2026 Amateur Radio Field Day Preparations
The next Field Day will be held 2026-06-27T09:00/2026-06-28T11:00.
The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day is a 24 hour emergency preparedness exercise and operating event where amateur radio operators come together to demonstrate the power of ham radio communication without relying on commercial power. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see amateur radio in action, meet fellow operators, and learn about ham radio.
Location
Parking is shown by the green arrow. We will be setting up the radios and antennas directly north of this parking lot.
There will be talk-in on the WARA main VHF repeater: 146.840 MHz output, 146.240 MHz input with a 100 Hz tone. The talk-in is to assist anyone approaching the Luxton fairgrounds with driving and parking directions, if required.
Organizing Committee
Every club member is highly encouraged to volunteer to lead or assist. Every hand makes a difference!
Radio Equipment
Most of the equipment is carefully stored away at BC Search and Rescue at 25 Burnside Road West (https://www.sarbc.org/index).
Each year we set up at least two stations: SSB and CW. These will be privately owned IC-7300 radios generously lent by WARA members. Electrical power will come from two or three portable generators. This year we will set up a Get On The Air (GOTA) station for the general public, students, and hams returning to the hobby to use.
The logging software to record our contacts will be N1MM: https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/
What to bring
- Clothing suitable for the forecast weather.
- Lawn chair.
- Water bottle: there is a water fountain/refill on site.
- Flashlight (if you are staying for the night operations).
Food
Our club’s long standing tradition is to meet at the Appletree restaurant at 08:00 for breakfast on Saturday to start off the day. Upon completion, the team drives to the Field Day site and begins the set up.
The easiest free meal to serve at this location is pizza, cold drinks plus chips and a dessert such as chocolate chip cookies.
Previous years
Reports and pictures for previous years can be found at: https://www.ve7vic.ca/field-day/
Three part detailed instructions for Field Day from 2017 (still valid!):
- Field Day General Introduction
- Field Day Operating Introduction
- Field Day versus Contesting versus Emergency communication skills
Contact
Contact our Field Day team by email at fielddayhelp@ve7vic.ca