The Portage County Amateur Radio Service hosted its Amateur Radio Field Day this weekend at the Freedom Township Park, inviting club and community members to view amateur, or ham, radio operations.
The field day began at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with stations operating for 24 hours until 2 p.m. on Sunday. The annual event is put on by the American Radio Relay League.
The ARRL has hosted the event since 1933, with PCARS participating for about 20 years.
Rick Kruis, a PCARS member and station captain, explained that Field Day prepares ham radio operators for the crucial period during a devastating event when communication infrastructure is down, and the government has not arrived to help with that communication.
“The purpose of Field Day is for ham radio operators, either individually or as groups in a club like we’re doing here, to take their equipment into a portable environment, operate on emergency power for a 24-hour period, with the idea that we develop our skills necessary to communicate in emergency situations,” Kruis said.
There are around 33,000 amateur operators nationally who participate in Field Day. During the 24-hour period, radio operators try to make as much contact as possible with other ham radio operators all over North America.
At Freedom Township Park, PCARS set up four active transmitters, each operating on a different radio band. The transmitters have a station captain who is responsible for staffing and running their stations for the 24 hours.
The equipment involved in the Field Day, such as antennas, computers and generators, is all personal equipment.
In addition to around 50 operators and station workers involved in the Field Day, visitors were welcome to stop by.
“Some of them are just driving by, and they’ll say, ‘What the heck is going on?’” Kruis said. “They’ll pull in, and they’ll talk to us, and we’ll explain what ham radio is and what Field Day is.”
Field Day is also a chance for those with a lower amateur radio operating license to experience operations outside of what their license allows them to do.
“The idea is that it encourages them to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to study a little bit and upgrade my license,’” Kruis said.
According to Tom Sly, current PCARS vice president, one must pass certain technical tests to obtain a license, and each license comes with the ability to operate certain radio frequencies.
“There are 3 different classes of licenses that you can get,” Sly said. ”Each one gives you a little bit more operating privileges.”
Field Day also featured a Get On The Air Station. GOTA allows anyone, with the help of a control operator, to make contact with other radio operators and have fun while doing so.
“People have fun doing that,” said Tom Parkinson, PCARS trustee and media chairman. “It kind of sparks your interest a little bit more. There are so many things in this hobby that’s not just get on the radio and making contacts.”
Shortly after the stations went on air at 2 p.m., the GOTA station began having interference due to the other antennas in the area. As an emergency practice, Sly said, troubleshooting is part of the process that helps operators prepare.
Since the event prepares for emergencies, set-up and tear-down are relatively quick.
“This is an emergency-type practice. Set it up, make contacts, and then when you’re done, tear it all down,” Parkinson said. “Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock, if you drive by here, nothing will be here.”
Parkinson and Sly helped start PCARS in 2005, and there are about 159 active members today.
“We want to have fun with amateur radio. And that’s what we’ve been doing,” Parkinson said. “That model of having fun is what this club grew out of.”
Loreal Puleo is a staff writer. Contact her at [email protected].
