New Beginnings: Reflections On ARRL Field Day 2022

[Thanks to Julie and Greg KC1NRJ for the pictures and idea for the gif!]

I am having trouble writing about this year’s ARRL Field Day, i.e., the annual Super Bowl of ham radio. You know why? I really just don’t feel like sharing it with you. Unusual for me, huh? I feel rather measured in my musings, kinda want to keep them to myself…

For one, the credit goes to Brendan NW1S, president of the Boston Amateur Radio Club (BARC), who organized a fabulous event. A couple dozen hams and friends celebrated radio together in the woods of the Hale Education in Westwood MA.

It was the first time for the Boston Amateur Radio Club to have a Field Day at this new location. It was BARC’s first Field Day in three years. It was my first Field Day with BARC. And it was AA1F’s first Field Day in general. Do you see all of these firsts?

AA1F and I had a plan, and stuck to it. We would arrive at Hale before 9am on Field Day Saturday. We would set up a stack of antennas on a military tripod mast; you can read all about the actual gear here. We would help with whatever else needed it and then leave to visit the Great Hill Gang guys (more and more) in Weymouth MA. And backtrack to the Wellesley Amateur Radio Club (WARS)’s Field Day in Needham MA. And then spend the rest of our time back with BARC, cooking burgers and hot dogs in the evening, enjoying some radio, and camping out overnight. Playing more radio and cleaning up on Sunday. And then going home.

I took very few pictures. I regret that because it’s easier to tell the story on here with them. On the other hand, I lived in the moment for this radio weekend. Something that is not always easy to do in the documentation age.

When we went up to the Great Hill, Dave WB1EVP gave me a box full of radios. I am listening to the Monday night nets on one right now, and it is working perfectly. He spent time programming and tagging them so I would have access to all of the area repeaters. I am not used to this type of generosity. These gifts are thoughtful in a way that is very hard to describe because the actual gift is embedded in code within the radio in some sort of intangible way. The hardware is delightful, but the real present is in the programming. This means a lot to me. Dave, I’ll just say thank you for now and leave it at that.

Mike K1UVH, the usual Great Hill Gang crew, and then some others had set up a delightful pop-up tarp city overlooking the Hingham Harbor. This is becoming the area’s “must-attend” monthly radio event in my opinion, Field Day weekend or not… So, you bet, we wouldn’t miss it! Even if for a brief hello…

Our next stop was to the Wellesley Amateur Radio Club Field Day site in Needham MA. Again, I did not take a single picture. My dear friend Charlie WA3ITR was their FD coordinator this year, and unfortunately we missed him due to bad timing! Regardless, hanging out with Dan W1DAN and the WARS club is always fun. Charlie, you did a great job! And yes!!! I got my beautiful mug!

Saturday was 90°F, exhilarating, exhausting. When we finished making the rounds, we went back to BARC to cook and hang out. I converted the back of AA1F’s truck into a tent with a couple of tarps, a painter pole, and tow hitch mast holder that Jim NK1U had given me previously.

While this set up was not taut enough for a rainstorm, it worked perfectly as tent! And it easily could have been configured to shed rain just by adding an additional vertical support toward the cab. I used an additional tarp to make a doorway, and most of the bugs were kept outside. Below you can see the 12 foot tarp bungeed by its tie down points to the painter mast. And if you look through the gap, that is an additional tarp fashioned into a door.

Nellie and I slept quite well in there! Whereas AA1F slept like a king in Limey (my van).

So that’s it. I am not going to share much more about Field Day with you. There was something very deeply personal about this year. Not because I did not have fun (it was a hoot!) Not because it was an exclusive event (it wasn’t, everyone was invited and we had a lovely turnout!) Not because it was a new experience (when does that stop me?) But because, it was personal.

There is always something so profound about people sharing a camp together. Strangers become friends, and friends become closer. Trials and tribulations are simply problems to be solved and moved on from. Very thin fiber walls separate you from your sleeping neighbor. Community trash is collected and bathrooms (porta-potties!) are shared. Sitting around a campfire into the morning hours shooting the breeze with the past, present, and future… And it finally dawning on me that it is possible for us all to exist together. That there is no need to say goodbye. But instead throw out a huge, wide-armed greeting to the intriguing and beautiful possibilities of all of life’s yet unrealized adventures.

The radio was great. But this year’s Field Day was about the people. The small army of hams that are amassing en force in their various corners. Keeping alive the traditions of a great hobby, and starting to march into tomorrow with some new ones. I extend a warm invitation for everyone out there who has ever contemplated amateur radio to join us on this most unique journey. You will always be welcome at our Field Day. Any of our Field Days.

Until we are together again my friends!
KM1NDY

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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien