A nationwide event occurred recently involving tens of thousands of North Americans, and the whole thing went mostly unnoticed - literally right over our heads.
At precisely 1 p.m. Saturday, March 9, amateur radio operators throughout the U.S. and Canada filled radio frequencies in a 24-hour contact frenzy called a Field day, while radio enthusiasts from around the globe listened in.
Participants met in groups and broadcasted from home, boats or automobiles, while some hiked to hills and participated in solitude.
Some members of the of the Parker County club met other radio enthusiasts at a public shelter at Benbrook Lake to converse and compete.
“You came at a great time. We are eight minutes from kick off,” greeted club President Richard Flusher as he readied his equipment with others.
After casual talk and greetings, operators began to spin dials and chatter into microphones in a language only radio operators would understand.
“November delta five, delta x-ray. November delta five, delta x-ray,” he said.
A woman's voice returns through the radio static, “Continue with the field day. Continue with the field day. This is zero bravo one romeo victor. Uniform reading zero bravo one romeo victor.”
Matt Halbert of Hudson Oaks congratulated Cliff Boltwood for the contact from Connecticut, and the result was scored automatically on a monitor.
Boltwood, an Aledo ISD police sergeant, enjoys ham radio as a hobby and for public service situations. Halbert is a cheerleader for the day because his radio unit is in the shop.
“It’s funny to think I can reach all over the world with that little wire out there,” Boltwood said of his thin, 6-foot whip antenna.
Flusher explained various antennas accomplish different tasks, such as a “Delta loop,” or a “N-Vis,” which is short for near-vertical incidence skywave, which looks like wire a camper would hang laundry on.
Some operators scanned for incoming calls while others sent out “ICQ” (I seek you).
At the end of the event, Flusher reported more than 300 contacts were made from their location.
Amateur Radio Club of Parker County members operate at most large public events as a demonstration and to be ready for public service if needed. The group meets the second Wednesday of the month at the Aledo Fire Station No. 34 on Bailey Ranch Road and can be found online at https://w5pc.org/ and on Facebook.
Worldwide, radio operators participate in science studies, as well as safety and rescue situations. At times, immediately after disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes or floods, ham radio operators are the only means of communication.
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