Lake County hosts amateur radio “Field Day”

The public is invited to learn about ham radio this weekend as Lake County Emergency Management and the Lake County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) participate in “Field Day,” a test of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services.

More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated last year. RACES volunteers will be operating from 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Lake County government campus north of Winchester Road west of Milwaukee Avenue.

Operators will demonstrate and test an array of communication systems and technologies, working in the field with improvised antennas and generator or solar power, as well as in emergency centers with permanently-installed equipment. There will be demonstrations and opportunities for visitors to “get on the air,” making voice contact with other amateur stations across the country.

Amateur radio serves an important role in emergency and disaster communications, because operators can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, Internet or any other infrastructure that may be damaged or overloaded during a crisis. Visit www.RACES.org for more information.