Chester County ham radio operators from the 985 Repeater Group will hold their annual Field Day event at Lines Self-Storage, 964 Pottstown Pike (Rt. 100), in Chester Springs, PA 19425 from 2 PM Saturday to 2 PM Sunday. They will be operating their temporary stations off-grid as they demonstrate their technical operating skill and emergency communications preparedness. They will have multiple stations set up and will be contacting other stations around the world by morse code, DMR dual band radio, high power walkie talkie and even satellite! The public will be welcomed to see what ham radio is and to get on the air at the event! Amateur (Ham) Radio is a federally licensed service that uses various radio frequencies to exchange non-commercial messages. Licensed operators also conduct radio and electronic experimentation, self-training, private recreation, and engage in on-air contests. Ham radio has been around for over 100 years and has been the foundation for many careers in science and engineering and the source of many technical innovations. Prominent Americans who are licensed amateur radio operators include comedian Tim Allen, former FEMA Director Craig Fugate, Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow, Nobel Prize laureate Joe Taylor, guitarist Joe Walsh of the Eagles, and astronaut Bob Behnken, who is currently aboard the International Space Station and who rode aboard the Dragon SpaceX rocket to get there. Many of the ISS astronauts are licensed ham radio operators. During Field Day, hams demonstrate their readiness to provide emergency communications. Because ham radio functions without the internet, phone systems, and the electric power grid, it is often called upon to provide vital communications during natural and manmade disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. When all other communications methods fail, ham radio prevails. So, come out to the 985 Repeater Group Field Day event! Learn about and experience ham radio and see what they do and how they serve the community. Field Day is a nationwide event founded and sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) – the National Association for Amateur Radio.

The Eastern Shore Amateur Radio Club will participate in a national emergency communications preparedness exercise on June 24-25.  The exercise, known as Field Day, involves setting up and operating emergency radio or bugout radio communications using amateur walkie talkie to communicate with similar operations throughout the country. The club will conduct its 2023 Field Day operations at the Accomack County Emergency Operations Center, 28598 Beacon Road, Melfa (near the airport). Operations will include digital messaging, as well as voice and Morse Code communications. The Eastern Shore club members will demonstrate the “magic” of ham radio by contacting hams across the country while using wire antennas, vhf two-way radios and emergency power. The public is invited to come and see modern amateur radio technology in action and learn about this exciting hobby.  Club members will be available to answer questions, provide literature, and help visitors get on the air.  Best visiting times are 12 – 4 p.m. Saturday.  We will have a special station, just for unlicensed people who would like to “get on the air.” Field Day is sponsored by ARRL, the national association for amateur radio, and has been an annual event since 1933.  This year’s operations are expected to involve more than 40,000 ham radio operators from across North America. Often using only emergency power, ham operators construct and operate emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools, and backyards around the country. Their slogan, “When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works,” is demonstrated by hams who can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, Internet, or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. The event combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills. Modern amateur radio is a fast-growing hobby, and there are now more than 750,000 licensed operators in the United States, and more than 2.5 million worldwide.  Through ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, volunteers provide emergency communication for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies and non-emergency communications services to a wide variety of community and civic organizations, all without cost to the public.

When the devastating Tubbs Fire tore through Sonoma County in 2017, Cazadero resident Tony Goodwin found himself unable to communicate with his wife. The terrifying experience inspired Goodwin to equip his home with General Mobile Radio Service （GMRS）and help his neighbors and surrounding communities join the network. As emergency preparedness came to dominate Sonoma County's discourse, the radio network designed for short-range, portable and rugged two-way radio communication grew. Goodwin has helped set up radio boxes using the GMRS system for locations around the county including at a new communications tower in Cloverdale. County's first public-private comms tower Located on Schellenger Road east of Cloverdale, the communications tower comes equipped with fire cameras, radio service and a fail-safe digital communications network. Upon completion, the solar-powered tower will also include a weather station that can measure meteorological conditions including wind speed and report it out in real time. "It's turning out to be a really, really cool project," said Johannes Hoevertsz, Sonoma County's public infrastructure director. The county teamed up with Northern Sonoma County Community Emergency Response Team and radio volunteers on the project, making it the county's first public-private communications tower. The communications systems were put to use earlier this year when Cazadero lost power during the winter storms. "We at one point were trapped, all our exits were blocked by trees," said Goodwin. "We had no communication via cellular phone or landline but our uhf handheld radios, our infrastructure we put in for radios worked."

