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