FIELD DAY 2026 - June 27-28

The Amateur Radio Club of El Cajon is hosting 2026 Field Day at the Padre Dam Water District, located at 9300 Fanita Pkwy, Santee, CA 92071

http://www.arrl.org/field-day 

Field Day is ham radio's open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio's science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. 

If you have something interesting to share, a radio kit or project or some ideas you have been working on, please come visit and share.  

Talk-in Frequency 

WA6BGS 2m repeater  RX 147.420  TX 146.475  Offset -0.945  PL 107.2
DMR Simplex - 441.0000

WEATHER

It is predicted to be 75 degrees on Saturday, full sun, very light breeze.  Evening temps will be in the low 60's.
Wear a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.  Bring a jacket for the evening.

Bring a comfortable chair if you plan on staying a while. 

100 foot tall tower and 50 foot tall tower.  Triplexers let us connect several radios on different bands to the same antenna.  If you want to work HF with us, you can bring your own radio and cable to our antennas.  Bring your own power supply and power cables - we will provide 110v.

Just ask - we will help you get started.

CW - Morse Code, the original digital mode!  CW is still a big part of amateur communications, reaching around the world with just a few watts of power.   Once this was a primary mode and required test for amateur radio communications, but now it's an advanced skill that takes some study and dedication.  It's not impossible, but it does take dedication.

GOTA - Get On The Air!  If you have your call sign but have never "keyed up" on amateur radio, let us help you take that next step and make a contact.  If you are thinking of getting your HAM license but aren't there yet, you can legally try it with our group on this Field Day event.   Don't be afraid of talking - this is amateur radio, not professional radio.  We will have 2m, 70cm, and HF radios ready for you to take that first step and make a contact.  Many clubs will be hosting their own GOTA station, so you might be a newbie talking to another newbie.  Jump in, the water is warm.

DMR - Digital Mobile Radio.  One of the more recent additions to Amateur Radio, this is a digital mode that is commonly linked across the internet for world wide communications.  DMR is a common mode for digital repeaters that serve a local area but can optionally link to other repeaters across town or across states.  These links are called "Talk Groups" and are usually assigned by geography.  The San Diego talk group 310014 serves most of San Diego county, but can be accessed by anyone on the internet or by other DMR users who join this talk group from a remote location.  https://hose.brandmeister.network/ 

If you are still struggling to understand DMR and want a little bit of coaching, bring your DMR radio (and a laptop and programming cable) and maybe we can help bring some light to your project.  Once you understand the building blocks for the DMR code plug, programming your radio will become much easier.

The El Cajon Field Day group will be listening on DMR simplex, 441.0000 and will be monitoring the San Diego talkgroup 310014.

Rich - NJ6F