By Rol Anders, K3RA FIELD DAY - S.A.R.A Home Pagesaraclub.net/Images/History of Field Day.pdf28 December 1999 FIELD DAY careful when you start to search QST archives for the answer

28 December 1999

FIELD DAY

careful when you start tosearch QST archives for theanswer to a simple question—it can become an obsession!

That’s the lesson I learned when, followingmy participation in Field Day this year withthe Potomac Valley Radio Club (W3AO—7A MDC), I was asked whether I thought wehad set a new Field Day record. Because Ivolunteer at the Historical Electronics Mu-seum in Linthicum, Maryland, whichhappens to have a nearly complete set ofQSTs in its library, I figured I wouldspend a lunch hour at the museum anddig up the 7A and overall Field Dayrecords. In pursuing this goal I quicklylearned that: (1) this is not a simplequestion; (2) the history of Field Dayreflects the history of communicationstechnology in general and ham radio inparticular; and (3) old QSTs are fasci-nating!

Here is a chronology of Field Daystarting from the first outing in 1933. Inthe process of piecing this together, Ilearned (or relearned) much about whathas happened to ham radio in the past 66years.

1933: Field Day #1QSO Leader Uses 1x4 Call Sign toSave Time

Great ideas often have humble be-ginnings, and Field Day is no exception.A one-column announcement in theJune 1933 QST states that, for 27 hoursstarting the second Saturday in June at 4PM local time (no daylight savingsyet!), there would be an opportunity for“portables” to go into the field to con-tact as many stations as possible. Says

By Rol Anders, K3RA

Steeped in tradition and mystery, today’s Field Day evolved fromhumble beginnings in the Golden Age of Radio. Anything but stable,

Field Day rules and practices have changed radically since the 1930s.

FIELD DAYA Mirror of Amateur Radio History

BeF. E. Handy, W1BDI, in the announcement,“The real object of this contest is to test ‘por-tables’ wherever they may be available.… Ifsuccessful, we want to make it an annualaffair.” To score the event, each QSO withfixed stations will count 1 point, contactswith other portables count 2 points, and DXcontacts count 3 points. Multiply QSOpoints by the total number of ARRL sec-tions, plus countries worked. No mention is

made of a required exchange, which clearlymust include an ARRL section!

The September 1933 QST announces thatthe winner of the First Annual Field Day is anon-club group signing W4PAW. Clubmembers made 62 QSOs and had a multi-plier of 28 sections/countries for a grandtotal of 1876 points. The Central IllinoisRadio Club, W9ZZAL, tops the QSO totalswith 98! What’s the “ZZ” all about? Until

1933 it had been necessary to get a spe-cial license to operate portable, and theselicenses all had suffixes starting with ZZ.In 1933 the FCC allowed portable opera-tion under a home call sign. Why did theCIRC use their old call sign? Well, oper-ating portable under the new rule calledfor an even longer station ID—your callsign followed by the break sign (doubledash) three times, followed by the callarea (1 through 9)!

1934: 60 W is QRO!It looks like Handy’s wish is coming

true—there will be a Field Day number2! The Field Day period remains thesame, although the chosen weekend inJune will range from the first to the thirdfor a long time to come, eventually set-tling on the fourth full weekend of themonth.

The characteristics of today’s com-petition are beginning to be established.Emphasis is shifted to the total numberof stations contacted—the multiplier forsections and countries has been removed.At this point, multi-band contacts are notpermitted. DX contacts, while still al-lowed, receive no special point advan-tage. The scoring system begins to re-semble Field Day as we now know it,

By the ’50s Field Day had grown into amajor event worthy of its own QST cover.

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The first Field Day was announced in theJune 1933 QST by F. Edward Handy, W1BDI.

High claimed scores from the first post-World War II Field Day.

with 3-, 2-, or 1-point multipliers per QSOdepending on power output. The technologyof the ’30s is highlighted by the fact that thebreakpoints are set at 20 W and 60 W! Astechnology changes these breakpoints aremodified many times throughout the yearsto come.

The desire to encourage operation inde-pendent of public mains is also expressed bya 2X multiplier if either the receiver or trans-mitter is independent of public mains (3X ifboth are independent). The 3X multiplier isdestined to last 37 years until it’s removed in1971! No special exchange is needed. Theops must simply indicate whether their sta-

tions are portable. At this early time in FieldDay history, only portables are listed in thescores.

1936: The Year with Two Field Days!The June 1936 Field Day is so popular a

second one is held on August 22-23 with iden-tical rules. Participation in both Field Days isabout the same, as winning contact totals inJune and August are 143 and 136, respec-tively.

