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1. Eligibility: Field Day is
open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL / RAC Field
Organizations. DX stations may be contacted for credit, but are not
eligible to compete.
2. Object: To work as many stations as possible on any and all
amateur bands (excluding the 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and in doing so
to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal
conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the
challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general
public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
3. Date and Time Period: Field Day is always the fourth full
weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and ending at 2100 UTC
Sunday. Field Day 2000 will be held June 24-25, 2000.
3.1. Class A and B (see below) stations who do not begin setting up
until 1800 UTC on Saturday may operate the entire Field Day period.
3.2. Stations who begin setting up before 1800 UTC Saturday may
work only 24 consecutive hours, commencing when on-the-air operations
begin.
3.3. No Class A or B station may begin their set-up earlier than
1800 UTC on the Friday preceding the contest period.
4. Entry Categories: Field Day entries are classified according
to the maximum number of simultaneously transmitted signals, followed by
a designator of the nature of their individual or group participation.
Below 30 MHz, once a transmitter is used for a contact on a band, it
must remain on that band for at least 15 minutes. During the period, the
transmitter is considered to be transmitting, whether it is or not, for
the purpose of determining transmitter classification. Switching devices
are prohibited.
4.1. (Class A) Club / non-club portable: Club groups (or a non-club
group with three or more licensed amateurs) set up specifically for
Field Day. Such stations must be located in places that are not
regular station locations and must not use facilities installed for
permanent station use, nor any structure installed permanently for
Field Day use. Stations must operate under one callsign (except if a
dedicated Novice / Technician Plus+ station is allowed, it must be
operated under a callsign as provided later in these rules), and under
the control of a single licensee or trustee for the entry. All
equipment (including antennas) must lie within a circle whose diameter
does not exceed 300 meters (1000 feet). All contacts must be made with
transmitter(s) and receiver(s) operating independent of commercial
power mains. Entrants whom for any reason operate a transmitter or
receiver from a commercial main for one or more contacts will be
listed separately.
4.1.1. Any Class A group whose entry classification is two or
more transmitters may also operate one dedicated Novice /
Technician Plus operating position without changing its basic
entry category. This station must be operated under a callsign
issued to a Novice / Technician Plus operator and may only make
contacts within the Novice / Technician Plus H.F. sub-bands. It
must abide by Novice / Technician Plus power and mode
restrictions. This station may only be operated by Novice /
Technician Plus licensees. For Field Day purposes only, any
Canadian Amateur HF licensee who has been licensed for six months
or less prior to Field Day, shall be considered a "Novice"
to provide a means for Canadian Field Day Class A stations to
employ this rule. This station does not qualify for a 100-point
bonus as an additional transmitter.
4.1.2. Any Class A group whose entry category is two or more
transmitters may also operate one additional transmitter if it
operates exclusively on any bands or combination of bands above 50
MHz (VHF/UHF) without changing its basic entry classification.
This station does not qualify for a 100-point bonus as an
additional transmitter. This station may be operated for the
entire Field Day period for the club and all contacts count for
QSO credit.
4.2. (Class A -- Battery) Club / non-club portable: Club groups (or
non-club groups with three or more licensed amateurs) set up
specifically for Field Day, all contacts must be made using an
output power of 5 Watts or less and the power source must be
something other than commercial power mains or motor-driven
generator (e.g.: batteries, solar cells, water-driven generator).
Other provisions are the same for regular Class A.
4.3. (Class B) One or two person portable: Non-club stations set
up and operated for Field Day purposes by no more than two licensed
amateurs. Other provisions are the same for Class A. One and two
person Class B entries will be listed separately.
4.4. (Class B -- Battery) One or two person portable: Non-club
stations set up and operated by no more than two licensed amateurs.
All contacts must be made using an output power of 5 Watts or less
and the power source must be something other than commercial mains
or motor-driven generator. Other provisions are the same as Class A.
One and two person Class B -- Battery entries will be listed
separately.
