Winter Field Day 2025 – by Peter VE7PAE
Winter Field Day 2025, held on January 25th and 26th, was an exceptional experience in winter contest conditions. I was offered to go with a team (VE7KPZ, VE7QH, VE7RIZ) to Larch Hills, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to join. Instead, I decided to go somewhere closer to home, in the South Canoe area near Salmon Arm, British Columbia. I had been thinking about this contest all year, and the day had finally arrived.
I worked this event one day, January 25th. Outside, the temperature was -4°C, with mostly overcast weather. I decided to compete in the mobile class using my electric car, a Nissan Leaf. I spent six hours in the field, fully dedicated to the contest, just like in the old days when I started with amateur radio as a high school student.
For this occasion, I used mobile radio equipment Yaesu FT818, a SOTABEAMS fiberglass pole 6 meters high, installed on a satellite antenna roof tripod, and a SOTABEAMS Band Hopper III - a three-band (20m, 30m, 40m) portable dipole antenna system. I also installed a mobile antenna for the 70cm and 2m bands. As a power source, I used a Jackery 250 battery, which proved to be a reliable partner in this adventure.
I worked CW, SSB, and digital Winlink-VARA HF to send and receive emails. In total, I made 22 QSOs (9 contacts on CW and 13 contacts on SSB), all on the 20m band. I am particularly pleased that, with low-power equipment, I managed to successfully send and receive emails multiple times over HF waves using Winlink and VARA HF. Although I didn't have many QSOs, I am satisfied with participating in this significant and important event.
Winter Field Day is a unique experience that should involve as many amateur radio operators as possible because it is an exercise in how to set up equipment and establish connections, especially in winter conditions, in case of an emergency.
73,
Peter
VE7PAE
