You don't need an excuse to make noise!

You don't need an excuse to make noise!

From Foundations of Amateur Radio by Onno (VK6FLAB)

April 18, 2026 · 4 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the Micro Field Day initiative for amateur radio enthusiasts to gather and operate portable stations.

Foundations of Amateur Radio The other day I came across a post on mastodon.radio by Keith W6KME announcing the resumption of the Micro Field Day, spelled using the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet, Mu. This was news to me, since I didn't know they'd stopped, let alone existed at all. Being the curious type, I stopped to investigate and discovered an initiative that could, and in my not so humble opinion, should, be replicated all over the planet. Essentially an informal monthly gathering of amateurs with their portable set-up, ranging from hand-held radios through lightweight backpack gear suitable for SOTA or POTA, or Summits or Parks on the Air, to car portable stations where your vehicle acts as the carry mule and perhaps the base of your antenna. In other words, it's for anyone who brings along their radio to play or if you're not yet ready to do that, come and participate as you feel inclined. So, what of the resumption, you ask. It turns out that the activity became so popular locally that some parks required paid bookings and insurance, which is somewhat challenging if you're not actually an organisation. The closest I've ever come to a Micro Field Day is when we…

People in this episode

Host: Onno VK6FLAB

Topics covered

  • Micro Field Day
  • amateur radio
  • portable stations
  • SOTA
  • POTA

Keywords

  • gathering
  • amateurs
  • radio
  • activities

Mentioned in this episode

Products: F-troop, hand-held radios, lightweight backpack gear, car portable stations

Books & works: Random Metal Objects On The Air

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