All About Field Day

I attended my first Field Day in 2021.  Our club hosted a local event for our area and it was a pretty nice setup.  However, I wanted to go and do my own thing later on in the day and when I got home I was setting up my radio to do FT8 on 20 Meters.  The WSJT-X software has a feature for Field Day, however the information it was asking for, i.e. my Class, wasn’t explained.  Like a lot of things that I am finding in Ham Radio, it seems you have to know some one  or be willing to dig around pages of information to get an answer.  I found it frustrating that I spent about 30-40 minutes just trying to find out WHAT a class was much less how to find my class to satisfy the software and start transmitting and making contacts.

If you watch my channel, I give you straight answers to things without all the fluff, so this page will hopefully serve to do the same for those who are just getting into Ham Radio an want to participate in Field day and maybe don’t have someone to refer to for answers.

FIELD DAY CLASS DESIGNATIONS

In my case, for doing FT8 at home with one radio, my Class was “1D”.  The number signifies how many transmitters you are using for the event. So, what does all this stuff above mean?

(Class A – Battery) Club / non-club portable: Club or non-club group of three or more persons set up specifically for Field Day. All contacts must be made using an output power of 5 Watts or less and the power source must be something other than commercial power mains or motor-driven generator (e.g.: batteries, solar cells, water-driven generator). Other provisions are the same for regular Class A. Class AB is eligible for a GOTA station if GOTA requirements are met; however if a GOTA station is used in this class it must meet the 5-Watt or less power requirement of this category.

(Class B) One or two person portable: A Field Day station set up and operated by no more than two persons. Other provisions are the same for Class A except it is not eligible for a GOTA or free VHF station. One and two person Class B entries will be listed separately. 

(Class B – Battery) One or two person portable: A Field Day station set up and operated by no more than two persons. All contacts must be made using an output power of 5 Watts or less and the power source must be something other than commercial mains or motor-driven generator. Other provisions are the same for Class A except it is not eligible for a GOTA or free VHF station. One and two person Class B – Battery entries will be listed separately.

(Class C) Mobile: Stations in vehicles capable of operating while in motion and normally operated in this manner. This includes maritime and aeronautical mobile. If the Class C station is being powered from a car battery or alternator, it qualifies for emergency power but does not qualify for the multiplier of 5, as the alternator/battery system constitutes a motor-driven generating system.

(Class D) Home stations: Stations operating from permanent or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D stations may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C, E and F Field Day stations.

(Class E) Home stations – Emergency power: Same as Class D, but using emergency power for transmitters and receivers. Class E may work all Field Day stations.

(Class F) Emergency Operations Centers (EOC): An amateur radio station at an established EOC activated by a club or non-club group. Class F operation must take place at an established EOC site. Stations may utilize equipment and antennas temporarily or permanently installed at the EOC for the event. Entries will be reported according to number of transmitters in simultaneous operation. Class F stations are eligible for a free VHF station. At Class 2F they are also eligible for a GOTA station.

What Bands Are Used?

From what I found ALL BANDS are used EXCEPT 60M, 30M, 17M, and 12M.

ARRL / Canadian Section designators

The list below are abbreviations and alternate Prefixes for your designation of your location during field day:

ARRL/Canadian Sec

Abbr.

Prefixes, alternates

ARRL/Canadian Sec

Abbr.

