SWDCARC participates in the annual ARRL Field Day, held the fourth full weekend in June each year.
Field Day 2020 is in the books. We operated as 3A this year, with the addition of a dedicated digital station. We ended up with 150 CW contacts, 76 SSB, and 305 digital. Twenty contacts were also made with the 6-meter station. No GOTA station was operated this year since we figured not many, if any, of the general public would wander in and potentially operate the station. Turns out we were correct. We hope the numbers will be revised upward due to the ARRL allowing home stations (D) to operate for points for the Club as long as the Club is listed on their submission forms. This is allowed this year only, and you must list the Club as SOUTHWEST DALLAS COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (yes, in all caps) on your submission form for the Club to receive proper credit. In fact, non-Members can list the Club! Attendance and participation was down this year, and it is no surprise; COVID-19 has wreaked havoc and a lot of Members just simply didn’t want to take the risk and gather with others, even for a fun event like Field Day. For those that did make it, especially those that helped with getting antennas and radios set up: thank you. We had a great time. We also had a gentleman sit for and pass both the Technician and the General license examinations. It is always exciting to be involved in adding to the fold! Field Day 2021 will be June 26-27, so mark your calendars and make it a priority to support SWDCARC by attending and participating.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) promotes and governs many Amateur Radio events. To learn about these contests go to http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar. The calendar will note the date and name of the ARRL-sanctioned event. You can then click on the contest that interests you to learn more information about the event, as well as the rules requirements for that particular contest. Happy contesting!