1937: The “Field Day Message”is Born

The special Field Day of August 1936 ap-parently becomes Field Day number 4, as theFifth Annual Field Day is announced forJune 19-20. In a battle that continues to thepresent between creative rules interpretationand the “spirit of the law,” the League out-laws “manufactured contacts with stationsof the same field group.” The Field Daymessage bonus, another venerable Field Daytradition, is born as 10 points (before multi-plier) are awarded for a single properlyformed and serviced message to LeagueHeadquarters stating the number of ops, lo-cation, “conditions,” and power. Multipliersand QSO points are unchanged. For the firsttime, the winning QSO total exceeds 200(204), with a breathtaking average rate of7.5 QSOs per hour.

1938: I’m Not Ready to QRT!The contest period is extended to 26

hours—from 4 PM Saturday to 6 PM Sunday.

1939: Everyone Form a CircleFor the first time, the area within which

all equipment must be located is defined asa restrictive 100-foot radius. Do they meanthis to include your 160-meter dipole?

1940: Modern Field DayRules Emerge

Significant changes are afoot. For thefirst time, a station can be contacted on mul-tiple bands. Results are grouped by the num-ber of simultaneous transmitters used. The100-foot circle expands to 500 feet, givingthose multi-transmitter teams a little breath-ing room. Home stations are encouraged towork Field Day stations, and their scores willbe listed, but no multipliers are allowed (arule that never changed). The Field Day mes-sage to ARRL HQ now earns 25 points,points are given for Field Day handling ofother teams’ messages, and both home andportable stations get one point for each mes-sage copied and one point for a messagepassed on. From 1933 to 1980 messagepoints will be changed no less than 12 times!

1941: Field Starts SimultaneouslyAcross the Country (by Accident?)

The Field Day period now starts at 4 PMEST across the country. Strangely, thischange may have come about by accident. Tosmooth the FCC approval every portable sta-tion needs for Field Day operation, the League

informs the FCC of the Field Day period. Inaptly numbered announcement 73-D, the FCCrefers to a single operating period for all sta-tions. My guess is that the League’s commu-nication to the FCC lists the period from 4 PMEST June 7, to 6 PM EST June 8, inadvert-ently establishing a single starting time.

Last year’s change to allow contacts onmultiple bands was apparently unclear, so thisyear’s rules make a point to state that phoneand CW are separate “bands” for the purposesof Field Day contacts. Also, even in theseearly days stations must be complaining aboutbeing in “black holes” as far as contesting isconcerned. In response, an overall 1.5X mul-

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tiplier is established for the Northwest, Pa-cific, Rocky Mountain, Southwest and WestGulf areas “to assist in equalizing contactopportunity…in these less populous areas.”This West Coast handicap remains until 1950.

1942-1945: “Closed for theDuration”

As is the case with so many activities,Field Day posts a “Closed for the Duration”sign during WW II. In fact, so does all hamoperating.

1946: The Post-War Era—A VHF-Only Category Debuts

Field Day returns after the war with vir-tually no changes. Starting time is back tolocal time (more evidence that the 1941change was inadvertent). For the next threeField Days there is a VHF-only score listingdesigned “to lend point to the participationof VHF Emergency Corps networks that maywish to arrange special activities or simu-lated tests on these dates.”

1948: CQ Field Day on 11 Meters?Eleven meters is now available to hams

(for a while) and it counts as a Field Dayband. There are no CW/phone subbands on11 meters, but phone and CW count sepa-rately here, too. The period is shortened to24 hours, starting at 4 PM local time. Eachstation worked is now worth one point (re-gardless of whether fixed or portable). The2X multiplier for transmitters that are inde-pendent of commercial mains is dropped.Battery operation now is recognized with a1.5X multiplier.

1949: Field Day Mobile OperationComes of Age

The growing interest in mobile operationresults in some significant rules changes.This year, four categories are recognized: (1)Club and group (no battery multiplier); (2)One or two operators; (3) Mobile; and (4)Home stations. Also, the Club AggregateMobile listings are established wherebyclubs can compete with teams of mobile sta-tions. This special listing will last until it’squietly dropped in 1978. In other changes, aspecific exchange of signal report and ARRLsection is required for the first time, and theField Day message now goes to the SectionCommunications Manager (today’s SM) orthe SEC rather than to HQ.

1950: Modern Field Day Classes areEstablished

The four classes offered last year aremodified and labeled with letters for the firsttime: A—Club or non-club portable; B—Unit or individual portables (1 or 2 ops); C—Mobile; and D—Home. The Field Day“circle” is increased to 1000 feet. The word-ing last year said “25 points for each such[Field Day] message.” What was meant, welearn, was 25 points for each team’s singleField Day message (some stations, not unex-pectedly, had cranked out a pile of Field Day

Field Day transmitter to be used only underone call sign.

