Let’s get creative this year on Field Day

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

Since many of us are still hunkering down, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change much by the end of June, Field Day is going to be a lot different this year. Our club has cancelled our club event, and I’m really going to miss helping newcomers operate the GOTA station, the food, and all the camaraderie. That doesn’t mean that Field Day can’t still be fun, though. Let’s’ get creative!

First, note that the ARRL has modified the Field Day rules for this year. The biggest change is that Class D stations, that is home stations using commercial power, can now work other Class D stations for points. Previously, this wasn’t allowed.

The second change is that the ARRL will publish aggregate club scores this year. In previous years, this was only done for Class A and Class F entries. Remember, though, Field Day isn’t a contest (yeah, right!).

Personally, I plan to operate 1B-Battery. I’m going to set up my KX3 on the front deck and power it with a LiFePo battery charged by a recently-acquired solar panel to get the 100 point bonus for alternate power. For an antenna, I plan to set up my 20m/40m fan inverted-V “GOTA antenna” in the front yard.

I’m going to shoot for other bonus points, too:

copy the bulletin—no brainer.
promote my location on social media—I am going to get on NextDoor and invite neighbors over to watch from an acceptable “social distance.”
put some literature down at the bottom of the hill near the street and claim a public information table.
send a press release to the local online paper and claim a media publicity credit.
perhaps get someone under 20 to come and operate while I coach from an acceptable “social distance.”

If Class B isn’t your cup of tea, check out the presentation, “Field Day and Social Distancing,” http://tiny.cc/fdsd by Anthony, K8ZT. It has a lot of great ideas, including ideas on how to operate mobile (Class C).

Field Day doesn’t have to be a downer this year. Get creative and have some fun.

Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, is the author of the KB6NU amateur radio blog (KB6NU.Com), the “No Nonsense” amateur radio license study guides (KB6NU.Com/study-guides/), and often appears on the ICQPodcast (icqpodcast.com). When he’s not thinking up new ways to enjoy Field Day, he likes to build stuff and operate CW on the HF bands.