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre today announced that two ham radio sessions with astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the International Space Station (ISS), under the ‘A Call from Space’ event were successfully completed over the course of two days, in collaboration with the Emirates Amateur Radio Society (EARS) and Emirates Literature Foundation (ELF). Ham radio, or amateur radio, uses a broad spectrum of frequencies to communicate between individuals, groups, and even remote regions and space, making it a valuable communication tool. Adnan AlRais, Mission Manager, UAE Astronaut Programme, said, "Through these ham radio sessions with Sultan, we strive to ignite a passion for space and science in the next generation. At MBRSC, we firmly believe that such initiatives stimulate curiosity and foster a deep understanding of the vast potential that space exploration holds. Our ultimate goal is to inspire young minds to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, contributing to the UAE's vision of becoming a leading nation in the fields of science and space.” As part of the sessions, the students were first introduced to MBRSC and their latest projects, followed by a tour of the facility, which gave them a glimpse into the labs, workstations, and state-of-the-art technologies employed at the Centre. Furthermore, a presentation about space stations provided the attendees with a broad view of human endeavours in space. The students also received comprehensive training on ham radio, such as digital walkie-talkie, long-range two way radio, unravelling the complexities of the critical communication tool used since the 20th century. The highlight of the programme was the live interaction with astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi. The unique opportunity allowed enthusiastic participants from schools across the UAE the chance to ask AlNeyadi questions about living in microgravity, communicating with family and friends, scientific experiments being conducted on the ISS currently, how they keep track of time in space, life on the ISS, challenges of living in space and staying fit, among other space related activities. In the interactive session lasting 10 minutes on both days, AlNeyadi left the young audience spellbound by providing valuable insights into life in space and the science associated with the mission. His engaging explanations sparked the curiosity of the attendees, encouraging the students to delve deeper into the space and STEM subjects in particular.

When emergencies call, Black Creek Volunteer Fire Department Captain Timothy Burgess and his crew can't always count on their radios, walkie-talkies and cellphones to communicate. Burgess said they get poor service because of the mountainous terrain in Etowah County and surrounding areas. Burgess said crews stay prepared but never know when the signal may drop. In some cases, and if available, first responders have to use landline phones belonging to the people who called 911, just to relay updates and messages to other first responders. "We need a tower and it's just not for Etowah. If we had a tower here that would facilitate cellular and the two-way radios for us with a repeater, from there, we would be able to facilitate multiply firehalls," he said. He believes another tower could be beneficial for not only Etowah County, but surrounding counties. He said the problem is signals need to go beyond the mountain tops to reach first responders on the ground. Long range radio is also very much needed. Brodeur said towers are not cheap. He said the last time he built one was in the 1990's at a cost of almost half a million dollars. While finding money for towers has always been an obstacle for the county, it's not the only challenge. Brodeur said he has been given the green light to work on securing funds like a federal grant and state monies for the new tower. He hopes if all goes well, a tower should be built in the next nine months. There is another hope for the county. Brodeur said St. Clair County is expected to have a new tower up next year. He said that tower will also help strengthen service in Etowah County.

Beginning May 5 and running through May 20, the Knights have been operating over several amateur radio stations statewide under a special amateur radio call sign, K0C with the dual intent of sharing their philanthropic deeds and encouraging Catholic men to join the fraternal organization. The project, known in amateur radio lingo as a “Special Event Station,” has been attempting to operate out of all five dioceses in the state until the last day of the 127th New Jersey State Convention in Wildwood. “My hobby is using long-range radio, and I love the Knights,” said Knights District Deputy Thomas M. Perrotti, who designed and spearheaded the project. “This is a nice way to bring these two passions together.” Perrotti was licensed as an amateur radio operator in 1979, and currently holds an Amateur Extra license under the call sign of N2JIE. The member of Holy Cross Parish, Bridgeton, has been a Knight since 2011. After approval from the Knights, Perrotti met with nearly a dozen Knight operators over Zoom, as well as alerting a number of publications to which amateur radio hams subscribe that a Special Event Station exists. Hams don’t blindly broadcast, but rather have one-on-one conversations with other operators; in honor of the 127th N.J. State Convention, Perrotti and his fellow hams are operating in frequencies ending in 127. “It’s not just an old man hobby,” he said, chuckling. “Amateur radio is used in the early hours of a disaster when cell towers and telephone lines may be down. All hams need is a radio or portable walkie talkie, a battery and an antenna to transmit.” The Vatican has its own amateur radio station (call sign HV5PUL); the patron saint of ham radio operators is Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Famous hams include King Juan Carlos of Spain, Sen. Barry Goldwater, Marlon Brando, Joe Walsh, Donny Osmond, Priscilla Presley and Walter Cronkite.

