Ham radio field day 2019
Lakes Region Repeater Association’s Field Day was held the fourth full weekend of June 2019. Every year is the opportunity for thousands of amateur radio enthusiasts throughout the U.S and Canada to set up temporary communications stations and make contact with Hams.
Our licensed hams operators spent the weekend practicing community outreach, emergency preparedness, and technical skills. LRRA was basically in radio heaven.
A contest is held each year with individuals, clubs and teams trying to make contact with as many stations as possible over 24 hours. Field Day 2019 took place with over 35,000 people taking part.
Our Field Day began at 18:00 UTC Saturday and ran through 20:59 UTC Sunday. We packed our camping equipment, threw up some temporary antennas, and spent the next 24 hours spinning the dials on our radios, because this not-to-be-missed event was rich in history, tradition and technology.
If you are curious about what exactly is Field Day, it is an annual event conducted by the American Radio Relay League. Amateur radio operators across North America setup their equipment in fields, parking lots, and parks.
We set up our ham radio field day 2019 at Constitution Park in Ossipee, New Hampshire using off grid electricity and in make-work conditions. Operators then make contact with similar groups across North America.
ARRL Field Day stresses emergency preparedness. During our exercise, we took “Field” Day literally; we erected radio masts and towers, each bearing several antennas, in a parking lot at Constitution Park.
We used generators to provide power to ham radio transceivers. We worked through logistical problems like transpiration, food, shelter and other accommodations for our group for up to 24 hours.
Field Day is rarely a single-man operation. In fact, Field Day is frequently used to highlight to the public, the virtues and utility of ham radio in an emergency situation.
LRRA has demonstrated in the past a wide range of technologies, including single sideband voice, Morse code, and a number of digital modes including APRS, packet radio, as well as satellite communications.