4.5. (Class C) Mobile: Stations in vehicles capable of operating
while in motion and normally operated in this manner. This includes
maritime and aeronautical mobile.
4.6. (Class D) Home stations: Stations operating from permanent
or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D
stations may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C and E Field
Day stations.
4.7. (Class E) Home stations -- Emergency power: Same as for
class D, but using emergency power for transmitters and receivers.
May work stations in Class A, B, C, D, and E.
5. Exchange: Stations in ARRL / RAC sections will exchange their
Field Day operating Class and ARRL / RAC section. Example: a three
transmitter class A station in Connecticut which also has a Novice/Tech
station and one VHF station would send "3A CT" on CW or
"3 Alpha Connecticut" on phone. Foreign stations send RS(T)
and QTH.
6. Miscellaneous Rules
6.1. A person who participates by making a QSO from a Field Day
operation using one call sign may not subsequently work that station
for QSO credit using a different callsign.
6.2. A station used to contact one or more Field Day stations may
not subsequently be used under any other callsign to participate in
Field Day. Family stations are exempt provided the subsequent callsign
used is issued to and used by a different family member.
6.3. Each Phone, CW and Digital (non-CW) segment is considered a
separate band. A station may only be worked once per band.
6.4. All voice contacts are equivalent.
6.5. Cross-band contacts are not permitted.
6.6. The use of more than one transmitter at the same time on a
single band is prohibited. Exception: a dedicated Novice/Technician
Plus station may operate in any Novice / Technician Plus sub-band.
6.7. No repeater contacts are allowed.
6.8. Batteries may be charged while in use. Except for Class D
batteries must be charged from a power source other than commercial
power mains.
7. Scoring: Scores are based on the total number of QSO points
times the power multiplier corresponding to the highest power level
under which any contact was made during the Field Day period plus the
bonus points.
7.1. QSO Points
7.1.1. Phone contacts count one point each.
7.1.2. CW contacts count two points each.
7.1.3. Digital contacts count two points each.
7.2. Power multipliers: The power multiplier that applies is
determined by the highest power output of any of the transmitters
used during the Field Day operation.
7.2.1. If all contacts are made using a power of 5 Watts or
less and if a power source other than commercial mains or motor-driven
generator is used (batteries, solar cells, water-driven generator)
the power multiplier is 5.
7.2.2. If all contacts are made using a power of 5 Watts or
less, but the power source is from a commercial main or from a
motor-driven generator, the power multiplier is 2.
7.2.3. If any or all contacts are made using an output power up
to 150 Watts or less, the power multiplier is 2.
7.2.4. If any or all contacts are made using an output power
greater than 150 Watts, the power multiplier is one.
7.2.5. Only one power multiplier may be applied to the score of
any entry.
7.3. Bonus Points: The following bonus points will be added to
the score, after the multiplier is applied, to determine the final
Field Day score. Only Class A and B stations are eligible for bonus
points. Bonus points will only be applied if the claim is made on
the summary sheet and any proof required is enclosed with the entry.
7.3.1. 100% Emergency Power: 100 points per transmitter
classification if all contacts are made only using an emergency
power source. Free transmitters that do not count towards the
group's total do not qualify for bonus point credit. All
transmitting equipment at the site must operate from a power
source completely independent of the commercial power mains to
qualify. (Example: a club operating 3 transmitters plus a Novice
station and using 100% emergency power receives 300 bonus points.)
7.3.2. Media Publicity: 100 bonus points may be earned for
attempting to obtain publicity from the local media. A copy of the
press release, or a copy of the actual media publicity received (newspaper
article, etc) must be submitted to claim the points.
7.3.3. 100 bonus points for physically locating the Field Day
operation in a public place (shopping center, community park,
school campus). The intent is for amateur radio to be on display
to the public.
7.3.4. 100 bonus points for a Public Information Table at the
Field Day site. The purpose is to make appropriate handouts and
information available to the visiting public at the site.
Submission of a visitor's log, copies of club handouts or photos
are sufficient evidence for claiming this bonus.
