Members of the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association, Inc. (FARA) will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 22-23, at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds south parking area at Route 151 and Currier Road in East Falmouth. Visitors are welcome at the site starting at noon on June 22.
Since 1933, ham radio operators across the united states 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. For over 100 years, Amateur Radio — sometimes called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet. Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network. With the rapid advancement in technology this day and age, cell phones, computers, and internet, it’s important for people to understand what ham radio is and how it has also advanced with the rapid change in technology as well.
Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, and can interface with tablets or smartphones. Most ham radio stations can be setup up quickly by simply throwing a wire over a tree for an antenna and using batteries for power. That is one of the greatest things about ham radio, and it’s also beneficial in times of disasters and other emergencies when other communication infrastructures are down. Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are over 822,768 licensed hams in the United States, as young as five and as old as 100. For more information about FARA’s Field Day, contact Matthew Trott, KB1MLP, (matthew.trott@ymail.com) or visit the club website at http://www.falara.org.