Field Day 2025

(Some details TBA)

Save the Date
June 28, 2025 11:00 AM PT
To
June 29, 2025, 10:59 AM PT

(That’s 1800 UTC Saturday to 1759 UTC Sunday, for you purists.)

Set up from 2:30 PM on Fri. Tear down from 11:00 AM on Sun.

Olympic High School
2730 Salvio Street
Concord, CA

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See the ARRL’s Field Day web page for more information.

2024 Highlights:

Thank you to all the people that made our event a great success!

Contesting was a focus this year (details below) thanks to our lead Trevor KG6MDW.

All eight license upgrade candidates passed their exams - congratulations!

Meshtastic will be demonstrated by Trevor KG6MDW

FT-8 and other digital methods will be demonstrated.

Amateur Television will be demonstrated by Jim, K6SOE, from the MDARC Communications Van.

Concord City Council Member Carlyn Obringer visited again.

An article Field Day Showcases The Power of Ham Radios Reach was written by David Scholz published 7/26/2024 with the PioneerPress.com. Many people spoke with him about amateur radio, MDARC.org, Pacificon.org, the ARRL.org and Field Day.

The Diablo Gazette published Field Day in their Calendar of Events 6/24.

Messages promoting Field Day were posted to Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thanks again to John KM6ZJT for his demonstration of two-way telephone service on the AREDN MESH. (last year's pictures are below)

Visitors were able to send morse code with regular keys and a 2' x 3' code key.

Looping introductory videos from ARRL and the Royal Society of Great Britain RSGB. Honorable mention videos are an ARRL Education video talking about flyers and training, our 2023 Pacificon Keynote, an ARRL High School video, DIY Magic of Amateur Radio, Veronica (6) & David Letterman from 1992 and an older RSGB video.

Field Day Promotion

You can help publicize Field Day. Just click on the image to the right to download the PDF and print out one or more copies of the 11x8.5 poster. Post it at your business, grocery, coffee shop or wherever it is allowed. Print them in “landscape” format on plain paper. Let’s get the word out! Please remember to remove them after Field Day.

Many additional resources are provided from the arrl.org/field-day page. A field day locator map shows other registered clubs in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Napa (and beyond) that are holding Field Day events.

The ARRL also provides an 11x17", 2024, two sided promotional poster pdf that you can print or order. You find it on the arrl.org/field-day page by clicking "+ Field Day Supplies & Promo Posters".

2023 pictures at Olympic High School follow including the MDARC Van and MDARC Trailer.

2024 pictures are in progress like from Mark K6MRG. Submissions for this website are appreciated.

Photos by: Pete KE6ZIW, David WA6UHA, Matthew N4DLA and Grant K6CBK

Field Day is one of the biggest events in North American amateur radio. It runs around the clock from start to finish on the fourth weekend of June every year. More than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups and friends to operate from remote locations.

Per the ARRL, the objective of Field Day is:

“To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries.”

Volunteers are needed!!

Our Field Day chair, Larry Loomer, KI6LNB, and his crew will start setting up at 2:30 on Friday afternoon before the event, so come on down and help out, stay to work some bands and generally have a good time. Bring your RV, trailer camper or sleep in your car and stay overnight. Basic food and drink will be provided. We will have portable toilet facilities available. If needed, a shopping center with a Safeway store and other food vendors, is six blocks away.

Contact Larry at KI6LNB@arrl.net to let us know what help you can provide. Thank you.

Multiple volunteers are needed to supervise the food availability at the Field Day site: Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, Saturday lunch, and the BBQ dinner, and Sunday breakfast. We need to find a BBQ grill and a person to do the BBQ cooking.

Remember: You don't need to have HF privileges, or even be a licensed ham, to make contacts at our Field Day site. We will have Band Captains on hand to act as control operators. So come on down, tell your friends and get involved in ham radio!

MDARC Bands:

• 2 Meters (144.100 MHz – 148.000 MHz) John N6RIO IC-7100

• 6 Meters (50.00 MHz – 54.000 MHz) John N6RIO IC-7100

• 10 Meters (28.000 MHz – 29.700 MHz) Trevor KG6MDW FT-991

• 15 Meters (21.000 MHz - 21.450 MHz) Ben KI6WBH IC-950/7000

• 20 Meters (14.000 MHz – 14.350 MHz)

• 40 Meters (7.000 MHz – 7.300 MHz) Jim K6SOE Elecraft K3S

• 80 Meters (3.500 MHz – 4.000 MHz) Trevor KG6MDW FT-991

• 160 Meters (1.600 MHz – 2.000 MHz) Trevor KG6MDW FT-991

Other Activities

A demonstration of solar charging of the communication trailer battery will be provided.

An auxiliary generator demonstration for powering the trailer will be provided.

A mobile (car mounted) solar power system will be demonstrated.

For Getting on the Air, a call can be made by anyone to a ham on a ham radio.

2023 Highlights:

Jonas Desyatnik, the eighth grade, $200 first prize winner of the annual Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair demoed his winning two axis solar tracker project (ARRL Club news article) with his father Yuri KI6UDA.

Cal Poly ARC w6bhz.org visited our Field Day. ARRL featured CPARC for licensing their 2,000th examinee on May 23, 2023. They have been conducting exams since 2009.

Concord City Council Member Carlyn Obringer visited.

In conclusion, we know we are members of a hobby that has a long and proud history of providing emergency communication in many different situations. Field Day provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate to the public that we can operate effectively and safely, even during restrictive times, and without using utility power.