Amateur Radio of Churchill County will be participating in the annual ARRL (American Radio Relay League) Field Day event on June 26 and 27. Local area operators will be setting up at the south end of Laura Mills Park early the 26th and operating radios for 24 hours from 11 am Saturday to 11 am on Sunday. “This is one of the ways we test our ability to deploy in an emergency, off-grid, without shore power,” said Bob Clifford, Emergency Coordinator Churchill County.
The ARCC will be making as many contacts as possible with other Amateur Radio stations across the country and Canada during this time and invite the public to join us in celebrating this yearly event.
At 12:00 pm Saturday, June 26 organizers will also be offering Amateur Radio License testing for anyone wanting to become an Amateur Radio operator and has studied the required information for becoming a Technician, General, and/or Extra Class Amateur. Interested parties must contact Rick Bischoff (K7ET) at 775-423-7665, or 775-294-1115 to RSVP for the testing session, and to get very important information.
ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups, or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.
Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest, and, most of all, FUN. It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight the many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar.
The contest part is simply to contact as many other stations as possible and to learn to operate our radio gear in abnormal situations and less than optimal conditions.
Known as “ham operators,” participants use these same skills to help with events such as the yearly Pony Express re-ride, marathons and bike-a-thons, fund-raisers such as walk-a-thons, celebrations such as parades, and exhibits at fairs, malls and museums — these are all large preplanned non-emergency activities.
In spite of the development of very complex, modern communications systems — or maybe because they ARE so complex — ham radio has been called into action, again and again, to provide communications in crises when it really matters. Amateur Radio people are well known for communications support in real disaster and post-disaster situations.
What is the ARRL?
The American Radio Relay League is the national association for Amateur Radio in the USA, representing over 170,000 FCC-licensed Amateurs. The ARRL is the primary source of information about what is going on in ham radio. It provides books, news, support, and information for individuals and clubs, special events, continuing education classes, and other benefits for its members.
What is Amateur Radio?
Often called “ham radio,” the Amateur Radio Service has been around for a century. In that time, it’s grown into a worldwide community of licensed operators using the airwaves with every conceivable means of communications technology. Its people range in age from youngsters to grandparents. Even rocket scientists, actors like Tim Allen (Last Man Standing) KK6OTD, and rock star Joe Walsh (Eagles) WB6ACU, and a few more are in the ham ranks. Most, however, are just normal who enjoy learning and being able to transmit voice, data, and pictures through the air to unusual places, both near and far, without depending on commercial systems.
The Amateur Radio frequencies are the last remaining place in the usable radio spectrum where you as an individual can develop and experiment with wireless communications. Hams not only can make and modify their equipment but can create whole new ways to do things.
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