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W2MMD 9A SNJ
Attention : All Operators and Staff Must Have An HT Tuned To 147.540 MHz Simplex. This is to provide Announcements and Notifications in case of approaching bad weather, meetings, etc.
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Preliminary Field Day 2026 Pictures
(Pictures not edited or captioned)
(Pictures not edited or captioned)
Field Day 2026 Experience
By Mike Resnick N2WOQ
Those who got on the air had the best experience, thanks to you!
Field Day was a mixture of outcomes. I was disappointed in the response of my emails to schools in South Jersey. The phone calls to Club members and a local friend were fruitful. I was pleased that we were able to beat last year's total contacts. Two of the guest operators were very much interested in pursuing ham radio further. Chris Prioli's granddaughter, Cara, is very enthusiastic and has constructed her own end-fed antenna in preparation of her future radio hobby. Russell Stevenson's wife Sandy was our last operator on Sunday morning and has committed to becoming licensed and has joined the Club! I feel that we had improvement on logging by utilizing N3FJP software to record out contacts. We even had a contact with W1AW.
Using this experience will allow me to tailor next year's GOTA station for greater success, weather permitting.
By Mike Resnick N2WOQ
Those who got on the air had the best experience, thanks to you!
Field Day was a mixture of outcomes. I was disappointed in the response of my emails to schools in South Jersey. The phone calls to Club members and a local friend were fruitful. I was pleased that we were able to beat last year's total contacts. Two of the guest operators were very much interested in pursuing ham radio further. Chris Prioli's granddaughter, Cara, is very enthusiastic and has constructed her own end-fed antenna in preparation of her future radio hobby. Russell Stevenson's wife Sandy was our last operator on Sunday morning and has committed to becoming licensed and has joined the Club! I feel that we had improvement on logging by utilizing N3FJP software to record out contacts. We even had a contact with W1AW.
Using this experience will allow me to tailor next year's GOTA station for greater success, weather permitting.
Field Day 2026 After Action Report - Part Deux
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
Hi all,
I just got finished with reading the newest issue of CrossTalk, and after re-reading my own work, I think that I should add a bit of an expansion to my Field Day article that was published.
When I originally wrote the piece that was printed, my thoughts were of the mindset that I was writing a quick one-pager, as we had already discussed much of the day’s happenings at the Pizza Night that was our July General Membership Meeting. Now, I think that I should add a bit of expanded information.
This year, there were actually two trailer-mounted crank-up towers in use, one by Al Arrison KB2AYU, working 10-meter digital and phone, and the other by Eric Morris N2BRJ for his 20-meter digital team. This was in addition to Tony Starr K3TS ’s assemble-on-site crank up tower. There were numerous campers and tow-behind trailers used as shelters this year, a significant change from what had in the past had looked like a tent campground. Getting these shelters to the Clubhouse site involved some considerable planning and effort. For example, in the case of Al, and Eric, they had to drag both their tower trailer and then their shelter trailers to the site. And in the case of Tony, it required significant on-site assembly and many helping hands to get his pair of Yagi and dipole tower mounted into the air. This speaks of a certain level of dedication and commitment to the Field Day spirit.
At least two (of which I am aware) of the shelter trailers were purpose-rented for the event, those being the ones used by Greg K3GC and Mary Lu K3MLC Ciraula for their 15-meter phone effort, and by Chris Prioli AD2CS and his 20-meter phone team. Of course, as I already mentioned, Tony Starr K3TS had his trailer there, as did John Zaruba K2ZA, and Glen KE2BUO and Melissa KE2BWZ Guenther. Bill Price NJ2S ran his 40-meter phone effort from within another rented vehicle. This time, it was a standard U-haul® Econoline-type cargo van. Bill went so far (again this year) to bring in a cherry-picker boom truck to raise his antenna into place - courtesy of another electrician friend.
