Field Day

Field Day is amateur radio's biggest on-air weekend in North America: clubs, families and individuals set up temporary stations — in parks, fairgrounds, backyards and emergency operations centers — and contact as many other Field Day stations as they can. It is part emergency-preparedness exercise, part public demonstration, part contest, and very much a picnic. It is also the easiest weekend of the year to try radio before you are licensed.

Independent guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ARRL, which sponsors Field Day and publishes the rules. Rules are revised from time to time; the official rules and the Field Day site win over anything here.

Field Day v1.0 · written 2026-10-08 · checked against the ARRL Field Day rules (revised 4/2026, "no changes in the past year") as of Oct 2026

When — the rule, not just this year's date

Rule	Detail
Weekend	Always the fourth full weekend of June (a weekend where both Saturday and Sunday fall in June).
Operating window	Starts 1800 UTC Saturday, ends 2059 UTC Sunday — a 27-hour window.
27 or 24 hours	Class A and B stations that do not start setting up until 1800 UTC Saturday may operate the whole 27 hours. Anyone who starts setup earlier may operate only 24 consecutive hours, counted from their first contact.
Earliest setup	Class A and B may not begin setup before 0000 UTC Friday (Thursday afternoon/evening in US time zones); total setup time may not exceed 24 hours.

1800 UTC is 2:00 PM EDT, 1:00 PM CDT, 11:00 AM PDT. Convert with the UTC Field Clock.

Dated example (as of Oct 2026): Field Day 2026 was June 27–28, 2026. By the same rule, 2027 falls on June 26–27 — confirm when ARRL publishes the 2027 rules.

Who can take part

Any amateur in the ARRL/RAC field organization areas and IARU Region 2 may enter; stations elsewhere can be worked and may send check-logs.
Unlicensed visitors can operate at a Field Day station under a licensed control operator — that is what the GOTA station (below) is for. Third-party rules apply (§97.115).
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 m, and all bands from 50 MHz up. The WARC bands (60, 30, 17, 12 m) are not Field Day bands. No repeater contacts.
Modes: phone, CW and digital. You may work each station once per band per mode.

Entry classes

Your entry is the number of transmitters that can be on the air at the same time plus a class letter: "1A", "3A", "1D", "2F". The GOTA, free VHF and satellite stations described below do not add to the count.

Class	Who	Key points
A	Club or group of 3+ people set up specifically for Field Day	Not at a regular station location; all equipment within a 300 m (1,000 ft) circle; independent of commercial power (otherwise listed as A-Commercial). Eligible for a GOTA station and a free VHF station.
A-Battery	As A, but 5 W or less from batteries, solar or another non-mains, non-motor source	Listed separately. A GOTA station with an A-Battery entry must also stay at 5 W.
B	One or two people, portable	As A, but no GOTA or free VHF station. 1- and 2-person entries are listed separately.
B-Battery	As B at 5 W or less, non-mains power	Listed separately.
C	Mobile — vehicles normally operated in motion (also maritime and aeronautical mobile)	Car battery/alternator counts as emergency power but not for the ×5 multiplier.
D	Home station on commercial power	Can work all Field Day stations.
E	Home station on emergency power	As D, on battery/generator/solar.
F	Station at an established Emergency Operations Center	Planned with the EOC's staff; eligible for GOTA and free VHF stations.

Power limits: classes A, B and C may not exceed 500 W PEP; classes D, E and F may not exceed 100 W PEP. Within those limits your license privileges still apply.

Scoring at a glance

QSO points: phone 1 point, CW 2, digital 2.
Power multiplier (set by the highest power used for any contact): ×5 for 5 W or less on non-mains, non-generator power (batteries, solar); ×2 for 100 W or less (or 5 W on mains/generator); ×1 above 100 W.
Bonus points are added after the multiplier: emergency power, public location, public information table, messages to the Section Manager, message handling, a satellite contact, alternate power, copying the W1AW Field Day bulletin, educational activity, visits by officials or served agencies, youth participation, social media, safety officer, web submission and more. Each has its own class eligibility and proof requirement — read the rules before claiming.

The GOTA station — Field Day's on-ramp

A Get On The Air (GOTA) station is an extra station that a Class A or F entry may run without changing its class. It exists to give new, inactive and unlicensed people real on-air time.

