Winter Field Day is a great opportunity to get outdoors, gain experience assembling equipment in the rough, and operate a station under potentially-challenging winter conditions. This year the West Valley Amateur Radio Assoc (WVARA) operated QRP in the 7-transmitter Outdoor category from the campground at Sunset Beach State Park near Watsonville. The weather this year was cool with highs in the 60s and nighttime lows in the 40s and no rain.
We used callsign N6N and had two HF CW stations operated by Scott (KK6IK), Jim (K6EI) and Bert (W6MSD); three HF SSB stations operated by Max (W6BG), Curt (W6RQ) and Kevin (KK6VF); one HF digital station operated by Vince (KB6NTW), and one VHF/UHF station run by Tim KN6FGH. In addition, Mark (W6IA) netted us two satellite contacts.
In contrast to summer Field Day where we often put up wild-n-crazy antennas, the focus at our Winter Field Day site was simple, basic antennas that could be quickly assembled in an emergency, including several verticals and end-fed wire antennas. Unlike summer Field Day
where the bands are packed throughout the night, action during Winter Field Day tended to dwindle in the evening. As a result, our team took a break and went to a local Japanese restaurant for dinner and some great social time.
QSO totals:
| Band | CW | Phone | Digital |
| 40 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| 20 | 46 | 38 | 9 |
| 15 | 13 | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | 18 | 4 |
| 2 | 3 | ||
| 440 | 2 | ||
| Satellite | 2 |