Going back to the topic of Eric’s efforts for a moment, I would like to mention that he had a really interesting-looking antenna array at the top of his tower. Not only did it look interesting, but it operated great. Eric had graciously allowed me to sign up work with him on the overnight operating crew, and with that antenna, the band stayed open making contacts all night until the morning crew he’d scheduled arrived to give us a break. Loved every minute of it! I would like to know more about this particular antenna, if Eric is willing to share his thoughts and knowledge regarding the antenna setup. I have never seen one quite like that one, and I find it quite interesting.
Another interesting point that we talked about at the meeting, but I failed to bring out in the short CrossTalk write up was the fact that each of the 15-meter, 20-meter, and 40-meter phone teams utilized the Club’s new homebrewed notch filters to reduce interference from the CW operations on each of those respective bands. This was the first time that the filters were used for 15m and 40m phone operations, while the 20m phone team used the prototype filter during the 2025 Field Day event.
And then there was the custom flag sporting this year’s field day logo that you may have seen flying at Greg and Mary Lu’s trailer. And the custom T-shirts that members of Eric’s crew, including Phil Nunzio WA3RGY and Lenny Rust W2LJR and myself were sporting when over at Eric’s station. And the custom POTA-themed welcome sign outside of Glen and Melissa’s camper. If you missed the pictures shown of these during the pizza night, we’ll have Jeff Garth WB2ZBN get them up on our web page, if they’re not there already.
Needless to say, there was a lot more to be seen and said than I could possibly cover in any article of reasonable length. Also, there had to be a good number of new things tried, with lessons learned, and technological differences that showed up this year. If you experimented with some new technology or tried some new equipment, or experienced operating on the air for the first time at our GOTA station, we’d love for you to share your experiences. Drop a note to me via email letting me know about your field day experiences. I will then be better able to share that information with the Club at large.
Thank you again for a very successful field day!
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
Hi all,
I just got finished with reading the newest issue of CrossTalk, and after re-reading my own work, I think that I should add a bit of an expansion to my Field Day article that was published.
When I originally wrote the piece that was printed, my thoughts were of the mindset that I was writing a quick one-pager, as we had already discussed much of the day’s happenings at the Pizza Night that was our July General Membership Meeting. Now, I think that I should add a bit of expanded information.
This year, there were actually two trailer-mounted crank-up towers in use, one by Al Arrison KB2AYU, working 10-meter digital and phone, and the other by Eric Morris N2BRJ for his 20-meter digital team. This was in addition to Tony Starr K3TS ’s assemble-on-site crank up tower. There were numerous campers and tow-behind trailers used as shelters this year, a significant change from what had in the past had looked like a tent campground. Getting these shelters to the Clubhouse site involved some considerable planning and effort. For example, in the case of Al, and Eric, they had to drag both their tower trailer and then their shelter trailers to the site. And in the case of Tony, it required significant on-site assembly and many helping hands to get his pair of Yagi and dipole tower mounted into the air. This speaks of a certain level of dedication and commitment to the Field Day spirit.
At least two (of which I am aware) of the shelter trailers were purpose-rented for the event, those being the ones used by Greg K3GC and Mary Lu K3MLC Ciraula for their 15-meter phone effort, and by Chris Prioli AD2CS and his 20-meter phone team. Of course, as I already mentioned, Tony Starr K3TS had his trailer there, as did John Zaruba K2ZA, and Glen KE2BUO and Melissa KE2BWZ Guenther. Bill Price NJ2S ran his 40-meter phone effort from within another rented vehicle. This time, it was a standard U-haul® Econoline-type cargo van. Bill went so far (again this year) to bring in a cherry-picker boom truck to raise his antenna into place - courtesy of another electrician friend.
Going back to the topic of Eric’s efforts for a moment, I would like to mention that he had a really interesting-looking antenna array at the top of his tower. Not only did it look interesting, but it operated great. Eric had graciously allowed me to sign up work with him on the overnight operating crew, and with that antenna, the band stayed open making contacts all night until the morning crew he’d scheduled arrived to give us a break. Loved every minute of it! I would like to know more about this particular antenna, if Eric is willing to share his thoughts and knowledge regarding the antenna setup. I have never seen one quite like that one, and I find it quite interesting.
