Field Day

Field Day is a public demonstration of amateur radio. It is a great opportunity to see what amateur radio is all about. Our club will be using multiple technologies including single-sideband voice, CW (Morse code), older and newer digital modes like RTTY, PSK31, and FT8; and possibly others. You can watch, learn, or give it a try. We will have licensed and experienced operators that will help and guide you to operate a radio and communicate over the air.

This is amateur radio’s open house. All are welcome to visit us at Cedar Creek Park in Eastvale all day Saturday or Sunday morning, June 22-23. The event is completely FREE. We will have plenty of information about amateur radio. You can meet the people in our Club, the GOTAhams. We can answer questions and help you get started if you want to. You can even Get On The Air with help from the GOTAhams. You do not need to be licensed to use a radio when there is a licensed operator there to guide you.

Amateur Radio is a hobby for everyone. There are no age restrictions and few requirements that would prevent anyone from enjoying the hobby. We have licensed members in every age group, as young as 6, and as old as… well, let’s just say much older.

Some people may think Amateur Radio or Ham Radio is a dying hobby or just for old guys. The truth is that the number of licensed Hams has continued to grow both in the U.S.A and worldwide. The Boy Scouts annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) is one of the largest Scouting events, and continues to grow, with over 1 million young Scouts making contact on Ham radios around the world. Off roaders, neighborhood groups, preppers, campers and many other groups use Ham radio everyday. Ham radio gives you the opportunity to communicate with a small group locally as well as with people around the world without the need for expensive infrastructure that could fail.

The first ARRL Field Day was in June 1933. It is held every year on the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday. The GOTAhams will be operating from 11am Saturday till 10:59am Sunday. We will be at the North end of Cedar Creek Park in Eastvale.

Operators have 24 hours to make contacts with other remote stations. A contact will consist of the station call sign, grid square (location); and class designation which denotes the type of location, number of transmitters, and power source.