1,000 Contacts in a Frozen Tent: K3KLB’s Winter Field Day

Kody Beer, K3KLB, is no stranger to the cold—or the pileups. For his third consecutive Winter Field Day, he went all in, hunkering down in an Eskimo ice tent on the edge of Pineo Lake, Pennsylvania. With a Buddy Heater fighting off the single-digit temps, a BuddiHex antenna pulling in the stations, and an IC-7300 ready to go, Kody put in a full 12-hour shift on the air, racking up a staggering 1,000 contacts across bands from 70cm to 80m. Not bad for a guy who, just a few years ago, was stranded at a picnic table in the freezing wind.

Kody isn’t just about surviving Winter Field Day—he thrives in it. His Parks on the Air obsession runs deep, with over 600 activations and 40,000 QSOs logged since 2021. He’s methodical, always refining his portable setups, and when he's not running a frequency, he's behind the lens of a camera, capturing the wild places where radio and nature intersect.

This is ham radio at its most raw and rewarding—field operations, resilience, and the thrill of the hunt. If you’re into POTA, contesting in the elements, or just appreciate a guy who knows how to work a pileup from an ice shack, this conversation is for you.

Drop a comment, let us know your best (or coldest) field day story, and don’t forget to subscribe to W1DED Worldwide Ham Radio.