LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i amateur-radio practitioners join thousands of other radio operators across the country in displaying their emergency capabilities at the annual field day, states a press release. The public event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lydgate
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i amateur-radio practitioners join thousands of other radio operators across the country in displaying their emergency capabilities at the annual field day, states a press release.
The public event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lydgate Beach Park.
The Kaua‘i Amateur Radio Club hosts the local event.
“We hope that people will come and see for themselves, this is not your grandfather’s radio anymore,” said Jane Goldsmith, KARC president.
“The communications that ham-radio operators can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded. And besides that, it’s fun,” she said.
The public is invited to come and see ham radio’s new capabilities and learn how to get their own Federal Communications Commission radio license before the next disaster strikes.
Over the past year, there have been numerous reports of ham-radio (“ham” may actually be slang for “amateur radio operator”) operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across America including during the California wildfires, winter storms, tornadoes and other events worldwide.
On Kaua‘i during Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, amateur radio was often the only way people could communicate.
During Hurricane Katrina hundreds of volunteer “hams” traveled south to help save lives and property.
When trouble is brewing, amateur-radio operators are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications.
On Saturday the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Kaua‘i ham-radio operators and see for themselves what the amateur radio service is about, the release states.
Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code, hams from across the U.S. will be holding similar public demonstrations of emergency-communications abilities.
This annual Field Day is the climax of the week-long Amateur Radio Week sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio.
Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and back yards around the country.
Their slogan, “When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works,” is more than just words to the hams, as they 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, states the release.
More than 35,000 amateur-radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event.
There are over 650,000 amateur-radio licensees in the U.S., and more than 2.5 million around the world.
Through the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, ham volunteers provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency-response agencies, all for free.
Online: Amateur radio:
www.arrl.org; www.kauaiarc.org
