San Francisco Radio Club

2026 July Meeting and VP Message

7/17/2026

Vice President's Message

June was a great month for amateur radio in San Francisco. We had wonderful weather for ARRL field day, and had a great showing for the club, making over 100 contacts across six stations! Several people made their first HF contacts, which is always my favorite part. Thanks to Harry WD9DSL, and Jeff KK6JJZ for producing such a spectacular event.
Thanks to all of you who have been activating W6S for the World Soccer Tournament. I hear that there have been over 100k contacts made across all the stations, and many operators have earned certificates for contacting every city.

I'm personally excited to announce that we have secured a meeting room at the Randall Museum on August 22nd for the Tape Measure Antenna Building and Fox Hunt Event. Please keep an eye out in the coming weeks for additional details on how to sign up!

73 de Marc, KR6A

July Club Meeting

Join us this Friday, July 17th from 7 to 9 PM for a presentation about Public Service Events by Oliver Lu, KM6BON.

Amateur radio plays a critical role in supporting events in the Bay Area. Our July Speaker, Oliver Lu has experience keeping events running smoothly through wet, chaotic race-day conditions. Oliver has helped carry forward amateur radio’s public service tradition, stepping into an organizer role and mentoring the next wave of hams who show up wanting to do more than just check into a net.

Join us as Oliver shares what it actually takes to run public service events from the inside: recruiting and training volunteers, coordinating with event organizers, troubleshooting comms on the fly, and why this kind of hands-on service is one of the best ways to grow as an operator — and as a club. Whether you're a new ham looking for your first public service assignment or a veteran wondering how events work behind the scenes, this talk is for you.

Directions to our General meeting at the Randall Museum click here. Directions can also be found on the club website on the Meetings tab.

If you cannot make it in person, please join us by using our Google Meet link

2026 ARRL Field Day and NO June meeting

6/16/2026

No June meeting this Friday as the Randall Museum will be closed for the Juneteenth Holiday.

SFRC 2026 Summer Field Day

Field Day is amateur radio's biggest weekend of the year, and the San Francisco Radio Club will be right in the middle of it. Each June, thousands of operators across the United States and Canada head outdoors to set up complete stations on emergency power and make as many contacts as they can over a 24-hour period. Part contest, part open house, and part emergency-preparedness drill, Field Day is where we prove what ham radio does best: getting on the air anywhere, under any conditions, with nothing but the equipment we can carry to a rooftop. It's also one of the most welcoming events on our calendar, so whether you're a seasoned contester or have never keyed a microphone, there's a place for you on the deck.

A Little History

ARRL Field Day was born in 1933, conceived as a way to test how well amateurs could operate away from the comfort of their home shacks using portable and emergency power. It struck a chord immediately and grew into the most popular operating event in amateur radio, now held every year on the fourth full weekend of June. More than ninety years later the mission hasn't changed: demonstrate the resilience and public-service value of amateur radio while having a great time doing it. The San Francisco Radio Club has been affiliated with ARRL since ARRL was founded, and we're proud to carry that tradition onto the air again as W6PW.

When and Where

Our Summer Field Day will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM local time. All operations take place on the top deck of Bldg. #211 at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

05:00 PDT — The two upper sections of the top deck are cordoned off for exclusive SFRC use.
09:00 PDT — Setup begins.
Before 10:00 PDT — All authorized station operators must arrive.
11:00 PDT — Operations begin.
17:00 PDT — Operations cease.
18:00 PDT — All gear must be removed from Bldg. #211.

Getting there and parking

The map below shows the access route into the VA Medical Center campus and the entrance to the Field Day operations area on the top deck of Bldg. 211.

Operations Layout

This is the top-deck operations area, including the additional attendee parking and the elevator and stairwell access points.

What to bring and how we'll operate

Authorized operators provide their own gear and operate within ARRL Field Day regulations:

Bring your own radio, batteries, antennas, masts, band-pass filters, and enough additional equipment for safe operation. All equipment must be securely fixed in place in the operations area for the duration of the event.
Propane generators are supplied by the SF-VA. Operators are encouraged to bring their own solar panels.
Plan to operate either adjacent to your vehicle or from the 10' x 10' tents provided by the SF-VA. Tents, tables, and chairs are available if requested in advance.
Planned modes and bands: 40m SSB/Digital/CW, 20m SSB/Digital/CW, 15m SSB, 10m SSB, 6m SSB, and 2m/70cm FM. Requests for other modes or bands should be made in advance.
Authorized operators must allow guest operators to use their stations and act as control operators when required. All authorized stations may use the W6PW callsign for 2026 Field Day contacts.

Food, facilities, and courtesy

Attendees and operators provide their own food and beverages. No alcohol is permitted anywhere on the grounds of the VA Medical Center.
Restroom facilities on the ground level of Bldg. 211 are provided by the SF-VAMC as a courtesy. Please help us keep them in good order so we're welcomed back.

Questions?

For anything not covered here, DM @Harry WD9DSL on Slack. Come join us on the deck, get on the air, and let's show San Francisco what amateur radio can do.

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