Key Paddle and Mic
The XRX Amateur Radio Club held their annual Field Day last weekend, and from all reports, it was a great success. The event’s chairman, Bob Karz, wrote that the club made more contacts than ever, meaning more points than ever, and they hope to finish in the top 11% of their class, which is a pretty big deal.
If little of what I just said made sense to you, keep reading. Bob sent along this very good description about what this interesting exercise is all about.
Amateur Radio Emergency Services and the XRX Amateur Radio Club held their 38th annual emergency preparedness Field Day June 24 to 25 at Kent Park in Webster. It’s not a field day in the usual sense, but rather an opportunity to try out our radios and hone our skills needed to provide communications to the outside world in the event of a real emergency.
Field Day involves over 30,000 amateur radio operators (or hams) in the US and Canada as well as a few from other parts of the world. This year we made over 1,000 contacts with stations in every state except Alaska, most Canadian provinces, Chile, France, and Puerto Rico all totally “off the grid” using power from generators and batteries with no internet or cell phones.
These days amateur radio is more than dots and dashes, although we did make several contacts using Morse Code. We also made contacts with voice and a computer mode called FT8 which is a little like the internet except over radio. FT8 is becoming increasingly popular for Field Day. This year for the first time we actually made more contacts using FT8 (420) than with any other method.
Field Day is an opportunity to try out new equipment and techniques. It’s also a chance showcase Amateur Radio to the public. We encourage visitors and even give kids (and their parents) a chance to make radio contacts. This year we had more than 30 people drop by including 12 kids who each made a radio contact with help from a radio “coach.”
Field Day is always the 4th full weekend in June. The next Field Day will be June 22 to 23, 2024. We will again be at the lower soccer fields in Kent Park. You are invited to drop by and see for yourself what some of your friends and neighbors are doing to help keep us safe in the event of a natural disaster. More information about the local amateur radio community can be found at www.rochesterham.org.
If you’d like to read more about Field Day, click here to read the blog I wrote about the one I attended in 2021.
* * *
email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.
(posted 7/1/2023)
webster on the web 
I sense there was more to both of your comments that didn’t come through…
Next year we should get you & Jack on the air, if you’d like. This is a great opportunity for kids & adults to see some cool technology & talk over the radio with other hams; the folks at the event will coach you through it. Congrats to the team and especially those who made their first contacts on the air. Great fun!
In any case I think he’d enjoy seeing the operation!