Ham Radio Operators To Demonstrate Modern Emergency Capabilities

BROOKFIELD — During the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, Candlewood Amateur Radio Association (CARA) will set up an emergency communications demonstration site at Cadigan Park, 500 Candlewood Lake Road. The public is invited to attend on Saturday, from 3 to 5 pm, to meet the ham operators and watch them demonstrate the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications, and even historical Morse code, all of which can be used to communicate in emergencies when other systems fail or are overloaded.

The event is part of the 75th annual Field Day, which is a serious test of skill as well as a contest for fun. It is the largest “on-air” operating event of the year, involving thousands of amateur radio operators all across the country who will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools, and back yards using only emergency power supplies.

Through this exercise, which lasts for 24 hours, ham operators test various types of communications capabilities, proving they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, Internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year’s Field Day.

There are more than 600,000 amateur radio operators in the United States. They provide emergency communications for our local civil preparedness organizations, American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, FEMA, and thousands of state and local agencies. In some instances, amateur radio is the only way people can communicate in a crisis, and ham operators are often the first to provide needed information and communications. As recently as last month, when high winds and a tornado tore through the area, ham operators were activated in Danbury and Ridgefield to assist the affected communities with critical communications capability.

To learn more about amateur radio, visit Emergency-Radio.org.