Field Day

Winter Field Day 2026 in an ice storm

Play video: Winter Field Day 2026 | Ice Storm, Camper, & Low-Power Ham Radio

Watch on YouTube: Winter Field Day 2026 | Ice Storm, Camper, & Low-Power Ham Radio

QSOs
29
ARRL sections
20
Furthest, DN71
1,167 mi
Bands
3
Power
10 W
Final score
188

Winter Field Day 2026 fell on January 24 and 25, the same weekend an ice storm came through Georgia. I set up in a pop-up camper, ran 10 watts, and entered as class 1M: one transmitter, mobile.

I made 29 QSOs over the two days: 18 on JS8Call and 11 on SSB, most of them on 20 meters, with a few on 15 and one on 10. The exchanges came from all over the country, from Florida to Texas to Minnesota.

The video is from that weekend.

JS8Call on the laptop inside the camper, with ice on the window behind it
JS8Call on the laptop inside the camper, with ice on the window behind it
The radio, battery, and interface on the camper's table
The radio, battery, and interface on the camper's table
Ice coating the camper's canvas
Ice coating the camper's canvas
Icicles hanging from the edge of the camper
Icicles hanging from the edge of the camper

Who I worked

311 mi621 mi932 mi1,243 miEL87 · 20m SSB · 540 miEN23 · 20m SSB · 846 miEM16 · 20m SSB · 737 miEL97 · 20m SSB · 508 miEL97 · 20m SSB · 508 miFN00 · 20m SSB · 507 miEM01 · 20m SSB · 840 miDN71 · 10m SSB · 1,167 miEL16 · 15m SSB · 953 miFN14 · 15m SSB · 776 miFM05 · 20m SSB · 359 miEM12 · 20m JS8 · 714 miEM48 · 20m JS8 · 437 miEN82 · 20m JS8 · 559 miEN34 · 20m JS8 · 821 miFN33 · 20m JS8 · 863 miEN31 · 20m JS8 · 661 miEM12 · 20m JS8 · 692 miFM16 · 20m JS8 · 514 miEM19 · 20m JS8 · 727 miEN34 · 15m JS8 · 784 miEM60 · 15m JS8 · 296 miDM78 · 15m JS8 · 1,135 miEL98 · 20m JS8 · 464 miFM17 · 20m JS8 · 455 miEN61 · 20m JS8 · 539 miEM13 · 20m JS8 · 682 miEN70 · 20m JS8 · 402 miEN41 · 20m JS8 · 581 migrid square EM74
  • 20m (23)
  • 15m (5)
  • 10m (1)

Each line runs from the center of the map to the center of the other station's grid square, so it shows the direction and distance, not an exact location. The map is centered on grid square EM74, not the exact station location.

Log summary

BandJS8SSBFirstLast
20m158Jan 24 18:37Jan 25 20:29
15m32Jan 24 20:05Jan 25 18:49
10m–1Jan 24 19:53Jan 24 19:53

Times are UTC. Callsigns are left out on purpose. The final score is from the published results.