American Radio Relay League sponsors annual field day
By RACHEL LANE, rlane@newsandsentinel.comPARKERSBURG - The storms over the weekend were not enough to scare the ham amateur radio operators inside.
At about 2 p.m. Saturday, the annual American Radio Relay League's Field Day began. It is a 24-hour event allowing ham radio operators across the United States and Canada to communicate with each other and test their equipment.
Wood County Emergency Communications (WCEC), a local emergency amateur radio club, set up its radios in an open area off Henderson Farm Drive, about four miles from Old St. Marys Pike out of north Parkersburg.
"It gives us a chance to practice a disaster situation," said Ken Harris, director of WCEC. "If you're going to make a mistake, now's the time to fix it."
The operators practiced and all the equipment was tested, Harris said. About 30 operators from around the region used five radios to participate.
"We don't have the best facilities in the world, but if we had a real emergency, we wouldn't have the best facilities," he said.
Harris said how the antennas are set up will determine how far the radio broadcast can reach.
"We had contact with the space station two years ago," he said.
Harris said about 10 sites in West Virginia participated in the weekend's event. The antennas were disconnected during Saturday's storms, and the radios were covered for protection.
"I'll probably be operating the radio at 4 a.m., after everything's calmed down," said Denise Magyarosi-Mills of Belleville, who spends much of the annual event cooking, but likes to take time to operate the radio.
"I got involved mostly by listening to the scanner and seeing there was a need," Magyarosi-Mills said.
She said local ham radio operators have helped rescue people and animals from flooded areas.
"We're more behind the scenes," she said.
Laptop tops and cell phones were some of the equipment tested. Magyarosi-Mills said one of her daughters was the operator that made contact with the space station and the other daughter connected with the Maritime Ships.
"There's so much more we could do if we had more funding," she said.
Operator Daniel Ritchie, 18, of Marietta, contacted Vermont, Alabama, Louisiana, northern Florida and other locations during the event.
"I enjoy it," he said of the event. "It's just a short contact with people around the country."
Ritchie said he has to record the time each contact is made, the location and how many stations/radios are operating. He became a ham amateur operator because his father and several friends used the radios.
"Then I heard (that the WCEC) were doing some good and thought I'd come out here to help," he said.
Harris said amateur operators are only amateur because they do not get paid for the work. They receive training and have to be certified to operate the radios.
