[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] Alexandria Radio Club Field Day June 27-28, 2026

[Skip Dronen]

Alexandria Radio Club,

Planning for Field Day is almost complete and it's time to share a little information prior to our presentation at the Club Meeting June 12th and more detailed plans to be shared prior to Field Day.

Who:  ARC Members, Amateur Radio Operators, Guests, and the Public
What: the largest amateur radio event of the year - Field Day
Where:  Chinquapin Park, Alexandria
When: setup starts at 0900 Saturday with operations commencing at 1400. Operations will run overnight and end at 1659 (likely sooner).
How: operating up to six (!) stations simultaneously with a mix of club and member equipment

This is a pretty impressive operation. You can expect to see multiple types of HF, VHF, and UHF rigs with different antenna configurations.  There will be satellite operations and various types of modes like SSB, CW, and Digital. There will be a local mesh network for coordinating logging. We also hope to have public visitors who can watch the art and science of radio come to life, and maybe even get them on the air.

We have volunteer Band Captains as follows:
6M/10M - Skip, KO2THF (day only, likely limited) available if someone else is interested in being a Band Captain
15M - Jay, KV3W
20M - Jason, WA6MPR
40M (CW) - Ian, N8IK
40M (SSB) - Aaron, K6HLC
80M/160M - Skip, KO2THF
VHF/UHF/Sat - Joe P, KT3I

We still need a few volunteers to cover some key positions. Specifically, we need a Get-on-the Air (GOTA) Coach to help visitors make their first calls on the radio. To complement that, we are looking for a ham that is not attending field day but would be willing to monitor the repeater to handle the other half of GOTA QSOs during a defined time period during the day. We also need someone to serve as the Safety Officer.

At this point we think we have all the gear and equipment needs covered, but we can certainly accommodate you, if you want to operate your own equipment. If you plan to spend some significant time on the air, you may want to consider configuring and bringing your own computer for logging (we will provide those details, no need to buy software).  If you can only attend at a specific time, please contact the band captain so we can get your spot on the schedule.

Light snacks and drinks to keep folks energized and on the air will be provided.  Meals will be coordinated on site with whoever is present. Saturday Lunch and Sunday Breakfast will be covered by the Club. Saturday dinner will be a club-individual cost share.

This email is already far too long, so I'll stop right here. We will be discussing Field Day at the next meeting, so please attend!

73,

Skip, KO2THF

p.s. If your need to contact a Band Captain feel free to email secretary at w4hfh.org or vice-president at w4hfh@org (or look up their call sign on QRZ)