Field Day in Review - 2025

This year’s field day was an adventure. Great times were had by all but I could not have created more technical difficulties if I had been trying for the record.

Let’s back up. After last year’s field day, fueled by excitement and more than a little hubris, I volunteered to build and captain a VHF/UHF station this year. I’d seen some early success building rotators and antennas for satellite operations. With nearly a year of prep time I knew I could build an amazing station.

I did not.

This post is not a post-mortem analysis, as much as one is needed now is not the time or place. Let’s go for the ten thousand foot view instead. Murphy was with me all weekend – from a mishap towing a trailer to the breakdown of nearly every part of my station not much worked as expected.

I expected to be shooting fish in a barrel with the station I had built. An IC-9700, circularly polarized Yagi-Udas for two meters and seventy centimeters, a completely custom az / el rotator, and fully integrated software that made targeting and tuning just a couple clicks. It was gorgeous and every component had been tested thoroughly.

The only problem was – not much had been tested together. Antenna connections shorted, common mode current wiped out my receiver, the rotator produced enough noise to completely drown out most signals, and (adding insult to injury) a ground loop took out my second monitor.

In the early morning hours Sunday, with the station torn apart and frakensteined back together, we managed a single contact over the ISS. Our club president awarded the unofficial award for “most effort for a single contact” and I went back to bed. That single contact scored us a sweet 101 points.

I wasn’t happy with how the station performed but in the days that followed I realized I was perfectly fine with how field day went. My community came together. That single contact wouldn’t have been possible without help. Folks came by to offer technical expertise, extra hands, and just the simple reassurance that no one (except me) was upset that the station wasn’t operational.

We literally rebuilt the station on the back of a U-Haul truck with a portable soldering iron and a few dozen zip ties (thanks Clark). It was more fun than I’ve had in months. Field day this year taught me that this is a community where it’s safe to fail. The station was still awesome, field day was still amazing, and there’s always next year.

I do not have the language skill to properly express my gratitude or the memory to recall everyone I should thank but I will make an attempt – my sincerest gratitude to Doug (KG6LWE) for giving me this opportunity; Elliot (AK6EU), Frank (AF0XX), and Bob (KN6YGN) for rebuilding an antenna with me the night before field day; Clark (KK6ISP) and Shri (KA6Q) for tearing apart and rebuilding that antenna again the next day; Chuck (N6VFH) and Ben (KN6UBF) for scavenging parts; Jim (K6SV) and Leo for getting me back on the road; Rob (KC6TYD) for his culinary services (and water delivery service); and every Paara member for creating a community where it’s safe to fail.

73, AI6YM

p.s. More photos from Paara’s field day at paara.org.