New Field Day Rules for 2001 Designed to Enhance the Fun

From the ARRL...



NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 22, 2001--Field Day 2001 will run from 1800 UTC June 23 to 2100 UTC June 24--as always, the fourth full weekend in June. Typically a club or group event, Field Day is the most popular operating activity of the year--and one of the most enjoyable for hams of all skill levels. A few rules changes this year affect bonus points for Field Day scores.


The non-traditional mode bonus has been expanded from 100 to 300 points for doing three separate demonstration modes.
Packet is back and will be counted as one of the three demonstration modes, but to claim packet credit, you must set up a portable digipeater system. Existing, permanent packet networks do not qualify for this bonus.



You may earn a 100-point bonus if an invited local government official or representative of one of the agencies that ARES serves in an emergency visits your Field Day site. To earn this bonus, the invited official must actually visit the site, not just be invited.



The message-handling bonus has been changed. You may now earn 10 points per message, up to 100 points total, for origination, relay, and delivery of formal NTS messages. In the past, only messages received and relayed were counted. The Field Day participation message to the Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator under rule 7.3.5 does not also qualify for bonus points under these rules.
This marks the last year that the extra Novice/Tech Plus station will exist in its current form. The Novice/Tech station is a non-counting transmitter, and its QSOs count for QSO point credit. The ARRL Membership Services Committee is considering several options to encourage participation by newly licensed hams.



"There are so many different aspects to Field Day that to account for them all and to measure the effectiveness of one mode of operation against another is a daunting task," said ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. The ARRL Contest Branch has risen to the task with the 24-page Field Day 2001 Information packet. This on-line document may be ordered in hard-copy format by sending an SASE with four units of postage to Field Day Package, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.



But the best part of Field Day is just being there. Get set now to participate and have a great time!