Another interesting point that we talked about at the meeting, but I failed to bring out in the short CrossTalk write up was the fact that each of the 15-meter, 20-meter, and 40-meter phone teams utilized the Club’s new homebrewed notch filters to reduce interference from the CW operations on each of those respective bands. This was the first time that the filters were used for 15m and 40m phone operations, while the 20m phone team used the prototype filter during the 2025 Field Day event.
And then there was the custom flag sporting this year’s field day logo that you may have seen flying at Greg and Mary Lu’s trailer. And the custom T-shirts that members of Eric’s crew, including Phil Nunzio WA3RGY and Lenny Rust W2LJR and myself were sporting when over at Eric’s station. And the custom POTA-themed welcome sign outside of Glen and Melissa’s camper. If you missed the pictures shown of these during the pizza night, we’ll have Jeff Garth WB2ZBN get them up on our web page, if they’re not there already.
Needless to say, there was a lot more to be seen and said than I could possibly cover in any article of reasonable length. Also, there had to be a good number of new things tried, with lessons learned, and technological differences that showed up this year. If you experimented with some new technology or tried some new equipment, or experienced operating on the air for the first time at our GOTA station, we’d love for you to share your experiences. Drop a note to me via email letting me know about your field day experiences. I will then be better able to share that information with the Club at large.
Thank you again for a very successful field day!
Field Day 2026 After Action Report
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
It’s a rain or shine tradition. And your Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club was in on this, the greatest on-air operating event in North America again this year during the fourth full weekend in June. Operating 9 simultaneous transmitters on multiple amateur radio bands and in multiple modes, plus a get-on-the-air transmitter, a solar powered station, a Winlink station, and a satellite station all with off-the-grid power using temporary antennas and setups in the fields around our Clubhouse out at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Mullica Hill NJ, it was a big group effort that we pulled off again this year. Well done everyone!
If you missed the highlights in the stories shared at our “free pizza” Club meeting night on July 1, here’s a recap of some of the details.
There was plenty of rain during the Saturday morning, but many had anticipated this and had opted for “rolling” shelters this time. The number of stations choosing to operate out of vans, trucks, and campers well out numbered tent set ups this year. Ever creative, it seems we saw a little of everything when it came to roll-in setups this year, including :
Thankfully, the overcast kept temperatures very modest by late June standards, making for a relatively “comfortable” field day after the initial rains had passed on Saturday. Rounding out the setups were :
In the QSO category, collectively we made a whole bunch - over 3100 contacts, slightly higher than last year’s total. Collectively, we had at least one contact to every North American section in USA and Canada this year. That’s all 71 ARRL sections, including AK, PAC, PR, VI, plus all 14 RAC sections, including the sometimes elusive TER (covering the Northwest Territories and Nunavut), which is quite impressive.
CW ops shone bright this year, with a 61% increase on 80 meters and a 39% increase on 15 meters. Digital contacts were up by nearly 200 contacts on 20 meters this year, and by 54% on 15 meters, though CW still outpaced Digital as the mode with most QSO by just over 500 contacts. Though phone contacts as a whole were down slightly, they were noticeably higher on 15 meters and significantly higher on 10 meters this year compared to last.
In the bonus activities categories, we did quite well, demonstrating our ability to excel in the many dimensions of field day. And then there’s the culinary specialists that delivered big time this year. Nobody went away hungry over the 24 hours. And to the many that came by to say hello, and see what this field day was all about this year, great to see you out!
Sure, not everything worked out, but lots did. This is field day, after all. We learn some, we laugh some, and we dream some. That’s the way it is.
What a great event!
What a great team!
Thank you all, very impressive!
Can’t wait to see what everyone brings to the field next year!
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
It’s a rain or shine tradition. And your Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club was in on this, the greatest on-air operating event in North America again this year during the fourth full weekend in June. Operating 9 simultaneous transmitters on multiple amateur radio bands and in multiple modes, plus a get-on-the-air transmitter, a solar powered station, a Winlink station, and a satellite station all with off-the-grid power using temporary antennas and setups in the fields around our Clubhouse out at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Mullica Hill NJ, it was a big group effort that we pulled off again this year. Well done everyone!
