Increasingly Wireless Age Still Good Fit for Ham Radio:

BENTON TWP. -- A large military-grade antenna sat in a field outside a generator-powered, air-conditioned tent. Inside, on two ham radio stations, members of the Scranton-Pocono Amateur Radio Klub called out "K-3-C-S-G" across the airwaves. At one point, turning a knob to adjust the frequency and listening through garbled noises that sounded as if they were coming from space, Bernie Andreoli contacted a fellow radio enthusiast from Alabama. Andreoli will spend the next 24 hours or so listening and calling out during the national Amateur Radio Field Day emergency preparedness exercise. The global exercise packs the airwaves with amateur radio operators set up in remote areas, practicing keeping in touch in case a natural or man-made disaster knocks out advanced communications. At Seamans Airport, SPARK joined forces with the Lackawanna County Emergency Management Agency, which donated the tent and generator. The club is part of the county's emergency management plan if communications are lost. "The object is to set up in a remote location, operate under emergency power and to make as many contacts as we can for 24 hours," said Heath Goldstein, club member.

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