From McHenry County:
McHenry County ham radio Field Day exercise
The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) division of the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency will be participating in Field Day on June 28 and June 29.
Field Day is a 24-hour annual exercise sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio.
It’s an opportunity for federally licensed radio amateurs to test their skills and equipment in the field by making radio contacts, using various modes of communications with other operators all over the country.
The public is invited to join us during this exercise from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 28.
You will have a unique opportunity to get on the air using one of our official Field Day stations.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn what Ham Radio is all about.
Field Day stations will be located behind the maintenance facility at 12394 Ware Road, in Woodstock. Parking will be off Route 47, Seminary Avenue, just north of Ware Road.
Amateurs have a long history of providing emergency communications when normal systems are overloaded or offline.
One example was Hurricane Katrina, when ham radio was the only viable communications mechanism in the disaster area.
In situations like this, radio operators are quick to respond with their own equipment and at their own expense.
Amateur radio operators have also assisted in supporting many large, planned events, including the Chicago and Boston Marathons.
As the name implies, Field Day is an exercise held outdoors using generator power.
It’s meant to simulate disaster conditions where commercial power would not be available.
The exercise also simulates the same challenges the operators would face in a real disaster scenario.
Over the weekend, amateur radio operators will be demonstrating various radio techniques ranging from classic Morse code all the way to more modern digital and satellite communications.
Several clubs in the area will even be experimenting with TV signals and microwave communications equipment.
Questions can be directed to the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency at 815-338-6400, or visit us on the web at http://www.mcraces.org. You can also find more information
at the American Radio Relay League Field Day information site located at
http://www.arrl.org/field-day.
