Community Corner

Ham Radio Operators Have a 'Field Day'

Club members join in national effort to ensure groups are ready for an emergency.

Being a ham radio enthusiast is not just a hobby that gives operators the chance to reach out around the world. It's serious business.

This weekend the American Radio Relay League sponsored Field Day, a chance for ham radio clubs around the country to test their readiness in case their services are needed in a crisis.

The Coronado Emergency Radio Operators club gathered in Spreckels Park Saturday and Sunday to check their equipment, send and receive transmissions and expose people to their work.

Members set up on the south side of the park, raising an antenna 25 feet and anchoring it against a Jeep, securing it with power lines lashed to trees. A generator whirred nearby, while two men sent out calls.

They were able to touch base with other operators in New Jersey first, a good sign, said Fred A. Brown, that Coronado's set-up is in fine shape.

“In an emergency, this is how it would be,” he said.

Brown, the group's leader, would like the the community to understand club members have invested their time and money “in doing something very positive” for the city.

  • Members have spent thousands of their own dollars to assemble the necessary equipment, which includes radios of varying range, an antenna that can extend to 50 feet and generators to power the operation.
  • The city offers support through the fire department, which has a repeater atop one of the Coronado Shores condominium buildings. The transmitter strengthens radio calls.
  • Local ham radio operators picked up crisis calls not only during the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, but also from the Gulf region during Hurricane Katrina, Brown said.  They directed the messages to the American Red Cross and others who could help.


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