Richmond’s Local Amateur Radio Operators in Action
24 June 2008
Join the Richmond Amateur Radio Club as they show off their emergency preparedness’ skills at the Annual North American Field Day for amateur radio operators. On June 28 and 29, you will have a chance to see emergency contact exercises in action and even sit behind the controls to try it yourself.
The Field Day takes place at Garry Point Community Park, in Steveston, from 11:00 a.m. on June 28 overnight to 11:00 a.m. on June 29. The Field Day involves over 30,000 amateur radio operators across North America and is an important annual emergency preparedness exercise where amateur radio operators practice and refine their communication skills by establishing as many radio contacts (high frequency/short wave, satellite, digital, etc.) as possible with other amateur radio stations. During Field Day, amateur radio stations use emergency power - batteries, solar cells, generators - not commercial power.
The City of Richmond is home to more than 400 federally licensed amateur radio operators who use ham radios. They are amateur only in the sense that they are not paid; however, they are professional in radio communications.
Amateur radio operators, with their privately owned communication resources, have a proud tradition of public service and generously volunteer their services free of charge during emergencies and as well as public events. Many of the Richmond club members are on the City of Richmond’s Emergency Communications team. When all other communications fail (e.g. landline telephone, cellular telephone, satellite telephone and television), amateur radio is the first to establish communications.
For more information about the Field Day or the Richmond Amateur Radio Club, please contact Pedro Catalan (call sign va7xp), Club President at 778-688-9444.
About Amateur Radio
Amateur radio, also referred to as ham radio, communication have been designated certain frequencies by Industry Canada. These are in the frequency ranges of just above the AM broadcast band (1.6 MHz) to the microwave range. Anyone with a radio receiver or a radio scanner can listen in on amateur radio communications, but only an operator licensed by Industry Canada can transmit the signals. Amateur radio operators do not typically use their radios to broadcast in the way radio stations broadcast to large audiences at once. Amateur Radio transmissions are usually two-way or with groups of people using a transceiver, meaning that two or more amateur operators talk to each other instead of everyone listening to a single amateur radio operator's broadcast.
