Did you know that even when phone lines and internet are down, amateur radios still work and can easily set up in 5 minutes to communicate important or urgent information?
Ham radio operators from the Benton Amateur Radio Society in Benton and Central Arkansas will be showing off their skills in a national amateur radio exercise this weekend. You can see them doing their thing at Mills Park in Bryant – for 27 hours straight – from 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 25th until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 26th. The event is called ARRL Field Day (www.arrl.org/FieldDay), an annual amateur radio activity organized since 1933 by ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States.
Hams from across North America ordinarily participate in 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. Field Day highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent, wireless communications network.
Some hams from Central Arkansas will also use the radio stations set up in their homes or take to their backyards and other locations to operate individually or with their families. Many hams have portable radio communication capability that includes alternative energy sources such as generators, solar panels, and batteries to power their equipment.
This year’s event is also noteworthy given that a particularly active hurricane season is predicted. “Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” said Peg Porterfield, K5BKT. “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,” Porterfield added.
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 US, and an estimated 3 million worldwide.
A self-study license guide is available from ARRL: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual (www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-License-Manual) and for Kindle (https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B07DFSW94G). For more information about ARRL Field Day and ham radio, contact Peg Porterfield and visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.