Photos:  WCARS keys up the mic for ham radio Field Day

Posted on by Max Cooper

In a tangle of wire and a din of arcane noise, local amateur radio operators set up improvised stations in the Asheville Firefighter Training Center Saturday to participate in the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day. The Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society (WCARS) and the Buncombe County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (BCARES) joined forces for the national event that is intended to prepare ham radio enthusiasts for emergency operations.

The objective: To contact as many other operators as possible in a 24-hour period, using battery and generator power and impromptu antennas.  Contacts are made in both voice transmission and Morse code. 

As of 3 p.m. Saturday, the group seemed off to a slow start, due in part to difficulties caused by the sun’s current lack of sunspots, whose magnetic properties can enhance radio communications on Earth.  Hopes were high, though, that night-time operation would yield better results.  While many will return to their homes for rest, at least one operator plans to camp on the grounds.

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6 thoughts on “Photos:  WCARS keys up the mic for ham radio Field Day”

    • raoulvega

      Some kids in scouting get interested but general interest died down with cell phones and internet. Most people take radio communication for granted. Interest is picking up with Preppers and you can bet there are spare Ham radios stashed away in Faraday cages across the country.

  2. Big Al

    A lot of god this will do us when all of the electrical devices are fried “One Second After”.

    Maybe we need to be practicing sending smoke signals instead. Is anyone at the Firefly (or whatever) Gathering discussing this?

  5. Max Cooper

    Hey Big Al, one gentleman there was operating with an old-school tube radio from the back of his old-school carburetor-started truck. EMP proof?

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