Field Day is upon us!

Event Details:

When

• Radio operation begins at June 27th @11am and ends on the 28th @11am.
• Setup will begin the afternoon of Friday the 26th, around 1pm.

Where

• Oregon Outdoor Education Center (formerly the 4H horse camp)
• Address: 5390 4 H Rd NW, Salem, OR 97304
• Exact map location:  45.007303N, 123.144154W (Google Maps)
• Also see the map at the end of this post about how to get there once you get close.

Food

• Dinner will be held on Saturday, and the club will provide Burgers & Brats.
  • However, please make & bring a side or a desert to share!
• We will have water and small snacks for the rest of the event.
• You will be responsible for your own food for other meals.

Overnight Camping

• You are welcome to stay both Friday night and Saturday night.
• There are basic cabins with bunk beds and basic mattresses, but you will need to bring your own bedding, tents, or other equipment.
• RVs: medium-length RVs can access the site. You will need to drive down a narrow forest road, but full-size school-buses make the drive often.

GOTA (Get On The Air)

• We will have an active GOTA station for visitors, unlicensed, newly-licensed, or inactive individuals to utilize with coaching.

Antennas and Radios

• This year, we are experimenting with something slightly different to attempt to minimize interference between stations.
• The primary point of this is to put all our antennas in a row, with nulls pointing each other, and be willing to use a bit more coax. This way we should be able to operate more stations, or with less interference between stations.
• To accomplish that, (also because the barn is closed) we are going to try having our main base of operations be on the right side of the road near the horse corral.
• HT’s are always good for communication on site, please bring yours!

Mesh

• We will be utilizing AREDN mesh gear to provide a network on site for communication and logging.

Other Notes

• Poison oak is present at the location. Be sure to wear pants if you plan to go into the trees or unmown areas.
• We are going to be outside, be prepared for bugs and insects.
• Cabins area available for use, though these are not much more then wooden boxes with cots and mattresses.
• A small kitchen, fridge and freezer are available.
• Bathrooms and showers are available.

Events

• There will be an educational activity held during the event, likely either on Knots, or on Winlink.

Looking forward to a fun year!
Joshua K1MI
SARC President

What is Winter Field Day?

• Winter Field Day’s goal is to practice our skills operating in the field in adverse/winter conditions, while trying to make as many contacts as possible.

Who is invited?

• Everyone is invited! The more the merrier!  If you’re new to HF, and want some experience in a low-stress environment, this is a perfect chance!  Also, if you’re a skilled operator, we’d love to have you join us!
• Even if you don’t have your radio license, and just want to see what it’s all about, we’re welcome to have you!

Where is it located?

• Just outside Dallas, around 20 minutes west of Salem:
  • 15698 May Rd, Dallas OR, 97338 (44.978333, -123.349388)
  • (Note that this address is at the bottom of a small hill. The event will be at the top of the hill on the left.)

When is it?

• Operation: January 24 @ 8am through January 25 @2pm
• Set up & early camping: 1pm January 23rd.

Why should I come?

• To have fun & practice our skills operating in adverse conditions!

What should I bring?

• Feel free to bring nothing but warm clothes and a desire to learn and have fun.
• Alternatively, bring your whole radio setup! We’d be glad to have you either way.

More details:

• This year, on-air operation starts at 8am on Saturday the 24th, and continues through Sunday the 25th at 2pm.
• Please feel free to arrive as early as 1pm on Friday the 23th to set up the large tent and tower!
• You are welcome to stay overnight if you wish.
• We expect to have a large tent to operate out of again this year, though it will likely not be heated well.  Please bring warm clothes.
• We welcome anyone to bring and set up their own tents, especially for anyone wishing to stay the night on the 24th.
• There will be a Honey Bucket toilet on-site.
• Food will not be provided, so bring something for yourself to eat! We are expecting to have a hot wood stove, so if you want to bring a frying pan and make some eggs or bacon, please do!
• There is NO 120v “shore power”, so bring batteries for your equipment!

Amenities:

• There will be a Porta Potty on-site, as well as some shared battery capacity.
• We expect to have our large beam antenna again, along with a tri-plexer for it!
• However, there is no provided food, no water, and no electricity.

Questions?

• Please feel free to ask any questions, or anything else on our groups.io post:
• https://w7saa.groups.io/g/General/topic/event_winter_field_day_2025/117035053