The Federal Way Amateur Radio Club's Field Day activities will be posted year by year.


2026 Field Day was held on June 27, 2026


Field Day Team hours: 0830 to 2030
Operational Hours: 1100 to 1830
Barbecue and Fellowship:   1830 - 2030

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Updated 7/10/2026

Read the full FD 2026 After Action Report

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For Members Only, when signed onto the website, you will be able to access the email history file for field day.

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Completed ARRL Field Day 2026

The 2026 Amateur Radio Field Day was a successful event focused on fostering a strong learning environment and mentoring new operators in high-frequency (HF) operations. Primary objectives included demonstrating diverse communication modes such as Voice, FT8, CW, and Winlink, as well as providing hands-on experience through a Get On The Air (GOTA) station for unlicensed guests. Despite challenging propagation conditions, the event effectively met its goals of operational readiness and member engagement.

Key operational highlights included the recording of 58 total contacts across voice, digital, and CW modes. Successes were noted where first-time Station Chiefs Mike and Daniel Avins demonstrated professional leadership in setting up and running their station. Furthermore, the implementation of a dedicated training tent with a projector facilitated effective FT8 demonstrations, and the successful execution of our foul-weather plan provided essential protection for both personnel and equipment, establishing a new standard for future operations. The club earned a total of 1,370 bonus points, contributing to a preliminary total score of 1,532.

Several logistical and technical challenges were identified, most notably the impact of poor propagation which largely restricted activity to the 20m band. There was some interference between stations because we tried operating digital and voice on the same band. The generator ran out of fuel because it was not actively monitored, and the club missed out on 100 bonus points because the W1AW CW bulletin was not copied due to a lack of available radios. Additionally, there was some confusion on coax choices, resulting in antennas not being set exactly as prescribed.

Moving forward, the club needs plans to prioritize year-round training and small-scale field operations, such as Parks on the Air (POTA), to maintain operator proficiency. Technical improvements will include standardizing HF GoKits and ensuring that each HF Station has at least 100 feet of coax, and implementing more rigorous generator fuel monitoring. Future efforts will also focus on enhanced community outreach to youth groups and site safety improvements, such as marking cables with colored flags and addressing environmental hazards at the site.

For the full After Action Report, here    FD 2026 After Action Report

For more information about ARRL Field Day, visit www.arrl.org/field-day.

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