Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society
News
February 1, 2026
Winter Field Day Report
—Ron Reeves, NN5R
We made the right decision to cancel the club’s group participation. The weather was bad, it was co-co-cold, at times windy, and the roads were treacherous. The “hardy” states that spend the whole winter in snow (Wyoming, Idaho, etc.) were on the air sometimes at group locations, but they don’t get that rain-ice-sleet-snow-packed combination. Glad we weren’t out in it.
Hams were stuck at home across the Southeast, Midwest, and Eastern U.S. Clubs canceled their group operations and active club members operated 1H from home and that increased the number of stations on the air.
Despite the weather and our decision not to meet as a group, club members did participate in WFD. Eric, NM5M, worked WFD for 14 hours on 40 thru 10m. WFD-ers were not early risers on Sunday on 40m but it picked up. Eric made over 1000 contacts—all on CW—then realized he would have doubled his score by making just one SSB contact. Eric observed that the bands were noisier than normal but had lots of WFD activity – possibly because of the bad weather.
Darrell, KG5E, made almost 100 contacts, all on CW. Darrell worked Eric on two bands.
Andy, KI5YLX, made 18 contacts mostly on PSK but also JS8Call. Andy tried VarAC. He made a few contacts on 2m FM Simplex. Andy had noise and SWR issues on his under-the-eave end fed antenna and wasn’t able to break thru the pileups on voice (sleet? / snow? / ice?) Andy was successful in copying the WFD Bulletin using PSK.
George, KG5GXU, was active on 15m SSB but also experienced SWR issues. Ice sometimes causes problems with antennas. Mike, W5MDB, and Bill, K5PEC, made a few contacts. David, K5GIL, had fun playing with the receiver on his Flex 6300. I spent the weekend restoring an old Heathkit Keyer and occasionally walked the dog until the dog says “Why don’t we go home? It’s cold out here.” I was glad to not be dealing with a WFD antenna farm.
MARS will try WFD again next year. The next club outing is Texas State Parks On The Air in April. The forecast is wind and burgers, maybe some rain, hopefully no flooding or a tornado, certainly no ice or snow.
CQ DX
At the January 8 meeting, veteran DXer Dave Vest, K8DV, explained all you need to know about ARRL’s DX Century Club (DXCC), with tips about how to work the world and earn your awards. Go now to watch the video.
Next Regular Meeting
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 7:00 PM
Tom Yenny, K5LOL, will explore the world of Go Boxes.
You’ll find more details on the EVENTS page.
Carrollton
Farmers Branch
Addison
ARES/RACES
Next scheduled nets
ARES® Training
February 8, 2026, 8:00 PM CT
145.210 Tone 110.9
RACES Training
February 15, 2026, 7:45 PM CT
145.210 Tone 110.9
Born February 27, this radio pioneer became head of a world leader in broadcasting and electronic manufacturing. His company started the first US radio network and gave us color television (NTSC).
Donate to MARS
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“ARES®” and “Amateur Radio Emergency Service®” are registered service marks of the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated and are used by permission.
License Testing
Allan Batteiger, WB5QNG, will have an in-person test session on the third
Saturday, February 21, 2026.
Check the EVENTS page for details. Allan continues to offer remote testing sessions as well. Please visit https://wb5qng.org/ to learn how to sign up.