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Amateur Radio Field Day set for June 26

Amateur radio ("ham") operators across Fayette County will leave the comfort of their home-based radio "shacks" June 26-27 for a weekend of public demonstrations, classes, and emergency preparedness activity called Field Day. The public is invited to come out and participate in this free event at 221 Hilo Road, just south of Fayetteville.

During the Field Day activities there will be demonstrations of practical radio technology, free classes and presentations, and the opportunity to talk to people around the world using amateur radio.

The schedule of Field Day events for Saturday, June 26, includes the following activities:

• 9:30 a.m. - Radio Merit Badge class for Boy Scouts.

• 1 p.m. - Introduction to amateur radio and how to get licensed.

• 2 p.m. - Radio direction finding (RDF) to locate radio transmitters.

• 3 p.m. - Automatic position reporting system (APRS) using GPS & radio technology.

• 4 p.m. - Introduction to the Skywarn weather spotter program.

• 5:30 p.m. - Picnic dinner.

• 8:30 p.m. - Ice cream social and free outdoor movie “Frequency.”

In conjunction with the above activities, amateur radio station W4PSZ will be on the air to give the public a chance to talk to people from around the world. There will be several individual operating positions available to try out, each one highlighting a different type of radio communications technology. The radio station will run continuously from 1 p.m. Saturday until noon Sunday. Local radio operators and scanner buffs can listen in on the frequency 145.210 MHz.

For those people looking to buy, sell, or trade radio or computer equipment the “Boneyard” will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The “Boneyard” is an annual yard sale and allows collectors, enthusiasts, or just the casual browser to see antique radio equipment as well as newer items.

Field Day is a lot of fun for participants, but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate the emergency communications services availability in our community. This event is sponsored by the Fayette County Repeater Association, Inc. and the Fayette County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. These groups work together with local officials to step in and help emergency officials and relief organizations when disaster strikes.

When cell phones, the Internet and other communications technologies fail, amateur radio operators are brought in to get the message through. In the event of inclement weather, Skywarn spotters use amateur radio to call in weather reports for the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City. Also, amateur radio operators work at many local sporting events such as the Tri-PTC triathlon, the PTC Classic 15K, WalkAmerica, Wilson 100 bike ride, and other events to provide critical communications out onto the race course.

In past year, more than 30,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and Canada have taken part in Field Day activities. Today there are more than 680,000 amateur radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. In today’s challenging times with the corresponding need for community service, there has been an upsurge of interest in amateur radio. The amateur radio operators of this county would like the public to come out to Field Day to see what amateur radio is all about.

For more information about Field Day or how to become an amateur radio operator, visit www.fayetteares.org. You can also contact Joe Domaleski at ki4ask@fayetteares.org or call 770-716-7675.