GOTA rule	What it means
Who operates	Anyone licensed since the previous year's Field Day (any class), a generally inactive licensee, or an unlicensed person under the direct supervision of a control operator. List operators and participants on the summary sheet.
Control operator	Must be present at the control point whenever an operator is using privileges beyond their own license.
Unlicensed operators' contacts	Only with US/Canadian stations or countries with a US third-party agreement (list).
Call sign	A different call sign from the main station, the same one all weekend; it sends the same exchange as its parent.
Power	100 W maximum — 5 W if the group claims the ×5 multiplier (and with an A-Battery entry).
Signals	Any Field Day band, one transmitted signal at a time.
Bonus	5 bonus points per completed GOTA contact (not multiplied). A designated GOTA Coach who supervises at least 10 contacts — coaching, not operating or logging — earns a single 100-point bonus.

Running one: pick a quiet band or mode, put the friendliest operator in the coach's chair, post a big card with the exchange and the phonetic alphabet, and let each visitor make a complete contact and see it in the log. Licensing questions afterward? Send them to Ticket to Talk and What a license costs.

Free VHF station (Class A and F): one more transmitter on 50 MHz and up only, under the main call sign and exchange, separate from the GOTA station.

Finding a Field Day site to join

ARRL Field Day Station Locator — clubs register their sites; visitors are usually welcome.
Your local club (Clubs and Elmers) or local repeater net will announce plans weeks ahead.
Show up, say you are new, and ask for the GOTA station or the logger's chair. Logging for an experienced operator is the fastest way to learn contest flow.

Choosing a site for your own group

Public location earns a bonus and draws visitors: parks, schools, fairgrounds. Get written permission from the property owner or park office; ask about generators, stakes, tree use and overnight rules.
Class A requires everything within a 300 m circle and no permanent station facilities or structures permanently installed for Field Day.
Safety: an assigned safety officer, guy lines and coax flagged, generators grounded and away from tents, fuel stored safely, a lightning plan. ARRL's packet includes a safety checklist (a bonus for Class A).
Parks: combining Field Day with a parks program means following both sets of rules — see Programs.

Operating from home (1D / 1E) or solo portable (1B)

You do not need a club to take part:

1D — your home station on commercial power, up to 100 W. Easy, and you can work every Field Day station.
1E — the same station on battery, solar or generator power; eligible for the emergency-power bonus.
1B — one or two people portable (backyard, park, campsite), up to 500 W; B-Battery at 5 W or less on battery/solar earns the ×5 multiplier.
Or simply hunt for an hour: Field Day stations want your contact, and the exchange is short.

The exchange

Send your class and your ARRL/RAC section (DX stations send "DX"):

Phone: "Three Alpha Connecticut" · CW/digital: 3A CT
A home station in eastern Pennsylvania: "One Delta EPA" / 1D EPA

Section abbreviations are on ARRL's section list in the Field Day packet. Log exactly what you copied.

Logging

Use a logger with a Field Day module (N1MM Logger+ and N3FJP's Field Day log are common choices) so duplicates are flagged — see Logging.
Log times in UTC. Keep the band and mode correct for each contact.
Keep your full logs for a year in case ARRL asks for them.

Submitting your entry

Item	Detail
How	The Field Day web app is preferred (it also earns a 50-point bonus). Email or postal entries are accepted under the rules.
Deadline	Set each year in the rules — about a month after the event. Dated example: the 2026 deadline was Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Late entries are not accepted.
What to send	The summary sheet, a list of stations worked by band and mode (a dupe sheet), and proof of bonus points.
Cabrillo?	Not required. A Cabrillo log is accepted in place of the dupe sheet, but it is not an entry by itself — you still need the summary (web app or sheet). Full logs are not required.
Confirmation	Save the confirmation number/email the web app gives you.

For general contest logging and Cabrillo headers, see Contesting.

Checklist — Field Day weekend

Class decided (A/B/D/E/F…), transmitter count, section abbreviation
Site permission in writing; setup start no earlier than 0000Z Friday — or wait until 1800Z Saturday to keep all 27 hours
GOTA call sign, coach and exchange card (Class A/F)
Logger set up with Field Day module, clocks on UTC
Safety officer, flagged lines, fuel and lightning plan
Bonus proof collected as you go (photos, visitor log, messages, W1AW bulletin copy)
Entry submitted before the deadline; confirmation saved

Contesting · Clubs and Elmers · Emergency communications
Parents & youth (youth bonus, supervised operating) · Glossary

Sources (checked Oct 2026)

ARRL: Field Day, Field Day rules (2026 rules, revised 4/2026), Field Day web app, Station Locator, third-party agreements.
47 CFR §97.115.

v1.0, 2026-10-08.

Notes & edits

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