Ham radio club uses Field Day to practice emergency communications

On June 25 and 26, members of the Stanford Amateur Radio Club (callsign W6YX) will participate in Field Day, an annual preparedness exercise sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (http://www.arrl.org), the national association for amateur radio (a.k.a. "ham radio"). The exercise, which aims to engage ham radio operators in shortwave radio communications and emergency preparedness over a 24-hour period, will take place at Site 530, near the Stanford Dish.

The public is invited to visit from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 25. Access is limited to pedestrians only. Park near the juncture of Stanford Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard, cross the road and hike up the hill along the path until reaching a wider road. Go left along that road until it reaches the hilltop and bends and the antenna towers are visible. The club shack is a little to the left.

"We want the community to know that in the event of an emergency, we will be ready to assist in any way we can," says Kenneth Dueker, Stanford's amateur radio emergency coordinator. "In major disasters during which time normal telecommunications services are disrupted, amateur radio operators have served as an important resource to local relief efforts, working with police, fire, the Red Cross and other agencies."

Amateur radio operators must pass a federal examination to be issued a Federal Communications Commission radio license, which grants licensees "operating privileges" including the right to use high-power transmitters (more than 1,000 watts), different modes (such as voice, Morse code, digital and even television) and thousands of frequencies.

Field Day was designed to test operators' abilities to set up and operate portable stations under emergency conditions, such as the loss of electricity. During the exercise, ham radio operators set up in local parks, at shopping malls and even in their own backyards, and get on the air using generators or batteries to power their equipment. Simulating emergency message handling, they try to contact as many other Field Day stations as possible.

"Field Day is a serious test of skill, but it is also a fun contest and the largest 'on-air' operating event each year since it began in 1933," Dueker says.

Today, amateur radio operators number more than 670,000 in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. Since the 1920s, the Stanford Amateur Radio Club has been a home to wireless and electronics pioneers, including Frederick Terman and many other faculty, students and alumni. To find out more about amateur radio or how to get a radio license, go to the Stanford Amateur Radio Club website: http://www-w6yx.stanford.edu.

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