In the log this week
* Winter Field Day This Weekend (1/24/2026-1/25/2026)
* Contest Spotlight: CQ World Wide 160 Meter Contest on CW
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What’s happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
As always, links to all referenced content can be found in the show notes, or at our Substack at mvarc.substack.com
Winter Field Day This Weekend (1/24/2026-1/25/2026)
This weekend beings the 2026 edition of Winter Field Day. Winter Field Day is an annual event that like its Summer counterpart seeks to get amateur radio operators out in the field to make contact with stations around the world and practice their skills in emergency communications and field operations. Like Summer Field Day, there are a wide array of operating categories and possibilities, with plenty of ways to test your skills and develop new ones. While you can operate from anywhere, field operations under emergency power are incentivized along with using a diversity of antennas and making contacts via satellite.
The event starts at 1600 UTC on Saturday the 24th (11 AM ET Saturday) and continues for 30 hours until 2159 UTC Sunday (4:59 PM ET Sunday). Station classes include Home, Indoor, Outdoor, and Mobile. Bands of operation are all bands except for 12, 17, 30, and 60 meters. All modes except WSJT modes are permitted. The reason for excluding WSJT modes is that this is meant to be an emergency preparedness exercise, and modes like FT8 don’t allow for passing information and the required exchange. The exchange is the category (number of transceivers running simultaneously) and operating class and a location identifier (ARRL/RAC section for US and Canadian stations, MX for Mexico, and other stations send DX). So for the Mount Vernon club, which will be running as K4US with 2 transceivers outdoors in Virginia, the exchange would be “K4US 2O VA”. QSO Points are 2 for CW and digital modes and 1 for Phone. Multipliers include operating on alternative power, operating away from home, using multiple antennas, making an FM satellite contact, making a SSB/CW satellite contact, sending and receiving a Winlink message, copying the Field Day Bulletin, making at least 3 contacts on 6 different bands, making at least 3 contacts on at least 12 different bands, using multiple modes, operating QRP, and operating for at least 6 hours. All stations are limited to 100 Watts PEP. Logs must be submitted electronically by 2359 UTC on March 1st.
Whether you go out into the field or operate from home, this promises to be a fun event. So give Winter Field Day a try this year and get on the air this weekend. More information including rules and announced stations on the air can be found at https://winterfieldday.org/. Good luck.
Contest Spotlight: CQ 160 Meter Contest on CW
This weekend brings the latest edition of the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest on CW. This is always a busy contest on the top band and a great way to get a ton of contacts. The fun starts at 2200 UTC on Friday, January 23 (5 PM ET Friday) and goes until 2200 UTC on Sunday (5 PM ET Sunday). The objective is to make as many contacts with as many U.S. States, Canadian provinces, and countries as possible using the 160 meter band. Categories include Single Operator (no assistance allowed, 1500 Watts maximum), Single Operator/Low Power (no assistance allowed, 100 Watts maximum), Single Operator Assisted High Power (assistance allowed, 1500 Watts maximum), Single Operator Assisted/Low Power (assistance allowed, 100 Watts maximum), QRP (assistance allowed, 5 Watts Maximum), and Multi-Operator (assistance allowed, 1500 Watts maximum). The exchange is RST and state for US, province for Canada, and CQ Zone for DX. So for me, the exchange would be “5NN VA”. Points are 2 points for QSOs in the same country, 5 points for QSOs with other countries on the same continent, 10 points for QSOs with other continents, and 5 points for maritime mobile QSOs. The final score is the total of QSO points multiplied by the sum of multipliers (states, provinces, and dx countries). Logs must be submitted by 2200 UTC on January 30, 2026. Full rules and details can be found at https://cq160.com/. Good luck.
MVARC Nets on the Air
* 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ]
* 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM]
* MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW]
* MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB]
What’s Happening with DX
There will be a lot of DX on the air this week. Stations on the air include Saint Kitts (V47JA), Rwanda (9X2AW), Guadeloupe (FG4KH), Santa Elena Ecuador (HC1MD/2), Tanzania (5H3DX), Gambia (CY5K), Aruba (P40AA), Desecheo Island (KP5/NP3VI), Curacao (PJ2ND), Roatan Island (VE3VSM/HR9), South Sudan (Z81D), Solomon Islands (H44MS), Colombia (HK3JCL), and Antarctica (DP0GVN, FT4YM).
A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at https://dxnews.com/calendar/
Solar Activity Update
As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 194 and the estimated sunspot number was 206 with 12 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. The past week brought very high solar storm activity with G4 level storms. Solar activity has been at low levels in the last 24 hours. The geomagnetic field has been at quiet to active levels and the Kp index reached 5 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 679 km/s. Solar activity is predicted to be at moderate levels with a slight chance of an X-class flare today through Sunday. The geomagnetic field is forecast to be at quiet to active levels today and at quiet to unsettled levels on Saturday and Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is at 10% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are likely in the near term with a predicted probability of 60% today through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 15% chance predicted today through Sunday. There is a chance of 6 meter propagation so keep an eye on the band and spotting clusters to be ready for the next time the magic band does its thing. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world.
Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/.
Upcoming Contests
This weekend brings Winter Field Day, the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest, the Kawanua DX Contest, the REF Contest on CW, the BARTG RTTY Sprint, and the Australia Day Contest. As always the K1USN SSTs, MSTs, and CWTs will also be on the air.
The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Interesting Online Radio Content
Steve KM9G takes a look at a car based charging system for solar generators -
Save it for Parts builds an antenna for receiving Military Satellite Communications and compares it to a commercial antenna -
Forrest KI7QCF shows us some CW operations in Sint Maarten -
Steve KM9G shows how to update the firmware on the Xiegu XPA125B -
George VK2AOE operates portable from Tasmania with his QMX Plus -
Adam Savage talks about flaws in 18650 cells discovered by CT scans -
Mike K8MRD shows a version of HamClock for the Mac -
Jason KO4TFE modifies his QMX Plus to get increased output and voltage tolerance with additional BS170 transistors -
Matt M0DQW builds a WSPR beacon for less than $20 -
Dugbo KD7DUG works 2m CW for POTA 74 miles away -
Chuck KK6USY designs a 3D printed dipole center -
Alan W2AEW installs a 500 Hz CW filter in his FT-857D -
Jason KM4ACK looks at ham made accessories for power switching -
Tim K5OHY looks at a HOA Friendly 40m and 30m antenna -
Mike K8MRD tests the Yaesu FC-80 ATU against other solutions and does not like what he finds -
That’s it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
