BCARA Field Day
June 23rd- 24th, 2007
This is an open invitation to all area amateurs.
The BCARA will set up for the 2007 ARRL Field Day event in Memorial Park, Lebanon, IN. The park's director Roger Neal met with Jeff Brown KC9ANB several times to discuss the BCARA using the park for field day. If you'd like to help with set up, operate or log for someone. Please email us your times of availability, put Field Day help in the subject box of the email. We hope to run 3A plus the GOTA station this year. The picture below is the location in the park where we will be setting up for field day. Set up to begin at 10:00 AM, with Field Day starting at 2:00 PM. We are hoping to keep operators in the stations for the 24 hour period. There are several events scheduled in the park this weekend. This will be a good time for the public see Amateur Radio in operation. We hope to provide the public with a good idea on how valuable
Amateur Radio can be to the community during times of emergencies.
On June 23rd and 24th, Amateur Radio ("ham") operators across the country will leave the comfort of their home-based radio "shacks" for a weekend of emergency preparedness activity called "Field Day." The event is designed to test operators' skills in setting up and operating radio
communication equipment in situations where electrical power is limited or unavailable. The idea is to simulate the conditions that can occur during a hurricane, tornado or other emergency, including man-made disasters. The event is sponsored by ARRL --the national association for Amateur Radio. The first Field Day took place in 1933.
During Field Day, operators set up radio transmitting and receiving equipment in local parks, at shopping malls or even in backyards, and get on the air using generators, battery or solar power to run their equipment. This type of exercise, along with the operators' dedication to public service, allows them to step in and help emergency officials and relief organizations when disaster strikes. Cell phones, the Internet and other communications technologies have yet to replace what Amateur Radio operators can do. They have a long track record of getting the message through when all other systems fail.
Field Day is a serious exercise, but it's also a lot of fun for participants. It's also the most popular "on-air" operating event each year. During Field Day, Amateur Radio operators attempt to make radio contact with as many participating stations as possible, simulating the sort of speedy on-air skills needed during an emergency. In past years, more than 30,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and Canada have taken part. This year, for the first time, Field Day has been opened up for participation by ham radio operators in virtually all of North and South America and the Caribbean.
If your an Amateur Radio Operator and would like to enjoy the thrill of operating at a Field Day event. Please come out and join in with the BCARA gang and help get us some points. We are in need of operators and loggers this year. So any help would be appreciated. 73 and see you at Field Day.
