The Klub regularly participates in the ARRL Field Day and Winter Field Day activities, the flagship Emergency Preparedness exercise for Radio Amateurs. Field Day is a 24 hour exercise designed to test the group’s ability to respond to emergency conditions by conducting a sustained operation in the field and under non-commercial power.
Winter Field Day started in 2007 by a non-ARRL group with the purpose of preparing for and practicing Emergency Communications across North America and beyond.Similar to Summer Field Day, offering additional challenges of wintertime operations, but with a more streamlined scoring system. In 2019, K5RWK operated as an outdoors station, placing 7th Nationally, and 1st in our Section.
Officially both Field Day and Winter Field Day are Emergency Communications Exercises, with points awarded for various types of operational proficiency in adverse conditions. We witnessed how important Amateur Radio operations were during the 2019 tornadoes in Richardson. While these events are unusual, we know they will occur again, and being prepared at a moment’s notice for these and other disasters can be invaluable. That’s why setup is limited to 12 hours total, and only during the previous 24 hours. If you are interested in honing your emergency preparedness skills, in adverse, unfamiliar conditions, you will find these events a rewarding challenge.
And unofficially, it’s a great opportunity for some good ole amateur radio camaraderie, showing off your gear, learning, and an excuse to help your RWK to earn bragging rights.
You can read more about ARRL Field Day here and Winter Field Day (not affiliated with ARRL) here.
Field Day Photo Gallery
Photos from some of our previous Field Day & Winter Field Day exercises. Click on a picture for more or click the slide show link below.
Field day galleries
We also have a full selection of RWK pictures from Field Day and Winter Field Day from previous years that are available here.
Field Day Posts
Field Day 2026 – It’s Coming this Saturday! — Copy
June 19, 2026
RWK Field Day is this Saturday (June 27) and will again be at the Richardson Emergency Operations Center (EOC) (Plano Rd & Lookout Drive). What Is Field Day? Field Day is the largest amateur radio operating event of the year. If previous years are any indication, there will be 30,000 to 40,000 hams on the air during the 24 hour period. Field Day is basically a nationwide Emergency Preparedness exercise, so some ...Read Full Post...QRV Tech – June 2026 – All You Need to Know about RWK Field Day
June 16, 2026
Field Day is amateur radio’s biggest event of the year, and hams new and old look forward to it every year. At this QRV Tech session, you will find out what exactly is “Field Day” and how it got to be ham radio’s biggest annual event. You will also learn how you can participate with RWK at Field Day 2026 and what you need if you want to participate on ...Read Full Post...QRV Tech – May 2026 – What’s Next for HamClock
May 19, 2026Many hams have come to appreciate and rely on a simple piece of software that provides valuable information at a glance – HamClock. But recently there’s been a change to the long-term availability of HamClock and we will have to do something to continue to have the information that HamClock provided. We’ll go through the basics of HamClock, what’s changed, and some of the alternatives that are available ...Read Full Post...QRV Tech – April 2026 – Deep Dive Into FT-8/4 and “FT-2”
April 21, 2026In tomorrow night’s session, we will cover some of the internals of the most popular digital mode and discuss the controversies surrounding the FT2 mode. We hope that you will come away with a deeper understanding of how these modes work and what makes them special. See you tomorrow night! We look forward to seeing you on Zoom! Event Details: Join Zoom Meeting Topic: QRV Tech Time: 07:00 PM Central Time (US ...Read Full Post...QRV Tech – February 2026 – Programming A DMR
February 17, 2026
In tonight’s edition of QRV, we’re going to look at the sometimes daunting task of programming your DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) ham radio. DMRs, once programmed, are very easy to use, but the initial hurdle of getting a radio going can be frightening. We’ll explain why it’s not really that difficult, and just by knowing an understanding 5 pieces of information, you can easily program and use your ...Read Full Post...
RWK Field Day History
RWK has been participating in Field Day since the late 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Field Day was much more of a contest, RWK often scored in the Top 10 of the entered class and was #1 several years.
Tim Bratton K5RA has researched the RWK’s Field Day results and has an excellent summary and results over the years. You can read his piece here.
We came across a brief movie from Field Day in the late 60s showing a tower setup in a field in Richardson.
RWK Field Day Results
| Year | Category | Result |
| 1959 | 4A | 59 |
| 1969 | 2A | 6 |
| 1970 | 2A | 3 |
| 1971 | 2A | 1(!) |
| 1972 | 2A | 3 |
| 1973 | 3A | 2 |
| 1974 | 1A | 3 |
| 1975 | 2A | 2 |
| 1976 | 3A | 1 |
| 1977 | 3A | 2 |
| 1978 | 3A | 2 |
| 1979 | 3A | 2 |
| 1982 | 2A | 1 |
| 1983 | 2A | 4 |
| 1984 | 1A | 13 |
| 1985 | 2A | 9 |