Since I began my ham radio journey in 1997, I’ve always looked forward to one event more than any other: ARRL Field Day.

No doubt, this is due to the fact that one of my earliest experiences after being licensed was participating in Field Day with my (then) local club ACARA in Athens, Ohio. We were operating 1A battery which meant “One transmitter, club or non-club group, power output of five watts maximum.”

In short? It was a blast and a proper introduction to the power of QRP.

In fact, Eric (WD8RIF) has such a deep archive of field events on his site, you can read the original field report here.

I was already looking forward to the next field day as we were packing up our site that year. It was insane fun.

2022 Field Day

Gaétan Trépanier (VE2GHO) making final adjustments to the club’s HF Yagi during Field Day 2017

I had hoped to spend Field Day 2022 with the amazing crew at C.R.A.Q (Club Radio Amateur de Québec), but it just didn’t work out due to our family schedule which included some beautiful hikes. I’ve spent Field Day with C.R.A.Q. twice before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did, however, make a couple dozen random Field Day contacts in CW on 20 meters from our condo.

I’m grateful to Vince (VE6LK) who held a Field Day Zoom conference call all weekend hosted by his local club, the Foothills Amateur Radio Society. It was a drop-in, drop-out 24 hour session and was a brilliant substitute for all of the amazing side conversations one would typically have during an in-person club Field Day event. It was great meeting members of FARS, friends like George (KJ6VU), and so many others who popped by for a visit.

Field Day Everyday!

I’ll admit that I get a bit of that Field Day feeling each time I do a park or summit activation.

There’s none of the in-person camaraderie because my activations are typically solo, but on the air I’m connecting with my POTA family and friends. It often feels like a little on-air reunion where we all check in.

Of course, it certainly scratches that Field Day itch of setting up my radio gear in the great outdoors, operating from battery power, experimenting with antennas, and sometimes even managing small pile-ups.

I live for that stuff!

How about your Field Day?

Tell us about your 2022 Field Day experience in the comments section!

Did you play Field Day with a club or at home? Did you hop on the air? What were conditions like? What gear did you use and did you experiment with any new antenna designs?

Inquiring minds want to know. Please comment!

PowerShade_2Kilowatt — The 2 kW "Power Shade" is the right size to cover a full-size military tent.

Power Film Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of thin, flexible solar modules. The company designs, manufactures and retails their products in Ames, Iowa–a quality made-in-USA product.

Last year, at the Dayton Hamvention, PFI’s booth was very popular. Why? Their sale of small, rollable and foldable solar panels, absolutely perfect for field use, drew crowds of hams, DXers, campers, and/or frequent travelers. Needless to say, sales were brisk.

While browsing their website recently (just for fun), I came across their PowerShade™ Solar Field Shelters. They’re available in 1 kilowatt and 2 kilowatt versions at 15.4 V or 30.8 V. Wow…

This paneled tent is primarily focused at the military market. Perhaps exclusively. And I readily admit, it would be overkill for QRPers, even for a multi-op QRP Field Day. After all, aren’t we about “less is more”–?

But is it wrong for me to fantasize about this wonderful 2 kW creation? A tent-topper that sucks in Sol’s readily-available energy and, with the assistance of a battery bank, produces enough juice to fuel several QRP rigs?

I dunno. I’m too busy fantasizing to care…!