Public Demo of Emergency Communications June 23-24

 

Ames, IA June 12, 2012 – The Story County and Cyclone Amateur Radio Clubs will be demonstrating Amateur Radio at the Lincoln Way Chapter of the American Red Cross, 426 5^th Street, Ames, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 23^rd and Sunday morning, June 24^th.  This annual event, called "Field Day," is the climax of the week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio.  More than 35,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.

 

Similar groups of Amateur Radio operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and parks around the country to prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. Their slogan is, "When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works.” Amateur Radio’s people, often called “ham operators,” are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications.

 

According to the ARRL’s Allen Pitts (Media and Public Relations Manager), “The fastest way to turn a crisis into a total disaster is to lose communications.  From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to tornadoes in Missouri, ham radio provided the most reliable communication networks in the first critical hours of the events. Because ham radios are not dependent on the Internet, cell towers or other infrastructure, they work when nothing else is available. We need nothing between us but air.”

 

There are now over 700,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the US, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Through the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, hams provide communications for emergency response agencies, such as the American Red Cross and FEMA.  Field Day operators will demonstrate their communications equipment and explain FCC licensing requirements for potential operators.