1966: The Modern “Bonus Era”Begins

The simple Field Day message bonusconcept, around since nearly the first FieldDay, is expanded, bringing the beginningsof a wonderful aspect that one wag, who shallremain nameless (KE3Q), has characterizedas “part radio contest, part scavenger hunt.”Publicity is emphasized and 100% freedomfrom commercial power is stressed by a 500-point post-multiplier bonus for achieving atleast two of the following three: (1) Use ofno commercial power anywhere; (2) Public-ity; or (3) Originating a message to the SCMor SEC.

1968: The Field Day Period is theField Day, Period

A major change is adopted that makes set-up within the 27-hour period mandatory, andthe starting time is advanced two hours to1900Z to accommodate the change. All homestations, emergency powered or on commer-cial mains, now compete in a single D cat-egory. The 1.5X multiplier for battery powernow applies to categories A, B and C. Bo-nuses provide for 200 points each for public-ity, 100% emergency power and/or messageorigination. Lastly, and largely ignored, theexchange is now section only—but in prac-tice many can’t resist sending a signal reportanyway!

1969: An Idea Whose Time Has NotCome

Last year’s mandatory setup within the27-hour event period was not popular, so it isnow optional (that is, ops can use the entire27 hours if they start setup within that pe-riod). (Personal note: This was the year ofmy first Field Day victory—1A withWA3EPT/3, Johns Hopkins University Stu-dents and Alumni.)

1970: Increasing NoviceParticipation

To further encourage beginners, a “free”Novice station (set up and run by Novices) isallowed for groups running three or moretransmitters. The League continues to battlewith creative rules interpretation (or, depend-ing on your viewpoint, technology advance-ments) by outlawing “octopus” hardware forinterleaving transmissions to avoid moving toa higher transmitter category. (We had madegreat use of that technique in our ’69 1A win.)On another note, I guess we are getting betterat setting up, because the starting time is ad-vanced yet another hour to 1800Z.

1971: Why Old-Timers Can’tRemember Whether HomeEmergency Power is Class D or E

After three years of being combined,Classes D and E are separate once again. Thedesignators, however, are reversed. Class Dis for home stations on commercial power,

messages looking for 25 points each).

1951: Duck, Cover and Turn on YourCONELRAD Monitor

Says June 1951 QST: “At a time when civildefense is organizing, the Field Day providesan unparalleled opportunity for mass testingof our emergency facilities.” To encourageemergency preparedness, home stations onemergency power will be listed separately asClass D, while home stations on commercialpower will be listed as Class E.

1952: “Having a Wonderful Time,Wish You Were Here”

The 1950 rule that allowed one point forany message originated during Field Day hasresulted in some groups cranking out mean-ingless “rubber stamped” messages duringField Day to generate points. Because theemphasis is on contact totals and not mes-sage generation, the League responds byeliminating the bonus points for messageorigination after a trial of only two years.

1957: Simultaneous Start Returns Field Day starts at 4 PM EST and ends at

4 PM PST, as usual, but now everyone canoperate any 24 consecutive hours of the 27-hour period. The purpose of the change is to“encourage long-distance QSOs.” For thefirst time, more than 10,000 hams partici-pate, a 430% increase over the first postwarevent in ’46.

1963: Will “Manufactured” ContactsEver be Eliminated?

Although contacts with other members ofa Field Day group were outlawed way backin 1937, some creative types have deter-mined that the rules don’t ban those who arenot “Field Day operators” from using theField Day transmitters to work the group forpoints. The League counters by allowing a

If you think computer logging is a moderndevelopment, check out the key-punchingstation at the 1966 K2INO/3 Field Dayeffort. The cards containing the contactdata were processed by an IBM 1401computer at Johns Hopkins Universityafter the event. K0OVZ is shownoperating the key punch while WA2BUJhunts for contacts.

R

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while Class E encompasses home stations onemergency power. (I guess the feeling is thatE for Emergency makes more sense.)

Major changes in the scoring system re-duce points across the board. The 3X multi-plier for 100% emergency power is elimi-nated and replaced by a requirement that allA and B transmitters now must be on emer-gency power. The 1.5X multiplier for bat-tery operation is eliminated and replacedwith limiting the QRP multiplier to batteryoperation only. The power multiplier nowapplies to the maximum power used at anytime during the period. The four-QSO mul-tiplier categories are reduced to three with amaximum of 3X for QRP/battery. Bonuspoints are now as follows: 100 points pertransmitter for 100% emergency power; 50points for publicity; 50 points for messageorigination; and 5 points per message re-layed. Last, in a surrender to habit, the signalreport is returned to the exchange!