Prefixes, alternates

Alabama

AL

AL

North Texas

NTX

NT

Alaska

AK

AK, KL7

Northern Florida

NFL

NFL

Alberta

AB

ALT, ALB, AB, VE6

Northern New Jersey

NNJ

NNJ, NN, NJ

Arizona

AZ

ARI, AZ

Northern New York

NNY

NNY

Arkansas

AR

AR

NYC-Long Island

NLI

NY, NL

British Columbia

BC

BC, VE7

Ohio

OH

OH

Colorado

CO

CO

Oklahoma

OK

OK

Connecticut

CT

CT, CN, CON

Ontario

ON

ON, VE3

Delaware

DE

DE, DL

Orange

ORG

ORG, ORA

East Bay

EB

EB

Oregon

ORE

OR

Eastern Massachusetts

EMA

EM

Pacific

PAC

PAC,HAW,HI,GU

Eastern New York

ENY

EN

Province of Quebec

PQ

PQ, QU, VE2

Eastern Pennsylvania

EPA

EP

Puerto Rico

PR

PR, KP4

Eastern Washington

EWA

EW

Rhode Island

RI

RI

Foreign, except Canada

DX

DX

Sacramento Valley

SV

SV, SAC

Georgia

GA

GA

San Diego

SDG

SDG

Idaho

ID

ID

San Francisco

SF

SF, SANF

Illinois

IL

IL

San Joaquin Valley

SJV

SJV, SANJ

Indiana

IN

IN

Santa Barbara

SB

SB

Iowa

IA

IO, IA

Santa Clara Valley

SCV

SCV

Kansas

KS

KA, KS

Saskatchewan

SK

SA, SK, VE5

Kentucky

KY

KY, KTY

South Carolina

SC

SC

Los Angeles

LAX

LAX

South Dakota

SD

SD

Louisiana

LA

LA, LOU

South Texas

STX

ST

Maine

ME

ME, MAI

Southern Florida

SFL

SFL

Manitoba

MB

MB, MA, VE4

Southern New Jersey

SNJ

SNJ, SN

Maritime Provinces

MAR

MAR,MR,NFD, NB, PEI, LAB, NS, VE1

Tennessee

TN

TN, TEN

Maryland-DC

MDC

MD, DC

Utah

UT

UT

Michigan

MI

MI

Vermont

VT

VT

Minnesota

MN

MIN, MN

Virgin Islands

VI

VI, KP2, KV4

Mississippi

MS

MIS, MS

Virginia

VA

VA

Missouri

MO

MO

West Texas

WTX

WT

Montana

MT

MON, MT

West Virginia

WV

WV

Nebraska

NE

NE

Western Massachusetts

WMA

WM

Nevada

NV

NEV, NV

Western New York

WNY

WNY

Newfoundland-Labrador

NL

VO1, VO2

Western Pennsylvania

WPA

WP

New Hampshire

NH

NH

Western Washington

WWA

WW

New Mexico

NM

NM

Wisconsin

WI

WI, WS

North Carolina

NC

NC

Wyoming

WY

WY

North Dakota

ND

ND

Yukon, Northwest Terr.

Nunavut

YU

YU, NW, VE8, NUN, VY0

*** So using the abbreviations above, my input for FT8 was “1D STX“.  With that I was off to the races and working FT8 and having fun.

So, Why Field Day?

Field Day, aside from “contesting” and gaining points, is meant to get Hams out in the field using battery power, making contacts and assuming that there are no other means of communication available.  It is made more fun by allowing operators to get points and awards while practicing making contacts with your equipment.  It also allows you to experience other’s radio setups and discuss changes or improvements you can make to your equipment.

So What is a Typical Exchange Between You and Another Station on Field Day?

So if I was alone and doing field day with just me and my radio outside and running on a battery, the exchange would go like this:

AFTER confirming the channel is clear, I would say:

“CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day, Kilo India Five November Papa Lima”

A “normal” contact will work like this. Someone will respond/answer your CQ by saying:

Kilo Kilo Five Whiskey (KK5W)

When you hear the other station, write down their callsign and say the following: (a.k.a. 1D STX – this is known as our report/exchange)

KK5W please copy One-Delta -South-Texas (“1D” is my class; “STX” is my section)

The other station will confirm receipt of your information by saying something like this:

KI5NPL QSL. Please copy Four Alpha South Texas (write 4A STX)

“QSL” means they copied your report. Put their call, class, and section in the N3FJP software, say the following:

QSL your Four Alpha South Texas; good luck! QRZ Kilo India Five November Papa Lima

QRZ means “who’s calling me”/ is a way to transition to the next station. If no station answers, then start calling CQ and listening for other stations all over again!

What To Do If Something Screws Up...

If you can’t make out the other persons callsign, but you can hear a few letters, say something like this:

Station beginning with Kilo Kilo, say again please

Station ending in Five Whiskey, say again please

The Whiskey station, say again please

If they ask you to repeat your report (or exchange) say something like:

<Other station callsign> please copy One Delta South Texas. QSL?

If you don’t hear their report, say the following

<Other station callsign> please repeat your report