WELCH, W.Va. — On Saturday June 28th, The McDowell County Amateur Radio Club participated in the annual, Amateur Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) Field Day.
Amateur Radio (ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It’s fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need. ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.
Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, fun. While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar. The contest part is simply to contact as many other stations as possible and to learn to operate radio gear in abnormal situations and less than optimal conditions.
Setting up on Tom’s Mountain near Mount View High School, licensed operators used homemade wire antennas to contact 1022 other groups, in twenty hours of competition. Contacts were made in forty six of the fifty states, eleven foreign countries, and five continents.
For more information on Amateur Radio or licensing, contact any member of the McDowell Amateur Radio Club.