1972: Batteries are on Their OwnOps using battery power no longer com-

pete with ops using non-battery sources.Scores are listed separately.

1973: The Space Age Comes to FDThe repeater rule is waived for OSCAR 6

contacts and a 50-point satellite bonus is in-stituted.

1974: The Energy Crisis Strikes FDA 100-point bonus is added for making

natural power QSOs. The 15-minute rule forband changes further discourages tricky tech-niques for counting two transmitters as one.

1975: Is SSB Taking Over?SSB is demonstrating its superiority to

“conventional” AM, and phone QSO rates

are so high that the mode threatens to domi-nate Field Day. To compensate, the 2X rulefor CW QSOs is instituted on a trial basis(personal note: Hooray!).

1976: The 10,000 QSO Mark isBroken

Field Day results show the many unusualprefixes permitted by US amateurs celebrat-ing the Bicentennial. W1VV/1 celebrateswith 10,010 contacts! In doing so, the groupsurpasses the 1933 QSO record in its first 15minutes of operation.

1977: Bring on the Techs!Technician amateurs are now permitted to

set up and operate the Novice station. Also,we have apparently solved the energy crisisbecause the natural power bonus is gone! The2X rule for CW is “permanent.”

1980: 1A CTRST is replaced with category and class

in the exchange. FCC and Field Day rules nolonger require portable call sign designatorsSet-up time is tightened—nothing can beinstalled prior to 24 hours before the start ofthe Field Day period. Natural power wasjudged to be politically correct and too muchfun to be eliminated—so it’s back as a 100-point bonus. The satellite and Field Daymessage bonuses advance to 100 points.Copying the W1AW message is worth 100points for the first time.

1981: 1001001Computers are becoming ubiquitous and,

as a result, packet radio is soaring in popu-larity. Field Day enters the digital era byproviding a 100-point bonus for a singlepacket QSO, permitting one “free” packetstation and waiving the repeater rule forpacket to allow digipeaters and nodes to beused. The 15-minute rule is eliminated atVHF and above. The Yankee Clipper Con-test Club and The Wireless Institute of theNortheast combine using call sign W2RQ toturn in a QSO total of 11,201—unbeaten 18years later!

1984: We Finally Get it RightOver the years we’ve had a heck of a time

settling on the best way to score battery, low,medium and high power categories. Here’sanother try: The power breakpoints are ad-justed so that the 5X multiplier applies to5 W instead of 10 W (for battery or equiva-lent), and 2X applies to <150 W rather than<200 W. (These definitions will stick for atleast the next 16 years! In particular, the 5Xmultiplier for QRP/battery turns out to be agood equalizer—the change will result inoverall first place finishes by the entrants inthis category in eight of the next 16 FieldDays.)

1993: VHF Becomes a MajorField Day Factor

The growing influx of Technician lic-ensees changes Field Day in a big way—

In 1976 the Indianapolis Power & LightARC made a natural-power contact.Gary, K9LNX, operated the radio whileRon, WB9DKL, supplied the muscle.Mike, WA9BWY, assisted by holding thebike in place.

Another Field Day retrospective gracedthe December 1989 QST.

there is now a 100-point bonus for making10 VHF/UHF contacts and one “free” VHF/UHF station is permitted for Classes Aand B.

1994: I Guess They Don’t Need a1.5X “Equalizer” Anymore

K6CAB (Conejo Valley ARC) logs themodern Field Day record score of 30,150 byoperating in the 15A battery category with3460 5-W QSOs!

1998: No More “Zero A” EntriesThis year digital modes go from special

handling to “mainline” modes. Although the“free” packet station and packet bonuses areeliminated, digital modes (including RTTYand PSK31) are added as a third mode onevery band. Perhaps motivated by the “0A”tongue-in-cheek entry made by one stationworking exclusively on packet via theinternet (thus no transmitters!), nodes anddigipeaters are now outlawed for Field Daycontacts. Finally, VHF/UHF has becomesuch a mainstay that the 100-point bonus for10 contacts is no longer needed.

So, that brings us up to date. Oh, I nearlyforgot why I started all of this. Scores arefairly comparable from 1975 on—the yearthat the 2X multiplier went into effect forCW. With that definition, the Potamac Val-ley Radio Club team did set a modern recordfor 7A. In fact, our 26,324 claimed score isthe highest non-battery score ever recordedin any category under the modern rules—beating N1FD’s record set in 1998 by thenarrow margin of 50 points!

Now, I wonder how the DX Contest gotstarted…

You can contact Rol at 6021 Lawyers HillRd, Elkridge, MD 21227-5207; [email protected].