Field Day 2025: How to Burn Operators, Fry Radios, and Call It “Fun”
Because nothing screams “preparedness drill” like barbecuing operators, frying radios, and discovering your logging PC only works when duct-taped to the generator.
160 m Tuner Theology — Symmetry Worship vs Reality
Every Field Day, some prophet declares: “You must use a giant symmetrical tuner on 160 m.” Nice theory, but for a monoband antenna, a solid shack tuner does the job just fine. The symmetrical beast is more overkill altar piece than practical necessity. Use it if you want, but don’t act like the rest of us are committing RF heresy by not dragging a 20-kg tuner into a muddy field.
Chokes: After Mardi Gras Comes the Hangover
“Why so many chokes?” ask the laptop-fryers. Three is all it takes: one at the antenna, one before the shack, and one right behind the rig. That’s not paranoia—that’s basic hygiene.
But the Maxwell-deniers show up every year: “I don’t need any chokes, common-mode is a myth.” Right. And so is taxes. Meanwhile their coax is glowing like a neon beer sign, reradiating the entire campsite, and their keyboard has joined the CW pileup on its own.
Bleeder Resistors: Why Our Operators Aren’t Served Crispy
Bleeders are not optional accessories—they’re the reason your operators don’t walk away with new hairstyles. Antennas build up static from wind, triboelectric effects, and nearby lightning strikes. Without bleeders, your shiny dipole is basically a stun gun waiting for the next unlucky volunteer.
And let’s not forget induced lightning surges. A strike a mile away can still pump thousands of volts into your feedline. Without a bleed path, the discharge finds the nearest “ground.” Spoiler: that could be you or your radio. A cheap resistor to earth is the difference between “Field Day” and “Field Hospital.”
Logging Software: The True Disaster Mode
Field Day isn’t complete until the “networked” laptops collapse like a house of cards. N1MM over Wi-Fi on a generator-backed router? What could possibly go wrong? Half the team is yelling “CONTROL-Z!,” the other half is re-typing dupe QSOs while swearing in three languages. By the time the logs are merged, the bonus points are gone and the only thing working flawlessly is the coffee pot.
Final Thought
Field Day is supposed to showcase emergency readiness. Instead, it showcases that we as a community can create RF-infused chaos out of perfectly good gear, powered by equal parts optimism, beer, and denial. The recipe for survival is simple: decent tuner, three chokes, bleeders everywhere, and a logging plan that doesn’t collapse on contact.