to hold Field Day and secured space at the Mercer County Airport. Using a combination of batteries and solar panels, the club managed to operate the event without a generator. They even set up a GOTA station to allow new operators to experience Field Day with the help of a mentor. Thanks for the input on this, David Lester, N8VFR.
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The East River Amateur Radio Club’s, W8MOP, GOTA station set up with the call sign W8ZBR. [David Lester, N8VFR, photo] | | | |
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Field Day is what you make of it. The spirit of Field Day is to get out and operate in a location other than your home station. Get out there and get on the air.
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Minnesota Hams Honor Two Volunteer Examiners |
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Two Minnesota Volunteer Examiners were recently honored for their dedication and hard work. Aaron Larson, WB9CFN, of the Minnetonka MN Radio Club, K0YD, presented Jeff Goodnuff, W0KF, and Jim Rice, N0OA, with certificates of appreciation.
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Hamvention is May 16, 17, and 18. The Field Services booth's theme this year is "Activity Builds Stronger Clubs," and we invite you to stop in to ask about how to give your club a Club Health Check. We will discuss ideas and ways to have more fun and build more interest.
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Live training for ARRL members. Join us for the next On the Air Live session — an interactive, live training event hosted by ARRL Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF. These sessions take a deeper dive into practical topics designed to help you get the most out of your amateur radio experience.
Up Next: Using Your Handheld Radio for APRS (Part 3 of the “How to Use Your Handheld Radio” series)
Discover how to unlock the power of the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) using your handheld radio. We’ll cover:
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Trackers and beacons
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Digipeaters and iGates
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APRS path identification
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Messaging options: direct radio text, store-and-forward, SMS, email, and Winlink
📅 Date: April 22, 2025
🕗 Time: 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific
👉 Register Now
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ARRL Affiliated Clubs are asked to do an annual update. The instructions on how to do the update are in a document on the ARRL website at www.arrl.org/club-update. The person attempting to do the update must be an ARRL member and signed into the ARRL website. Then they must go to the club listing under the Find-a-Club function. Once they find their club, the edit link is in the upper right corner. The only people who will see the edit link are those listed on the page as the Club Contact or a Club Officer. Clubs that are out of date and need assistance can contact us at clubs@arrl.org.
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Submitting Info for this Newsletter |
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ARRL Club News is for radio clubs to show how they are working in the community and the hobby to advance amateur radio.
If your club completes a project, supports an event, does an EmComm activation, or activates a park, we want to hear about it.
You can submit your newsletter article to us at
clubs@arrl.org. We like to get them as text or Word files instead of PDFs.
If you have pictures, please submit them with caption information, as well as the name and call sign of the photographer.
We want to highlight the good work being done by the clubs and show others in the community.
Think of this as a chance to show off your club and your programs.
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How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention |
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If your amateur radio club is planning to host a convention, hamfest, tailgate, or swapfest, please consider applying for it to be an ARRL-sanctioned event. To learn what it means to be an ARRL-sanctioned event, and to get some ideas on how to prepare for and conduct a hamfest or convention, visit
www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events.
To have your event sanctioned, complete the online application at
www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application.
Please send a copy of the application that returns to you to Steve Ewald at sewald@arrl.org.
The ARRL Hamfests and Conventions Calendar can be found online at
www.arrl.org/hamfests. In addition, the Convention and Hamfest Calendar that runs in QST each month also presents information about upcoming events.
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ARRL Home: www.arrl.org
Find an ARRL Affiliated Club: www.arrl.org/clubs
Find your ARRL Section: www.arrl.org/sections
Find a license class in your area: www.arrl.org/class
Find a license exam in your area: www.arrl.org/exam
Find a hamfest or convention: www.arrl.org/hamfests
Email ARRL Clubs: clubs@arrl.org
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ARRL Club News is published every month (12 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page at
www.arrl.org/opt-in-out. Archived issues can be found at
www.arrl.org/club-news
Copyright © 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.
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