AMATEUR RADIO FIELD DAY
Fun, Food & Fellowship!!
“Always the Fourth Full Weekend in June!”
June 27-28, 2026
The Raleigh Amateur Radio Society (RARS) invites all interested persons to attend our annual Field Day event.
You do NOT have to be a member of RARS or any amateur radio club!
You do NOT even have to be a licensed ham.
We want to give as many people an opportunity to get on the air as we can; everyone gets a chance to play.
Even if you don't want to operate, come on out and see what we're up to. Welcome to Field Day!
ARRL Field Day is the single-most popular amateur radio operating event of the year in the US and Canada!
Around 35,000 radio amateurs (and the friends and families of many of them) head out into the field, set up temporary stations, and make as many contacts as they can
in a 24-hour period.
Field Day combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event.
It demonstrates ham radio's science, skills, and service to our communities and our nation.
Field Day is also a great, low-stress introduction to contest-style operating and DXing.
We essentially take meadows and wooded areas, turn them into independent communications centers with world-wide communications capabilities for the weekend,
and then turn them back into meadows and wooded areas on Sunday afternoon. It's an amazing transformation!!
See Fin NC4FG's walk-around video from 2024.
See also the
recap of RARS Field Day 2025!
This year, we are operating class “3A,” which means a club (that's the “A”) with as many as three transmitters on the air at the same time
(not including the GOTA and “free” VHF stations).
Each station will have its own tent and multi-band antenna and be dedicated to a particular mode—phone, digital, cw (Morse code).
We especially welcome people who aren't licensed, hams licensed since the last Field Day (at the end of June 2025), and licensed hams who haven't been on HF in a while.
There will be a special “Get On The Air” (GOTA) station to introduce you to operating in the high frequency bands or get you back in the game!
We are also looking for experienced operators and people who want to be.
We need phone, digital, and CW ops. Whether you like to talk, listen to the musical warble of digital modes, or the rhythm of dits and dahs, we have a place for you!!
Even though “Field Day is not a contest,” we do keep score, and we do care about our results, We want to make a lot of contacts, but we also want to have fun
doing it...and we do!!
We start setting up at 9:00 am on Friday (June 26). If you want to learn about station set-ups and putting up antennas, THIS is the place to be!
Yes, it's work, but also a lot of fun and learning. If you have questions when you get there, just ask.
Then we are back at 8:00 am on Saturday for final set-up, before the official twenty-four hour operating period which starts at 2:00 pm.
Yes, we go all night, working in shifts, depending on band conditions and availability of operators.
Even if you have NO EXPERIENCE, we will train you.
Each station has a “Manager” in charge and we generally have a radio operator and an optional logger (using a laptop computer) at each station.
So, after observing a while you can take your turn...simple!
In between set-up, operating, and logging, there are lots of chances for fellowship with other great ham operators and to swap stories,
hear about things you may not be familiar with, or just enjoy being around other people who agree that ham radio is a GREAT hobby!
And FOOD!
Just as the Army marches on its stomach, so goes Field Day!
Friday night we'll have pizza (or something similar) for the set-up crew.
On Saturday afternoon supper will be a catered meal for everyone.
There will be a hearty breakfast Sunday morning with
lunch consistiing of the abundant left-overs with additional food as necessary.
And if that's not enough, there will be lots of cold water, soft drinks, and snacks...calorie counting is NOT allowed!!
For more information, see our Field Day Presentation to be given at the RARS general membership meeting on June 9th.
Contact the Field Day Chairman by clicking on his name below if you have any questions, suggestions, or want to volunteer. We hope to see you there!
Marty Young
W4MY
Field Day Chair
Staff/Mode Captains/Volunteers
(Click on a person's name to message them or on their call sign to look them up on QRZ.com)
SSB:
Bob Starkenburg W4TTX
CW:
Michael "MKJ" Johnson KZ4LY
FT4/8:
Tim Thurber WX4TIM
and
Ryan Reed N7RYN
GOTA:
John Hollowell K4JAH
Satellite:
Arash Manafirad KR4GOJ
Educational Activity:
Richard Kroeger N1FUA
Hospitality:
Richard Kroeger N1FUA
and
John Edgerton KQ4RLM
Publicity/Social Media:
Fin Gold NC4FG
Site Visitation by Served Agencies and Elected Officials:
Tony O'Connor K1OC
Public Information Table:
Fin Gold NC4FG
Field Day Participation Log:
Fin Gold NC4FG
Safety Officer and Site Responsibility:
Richard Kroeger N1FUA
Messaging Manager: Open
Section Manager Message: Open
W1AW Bulletin: Open
Field Day comes but once a year… DON’T MISS IT!!!
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