MOUNT VERNON – Members of the Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club will celebrate the freedom and flexibility of radio from 2 p.m. on Saturday until 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 26–27.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day has been a staple since 1933, and Floral Valley Community Center is hosting this year’s installment at 850 Crestrose Drive in Howard, Ohio (Apple Valley).
In a press release, Field Day organizers noted that radio crosses all boundaries and serves as a lifeline during emergencies.
Bill Stroud, KD8WHQ, is the Knox County Amateur Radio Emergency Service coordinator.
“Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” Stroud said in a press release. “Ham radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, and a station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes.”
Radio’s flexibility is critical during natural disasters, which could be a factor during the active hurricane season predicted this year, the release noted.
A key to that flexibility is alternative power sources. Some ham operators use generators to power their transmitters or rely on batteries or solar panels.
“Field Day highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent, wireless communications network,” the release said.
Ham radio Field Day participants typically set up ad hoc transmitters and broadcast in public areas to display their expertise and value.
Other operators from Mount Vernon and Knox County will broadcast from home-based stations they operate individually or with family members.
Some 18,000 ham operators took part in last year’s event, representing thousands of communities in North America, the release stated. The pool of enthusiasts is large; the ARRL counts 750,000 amateur radio licensees in the U.S., plus approximately 3 million across the globe.
Ham radio operators range from age 9 to over 100 and are encouraged to contribute to international goodwill as they hone their technical acumen.
The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, a self-study license guide, is available at arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-License-Manual and for Kindle at read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B07DFSW94G.
For more information about ARRL Field Day and ham radio, contact Don Russell, W8PEN, at w8pen@arrl.net, or visit arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.
