2025 XRX Field Day another a great success

After missing last year’s XRX Amateur Radio Club Field Day completely last year because I was out of town, I was pleased to be able to pop by this year’s event, held Saturday through Sunday, June 28 to 29. Even still, I only had about a half hour to hang around and chat with some people before leaving town again, but it was enough to learn about some new wrinkles in the annual ham radio marathon event.

But rather than my trying to describe everything I saw, I’ll instead share with you this great follow-up report prepared by Field Day Chair Bob Karz:

(Last) weekend over 30,000 amateur radio operators (hams) throughout the country participated in an emergency preparedness exercise called “Field Day” at more than 1,000 parks and other publicly accessible sites. While nominally a civil defense preparedness exercise, it’s also a contest, an educational opportunity, and a chance to showcase our equipment and skills to the general public.

Field Day operations use generators, batteries, or solar cells for power along with temporary antennas to simulate emergency conditions. Locally the XRX Amateur Radio Club, Monroe County Amateur Radio Services, and the Rochester Amateur Radio Association joined forces to set up a Field Day site at the lower soccer fields in Webster’s Kent Park. Thirty-five amateurs took part from 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday. We made 900 contacts with other stations in every state except Alaska, and most Canadian provinces as well as Italy, France, England, Wales, Jersey (the island, not the state), and Russia. Contacts were made using voice, Morse code (yes, Morse is still used) and a computer mode called FT8. All contacts were made completely independent of the power grid and internet just as in an actual emergency.

Our site included three transmitting stations operating simultaneously using the call sign W2XRX, and a fourth station (called a “GOTA” or Get on the Air station) using the call sign WB2EOC specifically reserved for beginners. The GOTA had a full time “coach” helping the newcomers through their first contacts and kept a map showing the states they had contacted. By the end of the event, the GOTA operators had made 59 contacts with 21 states.

Field Day is also an opportunity try new things. This year our GOTA station was powered by banks of solar cells rather than the generators. GOTA also made a contact using an antenna held aloft by a kite. For the first time, we put up antenna for the main station, W2XRX, on the 160-meter band, a set of frequencies near the AM broadcast band, and made three contacts.

Amateur radio has kept up with the times more than many people realize. This year, some of us brought along SDRs (software defined radios) where most of the electrical parts are replaced by a computer. I also brought a Morse keyer (a device to send Morse code more easily than with a conventional key) which “understood” Morse. That is, the speed and other adjustments are controlled not by switches and knobs, but by sending it Morse code.

This year we also had a tutorial on a new computer mode called JS8Call. This mode allows for more informal conversations than the older FT8 which is limited to reports of signal strength and location.

Field Day is also food, conversation, and getting together with old friends. In a genuine emergency, our skills and equipment from Field Day will enable us to get on the air, sending out health and welfare messages when other methods of communication fail.

Here are some more pictures from the day (Bob took most of them):

Next year’s Field Day is scheduled on June 27 and 28, again at Kent Park. So mark it on your calendar now and plan to stop by; they’d love to see you, tell you all about their hobby, and maybe even get you on the air.

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(posted 7/6/2025)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY, XRX radio club