ARRL Field Day: Strategy, Scoring, and How to Win Your Class

Field Day isn't technically a contest. The ARRL calls it an "operating event" and an "emergency preparedness exercise." But let's be real. People keep score. People compare scores. People absolutely try to win their class. And there's nothing wrong with that. The competitive element drives better preparation, which is the whole point of an emergency readiness exercise anyway.

I've participated in Field Day every year since 2011 (missed 2020 for obvious reasons, though the modified rules that year were interesting). Seven of those years with a club, six solo or with one other operator. Here's what I've learned about actually putting up a competitive score.

How Scoring Works

Before strategy, you need to understand the scoring system. It's not intuitive if you're coming from regular contests.

QSO Points

Each contact is worth a base point value:

• CW and Digital contacts: 2 points each
• Phone (SSB/FM) contacts: 1 point each

Your total QSO points = (CW contacts × 2) + (Digital contacts × 2) + (Phone contacts × 1)

Then multiply by your power multiplier:

• QRP (5W or less): × 5
• Low power (up to 150W): × 2
• High power (over 150W): × 1

So a single CW QSO at QRP is worth 2 × 5 = 10 points. That same QSO at high power is worth 2 × 1 = 2 points. Five times the scoring weight. This is why most competitive Field Day stations run low power or QRP unless they have a specific reason for high power.

Bonus Points

This is where strategy gets interesting. Bonus points can add 500-1,500+ points to your total. They're available in fixed amounts:

• 100% emergency power: 100 points (all contacts made without commercial mains)
• Media publicity: 100 points (get a story in local newspaper/TV/radio before or during Field Day)
• Public information table: 100 points (set up a table with info for visitors)
• Message handling (formal radiogram): 100 points (originate at least one message to your ARRL Section Manager)
• W1AW bulletin: 100 points (copy the special Field Day bulletin from W1AW)
• Satellite QSO: 100 points (make at least one contact via amateur satellite)
• Educational activity: 100 points (conduct a training activity during Field Day)
• Site visit by elected official: 100 points (get a government official to visit)
• Site visit by agency official: 100 points (served agency rep visits, like Red Cross, FEMA)
• GOTA station: 100 points max (20 points per QSO made by non-licensed or Technician operators, up to 100)
• Web submission: 50 points (submit entry via the web)
• Youth participation: 20 points per participant under 18 (max 100 points)
• Social media: 100 points (post about your Field Day activity publicly)
• Safety officer: 100 points (appoint someone as safety officer)

That's up to 1,550 bonus points if you hit every category. For perspective, a single-operator low-power station making 200 phone QSOs gets 400 QSO points. The bonuses alone could triple that.

Choosing Your Class

Your class designation is [number of transmitters][letter for power source/location].

The letter:

• A: Club or group, portable (not at a regular station location)
• B: One or two persons, portable
• C: Mobile (operating from a vehicle)
• D: Home station, using commercial power
• E: Home station, using emergency power
• F: Emergency Operations Center

So "3A" means three transmitters, club portable. "1B" means one transmitter, one or two operators, portable. "1D" is one transmitter, home station, commercial power.

Here's the strategic choice that matters most: you're competing within your class. A 2A station competes against other 2A stations. A 1B competes against other 1Bs. Pick your class based on what you can execute well, not what sounds impressive.

A 2A station that operates both transmitters for the full 24 hours with experienced operators will beat a 5A station that has spotty coverage and inexperienced operators. Go with what your group can sustain.

Strategy by Class

Solo Portable (1B)

This is where I've spent most of my Field Day time recently. One operator, one transmitter, portable location.

Run low power. The 2× multiplier at 150W or less is almost always better than running 500W for the slight rate increase. You'd need to more than double your QSO count at high power to overcome the multiplier penalty. That basically never happens for a single operator.

Prioritize CW and digital. At 2 points per QSO versus 1 for phone, every CW or FT8 contact is worth double. My typical 1B strategy: 60% CW, 25% FT8, 15% SSB. The SSB time is when I'm too tired for CW and need a mental break.

FT8 is controversial but effective. Some old-timers grumble about FT8 on Field Day. I get it. But the rules allow it, and the contact rate can be phenomenal during band openings. On 20m FT8 during a good opening, I've logged 60+ contacts in an hour. Try matching that rate on phone as a single op.

Get ALL the bonus points you can. As a solo op, your QSO total will be lower than multi-op stations. Bonuses matter proportionally more. Set up for emergency power (100 points), copy the W1AW bulletin (100 points), send a radiogram (100 points), submit via web (50 points), and post on social media (100 points). That's 450 easy points. On a smaller QSO total, that's significant.

