Every year, the ARRL sponsors Field Day, a 24-hour contest to accumulate as many points as possible. Points are awarded based on the number of contacts a station has with other stations throughout the country, along with bonuses for overcoming various challenges, such as operating on low power or with emergency power. The competition tests the ability of a group to organize an efficient communications operation. This event takes place on the fourth weekend in June.

This year’s event was on the 25th and 26th. Our local club had a gathering at a local business, and I spent a few minutes there. After dinner, I made my way up to Huron County’s event, as I had been invited by some folks I had worked with from Skywarn. The folks up there were very gracious to an interloper in their midst. Over the course of the night, I worked at two projects. I attempted my first few contacts on HF bands, 7MHz, to be specific. The experience was a rewarding challenge, attempting to call to distant stations through a crowd of other stations trying to reach one another. My other project was to attempt a contact with the Internation Space Station. The two astronauts were scheduled to be working their radios as much as possible during the Field Day events. While I was unsuccessful at making a contact with the ISS, I spent some time with some good people and had fun. I also received some information that would allow me to keep monitoring for the station and perhaps get another opportunity in the future.

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