Maple Grove Field Day 2022

It’s the biggest ham radio event of the year and nearly all operators have it circled on the calendar. Yes, I’m talking about the the annual ARRL Field Day contest. Field Day is an even that is designed to get ham radio operators outside to practice their emergency communication skills by setting up temporary stations and in the public eye. Some of the Minnesota Ham Radio crew spent the afternoon at the K0LTC Maple Grove Radio Club Field Day site in Golden Valley, MN.

The Maple Grove Radio Club was 3A, which means it was a club designation and had three transmitters on site, plus a Get On The Air (GOTA) station available for non-hams. There were approximately 25 operators there on Saturday afternoon rotating through the various stations and enjoying conversation with other hams.

The club had numerous antennas at their disposal. They were running a mag loop, a couple dipoles and an HF vertical antenna. But the coolest part of this Field Day site was the GOTA station.

The GOTA station is run by the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office Communications Response Team. They bring out a 37-foot mobile information and communications center which features HF capability. Kids and non-licensed adults enjoy the air conditioning while making a some contacts on the air. How cool is that?