If you missed the highlights in the stories shared at our “free pizza” Club meeting night on July 1, here’s a recap of some of the details.
There was plenty of rain during the Saturday morning, but many had anticipated this and had opted for “rolling” shelters this time. The number of stations choosing to operate out of vans, trucks, and campers well out numbered tent set ups this year. Ever creative, it seems we saw a little of everything when it came to roll-in setups this year, including :
- · A multi-station “palace on wheels” that long-time fellow field day enthusiast Tony K3TS rolled in from PA for his 20M CW, and Darrell AB2E’s “clear the bands” 15/80 CW/DIG mega contact operations, while also offering a home base for Vinnie N4NYY while waiting for the weather to break ahead of operating the alternative power station
- · A pair of “POTA people” we-can-live-out-of-these-anywhere campers set up in the back field to house Greg K3GC’s 15M phone and Melissa KE2BWZ’s 40M digital operations
- · A Starlink-internet-connected home-on-wheels set up along the front tree line to house Sheldon’s 40 meter CW operations
- · A rental van Bill NJ2S had customized with 40M phone field day retrofits (temporarily, of course), including an air conditioner as a front seat passenger, and radio position tables and a few “chairs” (was one a bucket?) in the back for operators and always welcome guests to sit on
- · A closet sized “can two people really fit in there?” bubble-with-no-windows on two wheels that Eric N2BRJ pulled in behind his truck used to house the 20 meter digital operations
- · A creative use of a “pod” box by Al KB2AYU to keep his 10 meter radio and operating position in a quick-to-close dry arrangement should the pop-up 10x10 he was sitting under not be sufficient to keep the elements out
- · A fully functional drive-up-and-I-am-ready fastest-to-setup Winlink station on wheels, operated by Court KD2SPJ using equipment contained inside and antenna on his truck
Thankfully, the overcast kept temperatures very modest by late June standards, making for a relatively “comfortable” field day after the initial rains had passed on Saturday. Rounding out the setups were :
- · Chris AD2CS and crew’s mega tent camp for 20 meter phone, with a multi-chair front porch under dry cover for socializing
- · A combo welcome center area with GOTA tent set up near the front entrance for Mike N2WOQ and coaches to be positioned to greet visitors and encourage those who were brave enough to get a taste of what it’s like to push a talk button on field day
- · And a wait-until-the-rain-has-for-sure-passed-before-try-any-setup satellite station, placed on a dry table under clear skies after dark to try and make that one elusive bonus point contact
In the QSO category, collectively we made a whole bunch - over 3100 contacts, slightly higher than last year’s total. Collectively, we had at least one contact to every North American section in USA and Canada this year. That’s all 71 ARRL sections, including AK, PAC, PR, VI, plus all 14 RAC sections, including the sometimes elusive TER (covering the Northwest Territories and Nunavut), which is quite impressive.
CW ops shone bright this year, with a 61% increase on 80 meters and a 39% increase on 15 meters. Digital contacts were up by nearly 200 contacts on 20 meters this year, and by 54% on 15 meters, though CW still outpaced Digital as the mode with most QSO by just over 500 contacts. Though phone contacts as a whole were down slightly, they were noticeably higher on 15 meters and significantly higher on 10 meters this year compared to last.
In the bonus activities categories, we did quite well, demonstrating our ability to excel in the many dimensions of field day. And then there’s the culinary specialists that delivered big time this year. Nobody went away hungry over the 24 hours. And to the many that came by to say hello, and see what this field day was all about this year, great to see you out!
Sure, not everything worked out, but lots did. This is field day, after all. We learn some, we laugh some, and we dream some. That’s the way it is.
What a great event!
What a great team!
Thank you all, very impressive!
Can’t wait to see what everyone brings to the field next year!
