“In today’s electronic do-it- yourself (DIY) environment, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters or emergencies if the standard communication infrastructure goes down,” Isgur adds.
Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are over 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as the Kent Amateur Radio Society, it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in Kent County, Maryland.
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Members of the Kent Amateur Radio Society will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 22 – 23, 2019 at the Massey Airport and Air Museum in Massey, MD. 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 a showcase for how Amateur Radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network. “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,” says David Isgur, N1RSN, communications manager for ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio®, (www.arrl.org), which represents Amateur (or “ham”) Radio operators across the country.
For more information about Field Day or Amateur Radio visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.