Band strategy for 1B: Start on 20m (greatest activity at the beginning Saturday afternoon). Move to 40m as evening approaches. Work 80m and 160m overnight if you can stay awake. Come back to 20m and 15m Sunday morning. Check 6m periodically for sporadic-E openings (a single 6m opening can net 30+ contacts in 15 minutes).

Club Portable (2A-5A)

Different game entirely. Coordination matters more than individual skill.

Pre-assign bands and modes. Don't let two transmitters compete for the same contacts on the same band. If you're 3A, maybe run: transmitter 1 on 20m CW/digital, transmitter 2 on 40m CW, transmitter 3 on 20m phone. Rotate bands as conditions change but keep clear assignments.

Antenna separation is critical. Multiple transmitters within a few hundred feet of each other will desense receivers on adjacent bands. Plan antenna placement to maximize isolation. Put the 20m antenna as far from the 40m antenna as your site allows. Use bandpass filters. A 20m transmitter can completely deafen a 15m receiver without proper filtering.

Operator shifts. 24 hours is long. Plan 2-hour operating shifts with mandatory breaks. Fatigued operators make mistakes, send slower, and miss QSOs. Fresh operators at 3 AM outperform exhausted operators trying to power through.

Put your best CW operator on the highest-activity band at peak times. If you've got someone who can run 35+ WPM and handle a pileup, they should be on 20m CW Saturday afternoon when the band is packed. Don't waste that capability on 80m phone at midnight.

My old club ran 4A for several years. Our best finish was a result of ruthless time management. We tracked QSO rates per hour per station and moved operators around based on who was producing. Not everyone loved the approach (it's supposed to be fun, after all) but the scoreboard reflected the effort.

Home Station (D and E)

Class D (home, commercial power) and E (home, emergency power) have lower participation numbers, which means fewer competitors. Winning your section in 1D or 1E is achievable with a solid effort.

The E class trick: Running your home station on emergency power (generator or batteries) gives you 100 bonus points AND puts you in a less competitive class. If you have a generator, strongly consider E over D.

Home station advantage: Better antennas, comfortable operating position, no setup/teardown time. You can operate the full 24 hours without dealing with weather, generators running out of fuel, or tent poles collapsing at 2 AM. (That last one happened to us in 2017. Not ideal.)

Maximizing Your Score: The Non-Obvious Stuff

Satellite QSO

That 100-point satellite bonus is just one QSO. You don't need a fancy station. A handheld with an Arrow antenna can work FM LEO satellites. SO-50, ISS (when operational), or one of the newer FM birds. Spend 15 minutes pre-Field Day learning to track satellite passes with an app like Look4Sat or Heavenabove, identify a good pass during Field Day hours, and make one FM contact.

100 points for 15 minutes of prep and 5 minutes of operating. Best ROI of any bonus.

The W1AW Bulletin

W1AW transmits a special Field Day message on specific frequencies at specific times. Check the ARRL website for the current year's schedule. Have someone with good copy skills listen at the right time, copy the bulletin, and you've got 100 easy points. It's transmitted on both CW and digital.

Natural Power

If you run your entire operation from solar, wind, or water power (no generator, no batteries that were charged from the grid), you can claim the emergency power bonus AND have a great story for the media publicity bonus. Solar-powered Field Day operations get local news coverage pretty reliably. Two bonuses for one decision.

The Sunday Morning Slump

Most Field Day stations have reduced activity Sunday morning. Operators are tired, some have packed up early. If you're still running at full capacity Sunday from 0800-1400 local, you'll find less competition for contacts AND many stations still on the air looking for QSOs. Some of my best hourly rates have been Sunday morning when half the competition has gone home.

Common Mistakes

Over-ambitious class entry. A 5A station that can't keep all five transmitters active is wasting entries. If three of your five radios are silent half the time, you'd have scored better as 3A with better operator coverage.

Ignoring bonus points. I've seen clubs put up 1,500 QSOs and miss 800 points worth of bonuses because nobody was assigned to handle them. Designate one person as "bonus point captain" who's responsible for checking every category.

All phone, no CW. Phone QSOs are 1 point. CW is 2 points. A 100-QSO CW run produces the same score as 200 phone QSOs. Even mediocre CW speed (15 WPM) can produce reasonable rates on Field Day because everyone slows down for you.

Bad power management. If you're running on generator or batteries, know exactly how much fuel/capacity you need for 24 hours. Running out of power at hour 18 is a competitive disaster. Bring 50% more fuel than your calculations suggest.

Go Make Contacts

Field Day rewards preparation more than raw skill. Know the rules, plan your bonus points, pick the right class for your capabilities, and maximize every hour of operating time. Whether you're a solo 1B operator in a park with a wire antenna or a 6A club operation with towers and generators, the satisfaction of a well-executed Field Day is hard to beat.

Start planning in April. Do antenna testing and power budgeting in May. By June, you should be executing a plan, not improvising one.