Oak Ridge area ham radio operations will be on the air for national event this weekend
From 2 p.m. Saturday until 2 p.m. Sunday, the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) - the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States - will hold it’s annual Field Day event. Ham radio operators from the Oak Ridge Amateur Radio Club (ORARC), Tennessee’s oldest ARRL-affiliated club, will be participating in this annual amateur radio activity, which has been organized since 1933 by ARRL.
The ORARC will once again set up their station in the pavilion behind the Oak Ridge History Museum (Midtown Community Center and Wildcat Den) at 106 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. They will use a combination of portable generators, solar panels and batteries to power their equipment for the 24 hours of the exercise. ORARC ham operators will demonstrate two-way voice, radiotelegraph and digital communications modes. The public is encouraged to visit and can participate in this important event.
Hams from across North America participate in Field Day by establishing temporary ham radio stations in public locations to demonstrate their skill and service, according to a news release. Their use of radio signals, which reach beyond borders, bring people together while providing essential communication in the service of communities, the state and the nation.
Field Day is a showcase for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network.
“Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with laptops or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of amateur radio during a communications outage,” says Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, spokesperson for ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, (www.arrl.org), which represents amateur (or “ham”) radio operators across the country.
“In today’s electronic do-it-yourself (DIY) environment, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters or emergencies if the standard communication infrastructure goes down,” Inderbitzen adds. Anyone may become a licensed amateur radio operator. radio licensees in the US, and an estimated 3 million worldwide. Hams range in age from as young as 9 to older than 100.
For more information about ARRL Field Day and ham radio, contact Art Pettit at (865) 919-5373 and visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge area ham radio operations will be on the air for nat'l event
