Ham radio field day ‘22

Jennifer Moonsong

Regional Editor

Jobe Publishing, Inc.

 

Members of the Mammoth Cave Amateur Radio Club participated in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise on June 25 – 26 at the American Legion Park in Glasgow.

Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio.

“Prior to the arrival of the Internet, any communication that took place outside the United States had to be either through a wired connection or satellite. With a ham radio you can talk to anyone anywhere at any time no matter what nationality or their language,” said member Lynn Traylor.

Traylor says it’s the universal nature of the ham radio “language” gdt that makes it unique.

“Morse code is a universal language for hams that is understood around the world. Also with new technologies, the hobby has expanded to new forms of communication, from bouncing a signal off the moon back to earth to using only battery power,” she said.

Traylor added it’s a flexible hobby, because you can spend as little or as much as you like and still enjoy the hobby.

“If you would like to learn more about ham radio as a hobby simply come to one of our club meetings and ask all the questions you have will be happy to share information with you,” Traylor said, encouraging others to participate.

The Field Day is a showcase for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network. In Glasgow, the Club used solar power to generate the needed power and operate “off the grid,” simulating a power outage. “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), 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.

For more information about Field Day or amateur radio, visit the MCARC website (www.KY4X.org) or attend a Club Meeting. Meetings are held every third Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Glasgow City Hall and are open to the public.