Special Events

ARC holds many special events throughout the year. Some are listed below.

Winter Field Day

Winter Field Day is an exciting annual event for amateur radio enthusiasts, taking place on the last full weekend of January. It offers a unique opportunity for radio operators to set up field operations in remote locations, enabling them to connect with other participants worldwide. The Winter Field Day event aims to help participants improve their preparedness for disasters and enhance their operational abilities in adverse conditions.

Using the W4G Special Event Call Sign, the Athens Radio Club (ARC) has participated in Winter Field Day from Watson Mill Bridge State Park since 2020. Before Winter Field Day officially begins, the W4G call sign is used to activate Watson Mill Bridge State Park, US-2207, for Parks on the Air (POTA). All contacts made from the park before, and during, Winter Field Day are uploaded to the POTA website for credit.

Winter Field Day is held at the Cabins, in the Equestrian Area of Watson Mill Bridge State Park. To get to the cabins, travel norheast through the main park area, across the bridge, and towards the small town of Carlton. The Equestrian Area and Cabins will be on the left just before you reach Carlton.

Two cabins will be available if you are staying overnight. To reserver your spot in the cabins (first come first served), or to just let us know you are coming, use the 2026 Winter Field Day Sign-up form. Even if you don’t sign up, please make plans to visit us. Drop-ins are welcome.

Amir KQ4EYR working CW. 2025

Bill KQ4PGV works the radio while Claude AC4SH logs the contacts into the laptop. 2025

Night view of the outside of the cabins. The light shining through the tarps makes it look like a shanty town.

The tarps set up to keep the heat in makes it look like a shanty town. 2025

Kathleen KN4IJM, George KZ4GRK, Phillip W4PHC, and Bill N4WHM pose for a picture.

There it is. The amazing hex beam.

Kathleen KN4IJM, George KZ4GRK, Phillip W4PHC, and Bill N4WHM. 2025

“Secret Weapon” for 2026 Winter Field Day
The Hex Beam

Henrique KQ4DZY and Thomas K9EDD. 2025

A collage of images from 2021 showing people at Winter Field Day.

WFD 2021

Five ham radio geeks stand in awe pointing at the hex beam antenna.

Andy (KQ4VVW), Bob (Ke4JLL), Jesse (N4JAH), Kevin (KR4BDR), and Colin (KO4IZK) admire the hex beam.

James KF4AQO making contacts. 2025

Claude AC4SH, Jesse N4JAH, and Phillip W4PHC set up antennas. 2024

Colin KO4IZK, Field Day Coordinator, racks up the points. 2025

Welcome to Winter Field Day. 2024

Colin (KO4IZK) stands by as Jesse (N4JAH), Bob ((KE4JLL), and Andy (KQ4VVW) set up the hex beam.

Jesse (N4JAH), Bob ((KE4JLL), Colin (KO4IZK), and Andy (KQ4VVW) setting up the hex beam.

N1D - Number One Dawgs

In 2021 the Georgia Bulldogs beat Alabama 33-18 to claim the NCAA Division 1 National Championship title. In recognition of this, ARC fielded a special event station located under the scoreboard, in Sanford Stadium. We acquired a special event callsign, N1D - Number One Dawgs for the station. Thanks to our support of the Dawgs, they went on to win the title again in 2022, when they beat Texas Christian University 65-7 and finished the season 15-0.

Since then, we continue to field the special event station, now located in the plaza between the UGA Bookstore on the Tate Center. We also use the station to recognize the support that ARC has given to the fans of Sanford Stadium by providing communications for the first-aid workers, now called First Aid Dawgs. We have been providing this support continuously since 1979. We usually put N1D on the air in April.

Night view of the N1D stations looking down from the footbridge with Sanford Stadium in the background.

N1D view from the footbridge.

Bob KE4JLL and Kevin KR4BDR explain amateur radio to a UGA student.

Kathleen KN4IJM and her grandchildren stopped by N1D.

Jesse N4JAH talks to Germany via HF.

Kevin KR4BDR operates radio into the night.

June Swap Meet

During, or in place of the June meeting.

Visitors at the swap meet checking out the merchandise.

Summer Field Day

Field Day is an annual on-the-air event organized by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It combines public service, emergency preparedness training, community outreach, and a bit of friendly competition among amateur radio clubs. The objectives are to set up temporary stations (often outdoors/in public places), operate radio equipment under less-than-ideal/field conditions, make as many contacts as possible on various bands and modes, showcase what ham radio can do in emergencies using backup-power, and to have fun. Field Day takes place the fourth full weekend in June each year and is sometimes called Summer Field Day to distinguish it from the newer Winter Field Day.

After many years of holding Field Day at Athens-Clarke County Fire Station #8, in 2025 the event was moved to Red Canna Park in Colbert. Colin KO4IZK was the Field Day Coordinator again this year. Check out his description of Field Day 2025.

Colin KO4IZK works the FLEX Radio while Phillip W4PCH and Tom KQ4TAB look on.

Phillip W4PCH, Colin KO4IZK, and Tom KQ4TAB battle the FLEX Radio. 2025

Garret KO4UOF posing in front of one of the operating stations at Field Day 2023.

Garret KO4UOF. 2023

Various club member sit at or near three HF radios during Field Day.

Amateurs “working” radio. 2025

Max KO4EEX sitting in a chair holding his 2-meter/440 MHz tape measure beam he uses to work satellites.

Max KO4EEX. 2023

Club members setting up pop-up canopies for Field Day.

Setting up. 2025

Colin KO4IZK working radios at Field Day 2023.

Collin KO4IZK, Field Day Coordinator. 2023

Tom K9EDD and Kevin KR4BDR talking while setting up for Field Day.

Tom K9EDD and Kevin KR4BDR setting up for Field Day? 2025

Banner set up in front of Athens-Clarke County Fire Station Number 7 for Field Day 2022. The banner reades "Amateur Radio Field Day Public Welcome".

Field Day - Public Welcome. 2022

Wicked Four Halloween QSL card with a jack-o-lantern and the Georgia Dawg wearing a Jason mask.

2022 W4H QSL card.

W4H - Wicked Four Halloween

Each year since 2021, in October, the Athens Radio Club hosts the Wicked 4 Halloween special event POTA station at Hard Labor Creek State Park US-2184 in Rutledge, GA. This park was choosen due to its association with horror films Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) and Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021). Both of these films used Camp Daniel Morgan on Lake Rutledge for filming. We usually operate out of Picnic Shelter #1.

You, your family, and your friends are cordially invited to attend; even those who don't have their Amateur Radio license yet can participate. Nothing fancy here. just a great time to come out and enjoy Ham Radio and Parks on the Air with fellow radio enthusiasts from the Athens Radio Club et. al. The only plans are to have a good time and play radio. No agenda, no schedule. we'll be there from 9:00 until around noon. Come and go as you please. Bring the family and make a day out of it. I’m sure there will be a bowl of candy (maybe DOUGHNUTS) and a cooler of water, so feel free to bring snacks and ghoulish treats to spread around.

We will keep a log for the club, and if you want personal credit for the activation, you'll need to be responsible for your own log (paper, HAMRS, N3FJP, etc). If you haven't sat around the table with a bunch of other hams and passed the mic around to make a POTA contact, it is truly a great experience.