Field Day is June 25 and 26th. What is Field Day you may ask?
Field Day is the opportunity for thousands of amateur radio enthusiasts throughout the United States and Canada to set up temporary communications stations and make contacts with like-minded people.
Licensed radio operators (often called “hams”) spend the weekend practicing community outreach, emergency preparedness and technical skills.
Members of the Sanpete County-based Skyline Radio Club will be on Skyline Drive, a quarter mile south of the Ephraim Canyon Road.
The club invites everyone, hams and those interested in ham radio, to come and see what it’s all about and make some contacts yourself.
This year, field day begins at noon Saturday, June 25 and runs through noon Sunday June 26. Hams will make contacts on what are called bands, or groups of frequencies within the bands, including 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10-meter high-frequency bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above. Any modality, such as voice, Morse code or digital, is allowed.
On Field Day, hams pack their camping equipment, throw up some temporary antennas, spin the dials on their radios and have fun.
Individuals, clubs and teams try to make contact with as many other hams as possible over 24 hours.
Each station will use electric power from sources such as batteries, solar, generator, wind, etc.
The first Field Day was held in June 1933. It was such a hit with the amateur radio community that it became an annual tradition. The only years it wasn’t held were 1942-45 due to World War II.
Field Day has two purposes: The primary purpose is to test the hams’ ability to plan operations that can be effective for an entire 24-hour period.
The second purpose is to demonstrate the technical proficiency of a station that has been quickly constructed in making contacts in emergency conditions, including incorporating auxiliary power capabilities.
Field Day continues to provide fun, education and emergency preparedness. When disaster strikes, amateur radio operators are always willing to help spread crucial information, provide coordination and help in many capacities across the world.
