National Amateur Radio Field Day exercises were held across North America

 

From 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 23 until 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, members of Whitecourt Amateur Radio took part in a National Amateur Radio Field Day exercise. Over the course of 24 hours, the group sought out operators from all over the world in hopes of touching base with as many as possible. They set up in the gravel parking lot across from the community garden at Rotary Park and invited the public to come by, say hi, and learn a bit about being an amateur radio operator.

 

Alex Code has been involved in amateur radio for a couple of years and said it’s easy to get involved with and is also a lot of fun. “It’s inexpensive to get into amateur radio. I always tell everyone that you only need $100, $65 is for the book you need to get your license and then just a cheap $35 radio gets you into the hobby and into worldwide communications.”

 

Depending on specific factors that affect transmission, users can get as short as a few 100 kilometres to as far away as the other side of the world. Since getting involved, Alex said his furthest communication to date was to the Netherlands. “It’s all dependant on propagation and things that are out of our control at that time, but you can reach far.”

Anywhere from 30 to 40,000 people took part across North America. “The purpose of the field day is to get out and have fun, bring public awareness to what this hobby is all about, and hone our skills as radio operators in case there was ever an emergency that we were called upon to help assist with communications.” Many people might not realize, but amateur radio played a significant role in communications during some of the province’s biggest disasters including the High River flood and the Fort McMurray fire.

 

A license is required to be an amateur radio operator, but Alex said it isn’t too hard to get one. It’s necessary so that those using the system understand how to use it properly ensuring they don’t accidentally interfere with frequencies they are not allowed on including commercial radio or emergency services.

 

Amateur radio, sometimes called ham radio, has given people the ability to experiment with electronics and communicate with others from all over the world for over 100 years. In the last 10 years, with advancements in technology, Alex said things have changed drastically and that digital electronics have added a whole new level to it. The open event shows the public how radio can be used in different ways for communication and from almost any location.

 

Members of the public who are interested in learning more about amateur radio are invited to check out www.wcar.ca which is the Whitecourt group’s website.