During the tsunami of 2004, recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and Hurricane Katrina, amateurs were one of the only forms of reliable communication available, said Lee Bechman, secretary of the LaGrange Amateur Radio Club.
“Amateur radio operators, or ‘hams,’ set up radios whose signals reach every corner of the world in a matter of minutes using a basic wire antenna, a high-frequency radio and a power source from electric generators to car batteries,” said Bechman, who became a ham radio operator more than 19 years ago.
This weekend, the LaGrange Club, with more than 60 to 70 members, will promote the use of amateur radios and their contributions to the community.
In conjunction with the American Radio Relay League’s observation of national Amateur Radio Week, a field day exercise is from 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday at the home of Richard and Shirley Trainer at 4283 New Franklin Road. It consists of live radio demonstrations and a question-and-answer time in which residents can ask operators about ham radios and their importance in the community.
Even with the emergence of cell phones and the Internet, ham radios are beneficial because they can “provide an important communication service that other communications can’t during times of emergency,” Bechman said.
Field day is a “serious test of skill, but it is also a contest for fun and the largest ‘on-air’ operating event each year,” he said.
More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country and Canada participated in last year’s field day. Bechman said there are more than 670,000 amateur radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide.
— For more information about the LaGrange Amateur Radio Club, visit www.lagrangeradioclub.org or call (706) 812-0406. To find out more about national Amateur Radio Week and the American Radio Relay League visit www.arrl .org.
Becky Holland may be reached at bholland@lagrangenews.com and (706) 884-7311, Ext. 229.
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