ALBION: Radio club hosts field day this weekend

Local News

June 26, 2009

Anonymous The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri Jun 26, 2009, 04:36 PM EDT

In a state of emergency, when power and all-else fails, dedicated amateur radio operators will be standing by.

Of course, like any properly trained personnel, they need practice for what would happen in a real emergency.

Each year, the American Radio Relay League holds a national field day, where amateur radio clubs across the country go live for 24 hours to see what it would be like in a real emergency situation.

“This is what amateur radio is all about — if all else fails, amateur radio is supposed to come through,” said Marion Toussaint (KA2BCE), member of the Orleans County amateur Radio Club.

The group, which is more than 50 years old, will be setting up camp at the emergency management office on West County Road in Albion. Members of the Batavia and Lockport amateur radio groups will also be present, since neither club is hosting its own field day this year. From 2 p.m.

Saturday through 2 p.m. Sunday, the radios will be going through the night.

“This is a good thing — we have a lot of people signed up to work through the night,” Toussaint said.

According to event coordinator Bruce Sidari, the group is expecting 30 to 40 people.

“This is a national event, and it’s been going on for about 75 to 80 years,” he said. “Every year, it takes place the last weekend in June. We try to contact other organizations, as if it were a natural disaster. Since it only happens once a year, we make it a social event — sent up a tent.”

Two different stations will be set up sending signals out over the country. Legislators Lynne Johnson and Dave Callard are expected to make an appearance, and the group is expecting a good outcome.

“We’d love to have the public come out and see what we do,” Sidari said. “We have a station set up for people without licenses who want to try operating.”

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