FELTON — Santa Cruz County amateur radio clubs will once again be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 27-28, at two county locations. While the event provides an opportunity to educate the public regarding amateur radio communications, it primarily serves the larger goal of promoting emergency preparedness and the practice of communications skills used in the event of a disaster. Held annually the last weekend in June, Field Day events start on Saturday and continue for 24 hours.
Organized as a nationwide contest, many members will set up complete radio stations using off the grid power for contest operations. Skills practiced will include antenna building and station setup, as well as clear, concise, rapid-fire communications exchanges with other US and Canadian radio hams. Given the ongoing drought conditions and the early fire season already in California, communications exercises like Field Day are critical to readiness. The San Lorenzo Valley Amateur Radio Club (SLVARC) and the UCSC Amateur Radio Club will be sponsoring two separate sites for practicing and demonstrating how to send emergency traffic.
Amateur Radio’s emergency service: This Memorial Day weekend extremely heavy rainfall hit Texas and Oklahoma. Ham radio operators scrambled to assist local emergency operations centers and the National Weather Service offices. Amateur Radio has also been critical in the Nepal earthquake relief efforts, supplying radio volunteers and backup communications equipment for the complex recovery work ongoing in many remote areas. Amateur Radio was vital to communications for New York City agencies on September 11 and during the countless hurricanes, tornados, fires and earthquakes which have occurred over the years.
Amateur radio saved the day providing communications during the Loma Prieta earthquake, Love Creek flood, as well as the Lexington, Summit/Eureka Canyon, Bonny Doon Martin and Lockheed fires. When fiber optic cables were sabotaged, Ham Radio became the communications for local hospitals. During heavy rains, when low lying areas had to be evacuated due to flooding of the San Lorenzo River, ham radio operators worked with the Red Cross and operated from local shelters, helping coordinate and ensure the safety of suddenly homeless residents.
Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Field Day has grown since its inception in 1933 to over 45,000 participants, and is only a small fraction of the over 725,000-licensed amateur radio operators in the US today, and more than 2.5 million worldwide.
Visitors are welcome and encouraged to drop by either of the Field Day sites:
Site 1: San Lorenzo Valley Amateur Radio Club (SLVARC), CalFire Ben Lomond Camp, 13575 Empire Grade Rd, Santa Cruz, CA. This event will run 24 hours, commencing at 11 am on Saturday, June 27 and end at 11 am on Sunday, June 28. Site contact: Elizabeth Baker, n6fit@arrl.net.
Site 2: UCSC Amateur Radio Club, UC Santa Cruz campus, East Field, Saturday, June 27, 11 am – 5 pm. Site contact: Suellene Petersen, k6cpa@arrl.net.
Santa Cruz County amateur radio operators actively participate in supporting the local community providing communications during times of emergency and for local events such as races, bike rides, triathlons, parades, and wherever additional communications support is required and requested in our area.
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