MVARA participated in the 2025 ARRL Field Day, on June 28-29, 2025. This was our second time operating outside Prairie View Elementary School, located at 1201 Newport Lane in Holmen, WI (just north of Holmen). See the bottom of this page for photos of our setup.
MVARA entered Field Day in the 2A category using the callsign W9MVA, with two full-time HF stations, plus a ‘free’ VHF station on 6 meters, and a “Get On The Air” (GOTA) station using the callsign of W9FCC. We utilized two HF stations, plus a station for 6 meters, operating from the club’s full-size emergency communications bus. In addition, a GOTA station was setup under a portable canopy outside, using the callsign W9FCC, which added 53 QSOs to our total (about twice as many as we had last year). We had 3 youth operators participate this year, hopefully sparking additional interest in ham radio.
The weather cooperated all weekend, with the first drops of rain appearing just as we were leaving the site on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Propagation Gods did not cooperate as well, with generally very poor conditions for most of Saturday. Saturday night, the noise on 80m was exceptionally bad, limiting us to only 1 SSB QSO and a few dozen on CW. However, the value of FT8 shone through, and despite the noise, we were able to add 77 digital contacts on 80m. Conditions on Sunday were greatly improved, although 10 and 15 meters were never really great. Our 6 meter effort suffered due to noise to our South, that was later identified to be a spur from a commercial FM station 10 miles away (and has since been resolved). Otherwise, it was a fantastic effort, with all of our antennas and equipment, including a new 4×8 antenna switch, working as it should. Field Day is such a great opportunity to confirm that we are ready to provide emergency communications, whenever we are needed. And we are definitely ready!
Our final result was 2,464 QSOs and 9,477 points. While this was only a few QSOs more than last year, we had more CW and Digital QSOs, giving us more total points. Last year’s result was 2,449 QSOs and 8,447 points. Here is our score breakdown for 2025:
Band CW SSB Digi
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80: 33 1 77
40: 400 360 94
20: 436 558 147
15: 121 43 38
10: 10 11 5
6: 0 1 76
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Total: 1000 974 437
Total Score = 9,477
Big thanks to the following MVARA members that took time out of their busy summer schedules to help with this year’s Field Day effort, including work on the bus earlier in the month, setup on Friday and Saturday, operating during Field Day, assisting with the GOTA station, helping with food and beverages, and our amazing 90 minute take down on Sunday! Many hands truly make light work!
- Greg KD9TMZ (2025 FD Chairperson)
- Wayne KØWLO
- Scott KA9FOX
- Chris KC9DGP
- Jonathan KD9YQD
- Mike KE0HKA
- Will KF7SIZ
- Craig N9ETD
- Jason N9MOE
- Dan W9FCC
- Rob W9LUP
- Tom WA9TS
- Vic WT9Q
- Josh E. (non-ham friend of Greg)
Suggested improvements for future Field Day events:
- In addition to our normal Guest Sign-in sheet, we should also have a Sign-in sheet for members.
- Improve our ability for satellite contacts, as we were unable to successfully make a satellite QSO this year (for bonus points)
- Build up the trailer for better storage and possibly host the GOTA station and information table, in case of inclement weather.
- Place dual bander permanently on bus tower
- Install pneumatic tower
- Have a ‘Grill Master’ to up our food game.
Below, you will find photos of our 2025 ARRL Field Day event by Dan W9FCC.
Want to know more about Field Day? Field Day is ham radio’s “open house”. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. For more info, see the ARRL’s website at https://www.arrl.org/field-day
