Members of the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27, at Brooks Bears Football Field located at 905 Hwy 85 Connector, Brooks, GA 30205. The event is ARRL Field Day (www.arrl.org/FieldDay), an annual amateur radio activity organized since 1933 by ARRL, the national association for amateur radio in the United States.
Hams from across North America ordinarily participate in Field Day by establishing temporary ham radio stations in public locations to demonstrate their skill and service. Their use of radio signals, which reach beyond borders, bring people together while providing essential communication in the service of communities. Field Day highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent, wireless communications network.
The Fayette County Amateur Radio Club is an active organization of radio enthusiasts from all walks of life. The club provides backup, auxiliary communications to Fayette County Emergency Services and public service communications to road races, bike events, walk-a-thons, and triathlons.
This year’s event is also noteworthy given that a particularly active hurricane season is predicted. “Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” said Lynn Bianco – Fayette County ARES Emergency Coordinator, (KN4YZ). “Ham radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems and a station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others, Bianco added.
During Field Day 2020, more than 18,000 hams participated from thousands of locations across North America. According to ARRL, there are more than 750,000 amateur radio licensees in the US, and an estimated 3 million worldwide. Among the tenets of the Amateur Radio Service is developing and practicing skills in radio technology and radio communications, and even contributing to international goodwill. Hams range in age from as young as 9 to older than 100.
For more information about amateur (ham) radio or 2021 Field Day, please visit the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club website https://kk4gq.org, the club Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/KK4GQ/, or contact Joe Domaleski, KI4ASK at jdomaleski@gmail.com.
Field Day Schedule of Events
Saturday, June 26
2 p.m. – Field Day start at Brooks Bears Football Field
2 p.m. – 10 p.m. – ongoing radio communications demonstrations
6 p.m. – Dinner provided by the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club
10 p.m. – Field Day ends for Saturday
Sunday, June 27
8 a.m. – Field Day reopens to public
2 p.m.- Field Day concludes
Ongoing Activities
• Get on the Air (GOTA) radio station – where members of the public can try ham radio
• 3 full powered contesting stations talking to radio operators around the world
• Ham radio satellite station using satellites for communications
• Radio listening post – Shortwave, scanner, HF, VHF, UHF, Digital
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