Field Day 2013

Last January I joined the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club. (I have a General class ham radio license.) This weekend the club participated in the annual ham radio Field Day exercise, setting up operations in the Sierra at Nyack, just off Interstate 80 in Placer County. An important aspect of ham radio is establishing communications in emergency situations when telephone and other communications go down. Field Day allows operators and clubs to set up and test their equipment away from home, using generators or solar panels for power.

Several club members arrived in their RVs on Friday afternoon to set up antennas and canopies. Tables with radios on various bands were placed around the site. I arrived Saturday at ten o'clock. Field Day officially started at eleven Pacific time. Operators commenced making contacts - some contacts within California, many with other states, and some outside the country. Contacts were logged into computers, with points obtained. This was a contest. While Field Day has a serious side of emergency communications, it also allows ham operators to meet and enjoy each other's company, while having a friendly competition with other clubs.