In the weeks leading up to ARRL Field Day 2025 (June 28-29), OnAllBands will be featuring amateur radio equipment you’ll want to consider adding to your portable prep list. This includes:
- Upgraded coaxial cable, including high-visibility orange coax
- Cable connectors
- Transceivers
- Wire antennas
- HF portable vertical antennas
- Portable masts
- Antenna analyzers
- Gear for improved audio (headsets, microphones, etc.)
- Coaxial cable prep tools
- Power supplies
- Batteries
- Foldable solar panels
- Equipment cases
- SWR/Wattmeters
Before DX Engineering weighs in on ways to improve your Field Day experience, we turned to our Facebook friends and asked about their must-haves for a successful Field Day. From the responses below, it’s obvious that the java bean and ham radio go together like peas and carrots.
Also based on their feedback, DXE’s product development team will continue to work on a device that can guarantee ideal weather and perfect band conditions for Field Day. So far, no luck. We’ll keep you posted. Also listed were some items not available at DX Engineering—a grill, cheeseburgers, pizza, bacon, and thick cut bologna. Strangely, no vegetables were mentioned.
Here are a few replies:
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Toby Gardner
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David Hinkley
- Coffee
- Great propagation
- Coffee
- 100 Ah battery
- Coffee
- Minimal wind
- Donuts
- And did I mention coffee?
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Iced coffee and a keyer
OnAllBands blogger Katie Campbell
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Good 40M propagation, brisket, and coffee!
Robert David
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Shelter and bug spray!
Chris Knox
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Shade/rain cover via tents or pavilions is a huge help. Restrooms. Good logging programs. Scrap paper and pencils. Food, coffee, and water. Best of luck all!
Lee Hatfield Jr.
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A six-element wire Yagi on a hose real and a second four-element wire beam for 40 meters. Six-element points east and four-element point south all above salt water. It’s good for 800 to 1,000 contacts in 24 hours. We string them between the trees at our Field Day site. The pileups are awesome.
Dean Holtan
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Good weather and great propagation!
Kyle Chavis
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Jeff Van Buren
- Power supply
- Radials
- Coax
- Yaesu FT-710
- RigExpert analyzer
- External speaker or headset
- Coffee
- Table/Chair
- Pad/Pencil
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A shelter and some prayers
Justin Cokes
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Air conditioning
Scott Stanford
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Merle Michaelis
- Iced tea
- A good end-fed
- Fully charged battery
- Snacks
- Mini BBQ grill with food to cook on it
- Charged-up laptop battery
- Shade
- And no one close by asking, “What kind of CB is that?”
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Get Your Coffee Here!
Visit DXEngineering.com for a nice selection of DX Engineering and ARRL logo mugs that provide an efficient caffeine delivery system for your long Field Day CW, SSB, and FT8 sessions.
These include the very cool ARRL 2025 “Radio Connects” Field Day Mug and DX Engineering 25th Anniversary 16 Oz. Flecked Ceramic Mug:
While DX Engineering does not sell coffee (if we did, it would be called “CQ Totally Wide Awake”), our parent company Summit Racing Equipment sells “Beadlock Texas Pecan Coffee” from Gearhead Coffee in 12 oz. bags or as 12 single-serving pods. It’s a medium roast blend with a smooth, slight pecan flavor and an aroma sure to jumpstart your early-morning Field Day operating.
While you’re getting revved up on Gearhead Coffee, protect yourself from the elements with the DX Engineering Canopy Shelter:
Also check out the DX Engineering Folding Chair, featuring heavy-duty aluminum-frame construction that supports up to 350 lbs. From GCI Outdoor, DX Engineering carries folding rocker-style chairs like the “Freestyle” model below that features spring-loaded shocks for smooth rocking on any surface:
Make sure you leave no stone unturned when preparing for Field Day. Read this article by Mark, K8MSH, “Field Day: Things You’ll Need and Wished You’d Brought.” Also, take a few minutes to peruse “Five Tips for a Successful Field Day.”
Look for more Field Day Gear posts on OnAllBands.
