Amateur radio field day set for weekend

SEMO ARC -- the Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Club -- will conduct its yearly field day exercise from noon Saturday to noon Sunday at Klaus Park in Jackson. SEMO ARC will operate from the county communications van, which will be situated at the park's No. 30 shelter. The public is welcome to stop by and observe the exercise, said Richard Knaup Jr., director and coordinator of the Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management Agency. The park will close at midnight Saturday and reopen at 6:30 a.m. Sunday. The exercise tests the capability of the HAM radio network and its licensed operators to pass information nationwide and worldwide, according a news release. The ability to perform these communications is essential during events such as tornadoes and other storms. The exercise accredits SEMO ARC as a radio club capable of passing information to the proper authorities.