GCARC Field Day 2026 Schedule
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
Can you guess what is always the fourth weekend in June? The answer we’re looking for is ARRL Field Day, of course! And it is almost here!
Everyone (guests included) is invited, and encouraged to stop by. Hope to see you there!
Tentative schedule :
Saturday, June 6, 2026 :
Friday, June 26, 2026 :
Saturday, June 27, 2026 :
Sunday, June 28, 2026 :
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 General Membership Meeting
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
Can you guess what is always the fourth weekend in June? The answer we’re looking for is ARRL Field Day, of course! And it is almost here!
Everyone (guests included) is invited, and encouraged to stop by. Hope to see you there!
Tentative schedule :
Saturday, June 6, 2026 :
- 9am Tech Saturday at the Clubhouse : Intro To GCARC Field Day! Come on out to learn what this tradition is all about. Field Day chairs will be present to help answer questions after the presentation, and then will be meeting together in our only planned in-person get together to finalize on-field locations, hand out reserved band-pass filters, resolve issues, review assignments, and coordinate other details before the big event.
Friday, June 26, 2026 :
- Campers roll in, setup may begin. Check with station-owners for specific times (typically > 5pm)
Saturday, June 27, 2026 :
- Morning - Friday’s station setup continues
- Noon - Lunch break
- 1pm - Radio chairs / final briefing / safety meeting @ Clubhouse
- 2pm - Stations go live across all of North America! (18:00 UTC)
- 2:30pm - Bonus education activity @ Clubhouse
- 3pm - Visitors, tours, all afternoon
- 5pm - Dinner for operators
- 6pm - Dinner open for all others
- Sunset 8:32pm, twilight ends by 9pm
- Snacks in Clubhouse, open all night
Sunday, June 28, 2026 :
- Sunrise 5:35am
- 7am - Breakfast for operators
- Noon - Stations begin tear down early - collect logs
- 2pm - Last stations off air!
- Turn in ADIF logs before leave site
- 4pm - Teardown complete
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 General Membership Meeting
- Club meeting (Pizza night), field day stories, and (hopefully) preliminary score reveal!
Your Field Day! Join In The Fun!
W2MMD For Radio Field Day : June 27 - 28, 2026
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
The wait is almost over! It’s just over a month now until the greatest on-air event of the year; ARRL’s Radio Field Day! As those who are familiar with Field Day can attest, Field Day is quite the event. Always the fourth weekend in June, this North American event brings together thousands of crazy hams like us on-air across the U.S. and Canada. Being part practice for emergency communications, part public relations, part informal contest, part educational opportunity, part campout, part picnic, part socializing, and a big part fun, there’s something in this event for everyone. Learning by doing as we challenge ourselves in this around-the-clock 24-hour premier amateur radio exercise, many consider this the highlight of their entire radio year.
Your Club hopes to go in big again for it this year, with off-grid power, temporary antennas, and multiple radios operating simultaneously on different bands and modes set up in the fields around our Clubhouse. To pull this off, we volunteer and organize around appointed roles with delegated responsibilities to manage the complex logistics. These roles and responsibilities include :
I’m pleased to announce that many of our band captains and coordinators from last year have volunteered to return in their role again for this year. Thank you! But there are some key positions and band-slot openings still available that we need to fill, if you can help out. For example, we have the position of Get-On-The-Air station coach and radio chair available, along with several band-modes still available, including 10 meters, if you want to try and run your own radio. Please see the list below, and contact me directly as soon as possible, so we can coordinate and reserve you a spot on the field!
Interested in helping score some QSO points for your Club by operating? Radio chairs are your point of contact. Reach out to one or more of the radio chairs directly and they’ll coordinate with you to get on their operating schedule. Either way, reserve the date! Even if not planning on operating, we invite everyone who can to come on out for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, just to say “hi” and see what all is going on!
For those not able to make it out to our group field day site, that’s ok. You can still participate in this year’s field day. You can use your own callsign from your own location. After it is over, you can submit your log as your own entry under your own callsign to ARRL. And when they ask for your affiliated club as part of the submission, name “Gloucester Co ARC” for your score to be included as part of our Club’s aggregated field day score.
