Press-6-18-2013

The annual Amateur Radio Field Day is here! ­ VOICE of the Valley Online News

http://www.voiceofthevalley.com/community_news/news/article_ca64cfbc­d83c­11e2­9084­001a4bcf6878.html

The annual Amateur Radio Field Day is here!

What is Field Day?

ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on­the­air event held annually in the US and Canada. On

the fourth weekend of June of each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs,

groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.

Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!

It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While

some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response

capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the organizations that

Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL

Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar. The contest part is simply to contact as

many other stations as possible and to learn to operate our radio gear in abnormal situations and less

than optimal conditions.

The Maple Valley Amateur Radio Club (MVARC) will be hosting their Field Day at Lake

Wilderness from Noon on Saturday until about Noon on Sunday. There will be lots of food and lots

of fun!

Some specific examples of the ways that the MVARC uses these same skills are:

•Assisting with special non­emergency, pre­planned events, such as Maple Valley Days parade,

bicycle races, triathlons, and other community events.

•Assisting with emergency communications, by playing an active role with King County OEM and

our local EOC through our Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) team, to provide timely,

reliable and accurate backup emergency communications using amateur equipment and frequencies

for emergency managers, police, fire, and other official organizations within the greater Maple Valley

area during times of emergency or disaster. And working with both governmental and nongovernmental

agencies to provide emergency communications support when normal communications

systems have failed or become overloaded.

•Working with the Maple Valley Emergency Repeater Association by sponsoring and maintaining

two local radio repeaters using call sign KF7NPL.

•Educating citizens in Amateur Radio (aka Ham Radio) by providing teaching and testing to help

more citizens to get involved.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME, (ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG PEOPLE) …SO COME ON DOWN

6/19/2015 The annual Amateur Radio Field Day is here! ­ AND JOIN THE FUN! EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A HAM

(YET), YOU CAN GET ON THE AIR TOO!