Members of the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club (TARC) will be participating in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise Saturday and Sunday, June 28 – 29 at Haikey Creek Park Triplex Shelter on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. and Sunday from 8 – 11 a.m.. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

Field Day is a showcase for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network. “Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with laptops or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of amateur radio during a communications outage,” says Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, spokesperson for ARRL The national association for Amateur Radio®, (www.arrl.org), which represents amateur (or “ham”) radio operators across the country. “In today’s electronic do-it-yourself (DIY) environment, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters or emergencies if the standard communication infrastructure goes down,” Inderbitzen adds. Anyone may become a licensed amateur radio operator. There are more than 750,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as Tulsa Amateur Radio Club (TARC), it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in the city of Tulsa. For more information about Field Day or amateur radio, visit http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.