Information provided by San Benito County Amateur Radio Association.

Ham radio operators from the San Benito County Amateur Radio Association (SBCARA) in San Benito County, California will be participating in a national amateur radio exercise from 11 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28. The event is ARRL Field Day (www.arrl.org/FieldDay), an annual amateur radio activity organized since 1933 by ARRL, the national association for amateur radio in the United States.

Hams from across North America ordinarily participate in Field Day by establishing temporary ham radio stations in public locations to demonstrate their skill and service. Their use of radio signals, which reach beyond borders, bring people together while providing essential communication in the service of communities. Field Day highlights ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent, wireless communications network.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s event will be markedly different from years past. Continuing public health restrictions and social distancing practices will limit group gatherings for Field Day. Instead, hams from San Benito County will use the radio stations set up in their homes or taken to their backyards and other locations to operate individually. Many hams have portable radio communication capability that includes alternative energy sources such as generators, solar panels, and batteries to power their equipment.

This year’s event is also noteworthy given the number of large earthquakes happening around the Pacific Rim recently like the 7.4 earthquake in Santa Maria Zapotitlan, Mexico.

“Hams have a long history of serving our communities when natural disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” said Heatherly Takeuchi, amateur radio volunteer and public information officer for SBCARA, (callsign N6HKT). “Ham radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems and a station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.”

During Field Day 2019, more than 36,000 hams participated from thousands of locations across North America. According to ARRL, there are more than 750,000 amateur radio licensees in the US, and an estimated 3 million worldwide.

“Throughout COVID-19, hams around the world have continued to be on the air practicing their skills, in part as a way to help overcome social isolation and online fatigue,” said ARRL spokesperson Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R.

Hams range in age from as young as nine to older than 100. A self-study license guide is available from ARRL: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual (www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-License-Manual) and for Kindle (https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B07DFSW94G). For more information about ARRL Field Day and ham radio, contact Mel Tolentino, SBCARA president, and visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.

For more information on SBCARA, check out their website at sbcara.org.  They also run remote testing sessions. For information on testing send an email to testing@sbcares.org.