Amateur radio Field Day

Some of you may have heard of Amateur radio (HAM radio) but never heard of field day. Maybe you're like me and have been into HAM radio and just heard about field day. Either way you should check it out. It may be too late to get to field day this year, but you can always go to the next one and you don't even need a license to participate!

 First, I should tell you a little about field day. Field day is an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) sponsored event when ARRL clubs around the nation set up their emergency equipment and test it out by making contacts with other clubs. All stations are divided into different regions and classes based on the equipment they are using and the types of contacts they make. Many of these emergency bases run anything from generators and batteries to solar and wind. In addition to the many different types of power supplies there are contacts made on all radio bands using different modes of communication from CW (Morse Code) to Phone on FM (Voice).

Here in Enid Oklahoma, the local club had generators and batteries. We had a solar panel but no-one really knew how much energy it put out and how much energy the radios required. Just by looking at it I would guess that about the only good it would have been this year would be charging some batteries on the hand held radios (HT's). Before Field day I had never used an HF (High Frequency) radio. Most of the time I had worked on VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency). If you have ever used the radios that you can get from Walmart or Radio Shack you most likely used VHF. The only problem with VHF is that it doesn't reflect of the ionosphere so it can only be used for line of sight operations. On the other hand HF frequencies will bounce in the ionosphere and you can talk over great distances. The trade off is clarity.

HF is probably the coolest type of radio communication out there if you like to do more than punch in numbers and talk. It requires that you listen and tinker. You will play with the frequency, squelch and shift knobs, among others, to find someone talking on the radio and make contact. The Field Day was the first time that I was able to try this out and I can tell you that I am hooked! I like to tinker and I like a little bit of a challenge. With this I get to play with electronics, tinker and develop a skill that can be useful in emergencies. Plus, I don't know about you but, I think it is cool that I was able to contact someone in California without having to use a network of wires that some company built for phones. These capabilities also have great potential for service, which is another huge draw for me.

I love the opportunities to help out with events and emergencies. I have been able to help in large parades and have talked to people who have helped with everything from marathons and rodeos to search and rescue operations. Field Day is an opportunity for me to see a little more of the emergency side and what it would take to help in an emergency. I would encourage anyone who is a little curious about HAM radio to attend an event and talk to the HAMs.