ARRL Amateur Radio Field Days June 25-26

CANTON — The Fulton County Amateur Radio club invites the public to come out and participate in the ARRL Amateur Radio Field Day at Lakeland Park. This 24-hour event starts Saturday, June 25 beginning at 1 p.m. and lasts until Sunday, June 26 at 1 p.m.

What is ARRL Amateur Radio Field Day?

ARRL Field Day is one of the most popular on-the-air operating events in amateur radio. It is an annual event held on the fourth full weekend in June. ARRL Field Day is a team building educational event you can share with family, friends and neighbors. It’s about building and operating ham radio equipment, talking to people around the world, and all about fun!

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ARRL Field Day has several purposes including:

•Displaying Amateur Radio to the public

•Emergency preparedness

•Recruitment and training of new radio amateurs

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Amateur Radio embraces both the old and new. It is a hobby and service that truly offers something for everyone. It is about knowledge and growth. Tens of thousands of amateur radio operators “Hams”, from around the world, get involved by erecting towers bearing antennas in areas like Emergency Operations Centers, fields, parking lots, malls, major parks, or even at home to demonstrate and learn skills that will prepare them to better serve their communities and assist with emergency services. While Morse code may no longer be required to earn an amateur radio license, it is still a strong and favorite operating mode for many Hams. Tens of thousands of operators are also embracing amateur radio’s digital technologies. Phone (voice) operation, probably the largest segment of the hobby, also has new frontiers to be explored with digitized voice communications.

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Field Day - the largest annual on-the-air operating event - is exciting. It gives everyone - the old timer and the newcomer - the chance to share and teach the broad range of modes and technologies found in this hobby. The object of ARRL Field Day is for Hams and their friends to contact as many stations as possible on assigned amateur radio bands and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. Most Field Day operations use gas generators and batteries to simulate a real emergency. Friends and neighbors can experience the fun and see the public service capability that their “ham radio” neighbors bring to the community.

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ARRL Field Day stresses emergency preparedness. Field day is where unlicensed people can Get On The Air “GOTA” and try out amateur radio for the first time. Hams new to Field Day can work all available bands using the Fulton County Amateur Radio Club’s K9ILS call sign and license. Amateur Radio is a never-ending journey because (as for true travelers in ancient times) its aim is not the destination, but the journey itself.

Demonstrations and equipment will be setup at the Lakeland Park main pavilion. Look for the antenna towers to your left as you enter the park through the front entrance.

This article originally appeared on Canton Daily Ledger: Fulton County Amateur Radio club Field Day June 25-26 at Lakeland