Over the weekend of January 24th and 25th, EAWA members and friends participated in Winter Field Day in a variety of ways. Some went “all out” with their off-grid wilderness set-up, while others stayed closer to home. Although Winter Field Day (WFD) has much in common with the ARRL Field Day in June, the focus and point system is aimed at true field operations. The WFD website states the event, “aims to help participants improve their preparedness for disasters and enhance their operational abilities in adverse conditions.” With temperatures below zero, made worse by winds, and heavy snowfall directly following the event, coastal Mainers nailed the “adverse conditions”!
Matt W1MRH and Jeff KA1DBE set up their special events station N1S at Matt’s lakeside camp. Bill KC2NMK joined the team this year. They were ready to go an hour before WFD started, and worked the allowed 24 out of 30 hours. The bands were noisy, and around midnight 40 meters was the only band open. Two hours into the event they realize they were using two different versions of N3FJP. Thankfully, the mix-up turned out to be a non-issue. Bill operated PSK while Matt and Jeff worked SSB, CW, WinLink, satellites. The team also copied the WFD bulletin.
Joan W1DLC chose to set up an off-grid station near her home. In a small out-building she setup her gear, along with a wood stove. Although she added some insulation, the cold temperatures and wind were too much for the small stove. She worked for 6 hours, with both SSB and CW, before shutting down.
Matt KC1VLH operated inside his home but used only emergency power for his radio and computer. He used a battery box he build for POTA to power his equipment. Matt operated for 16 hours, making many SSB contacts. This was Matt’s first WFD activation.
Marion W1GRL choose the easiest way to participate, hunting stations from home.
Most likely there were others operating WFD as well. One of the best things about ham radio is the many ways we can engage the hobby. It’s wonderful to have a community that offers so many ways to participate and enjoy radio communications. Cheers to Winter Field Day! Perhaps next year it will coincide with a January thaw? Perhaps not. Whatever the conditions, EAWA members and friends will be up for the challenge.
Written by Marion W1GRL
W1TU 