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The Southern Amateur Radio Union in Brewton will be participating in the annual ARRL Field Day even set for June 22-23 in Century.
The event will be held at Travis Nelson Park at 4541 County Road 4 in Century, Fla.
David Turner, vice president of the local group, said the event will be open to all ham radio operators interested in learning more about the use of the system.
“We are an amateur radio club that can and will help provide emergency communication within the community should the need arise,” Turner said. “When Hurricane Ivan struck, ham radio operators were involved in hospital communications during and after the disaster when communication networks were down.”
The use of Ham Radio has been available for many years, but many area residents are not aware of the benefits of the system.
“More and more people are relying on cell phones and internet services these days and wouldn’t have an idea as to how to contact someone in case of an emergency,” Turner said. “Should any of these services be disrupted by a severe storm, ham radio operators are capable of all types of communications include emails, text messages and nation-wide voice communications without the need for commercial power or it’s networks.”
Field Day is a radio communications event that brings together amateur radio operators (also called “hams”) within your community. The event is part picnic, campout, practice for emergencies, informal contest, and most of all, fun.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular ham radio activity held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend in June each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs get together with their clubs, groups, or friends to operate from remote locations.
It is a time when many aspects of amateur radio come together to highlight its 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 radio communications to the general public and organizations that amateur radio might serve in an emergency. For many radio clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights on their annual calendar.
The contest part involves contacting as many other stations as possible while learning to operate radio gear in abnormal situations and less than optimal conditions.
These same skills are utilized to help with large, preplanned, non-emergency events such as marathons and bike-a-thons; fundraisers such as walk-a-thons; celebrations such as parades, and exhibits at fairs, malls, and museums.
For more details about Ham Radio operation or to find out more about the ARRL Field Day, visit www.arrl.org/fieldday or the National Association for Amateur Radio.