Field Day: Amateur Radio Exercise
As a new ham (licensed since February), I had my first chance to participate in a long-standing anual weekend-long summer event—The ARRL’s Field Day—a contest designed to get hams all over the USA to practice their emergency communications skills, by awarding radio clubs points for operating without power from the electrical grid, making contacts on different frequencies, and demonstrating these skills to the public.
At the local club (PAARA) site in Palo Alto, I made my first DX contact—to an operator in Brazil—and also helped raise a 40m antenna. It was an interesting experience, and I hope to contribute more next year.
