Central Arkansas amateur radio operators (hams) will host a “Field Day” Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24 at Mills Park in Bryant to show off their emergency capabilities. ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.
According to Peg Porterfield of the Benton Amateur Radio Society (BARS), the public will be able to talk with local ham radio operators at Mills Park and see them work with hams across the USA doing public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities. This event caps off the end of “Amateur Radio Week.”
The operators will be setting up to begin making contacts promptly at 1:00 p.m. They plan to be on the air for 24 hours and encourage everyone to stop by and visit. The club website says there will be plenty of opportunities for people to get on the air if you like. Everyone is welcome – Hams and Non-Hams. They say it’s really just a 24 hour picnic where you can communicate with like-minded people from all over.
Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.
ARRL is the national association for Amateur Radio in the US. Founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim as The American Radio Relay League, ARRL is a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs. Find more about exactly what to expect at Field Day, by visiting http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2018/2018%20FD%20Flier.pdf.
Visit the local page for BARS at http://k5ne.org.