Amateur radio operators from the City of Redmond’s Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Microsoft’s “MicroHams” Amateur Radio Club, and the Redmond Top Key Contest Club will gather to set up radio communications equipment at Farrel-McWhirter Park, 19545 Redmond Road in Redmond from 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27-11 a.m. Sunday, June 28.
They will test their communications capabilities during a simulated emergency exercise.
The exercise is part of a nationwide emergency preparedness activity called “Field Day.” The event is designed to test Amateur Radio (Ham) operators’ skills in setting up and operating radio communications equipment in situations where electrical power is limited or unavailable.
The idea is to simulate the conditions that can occur during an earthquake, flood, or other emergency, including man-made disasters.
The event is open to the public and the hams will have a “Get on the Air” (GOTA) station available for the general public to operate, under the supervision of licensed radio operators, to make contact with hams from other areas of the world.
Redmond Mayor John Marchione has proclaimed the week of June 22-28 as Amateur Radio Week in Redmond in recognition for the valuable public service that Redmond hams provide to the community.
Today there are more than 680,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide.
To find out how to get started in this exciting hobby and whom to contact in your area, call or write the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; toll-free 800 32 NEW HAM. Or you can visit ARRL on the Web.
