Brutal Cold: Winter Field Day at -17°F - Our 2026 WFD Experience | W8EDH

Описание: What happens when you try to operate ham radio during one of the coldest winter weekends Michigan has seen in years? We found out!

Join James (K8JKU), Jim (N8JRD), and Rory (W8KNX) as we recap our 2026 Winter Field Day experience operating as the Everyday Ham Amateur Radio Club using callsign W8EDH. With temperatures plunging to -17°F (-27°C) and dangerous winter storms sweeping the country, we set up at a cabin in the woods with 8 total operators and logged 845 QSOs across multiple bands.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Driving to Winter Field Day in -17°F
0:15 - What is Winter Field Day?
0:42 - Why the Everyday Ham Club decided to participate
1:18 - The brutal Michigan weather conditions
2:03 - Jim's Winter Field Day experience
3:09 - Heating problems at the cabin (51°F inside!)
3:53 - James arrives after the heating crisis
4:18 - First time doing a real contest
4:56 - Our antenna setup strategy
5:54 - The 40m monster vertical antenna
6:06 - Antenna walkthrough (40m vertical, Aerial-51 OCFD, Band Hopper)
7:21 - Results: 845 QSOs and contest stats
7:55 - Using World Radio League logger
8:43 - Stats breakdown (110 QSOs in fastest hour, 28 average)
9:24 - Bands we operated (40m, 20m, 80m, 15m, 10m, 2m, 220, 440)
10:06 - Getting CW contacts with Terry W8TMB
10:36 - Multipliers and bonus objectives
11:01 - Running on alternative power (battery vs generator RFI)
11:28 - Winlink email adventure (and the Nigerian prince joke)
12:30 - More multipliers: six bands, multiple modes, continuous operation
12:54 - Objectives we missed (satellites, WFD bulletin, QRP)
13:12 - Total operators (8) and visitors (16+)
13:30 - The W8EDH club callsign
13:44 - Coaching new operators
14:04 - Join our Discord for event info
14:24 - Looking ahead to Summer Field Day & QSO parties
15:06 - Closing montage: Final contacts and packing up

📻 WHAT WE COVERED
Setting up a multi-operator station in extreme cold
Running three radios on battery and generator power
Tips for first-time contesters using World Radio League
The importance of resonant antennas for contesting
How to encourage and coach new operators
Winlink email bonus objective (and the Nigerian prince joke)

🔗 RESOURCES
Winter Field Day Association: https://winterfieldday.org/
World Radio League: https://www.worldradioleague.com/
South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club (SLAARC): https://www.slaarc.com/

🎙️ ABOUT EVERYDAY HAM
Three friends diving into amateur radio with a casual, lighthearted twist. From current events and lessons learned to our gripes and off-topic banter, we bring fun, relatable conversations and radio expertise.

📱 FOLLOW US
Website: https://www.everydayham.com/

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