Field Day 2025

The ARRL Field Day Event takes place on June 28-29.  The ICARS location will be the Lake Norman State Park in the Kingfisher picnic shelter.  The shelter is reserved from Friday June 27 until Sunday June 29.  The club will be operating the radios for the Field Day event from 2pm Saturday until noon Sunday.  Outside of these hours the site is available to club members for Parks on the Air from Friday morning 7am until Sunday night 9pm.

Schedule

Fri 06/27 10am – Begin setup
Fri 06/27  5pm – Start Charcoal Grill – BYO food
Fri 06/27  6pm – Jam Session
Sat 06/28  9am – HAM Exams Offered
Sat 06/28  11am – Technology Training – Topics NanaVNA, rtl-sdr, Echo-Link
Sat 06/28  2pm – Field Day Event start
Sat 06/28  6pm – ICARS Club will provide burgers and dogs on the grill
Sun 06/29 12pm – Tear down
Sun 06/29  5pm – Field Day Event end (site will not be staffed from 12-5pm Sun)

Note: The Park hours are 7am-9pm.  When the park closes, the picnic area is gated.  It is possible to enter/leave outside these hours, but you will need to coordinate with the onsite group to unlock the gate.

Take Your Amateur Radio License Exam

We are also hosting a Ham Radio license exam session (all levels from Technician to Extra) on Saturday, June 28 from 9 AM to 12 PM.

First-time test takers must register for an FCC Registration Number before the test. For more information about FCC Registration Numbers, how to obtain one, or how to update your existing one, go to the FCC’s website.

Contact Ed Puckett (a1mred@yahoo.com) to preregister and/or ask questions.

Testing fee: $12

Talk in Frequency (Call W4SNC for onsite operations)

146.685 MHz, -600, 77 Hz. (ICARS Troutman Repeater)
146.520 MHz Simplex (no tone)

Parks on the Air (POTA)

Since we are operating within the boundaries of a designated POTA location, anyone interested in trying a POTA activation can do so.  We have a few experienced POTA activators who would be happy to help you get started outside of the ARRL field day event hours.  Check with Olen Persons or John Finn.

Field Day & Exam Location

Kingfisher Pavilion
Lake Norman State Park
Statesville NC 28677

Click the map below for directions to our Field Day location within the park:

Lat/Lon: 35.6477, -80.9470
Google Maps Plus Code: J3X3+35H

ICARS Members: Please RSVP if you plan on participating in the event and did not attend the June club meeting, or if you will be coming for food Saturday evening for a head count.  If you can’t get out, give a call to W4SNC on the Troutman repeater 146.685-600 77Hz.