Amateur radio operators gather in Jackson for annual field day

The American Radio Relay League Field Day is the big event of the year for many ham radio operators. It means setting up an emergency-type operation away from the comforts of home.

Members of the Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Club, along with onlookers, spent Saturday afternoon and overnight operating four ham radio stations from Klaus Park at Jackson, trying to contact as many of 1,400 similar field day events across the country as they could. The event concludes at 1 p.m. today.

It's a national contest where local folks will likely not win any prizes. They relish their turn at the mic, saying "CQ CQ Field Day," then trading location and call sign information with a responding club, seeing how many contacts they can make.

Fred Werchow of Marble Hill, Mo., said he found "a lot of satisfaction in being able to reach a hundred or a thousand miles."

Temporary antennas surrounded a picnic shelter. Power came from a portable generator. Early contacts were made from Massachusetts to Georgia.

All kinds of emergency power was being tested.

"It runs the gamut, from solar cells to deep cycle and ni-cad batteries," Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Club president Ernie Chiles said. Though most ham radio equipment now comes "off the shelf," operators inherently love to experiment and satisfy their curiosity.

Various antennas were being tested. Ham radio operators at times take pride in being able to use almost anything, such as a barn roof, as an antenna in an emergency.

A picnic was held Saturday evening. "Ham always function better when they eat," Chiles said.

Chiles said the prevalence of cellular devices was not causing a decline in ham radio.

"It's absolutely the same needs as before. After the Joplin tornado, ham radio operators provided most of the communication for the first 72 hours. What generally happens is it takes 48 to 72 hours for mobile service to get cell sites back up and running."

Many messages from Joplin and other disasters are related to health and welfare. A certain procedure must be learned.

"There's a right way and a wrong way to handle those," he said.

Any services the club provides to a city or agency are strictly volunteer. Chiles said the club is working to form a Skywarn group who would only be concerned with severe weather.

The club membership had fallen to 15 a few years ago but is now about 50. All ages are involved, with many new members in their 40s and 50s. Other clubs are in Sikeston and the Dexter, Mo., areas.

Some of the amateur frequencies need larger antennas and the signal can easily travel across the country and beyond. Others are limited by the horizon. Chiles said the newest type radio is a little square box with no knobs or dials. All the controls are done with computer screen interface.

Chiles said some hams talk to each other for years before meeting. Nets are a way hams socially keep in touch with each other at certain times. Various nets can be heard on Cape scanners at 444.200 MHz and 146.685 MHz.

Pertinent Address:

Klaus Park, Jackson MO

1 Barton Sq. Jackson, MO