Woodbury Hosts International Ham Radio Event

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Woodbury Hosts International Ham Radio Event

Thousands of ham radio operators around the world will link into Woodbury on June 24^th and 25^th for an annual get-together via shortwave. “Visitors are welcome,” says Glen Dains, one of the organizers and a longtime Woodbury Volunteer firefighter, “and even without a radio license, they will be able to communicate via shortwave under the supervision of a licensed ham.”

The nonstop 24 hours event of the American Radio Relay League (AARL), representing 170,000 FCC licensed amateurs, will set up at the Woodbury Fire Department, 25 Quassuk Rd. “Some members treat it as a contest testing how far away and how many other hams they can reach,” Dains says. “Others practice it as backup for emergency notification systems. Most do it to have fun testing their gear and communicating around the world.” The AARL expects about 20 in-person radio hams at the Woodbury Fire House with operations starting at 2pm on Saturday.

He noted that amateur radio frequencies are the last remaining place in the usable radio spectrum where individuals can experiment and develop wireless communications. For the technically minded, participants in the event named ‘Field Day’ will contact as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20,15 and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above. More details are on www.arrl.org/field-day. Dains’ own callsign is W1GHD on the 20-meter band.