Amateur radio broadcasters compete

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WALA) - The South Baldwin Amateur Radio Club will be demonstrating emergency radio communications at the Orange Beach Waterfront Park on Canal Road June 23 and 24.

The demonstration is a part in a nationwide event, the American Radio Relay League’s 2012 Field Day, the single most popular on-the-air event held annually for ham radio enthusiasts, involving more than 35,000 amateurs across the US and Canada.

Club members invite you to get on the air under the guidance of a licensed amateur operator.

There is no lower or upper age limit to obtain the required Federal Communications Commission license.

Through the years, the South Baldwin group has helped folks of all ages make their first radio contacts at past Field Days. They will have an “Education Station” for hands-on radio activities set up as well.

Club members are operating in two modes, one using Morse code and one for voice transmissions attempting to contact as many other amateur stations as possible in the 24 hours between 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Best times to visit the park are Saturday afternoon and evening or Sunday mid-morning, but club members plan to operate round the clock, weather permitting.

Most of the long distance contacts made during Field Day will be with other amateurs in the continental US and Canada, but at past Field Days, the South Baldwin Club has talked with Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, as well as stations in the Caribbean.

All two-way radio contacts will be tallied and forwarded to the American Radio Relay League in Newington, CT, with the resulting scores published in the December issue of the ARRL journal, QST.

While Field Day is both a contest and a way to spread the word about amateur radio, it is also an important test of these local operators’ emergency communication skills.

Whenever a hurricane or other emergency activation occurs, Baldwin County amateurs support the Emergency Management Agency by providing back-up communications between the Emergency Operations Center in Robertsdale, all activated county shelters and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency in Chilton County.

They may also be called upon to offer vital communications to communities where local infrastructure has been compromised or destroyed by tornados or other disasters.