The Villages Amateur Radio Club members invite you to come and observe as they participate in the 24-hour Field Day contest. Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League since the 1930s, the contest is an opportunity for ham radio operators to contact as many other amateur operators in the United States and Canada as possible.
The Villages club usually makes contact with 900 to 1,000 radio operators in the 24 hours.
“We stress the fun of the contest and take this opportunity to mentor new operators,” said George Briggs, chairman of the Field Day event.
The club sets up their operation in the Sumter County Emergency Services Communications Trailer. They have three stations, one for the more experienced operators, one for the folks being mentored and a station with the latest in technology using a computer to talk to another computer.
The trailer is located behind the Sumter County Sheriff’s Annex on County Road 466 near Morse Boulevard. The event runs through 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Visitors are welcome to come anytime during those hours. There is plenty of parking near the trailer.
People throughout the United States and Canada participate in this event.
“Some people literally will go out in a field and pitch a tent, thus the name of the event,” said Briggs. “For the last several years we have had the luxury of using the sheriff’s trailer.”
The trailer beats doing the contest in a tent in several ways including air conditioning.
The Villages Amateur Radio Club has two hundred plus members and offers training workshops for new members. The club is starting to formalize how they can be helpful in emergency situations.
“Take hurricanes for example,” said club member John Ellis. “I was in the Virgin Islands during Hugo and ham radios were really the only means of communication.” Briggs noted that many ham radio operators flew to Puerto Rico last year to provide communication. “There are times, even in today’s world, that amateur radio is the only way out,” said Ellis.
For more information about The Villages Amateur Radio Club go to www.k4vrc.com.
