Amateur Radio “Field Day” Demonstrates Science, Skill and Service

Members of the Cherokee Capital Amateur Radio Society will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 23 – 24 at the Gordon County Agricultural Center, 1282 Hwy 53 Spur.

From 2 -8 p.m., 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. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

For more than 100 years, Amateur Radio — sometimes called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster or emergency, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet. Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network.

More than 35,000 people from thousands of locations participated in Field Day in 2017.

“It’s easy for anyone to pick up a computer or smartphone, connect to the Internet and communicate, with no knowledge of how the devices function or connect to each other,” said David Isgur, communications manager for the American Radio Relay League, the national association for Amateur Radio. “But if there’s an interruption of service or you’re out of range of a cell tower, you have no way to communicate. Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with tablets or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of Amateur Radio during a communications outage.”

Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are more than 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as Cherokee Capital Amateur Radio Society, it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in Gordon County.

For more information about Field Day or Amateur Radio, contact Felton Floyd at a4dn @arrl. net or visit www. arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio. The club website may be visited at www.k4woc. com.