Each year amateurs around the country gather to participate in ARRL’s annual Field Day. According to the ARRL’s field day page, ‘The object of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.”

DDXG does not have an event for Field Day; however, we do hold our June meeting one week early to allow our members to participate in their choice of Field Day activities. Most will join with our friends and fellow amateurs from the Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society (RATS) at their Field Day event. RATS will operate at the usual spot: Laurel Recreation Area, 10301 Hungary Spring Rd in northern Henrico County.  They will gathering at 10 AM local time Saturday, June 24 to begin setup, and will go on the air at 2 PM, operating from generator power as a class 2A station. More information is available at the RATS website.

ARRL Field Day is June 23-24. RATS will once again have Field Day operations at Laurel Park. For more information visit the ARRL Field Day site at http://www.arrl.org/field-day.

Due to Field Day, the next DDXG meeting will be held one week earlier than usual, Saturday, June 16th. DDXG meets at the Deep Run Recreation Center at 9900 Ridgefield Parkway, Henrico, VA 23233.

DDXG will once again be at Frostfest on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Frostfest is the mid-Atlantic’s largest winter hamfest. Our location has changed just a bit this year – we are now in the rear of the hall just to the left of the prize drum. Hours are from 8:30AM to 3:30PM. As in years past all of the flea market tables for Frostfest have been sold out. You are guaranteed to find a huge variety of great ham radio stuff to start or add to your shack.

DDXG will again provide the test bench so if you find a great rig or simply need to make sure something that has caught your eye powers up you can bring it by the DDXG tables. The team will help you test out basic power and transmit functionality. We have a 12 volt power supply, a dummy load, and SWR/power meter available.

Frostfest will also host a number of commercial vendors including Elecraft, Ham World, Quicksilver, Signman and more. Plus meetings (including the ARRL Virginia State convention), forums, and VE testing will all take place.

Be sure to stop by the DDXG booth and learn about our club. Members are available to share our excitement about DX, answer questions, and make you aware of upcoming DXpeditions! Ask us about joining DDXG to learn about or share your passion for DX!