A group of our members trekked out to Point Reyes to visit the ship to shore marine radio station KPH, the staff at KPH spent a good deal of time with us explaining the history of the station and its purpose of passing and receiving messages from ships at sea. The photos below tell a small story of our visit at the receiving station. Another two members went on to visit the transmitting site in Bolinas and later joined up with us, many of their pictures will also be posted soon. Another opportunity was to use a straight key to send a Morse code signal on the Amateur CW Bands to other Amateurs who would be listening.

Provided by Mark Godbout N6IV

Wrap up.

N6FRG WINTER FIELD DAY 2025 

We arrived in Copperopolis at Barry’s KO6FOV home at 9am to a sunny blue sky and a crisp morning.

On site were Mike N6AXQ, Dee KM6ELF, Mike KB6USJ, Barry KO6FOV (and xyl Cheryl), and myself, Mark N6IV. Helen KM6ELE arrived later to join the fun.

We set up a 40m doublet at 35feet, a 2 m Fm j.pole, and a 40m/80m wire antenna.

Qso’s were to be had on 40m, 20m, and 10m. No contacts on 2m and we did not try 15m.

Propagation was fairly decent. We contacted HI, UT, WWA, OR, AZ, STX, NTX, ID, BC, MN, OK, NV, SDG, SF among others.

Helen and Barry made their first contesting qsos so now they are addicted like everyone else.

Clouds finally ensued and the temperature dropped to the point we said qrt.

We all are thankful to Barry and Cheryl for the accommodations, hot coffee, and homemade coffee cake.

All in all we had a good time and it was worth braving the elements for some good fellowship and ham radio.

73

Mark, n6iv

Winter Field Day is an exciting annual event for amateur radio enthusiasts, taking place on the last full weekend of January. It offers a unique opportunity for radio operators to set up field operations in remote locations, enabling them to connect with other participants worldwide. You may choose to participate solo or get your your friends, family, or whole club involved. Winter Field Day is organized by the Winter Field Day Association. The association strongly believes that ham radio operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter environments. This is because freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards pose unique operational concerns.

Contest Objective: For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz. Stations outside the US & Canada (and their possessions) may only work stations in the US (and its possessions) and Canada.

Dates: The third or fourth full weekend in January as announced. (January 18-20, 2025)

Contest Period: Begins 1900 UTC Saturday, ends 0359 UTC Monday.

Click Here for Complete ARRL January VHF Contest Rules (PDF)

For contest information contact contests@arrl.org or (860) 594-0232