Field Day 2007 should be one for the record books! Sunspots may not be cooperating, but every other indicator points toward an outstanding, memorable event. If you have never participated in an ARRL Field Day -- or if it's been a few years since your last outing -- make this the year you join the fun.
Field Day (FD) always falls on the fourth full weekend of June, which makes it the 23rd and 24th this year. Explaining FD brings to mind the old story of the blind men and the elephant; their description varies widely, depending on what part of the beast they touch. If you experience FD with a group of serious competitors who set out to maximize their score, you will think it is a contest. If you go out with your local general-interest radio club, you might think it's a picnic with a bit of radio operating and public relations thrown in. If you are new to Amateur Radio you're likely to view it as a great learning experience, and if you're an old-timer as an opportunity to renew acquaintances and share memories.

For all of us, Field Day is an opportunity to pack a lot of Amateur Radio into one weekend -- an opportunity that has become more valuable as our world has gotten busier and operating from home has become more difficult, either for lack or time or because of antenna limitations. FD gives us a chance literally to "head for the hills," preferably as part of a group; it's more fun to share the experience with others, and more rewarding to learn antenna and operating lore from one another. The operating format is to make quick contacts, exchanging your number of transmitters, operating category and ARRL section with other stations. Each station can be contacted once per band (except 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters, which are off limits) and mode (CW, phone, and digital). CW and digital contacts are worth twice as many points as phone, so there is an incentive to be able to do more than just talk (not that good phone operating is easy -- picture an Air Traffic Controller at Atlanta Airport!).