The Klub regularly participates in the ARRL Field Day and Winter Field Day activities, the flagship Emergency Preparedness exercise for Radio Amateurs. Field Day is a 24 hour exercise designed to test the group’s ability to respond to emergency conditions by conducting a sustained operation in the field and under non-commercial power.
Winter Field Day started in 2007 by a non-ARRL group with the purpose of preparing for and practicing Emergency Communications across North America and beyond.Similar to Summer Field Day, offering additional challenges of wintertime operations, but with a more streamlined scoring system. In 2019, K5RWK operated as an outdoors station, placing 7th Nationally, and 1st in our Section.
Officially both Field Day and Winter Field Day are Emergency Communications Exercises, with points awarded for various types of operational proficiency in adverse conditions. We witnessed how important Amateur Radio operations were during the 2019 tornadoes in Richardson. While these events are unusual, we know they will occur again, and being prepared at a moment’s notice for these and other disasters can be invaluable. That’s why setup is limited to 12 hours total, and only during the previous 24 hours. If you are interested in honing your emergency preparedness skills, in adverse, unfamiliar conditions, you will find these events a rewarding challenge.
And unofficially, it’s a great opportunity for some good ole amateur radio camaraderie, showing off your gear, learning, and an excuse to help your RWK to earn bragging rights.
You can read more about ARRL Field Day here and Winter Field Day (not affiliated with ARRL) here.
Field Day Photo Gallery
Photos from some of our previous Field Day & Winter Field Day exercises. Click on a picture for more or click the slide show link below.
Field day galleries
We also have a full selection of RWK pictures from Field Day and Winter Field Day from previous years that are available here.
Field Day Posts
RWK Field Day 2022
June 6, 2022
By Chip Coker KD4C Plans are coming together for Field Day 2022. We’re going to make it fun for RWK. Although Field Day is not a traditional “contest”, many clubs treat it as such. with a “get points at all costs” approach. But as we emerge from almost two years of COVID isolation, I’m hoping that our Field Day prioritizes fun over points. To that end, here’s what we’re ...Read Full Post...RWK Field Day History
November 22, 2021
by Tim Bratton K5RA What exactly is the American Radio Relay League Field Day?? Is it a radio communications and emergency preparedness exercise? Is it a radio operating contest? Is it a vehicle to experiment with new technology? Is it an activity to promote amateur radio? Is it an outdoor activity like camping? Is it a social event? Answer: it is all of the above. Each Field Day activity is whatever ...Read Full Post...Field Day 2021
June 27, 2021
By Chip Coker KD4C Field Day 2021 is a wrap! A huge thanks to Jon NN5T for having the equipment and antennas prepped, and for Don N5SKT having a complete ready-to-go digital station (borrowed from his POTA setup). NN5T manning the CW station Setup at the EOC took just a bit less than 2 hours, with the hardest part being uncoiling 3 x 150’ lengths of RG-8 and pounding some stakes in the ...Read Full Post...
RWK Field Day History
RWK has been participating in Field Day since the late 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Field Day was much more of a contest, RWK often scored in the Top 10 of the entered class and was #1 several years.
Tim Bratton K5RA has researched the RWK’s Field Day results and has an excellent summary and results over the years. You can read his piece here.
We came across a brief movie from Field Day in the late 60s showing a tower setup in a field in Richardson.
RWK Field Day Results
| Year | Category | Result |
| 1959 | 4A | 59 |
| 1969 | 2A | 6 |
| 1970 | 2A | 3 |
| 1971 | 2A | 1(!) |
| 1972 | 2A | 3 |
| 1973 | 3A | 2 |
| 1974 | 1A | 3 |
| 1975 | 2A | 2 |
| 1976 | 3A | 1 |
| 1977 | 3A | 2 |
| 1978 | 3A | 2 |
| 1979 | 3A | 2 |
| 1982 | 2A | 1 |
| 1983 | 2A | 4 |
| 1984 | 1A | 13 |
| 1985 | 2A | 9 |