On a chilly -10C Saturday morning, three brave souls set out to Kin Park in Vernon to set up for Winter Field Day 2026. At 9am, Howard VA7PWF, Colin VA7EEH and Warren VA7WPX began the process of setting up the tents and arranging the radio equipment. Wilf VE7OHM and Alex VE7NOC arrived shortly after to erect the Cushcraft R5 which would be our main antenna. The new arrangement of putting two pop-up tents together and completely closing them in, then combined with a couple of heaters offered by Jerome VE7JAR and Paul VE7PDE, did the trick to keeping us warm and toasty. It wasn't long before all of us started peeling off our heavy winter coats allowing us to operate comfortably in hoodies and sweaters.
The turnout from our members was great with even a visit from the City of Vernon Councilor Teresa Ann Durning Harker who stopped in to see what NORAC was all about. The beautiful clear skies also brought out lots of passersby, many who stopped to ask what on earth are were doing!
Although band conditions started off poorly, they gradually improved as the day went on. Operating under VE7NOR, we managed to make 113 contacts.
For more images of the event, please check out the 2026 Winter Field Day gallery.