Dayton Hamvention 2023, ham radio's largest annual gathering, is just  a week away. Gates open for the 3-day event on Friday, May 19, at 9 a.m., at the Greene County Fair and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. Spokesperson Michael Kalter, W8CI, reports that 700 volunteers are working to get the event ready. "We like to think of Hamvention as ham radio's people event, and we have a lot to offer," said Kalter. This year's Hamvention theme is Innovation, and will be reflected in the variety of exhibits, activities, and forums that have been organized this year. "Much of our effort this year will build on ARRL's yearlong theme, Year of the Volunteers," said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop. ARRL program representatives and volunteers will be on hand to help interested attendees find paths to become more active and involved in amateur radio.There will be booths organized around radiosport, emergency communications, technology, and youth. "We'll also ask everyone to 'reach one rung higher' by  encouraging all active hams to pursue opportunities to mentor others, and to consider volunteering in the ARRL Field Organization and elected positions." "Our Talk-in Net will be in operation beginning Thursday, May 18, at 7 AM on the Dayton Amateur Radio Association's repeater, with an alternate frequency of 146.985. The net offers directions and assistance as well as traffic conditions and detours," said Kalter. Additional frequencies and information are available at Talk In - Hamvention.

In the ongoing effort to improve school safety, staff in all Yuma School District-1 buildings have been equipped with two-way radios to allow for immediate communication between buildings in case of an emergency. The system also bridges to the local dispatch center, with some of DMR radios equipped to receive messages directly from 911 dispatchers. Plus, all the district buses have a radio to allow for communication to the rest of the district, even from hundreds of miles away. Yuma-1 Superintendent Dianna Chrisman said all of the district buildings have at least two radios, and some have three. There are two in the district office. The radios were purchased through a School Access for Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant spearheaded by Northeast BOCES. Motorola Solutions, a partner in the grant, has developed a two-way radio emergency communications solution with unique school-based interoperability equipment to allow schools, the district, and local emergency responder agencies to use commercial walkie talkies to communicate, when needed, to manage a school-based emergency or crisis event. Chrisman said the radio system came on handy last week when high winds kicked up as students were being transported home. Some of the mini-buses pulled over and waited for one of the bigger buses to show up to finish the route. (Turns out the big buses do better in high winds than the mini-buses.)

In St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the surrounding islands, emergency communications equipment is transforming disaster response. Located in the Caribbean’s hurricane belt and in proximity to an active volcano, La Soufrière, the islands are prone to natural disasters. With donated equipment from radio experts Barrett Communications, the Rainbow Radio League (RRL) is establishing communications networks and providing training that is geared to saving lives. RRL is a not-for-profit organisation of primarily radio amateurs. Since 1995, RRL has focused on providing emergency communications in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the surrounding nations. Handheld radios donated by international organisations played a role in the relief effort. This gave RRL director Donald De Riggs an idea: what if the Caribbean islands had access to emergency communications infrastructure before disaster struck?  “We are in the process of developing a domestic HF network. If we could get some radios to assist us, we’d be in a much better position to respond to emergencies. And the radio amateurs of the future are being fostered through RRL’s engagement with schools. RRL provides demonstrations and involves students in erecting rapid deployment antenna and using digital Two-Way Radio to contact each other. This engagement provides children opportunities to pursue careers including air traffic control and the police. RRL eventually aims to involve all the secondary schools on the island. HF（High frequency） and VHF（very high frequency) radio offers invaluable functionality, explains De Riggs: “With handsets, like a walkie-talkie, operation is limited because if you don’t have many repeaters, you are limited to a particular geographic area. In the Caribbean, where VHF signals can be blocked by mountainous terrain and many of the islands are remote, HF radio offers unprecedented connectivity. And RRL continues to work on expanding its response capabilities, with ambitions to establish proper maritime rescue capabilities and air response for regional disasters. “As an organisation, we haven’t realised our full potential yet,” says De Riggs. “But with adequate funding and agencies that understand and support our role in disaster management, that potential will be realised.”

Global Sources Electronics Exhibition is a global consumer electronics procurement show, bringing together high-quality OEM/ODM manufacturing suppliers from China and Asia. Juston brought the latest radio products to the Global Sources Exhibition. The exhibits include the flagship analog radio, digital Two-Way Radio, POC radio, Bluetooth headset, charger and various walkie-talkie accessories.