7.3.5. Message Origination: 100 bonus points for origination of
a National Traffic System (NTS) style formal message to the ARRL
Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator by your group
from its site. You should include the club name, number of
participants, Field Day location, and number of ARES operators
involved with your station. The message must be transmitted during
the Field Day period and a fully serviced copy of it must be
included in your submission, in standard ARRL NTS format, or no
credit will be given.
7.3.6. Message Relay: 10 points for each formal NTS style
received and relayed during the Field Day period, up to a maximum
of 100 points total. Properly serviced copies of each message must
be included with the Field Day report.
7.3.7. Satellite QSO: 100 bonus points for successfully
completing at least one QSO via an amateur radio satellite during
the Field Day period. Under the "General Rules for All ARRL
Contests" (rule 3.7.2.), the no-repeater QSO stipulation is
waived for satellite QSOs. Groups are allowed one dedicated
satellite transmitter station without increasing their entry
category. Satellite QSOs also count for regular QSO credit. Show
them listed separately on the summary sheet as a separate "band."
7.3.8. 100 bonus points for Field Day groups making a minimum
of five QSOs without using power from commercial mains or a
petroleum driven generator. This means an "alternate"
energy source of power, such as solar, wind, methane or water.
This includes batteries charged by natural means (not dry cells).
The natural power transmitter counts as an additional transmitter.
If you do not wish to it to increase your operating category, you
should take one of your other transmitters off the air while the
natural power transmitter is in operation. A separate list of
natural power QSOs should be submitted with your entry.
7.3.9. 100 bonus points for copying the special Field Day
bulletin transmitted by W1AW during its operating schedule during
the Field Day weekend ( listed
in this rules announcement).
An accurate copy of the message is required to be included in your
Field Day submission. (Note: The Field Day bulletin must be copied
via amateur radio. It will not be included in Internet bulletins
sent out from Headquarters and will not be posted to Internet BBS
sites.)
7.3.10. 100 bonus points for setting up a demonstration of a
non-traditional mode of amateur radio communications. This
includes modes such as APRS, ATV, and SSTV. This bonus is not
available for demonstration of a mode for which regular QSO credit
is available (such as packet, PSK31, or other digital modes.)
8. Reporting:
8.1. Entries must be postmarked or emailed by July 24, 2000. No
late entries can be accepted. A complete entry consists of:
8.1.1. An official ARRL summary sheet (or reasonable facsimile)
which is completely and accurately filled out;
8.1.2. A list of stations worked by band/mode during the Field
Day period (dupe sheet or an alpha/numeric list sorted by band and
mode);
8.1.3. Proofs of bonus points claimed.
8.2. Complete station logs are not required for submission.
However, log files should be maintained by the club in case they are
requested by ARRL HQ.
8.3. Electronic submissions should be emailed to: [email protected]
and should include, as attachments to the email, the required
summary sheet and dupe files as well as document files and/or jpg/gif
files of any bonus points claimed.
8.4. Paper submissions should be mailed to: Field Day Entry, ARRL,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111
9. Miscellaneous
9.1. The list
of bulletin times for W1AW is
included in this announcement. While W1AW does not have regular
bulletins on weekends, the Field Day message will be sent according to
the schedule included with this announcement.
9.2. See "General Rules for All ARRL Contests,"
"General Rules for All ARRL Contests on Bands Below 30 MHz,"
and "General Rules for All ARRL Contests on Bands Above 50 MHz"
(November 1999 issue of QST) for additional rules.
9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of
146.52 MHz may not be used for making Field Day contacts.
9.4. The complete Field Day information package may be obtained by:
9.4.1. Sending a SASE with 4 units of postage to: Field Day
Information Package, ARRL, 255 Main St, Newington, CT 06111;
9.4.2. By downloading from the Contest Branch home page at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms
9.5. For additional Field Day information or questions contact: [email protected]
or phone (860) 594-0232.
W1AW FIELD DAY BULLETIN SCHEDULE |