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ARRL Field Day 2016

PRESS RELEASE

Event: Amateur Radio Field Day
Sponsor: Four Lakes Amateur Radio Club
Date: June 25, 2016 1:00 PM - June 26, 2016 1:00 PM (guests can come earlier or stay later to watch/help with setup.
Location: Badger Prairie County Park Verona, WI (map: http://goo.gl/yRRl5o )
Contact: Jeffrey Fillian
Field Day Publicity Officer
KC9UNZ@ARRL.NET
262-229-9523
Communications: #FLARCFD, http://www.w9jz.org/field-day/arrl-field-day-2016
June 10, 2016

 

Amateur Radio Field Day June 25 – 26 Demonstrates Science, Skill, and Service

Members of the Four Lakes Amatuer Radio Club (FLARC)  will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 25 – 26 at Badger Prairie County Park in Verona. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. Field Day is an opportunity for everyone to see what Ham Radio is and with or without a license, sit beside a licensed operator, listen in or key up a mic yourself and see how it feels.

For over 100 years, Amateur Radio — sometimes called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet. Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network. Over 35,000 people from thousands of locations participated in Field Day in 2015.

“It’s easy for anyone to pick up a computer or smartphone, connect to the Internet and communicate, with no knowledge of how the devices function or connect to each other,” said Sean Kutzko of the American Radio Relay League, the national association for Amateur Radio. “But if there’s an interruption of service or you’re out of range of a cell tower, you have no way to communicate. Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with tablets or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of Amateur Radio during a communications outage.”

Ham radio operators in the Madison Area contribute many hours of their time in public service. You will see them providing communication during many of the Marathons in Madison, Crazy Legs, Madison Marathons, Horribly Hilly hundreds, to name a few. They provide communication and participate in Skywarn during hazardous weather event. Ham operators help maintain and operate the amateur radio stations in the hospitals in Dane County so communications will not fail during emergencies. Ham operators have also shared their capabilities outside our area, sending, over the years, volunteers to Marathons in Chicago and Green Bay.

Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are over 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 5 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as FLARC, it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in the Madison Area.

For more information about Field Day, contact Jeff Fillian or visit http://www.w9jz.org/field-day/arrl-field-day-2016.

FLARC Field Day Location

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