There are a few constants you can count on for ARRL Field Day in Florida. It will rain at some point during the weekend. At least once, we will have to stop transmitting because of lightning in the area. The food will be excellent. And most importantly, people will have fun.

Four Clubs, One Field Day

The combined effort of the Clearwater Amateur Radio Club, St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club, Upper Pinellas Amateur Radio Club, and the Glorious Society of the Wormhole came together at the Clearwater Fire Training Center on the weekend of June 27, 2026. Our goal was to participate in ARRL’s annual Field Day operating event.

Field Day, for those who may not know, is part emergency preparedness exercise, part social club function, part picnic, and part contest, all rolled into one. Whatever you call it, there is usually something for everyone at Field Day.

Setup: Hot Weather, Serious Radios

We started unloading at 8:00 AM Saturday morning, and after a safety briefing, setup began in earnest at 9:00 AM. The respective teams for antennas, coax, radios, and computers went to work. Because it was exceedingly hot, the outside teams were under the watchful eye of our safety coordinator.

Inside, teams went to work unboxing the UPARC Elecraft K3 radios and a loaned Elecraft K4 for the SSB station. We had CW, SSB, and FT8 available. Our 6‑meter “free VHF” station was set up and ended up making 88 FT8 contacts all around the US.

By around 11:00 AM, the stations had basic functionality, and the final tweaks began. That brought us to noon and our first meal of the day: burgers and dogs. As we continued fine‑tuning, designated the operators who would kick us off at 2:00 PM, and chased down any last‑minute appearances of Murphy, everything came together. By 2:00 PM we had four stations on the air, calling CQ and making contacts.

Food Team: Keeping Operators Going

For dinner, we had BBQ expertly cooked by Orin K4OLE, along with side dishes, fried chicken, and desserts. We are grateful to the food team that takes such good care of us. Ron W4RFA and Ruth do a great job planning and keeping the operators well fed, and the teams that support the food crew are invaluable.

New Operators On The Air

Our goal this year was to get new operators on the stations—specifically, people who may have attended Field Day in the past but never actually got on the radio and made a contact. We set a goal to exceed last year’s new‑operator count of seven, and we surpassed it by one, with Dee W4DCH putting us over the top.

Hand in hand with our new‑operator focus, we had 33 unique operators make at least one contact. We were very pleased to exceed our goals, because getting people on the air who might not otherwise make a contact is an important part of Field Day.

Technical Corner: Triplexer And Filters

Among the more interesting things we saw this year was work by Dave Shuey WA3VRE, who built UPARC’s new triplexer. Dave brought out his HP network analyzer to test the bandpass filters we were using with the triplexer. These were the Dunestar filters that had originally been used with our first Dunestar triplexer—the one that burned up on 10 meters. After testing them, Dave recommended that we retire those filters in favor of his “beefier” filters. Below are a few photos of Dave’s HP Network Analyzer and plotter he brought out to Field Day to test his custom filters as compared to the commercially built filters. We will try to get a write up of that comparison to share. It just confirms you never know what will show up at Field Day…

Station Monitoring And Education

We also had an updated station‑monitoring system feeding the big‑screen TV in the chow hall. This display shows our contacts, new operators, and real‑time radio information. It’s always fun to add something new to Field Day each year, and since we operate from the same location, new tools help keep it interesting.

Fred W2SUB presented his usual education sessions on Introduction to Ham Radio and Field Day. Fred consistently does an excellent job with these sessions, and they drew quite a few new attendees.

How Did We Do?

We made 1357 contacts and worked all ARRL sections except four Canadian sections.

Jeff NE4C led our QSO totals again but had strong competition from Bruce K2BHS, Kenny K4OB, Glenn N4GRC, Dave KR4U and Paul KC4YDY making 88 QSOs on 6 meters..

 

Our total contacts were spread across CW, SSB, and FT8, with a healthy mix of modes.

 

Shutdown And Tear‑Down

True to Florida tradition, the rain did eventually arrive, and we shut down operations at 1:35 PM and began tear‑down. We were out of the site shortly after 3:00 PM.

Why Field Day Still Matters

This was a team effort spread across four clubs, and words cannot fully express the gratitude the Field Day committee has for everyone who helped. While some may question the relevance of Field Day in the age of POTA, we see those skills as complementary. At our Field Day, you get to operate serious radios and work on antenna projects that rival a well‑equipped home station.

We use Field Day to test ourselves in solving the inevitable problems that arise. Even with careful planning, there is always something to capture in the after‑action reports and improve for next time.

And then there is the social aspect. Field Day is part emergency‑preparedness exercise, part contest, and largely a social occasion. The conversations at Field Day deepen friendships and remind us that this is not a solitary hobby or service. We are communicators, and that includes talking and working with one another in person as well as on the air.

Field Day is very much still relevant, and if you missed it this year, we encourage you to join the club at Winter Field Day and at future ARRL Field Days.

Our thanks to Tim KR4ESB and Bruce K2BHS for many of the pictures on this page.