Ham radio operators plan emergency readiness demonstration

The Mahoning Valley Amateur Radio Association will hold a demonstration of emergency communications abilities from 2 p.m. Saturday, until noon Sunday at 12712 Unity Road, New Springfield.

The annual Field Day event is the climax of the week long Amateur Radio Week sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. They will show 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. More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event.

Ham radio operators often provide critical communications in emergencies, including the California wildfires, Oregon and Michigan storms, tornadoes and other events world-wide.

At the weekend event, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with ham radio operators and learn about the Amateur Radio Service. Ham operators will show the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and historical Morse code. Participants will see ham radio’s capabilities and learn how to get an FCC radio license.

There are 650,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the United States, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Through the ARRL’s ARES program, ham volunteers provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all for free.

To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.ARRL.org/fieldday, or www.mvara.org.