What is Winter Field Day?
Winter Field Day is an exciting annual event for amateur radio enthusiasts, taking place on the last full weekend of January. The event is organized by the Winter Field Day Association which strongly believes that ham radio operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter environments. KARS will be participating in the event this year with plans to operate over the entire contest period.
Results:
- CW Contacts: 83
- Phone Contacts: 130
- Digital Contacts: 3
- Total Points: 302
Operators
W1BBT WA5UBO W5MIG W6TIR N5SGM N5RCT W3MR KI5KUI AA0F KE5GL
Log Files
I plan to go through the station logbooks and compare them to the files below to make sure all our contacts were logged correctly.Multipliers Achieved:
100% Alternate Power: OMx1
The Mobile Operations center ran the entire time off of my golf cart inverter, and still had enough battery left to drive it on the trailer and unload everything here at the house. The "Woodshed" operated on Jim's battery box and generator power.
Away From Home: OMx3
We were setup at The Agricultural Museum and Arts Center who were gracious enough to let us use their facility and promoted our event as well (https://theagricultural.org/ham-radio/). We appreciate their support and look forward to future events.
Multiple Antennas: OMx1
There were a total of 7 antennas deployed: 10-80m end fed, 6m Moxon, 15m vertical mag mount, 2 x 2m/70cm, 10m veritcal, 20m vertical.
Send/Recv Winlink: OMx1
W5MIG (Jerry) successfully sent and received an email via Winlink.
Copy WFD Bulletin: OMx1
The bulletin was copied from 40m phone (and recorded) and also on 20m during the 12pm broadcast. During 6pm broadcast, there was interference from somebody playing church bells over the broadcast.
Operate multiple modes: OMx2
Jerry (W5MIG) was a machine with his CW key, several operators operated in SSB mode, and I managed to get the 3 JS8Call digital contacts on 40m.
Operate more than 6 hours: OMx2
The radios were manned from 10am until 10pm on Saturday, and from 9am until 3pm on Sunday Total Multipliers: 11Total Score: 3322
Multipliers attempted but missed:
Operate on 6 bands:
QSOs on 10,15,20 and 40m. Attempted 2m/70cm (SSB and FM), 6m and 80m with no luck. (OMx6)Make a FM satellite contact:
Our location only provided us with 2 opportunities, and our crew was able to hear the satellite, but could not complete the contact (OMx2)Operations Center
KARS will set up an operations center located at the Boerne Agricultural Museum starting Friday, January 24th. According to the rules, operations setup can begin no earlier than 10pm local time. Our plan involves staging everything at the Operations Center Friday evening, grab some dinner at a local eatery and wait for the official start. Radio operations start at 10am local time on Saturday, and end on Sunday at 3:59pm.
Rules
The official rules are posted at 2025-rules.pdf Our current plan is to operate as an M4 location (Mobile/4 operator). To achieve the most multipliers we will be operating on 70cm, 2m, 6m, 10m, 20m, and 40m. This means we will need volunteers for the duration of the event to ensure we maintain an operator on each of the 4 radios that will be set up. Note that there is a rule that prohibits multiple transmitters on the same band at the same time, so each operator station will be dedicated to a single band. The exception will be the mobile unit which will float between 70cm, 2m and 6m. There are rules on modes as well that eliminate FT4/FT8 use. This means we will need operators for phone (SSB/AM/FM/DMR/C4FM), CW, and other digital modes such as s PSK, RTTY, Olivia, Packet, SSTV, ATV, JS8Call. The 15m band is an alternative band option that we may be able squeeze in if we get enough volunteer support.
Objectives
Multipliers are awarded when specific objectives have been met. We are targeting the following objectives:
- OMx1 - Operate 100% on alternative power (Generators, battery and solar are planned)
- OMx3 - Operate away from home (We will be at the Agricultural Museum)
- OMx1 - Deploy multiple antennas (We will have one for each radio/band)
- OMx2 - Make an FM satellite contact (Jerry (N5SGM))
- OMx3 - Make a SSB or CW satellite contact (Jerry (N5SGM))
- OMx1 - Send and receive at least one Winlink email (Jerry (W5MIG))
- OMx1 - Copy the Winter Field Day Special Bulletin
- Times - Saturday @ 12:00pm and 6:00pm
- SSB
- 40M - 7.29
- 20M - 14.29
- 15M - 21.39
- 10M - 28.59
- CW
- 80M - 3.550
- 40M - 7.050
- 20M - 14.050
- 15M - 21.050
- Digital - Olivia 8/250 at noon, Olivia 8/500 in evening
- 40M - 7.071 Center=7.0725
- 20M - 14.071 Center=14.0725
- 15M - 21.071 Center=21.0725
- 10M - 28.1215 Center=28.123
- OMx6 - Operate on at least 6 bands (We will be on 70cm/2m/6m/10m/20m/40m)
- OMx2 - Use multiple modes
- OMx2 - Operate six continuous hours during the event
Equipment Needed - Last updated Jan 21 @ 08:00pm
70cm/2m/6m
40m
10m
20m
Yaesu 991a
Yaesu 991a
Icom 7300
Kenwood TS-2000
Golf Cart (36v->12v)
Golf Cart (36v->12v)
Solar
Solar
Generator
Generator
Generator
Generator
2m/70cm vertical w/50' Feed
Dave (N7RF)
6m 2 element Moxon w/50' Feed
EFW8010 End Fed w/50' Feed
10m vertical and 10m dipole w/100' Feed
40m-10m Vertical
Marsh (WA5UBO) 2 x 110' Feed
Logging Server
12v Computer
Laptop
Winlink/Logging
Mobile Operations Center
4' folding table
4' folding table
4' folding table
Mobile Operations Center
10x10 Canopy w/walls
Marsh (WA5UBO) - 100' 10ga
Tom (KI5KUI) - Mr Buddy dual propane heater
Mark (WM3R) - Mr Buddy single propane heater
Mark (WM3R) - 2
Tom (KI5KUI) - 2
MORE NEEDED
Marsh (WA5UBO) - vertical & dipole antennas
Volunteers Needed - Email W1BBT
In order to have a successfull event, we will need volunteers. Click the link above to send an email to Jesse (W1BBT) to reserve your spot as they will be granted on a first requested basis. Please include the band and mode (Phone/CW/Digital) you plan to use. Note CW and Digital have priority due to their multiplier values (2X). We will need volunteers for the following roles/times:
Setup starts at 10pm. Volunteers in this group will assist in antenna and radio station setup. Volunteers should bring their own flashlights, perferably headlamps, as the grounds where we plan to setup may be very dark.
Operator/Band/Mode
Operator/40m/Mode
Operator/10m/Mode
Operator/20m/Mode
Operator/Band/Mode
Operator/40m/Mode
Operator/10m/Mode
Operator/20m/Mode
The event ends at 4pm. Volunteers in this group will assist breaking down antennas/radio stations and ensuring we leave the facility in better shape than we found it.
