Raleigh Amateur Radio Society Media Information for Field Day

Press Release (pdf file) Details on RARS Field Day Pictures   What is Field Day? Field Day is three activities rolled into one:     1. Most importantly, it's an emergency exercise in which about 30,000 Amateur Radio operators nationwide participate by setting up true "field" stations, totally off the power and communications grid.  Most often the stations are literally in fields, totally self-contained with power, equipment and antennas.  They are set up quickly, operated continuously for 24 hours, then dismantled even more quickly.     2. The 24 hour operation is held in the form of a contest.  Amateur Radio has many contests throughout the year.  Hams participating in contests attempt to make as many brief contacts with other ham stations as possible within a limited period of time.  Each contact lasts only a few seconds, and some basic information is passed.  In Field Day, that information includes the station location (by ARRL "Section" - we are in the North Carolina Section, but some other states have more than one Section), and class (number ot transmitters operating at the same time, and a few other considerations).  A good group of operators can make more than 1000 contacts from a single station on Field Day.     The contest aspect of Field Day is important because it generates enthusiasm and brings thousands of hams out to participate.  Amateur Radio emergency planners hold several other strictly emergency-oriented exercises each year, but they attract a much smaller group of hams who specialize in emergency communications.     3. For many hams, Field Day is a "camp-out".   They bring tents, food and everything they need to be completely self-contained for the 24 hour period, or longer.  No late-nite runs to McDonalds for a burger fix for them! When?     Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26, 2005.  The actual contest begins at 2 p.m. Saturday and runs for 24 hours.  Set-up begins at about 9 a.m. Saturday morning, with some setup work Friday afternoon at the Friendship Road site.     Field Day is always held the fourth full weekend in June.  Who, Where The Raleigh Amateur Radio Society will have at least  five stations set up at a farm in southwest Wake County, south of Apex, operated by about 50 club members suring the weekend.  Directions: Take US 1 south to the New Hill exit (6 miles past the NC. 55 exit).  Turn left on New Hill-Holloman Road, then immediately turn left on Friendship road.  Go one mile to 4501 Friendship Road, and look for all the activity back in the fields. See a map and details here.   Other area clubs: Several other Triangle area clubs will be setting up Field Day operations.  We don't have details, but they should be seeking their own publicity.  Nationwide, over 2000 clubs or groups with 30,000 individual hams will operate Field Day stations. Who Wins?     Field Day contest scores are published in December, so it takes a while to see who "won".  There are no prizes, just national recognition.  Each club competes within its "class" - that is, against clubs operating the same number of stations.  RARS has taken several first place "wins" in it's class over the past 10 years.  But winning is secondary to the experience gained in setting up emergency stations under difficult conditions, and just having fun. History     The first Field Day was held in 1933, and it has been run continuously since, interrupted only by World War II.  The rules have changed a bit over time, but the basic purpose remained the same.  Today, our modern equipment is light and portable.  Imagine lugging the huge, heavy radio apparatus available before the invention of the transistor out into the field and trying to power it away from commercial sources.     But Amateurs discovered early in their history that they had a unique ability to provide communications in remote areas during emergencies.  Early commercial and military radio focused on maritime communication, so during land-based disasters, hams stepped in to fill the gap.  Reports begin in 1919 and document ham radio as the only communications available during hurricanes, blizzards and earthquakes through the 20's.  Media Contact: Gary Pearce KN4AQ 919-380-9944 Back to Media Info page