Can't make it to Tyler Park? Get on the air from your own shack — and put your score on the PWA board.
June 27–28, 2026 · 1800Z – 2059Z
Aggregate Score
The Big Idea
Every Home Station Counts
ARRL publishes an aggregate club score — the sum of every individual entry that names the same club.
You operate from home under your own callsign, submit your own entry, and tag it with the club name.
Your points stack on top of the 5A operation at Tyler Park. Home scores and the field site score are listed together under PWA.
Any class qualifies — home, mobile, portable — as long as the entry names the club.
One club. Many stations. One combined score in the published results.
Entry Class
Step One
Pick Your Class: D or E
Class D
Home · Wall Power
Your permanent home station running on commercial power.
Works all Field Day stations for credit — including other Class D.
Zero extra setup. Plug in, get on, log contacts.
Class E
Home · Emergency Power
Same as D, but transmitter and receiver run on emergency power — generator, battery, solar.
Works all Field Day stations.
Unlocks bonus points D can't claim: 100% emergency power and alternate power.
Both classes are capped at 100 watts PEP output. One radio on the air = 1D or 1E.
Schedule
When To Operate
The 27-Hour Window
Starts Saturday, June 27 · 1800 UTC — that's 2:00 PM EDT.
Ends Sunday, June 28 · 2059 UTC — 4:59 PM EDT.
Home stations have no setup-time restrictions — your antennas are already up. Operate the full period if you want.
You don't have to marathon it. An hour Saturday evening and an hour Sunday morning still adds points to the club total.
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters plus everything 50 MHz and up. No WARC bands (60/30/17/12m).
On The Air
What You Send
Your Exchange Is Not 5A
"1D EPA" or "1E EPA"
From home you use your own callsign — not W3SK. W3SK is on the air from Tyler Park as 5A EPA.
Send your class (number of transmitters + letter) and your ARRL section: Eastern Pennsylvania = EPA.
On phone, say it plainly: "One Delta Eastern Pennsylvania."
You must copy the same from them: their callsign, their class, their section. All three go in the log.
If you operate at the Tyler Park site, you cannot also work W3SK from home for credit — you can't contact a station you participate in.
Ground Rules
Keep It Legal
Operating Rules
Work each station once per band, per mode — W1AW on 20m phone, 20m CW, and 40m phone is three valid QSOs.
Three modes: Phone, CW, Digital. All digital modes count the same; FT8 and FT4 are fine.
No repeater contacts. Simplex VHF/UHF is fine.
One transmitted signal per band at a time. No Fox/Hound or multi-stream modes.
Every contact needs a live operator on both ends — fully automated QSOs are prohibited.
A radio used under one callsign can't be reused under another call (family members at the same home are exempt).
Points
How It Adds Up
Scoring Math
Mode
Points per QSO
Phone (SSB/FM)
1 point
CW
2 points
Digital (FT8, FT4, RTTY…)
2 points
Power Used
Multiplier
≤ 5 W, battery/solar charged off-grid
× 5
≤ 100 W (typical home station)
× 2
Score = (QSO points × multiplier) + bonus points. The multiplier is set by the highest power you use all weekend — one 100W contact makes everything ×2.
Free Points
Don't Leave These on the Table
Home-Station Bonuses
Web submission — 50 pts. Just submit via the ARRL web app. Easiest 50 points in ham radio.
W1AW Field Day bulletin — 100 pts. Copy it off the air (CW, phone, or digital per the published schedule) and include an accurate copy with your entry.
Site responsibilities — 50 pts. Complete and sign the Field Day Responsibilities Check List from the FD packet (Classes B–F).
Youth participation — 20 pts each (max 100) for each operator 18 or under who completes a QSO.
Class E only: 100% emergency power — 100 pts, and alternate power — 100 pts for 5+ QSOs on solar/wind/naturally charged battery.
Message to the Section Manager — 100 pts, sent via RF in NTS or ICS-213 format; plus 10 pts per formal message handled (max 100).
Logging
Accuracy Is Everything
Log It Right
Every QSO: callsign, class, section, band, mode, time (UTC).
Use real logging software — N3FJP Field Day Contest Log is what we run at the site and it handles dupe checking, scoring, and the dupe sheet export for you. WSJT-X logs FT8/FT4 automatically.
The software flags dupes before you work them — trust it, and work the station on another band or mode instead.
If they send "3 Alpha Connecticut," log 3A CT. Garbled exchange? Ask for a repeat. Your logs must be accurate.
Log in UTC, not local time. Set this before the event starts.
Home stations log under your own call in your own log file — you are a separate entry, not part of the W3SK network log.
Deadline · July 28
After the Weekend
Submit Your Entry
Go to the ARRL Field Day web app: field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php — worth a 50-point bonus by itself.
Complete the summary sheet in the app: class, section, QSO totals by band/mode, power, bonuses claimed.
Upload a list of stations worked by band and mode (dupe sheet). Your logging software exports this; a Cabrillo file is accepted instead.
Upload proof for any bonus claimed — W1AW bulletin copy, signed checklist, message copies, photos.
Save your confirmation number and the confirmation email.
Full station logs are not submitted — but keep your log file for one year in case ARRL requests it.
Hard deadline: Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Late entries are not accepted. Submit Sunday night while it's fresh.
Most Important Slide
The Whole Point
Name the Club
Penn Wireless Association
On the summary sheet, the entry form asks for a club or group name. Enter it exactly as shown above — every home station, identical spelling.
ARRL matches club names by text. "PWA," "Penn Wireless," and "Penn Wireless Assn" are three different clubs to the scoring database — and those points vanish from our total.
Three or more entries naming the same club get the club listed with an aggregate score in the published results.
Your individual score is still published under your call and class — the club line is purely additive. There is no downside.
One field on one form is the difference between your weekend counting for PWA and not. Don't skip it.
Recap
Before You Key Up
The Checklist
Operate under your own callsign, Class 1D or 1E, max 100W.
Exchange: "1D EPA" (or 1E) — copy their call, class, and section accurately.
Log in UTC with real software; once per band per mode; no repeaters; no full automation.
Grab the easy bonuses: web submission, W1AW bulletin, responsibilities checklist.
Submit at field-day.arrl.org by July 28 with your dupe sheet and bonus proof.
Club name: Penn Wireless Association — exact spelling, every entry.