Ham Radio Enthusiasts Dial Up Day of Field Tests:

BRIGHTON -- Instead of the sounds of SUVs or people camping, it was the sounds of radios buzzing and voices from afar that were heard in part of the Richard Bong Recreational Area Saturday. The all-day and overnight campout by members of the Gateway Technical College Ham Radio Club was part of the annual Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day, held worldwide the last weekend in June. The event operates like a contest with amateur "ham" radio operators seeing how many stations they can contact and log in. Contact has to be made and confirmed on both sides for it to be counted and logged in online. Besides testing their equipment and their skills, operators also demonstrated the continuing value of a decades-old type of communication in the modern age. "If we lose everything (cell phones, the power grid), we have to go back to old-school communications," said Randy Reusser, club member and GTC instructor of telecommunications and electronics. "A lot of people have used this hobby to build careers."

from Ham Radio Times http://ift.tt/2sS3EzX
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