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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2280175/posts

Amateur radio operators go on air for field day
Valley Press on ^ | Friday, June 26, 2009. | RICH BREAULT
Posted on June 26, 2009 12:06:22 PM PDT by BenLurkin

[H]am radio operators will test their emergency communications capabilities with amateur radio clubs across the nation this weekend.

The field day, the culmination of National Amateur Radio Week, known as the Nationwide Emergency Communications Drill, is intended to give the public a glimpse of the services amateur radio operators provide and a chance to meet the operators themselves.

“In a disaster, when phone lines, cellphones and the Internet are all down, ham radio operators will be on the job,” said Jon Clark, president of the Antelope Valley Amateur Radio Club.

The club will set up at the north end of Lancaster City Park, with members manning radios from 11 a.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday.

In Palmdale, members of the Amateur Radio Club of the Lockheed Employees Recreational Club, will play host to a field day in front of the Lockheed Federal Credit Union on Eighth Street East, just south of the guard gate at the Lockheed facility. The field day begins at 11 a.m.

“It’s not just about showing people what the hams do, but it’s important because there’s a need for more people to be involved in amateur radio,” said Roberta Alexander, a Lockheed Employees Recreational Club board member.

The national event is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, a national organization for amateur radio. It originated the concept of a nationwide field day.

Amateur radio operators, better known as “hams,” participate by gathering at a common meeting ground and communicating with each other without depending on outside power. They will talk with each other - across the Valley, with hams elsewhere in the state and with hams across the nation, to demonstrate forms of communicating on emergency power supply and the radios’ capabilities when a disaster occurs.

(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...

Amateur radio operators, better known as “hams,” participate by gathering at a common meeting ground and communicating with each other without depending on outside power.

Using low power (QRP) homemade transceiver kits (there are many) such as the Pixie 2 for only $9.95 from HSC Electronics and building this very simple kit with only a soldering pen, a multimeter and great guidance provided freely from an experienced helper (called an Elemer), any man or woman could easily contact other states and other countries using simple to learn Morse code (CW) and a good wire antenna. The entire Pixie 2 QRP rig fits within an small Altoids tin box.

There are inexpensive Single Side Band(SSB) voice communication transceiver kits available as well. CW QRP tends to transmit and receive further and more easily. Anyone who doesn't have a backup method (insurance) to communicate and get news, is foolishly playing with fire, should a disaster (man made or natural) occur. CW will still work in floods, fire or power outages.

The American Radio Relay League website is a tremendous source of learning, training and research information. I most highly recommend you bookmark it. For FReepers from Canada, the radio amateur organization in Canada is called the RAC. Radio amateurs (HAMs) are exceedingly helpful and knowledgeable and are local, state and international radio experts.