Ham radio operators from the Anne Arundel Radio Club, the largest amateur radio club in Anne Arundel County, will participate in a national amateur radio exercise from 2 p.m. on Saturday June 22 until 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 23.
ARRL Field Day” (www.arrl.org/FieldDay) is an annual amateur radio event organized since 1933 by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL), the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States.
The demonstration exercise is part picnic, part contest, and part emergency exercise – all on display at the Davidsonville Family Recreation Center at 789 Queen Anne Bridge Road.
The public and media are invited to attend this free event to observe and chat with Anne Arundel Radio Club ham radio operators, and perhaps get on the air and speak with someone in other areas of the country.
“Hams” located across North America participate in ARRL Field Day by establishing temporary ham radio stations in public locations to demonstrate their skill and service. Their use of radio signals, which reach beyond borders, bring people together while providing essential communication in the service of communities,” explains Bill Ryan N3RY, president of the AARC.
Ryan notes that the event highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent, wireless communications network. Hams from all over the world will be “on the air” all at the same time during the 24-hour period, reaching out to any and all participants anywhere on the planet to establish contacts, or ‘QSO’s as they are called.
For those radio clubs competing for bragging rights, the club with the most confirmed contacts at the end of the 24-hour event receives national recognition.
This year’s event is also noteworthy given that a particularly active hurricane season is predicted. In some storm scenarios, Ham-based communications could be crucial when other forms of two-way communications are interrupted by storm damage.
“Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” adds Ryan. “Ham radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, and a station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.”
During Field Day 2021, more than 26,000 Hams participated from thousands of locations across North America. According to ARRL, there are more than 750,000 amateur radio licensees in the U.S., and an estimated three million worldwide.
Among the tenets of the Amateur Radio Service is developing and practicing skills in radio technology and radio communications, and contributing to international goodwill. Hams range in age from as young as nine-years-old to older than 100.
For more information about ARRL Field Day and ham radio, contact Bill Ryan N3RY (listed above), and/or visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio?.