This is your invitation. Please, won’t you join in?
By Jim Wright N2GXJ
The wait is almost over! It’s just over a month now until the greatest on-air event of the year; ARRL’s Radio Field Day! As those who are familiar with Field Day can attest, Field Day is quite the event. Always the fourth weekend in June, this North American event brings together thousands of crazy hams like us on-air across the U.S. and Canada. Being part practice for emergency communications, part public relations, part informal contest, part educational opportunity, part campout, part picnic, part socializing, and a big part fun, there’s something in this event for everyone. Learning by doing as we challenge ourselves in this around-the-clock 24-hour premier amateur radio exercise, many consider this the highlight of their entire radio year.
Your Club hopes to go in big again for it this year, with off-grid power, temporary antennas, and multiple radios operating simultaneously on different bands and modes set up in the fields around our Clubhouse. To pull this off, we volunteer and organize around appointed roles with delegated responsibilities to manage the complex logistics. These roles and responsibilities include :
- Field Day Chairperson : Leads the planning and coordination
- Radio Chairs/Band Captains : Responsible for planning, setup, operation, and teardown of individual radios assigned for specific bands, modes, and bonus point opportunities (of which there are many)
- Culinary Service Coordinator : Manages the culinary staff volunteers and on-site food preparations for participants
- Public Relations Promotion and Outreach Coordinators : Arrange for visits by invited elected officials and served agency representatives, advertises our event on social media, and manages an on-site public relations table allowing this to be an open house to showcase amateur radio to the public as a national resource
- Educational Activity Coordinator : Runs a bonus participatory educational activity during field day
- Designated Safety Officer : With designated on-site assistants, responsible for on-site identification and mitigation of safety risks during our temporary outdoor radio operations from setup through tear down, and compliance with the ARRL Field Day safety checklist
- Log Coordinator : Collect and electronically submit all station logs and bonus evidence for our final claimed score to the ARRL for post event processing
I’m pleased to announce that many of our band captains and coordinators from last year have volunteered to return in their role again for this year. Thank you! But there are some key positions and band-slot openings still available that we need to fill, if you can help out. For example, we have the position of Get-On-The-Air station coach and radio chair available, along with several band-modes still available, including 10 meters, if you want to try and run your own radio. Please see the list below, and contact me directly as soon as possible, so we can coordinate and reserve you a spot on the field!
Interested in helping score some QSO points for your Club by operating? Radio chairs are your point of contact. Reach out to one or more of the radio chairs directly and they’ll coordinate with you to get on their operating schedule. Either way, reserve the date! Even if not planning on operating, we invite everyone who can to come on out for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, just to say “hi” and see what all is going on!
For those not able to make it out to our group field day site, that’s ok. You can still participate in this year’s field day. You can use your own callsign from your own location. After it is over, you can submit your log as your own entry under your own callsign to ARRL. And when they ask for your affiliated club as part of the submission, name “Gloucester Co ARC” for your score to be included as part of our Club’s aggregated field day score.
This is your invitation. Please, won’t you join in?
Field Day : June 27 - 28, 2026 |
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| Band | Operator (Contact) | Mode |
| Field Day Chairman : Jim Wright N2GXJ jim.n2gxj(at)gmail(dot)com Chart updated as of May 12, 2026 |
Field Day : June 27 - 28, 2026 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Rules Section | Support Staff / Bonus Points | Primary Contact | Points Available |
| Field Day Chairman : Jim Wright N2GXJ jim.n2gxj(at)gmail(dot)com Chart updated as of May 12, 2026 |
ARRL 2026 Field Day Rules Packet.PDF
Eligibility : Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit and may submit entries as check-logs.
Object : To work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15- and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
Object : To work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15- and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
W2MMD Clubhouse
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GPS Heading : 39.717000°, -75.209950°
A : Turn off of Route 77 ; B : Turn left into Clubhouse Field Site ; C : W2MMD Clubhouse