Field Day 2022 is coming up fast, and hams throughout the U.S. and Canada are clearing their calendars from June 25-26 to make sure they get to participate. After two years of modified Field Day operating due to the pandemic, this year’s event is bound to be a good one. Here’s what you can expect.
What is Field Day?
Field Day is amateur radio’s largest on-the-air event. It takes place the fourth full weekend of June every year, with more than 40,000 operators expected to join the fun setting up stations in public or remote places to demonstrate radio science, technical know-how, emergency preparedness, and services available to local communities and on a national level. Plus, hams who are interested can participate in some seriously large-scale contesting.
When is the event?
Field Day 2022 begins at 18:00 UTC Saturday, June 25 and runs through 20:59 UTC on Sunday, June 26. The Field Day locator on the ARRL website can help you find local soon-to-be friends to operate with, or you can join the Field Day Facebook group to share plans, tips, and tricks for Field Day success. Make sure to use #ARRLFD when you post on social media to earn up to 100 bonus points while contesting. This is a rain, sleet, or shine kind of deal, so make sure to dress for the weather.
Will there be activities?
Of course! Expect to spend the weekend practicing community outreach and emergency preparedness, experimenting with lesser-used power sources and antenna configurations, trying out your technical skills, and enjoying all the fun and food. Plus, every year a contest is held to allow individuals, clubs, or teams to enter into some friendly competition by attempting to contact as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter HF bands as well as 50 MHz and above over a 24-hour period. Field Day is also open to the public, so curious observers and prospective hams can experience firsthand the fun to be had after gnawing off a few nails to pass the Technician’s exam.
Any contest rule changes this year?
All good things change and the rules for Field Day are no exception. Here’s what’s new.
- The max PEP output for a transmitter used by anyone submitting a Field Day log is now 100W. This is the new low-power category limit for all ARRL and IARU HF Contests as of January 1, 2022.
- Class D (home) stations will continue to be able to earn points for contacts with other class D stations.
- The club aggregate scoring change started in 2020 will now be part of the permanent rules (scores of individual stations are combined under the score of a single club).
- Rule 7.3.2 Media Publicity now REQUIRES participants to obtain publicity in order to earn the 100-point bonus instead of earning points for merely attempting to obtain publicity. Point-worthy media hits include posting details of upcoming or ongoing Field Day activity on social media, club, or news media sites, or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any similar platform. Accompanying photos of participation in action on social media sites are encouraged.
For a more in-depth read on the new rule book changes, please head to the ARRL website for additional details or to view the contest rules in their entirety.
And if you want help getting all the best gear for Field Day, DX Engineering has just what you need—even if you don’t know you need it yet! Check out these helpful articles on gearing up for Field Day or visit DXEngineering.com to get what you need delivered right to your door, including coaxial cables, tool kits, wire antenna kits, field day shirts, log books, and a heck of a lot more!
