Pocatello Idaho Field Day 2009 News clip

By Tammy Scardino

They may be called "Hams" but a local group of amateur radio operators are far from attention seekers.

Since the 1950's, the Pocatello Amateur Radio Club has been testing the proficiency of their radio communication skills. On Saturday, they set up their tall antenna at Stuart Park in Chubbuck and hooked up wires to a single laptop computer.

Over a 24 hour time frame, operators from across the United States and Canada will be in touch with each other via the amateur radio bandwidths. The Ham technology would be the only means to communicate on a global scale, if a major disaster were to ever strike.

Local women and teenagers also carry on the tradition.

Kirsten Jones, New PARC Member: "You meet neat people all over the world and talk to people from Australia, New Zealand and Italy. I just talk to people from all over. Plus, it is a good service to the community."

Jim Hicks, Ham Radio Operator: "It's almost like an email, not quite because it still gets a little gargled but you can re-send very easily and capture the message very easily."

The communication test continues through the night, ending at noon on Sunday. Ham radio has been around since the early 1900's.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Amateur
• radio
• field
• day
• antenna
• news
• 2009