ARRL Field Day for 2026 will be Saturday and Sunday June 27 and 28. To provide more opportunities for every amateur and guest a rewarding experience by participating in the Rockwall Amateur Radio club’s ARRL Field Day event. All skill levels and talents are encouraged to participate in the activities ranging from planning, implementation, operating, and logging.  

During 2025 Field Day:

What we did well

• Antennas were deployed for all bands 80m – 70cm (except 1.25m)

• QSOs were made on all bands (except 160m, 80m & 1.25m)

What we can do better

• Only one person at a time could operate on a given band

• While a new QSO logging system was tested manual editing was still needed to prepare the club's ARRL submission

• More coordination with local members not at the field day site for simplex VHF and UHF QSOs

What was beyond our control

• Band conditions on 15m and 10m were poor

Field Day Strategies

Operations

• Focus on daylight operations. 

While operating Saturday night is available the most operating takes place during the day Saturday and Sunday.

• Maximize operator access to 40, 20 and 15

Installation

• Improve coax routing to minimize trip hazards and doors left ajar.

Sites / Locations

• Union Valley VFD - Field Day Site 2023, 2024, and 2025

  • Pros

    • Air-conditioned comfortable facilities

    • Accessible to hams and the public

    • Provides good public exposure for both the club and the UVVFD

    • Fits well with the ecomm aspect of Field Day 

  • Cons

    • Limited antenna deployment area

• Look into alternate sites that could provide larger antenna setup area, easy access 

Antennas / Deployment

• Suggest deploying 70cm antennas in different configurations for different deployment configurations as proof of concept

Additional resources

• KA2C - Ulta-Sharp Rx Filters
  This document contains several links

• 20m Helical Resonator

• QST June 2025 - Maximize your ARRL Field Day Performance

• Multi-Station YouTube Video

• Everything you always wanted to know About Antennas (but were afraid to ask) || Frank Rutter K3AW

RARC Field Day Survey

We took a survey during the August 19 in person meeting to find what attendee said they would like to see for Field Day 2026. Here are how the 14 attendees responded:

RARC Field Day 2026 Survey

For more information

• Contact Al Peterson AG5PC