Alachua County Volunteer Radio Team earns 1st-place national ranking in Emergency Operations Center category
Press release from the North Florida Amateur Radio Club
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Alachua County’s volunteer ham radio team — serving the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as its backup disaster communications unit — has achieved top national honors in the 2025 Field Day competition. This long-running event, held annually since 1935, challenges teams across the country to demonstrate excellence in emergency-ready communications under demanding, real-world conditions.
Competing against 160 Emergency Operations Center–affiliated teams nationwide, the Alachua County group rose to the top with an impressive score of 9,093 points — more than 1,200 points ahead of their nearest competitor. Their setup featured four fully operational stations running simultaneously, along with an additional public “Get On The Air” station that introduced visitors to long-distance radio communication without the use of cell phones or the Internet.
More than 16 local amateur radio operators powered the effort, supported by dozens of community members who enjoyed hands-on communication at the visitor station. Field Day tests not just operating skills but the entire spectrum of emergency-response readiness: erecting temporary antennas, building radio infrastructure, coordinating logistics, ensuring computer and networking integration, and training volunteers. Alachua County Assistant Emergency Manager David Peaton contributed to this educational mission with a presentation focused on emergency-communications growth and preparedness.
To simulate a fully deployed disaster “base camp,” team members Earl McDow, Mark McDow, and Susan Halbert engineered a secure microwave data link that interconnected all stations and fed a live database logging every contact. Support from the Alachua County Sheriff and Emergency Management enabled the team to use the Hawthorne Road complex for the intensive weekend-long exercise.
Logistics were equally robust. Earl Sloan, with two assistants, kept the operators fueled with freshly prepared on-site meals. Team members David Huckstep, Craig White, and Leland Gallup constructed a 30-foot aluminum antenna behind the EOC to boost signal performance. Meanwhile, Hugh Minnich and other volunteers transported a travel trailer and diesel generator into a nearby field to support the fourth station, then used slingshots and a custom pneumatic “potato gun” to launch lines into trees for emergency antennas.
Once the infrastructure was in place, the team embarked on a nonstop 24-hour operating period, making more than 1,600 communications contacts with participants across the United States and abroad. Their friendly internal competition added to the fun, with Mike Hasselbeck and David Huckstep tying for the highest number of contacts at 271 each.
A major contributor to the team’s overall success was their exceptional performance in digital communication modes — essential tools in real emergency scenarios because they support detailed messaging and file transfer over radio. The team logged 906 digital contacts, 417 Morse code contacts, and 132 voice contacts, while visitors at the public station made 203 contacts of their own. Newly licensed operator Brian Joy earned special recognition for his standout performance in digital operations.
This first-place finish marks a milestone in the team’s decade-long development and reflects their dedication to serving Alachua County when disaster strikes. Their work is supported by both the North Florida Amateur Radio Club (NFARC) and the Alachua EOC Radio Club, partners in strengthening the capabilities of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).
Learn more about the team at https://www.nf4rc.club/