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Written by: Rick Nichols

Published: 15 July 2026

     Fortunately, the buzz in the air the middle of the day on Saturday, June 27 wasn't the sound of bloodthirsty mosquitoes but rather the collective enthusiasm of members of the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club and visitors to Ensor Park and Museum as Field Day 2026 was about to begin.

     "I was amazed at how quickly the entire parking lot filled up Saturday," George McCarville, WBØCNK, club president, told me the week following Field Day. "With the hot weather, I am thankful to everyone who joined in to make it (Field Day) a safe event, bringing numerous coolers of iced water and bottles of bug spray and sunscreen."

     George went on to report that the club saw "an amazing number of visitors, of all ages" show up for Field Day, which affords seasoned hams a great opportunity to help Elmer newer operators. Those visitors included a high school boy with his mother and simultaneously another young man who visited the event because he was curious about ham radio. This trio soon ended up at the Get On The Air Station on the east side of the Ensor home's front porch, which had been set up by club member Jeff Darby, KSØJD. 

     GOTA stations give new hams and curious potential hams a chance to hook up with hams halfway across the country or further under the watchful eye of an experienced operator. "It was great to see the young kids' excitement and energy at the GOTA station," George related, obviously pleased by the situation. A subsequent report indicated that the two boys and a new ham, club member Becky Hoover, KF0YJI, separately spent some quality time at the GOTA station and made a total of 6 contacts between them.

     The visitors also included not one but two members of the Olathe City Council, Mayor Pro-Tem Dean Vakas and Councilman Jeff Creighton. George said he helped club member Howard Cripe, NØAZ, give Dean a tour of the museum that lasted an hour or so and that the mayor pro-tem appeared to be "gratifyingly amazed at all the Ensor family Olathe history." George reported that club member Andrew Kaberline, AEØZL, introduced him to Jeff and that the two of them spent more than 10 minutes talking to each other. He noted that the councilman was "quite intrigued" with how the club is involved with the museum and said he also asked questions about the configuration for Field Day he had observed on the grounds.

     Yet another visitor was Brian Foltz with Overland Amateur Radio, WQØA, who interviewed the club's vice president, Trig Morley, KC0RPY, on camera and then shot more footage at the historic site before checking out the Johnson County Radio Amateurs Club's Field Day operation at Shawnee Mission Park.

     Brian's YouTube video can be viewed by visiting the Trail Bytes section elsewhere on the club website.

     George also praised the antenna crews for the "super job" they had done in advance of Field Day and noted that members of the club "really turned out to put the stations to work." As a result, he continued, the club came away from the event with "some record scores."

     Finally, George had a proverbial tip of the hat for both Jeff and Trig. It was Jeff who furnished the club with gourmet meats for lunch and dinner on the 27th and lunch on Sunday, June 28, and it was Trig, one of the club's two Field Day coordinators, who manned the grill on the back porch and used those gourmet meats to dish up three "extra delicious" meals. The other Field Day coordinator and the man responsible for breakfast on the 28th, Jim Andera, KØNK, also noticed all of the cars and trucks that were in the parking lot during the hours just ahead of the start of Field Day.

     "The nearly overflowing parking lot on Saturday morning for the final set-up of the equipment was a testimony to how well the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club works together," he told me the day after the Fourth of July. Jim went on to report that club members "tried to beat the heat by doing a little more up-front planning this year, allowing us to work at a slower pace." He said in some cases the club used an antenna that was simpler than the one it had used in previous years in order to minimize "the set-up and take-down efforts."  According to him, this approach "paid off" in the end, as the set-up process was "less hectic" than it has been in the past and most of the stations were up and running by 1 p.m. Saturday when Field Day officially commenced.

     Jim also mentioned the screened-in canopy club member Randy Ninness, KC4RMC, donated for use as a shelter for the CW station, which was positioned just to the southwest of the Ensor home. He described the canopy as being "quite a bit sturdier than the traditional fold-up canopies" and said it served the club well during the 24-hour period when hams were tapping on the key to send out messages.

     But he was obligated to report that the club encountered "some of the typical Field Day bugs," figurative or real, along the way, including a logging computer "that refused to keep (the) correct time," an antenna whose effectiveness was questioned, and "maybe even a few ticks and chiggers."

     Jim singled out his fellow Field Day coordinator, Trig, and the two Safety coordinators, George and club member Fred Warren, KFØIKQ, for recognition. He said Trig put forth "a great effort in leading the planning efforts," and that George and Fred deserved much of the thanks for ensuring that the overall operating environment was safe and that there was a plentiful supply of cold drinking water on hand.

     Summing up the entire experience from his perspective, Jim remarked, "In spite of the heat and the threat of rain in the forecast during set-up times, the club pulled off another enjoyable and successful Field Day." But he was quick to explain that the club "tends to measure success more in terms of camaraderie, working together and just plain social enjoyment than it does on seeing how high of a score we can get."

     Information gathered from the logs for the 3A stations (CW, Digital and SSB) and the six-meter station and then compiled by club member Mike Stewart, NØTU, revealed that operators made a total of 685 contacts between 1 p.m. on the 27th and 1 p.m. on the 28th. The digital mode led the way with 289 contacts and was followed by the CW station with 203 and, last but not least, the single-sideband station with 193.

     Club hams had the most success on the 15-meter band, racking up 173 contacts there altogether. The digital station was responsible for 71 of these contacts, the SSB station for 60 and the CW station for the remaining 42.

     The 40-meter band proved to be the club's second best friend during Field Day, as it accounted for 140 contacts all told. Those working the CW station chalked up an even 100 contacts, and the other 40 came from the SSB station.

     The six-meter band matched the 20-meter band in productivity, with each band generating a total of 134 contacts. All of the six-meter contacts were achieved through the digital mode, but this mode was responsible for only 12 of the contacts at 20 meters. Most of the rest of the contacts at 20 meters - 86 to be exact - were attributed to the SSB station, and the last 36 can be credited to the CW station.

     The 10-meter band delivered a total of 103 contacts, 77 at the digital station, 25 at the CW station, and 1 at the SSB station.

     The lone two-meter contact was a digital contact.

     Finally, Howard's solar-powered station situated in front of the Peg Barn chalked up 12 digital contacts.

     During the business meeting July 11 it was reported that the club's Field Day point total was 3,954, a figure that included 1,600 bonus points. It also was reported that 31 members of the club participated in the event in one way or another.

     The theme for this year's emergency preparedness exercise sponsored by the American Radio Relay League was "Amateur Radio - A National Resource."