EARS Shines at 'Tune in the World' Field Day Event in Englewood

The Englewood Amateur Radio Society (EARS) participated in the Summer American Radio Relay League Field Day event, “Tune in the World”, the weekend of June 24/25 at Ann & Chuck Dever Regional Park. The club contacted 80 different stations, ranging from British Columbia to New York to South Dakota. The club members are just a few of 750,000 active ham radio license holders in the US. The public generally knows these enthusiasts by the moniker Ham Radio Operator. Part of the attraction is the thrill of communicating with other operators from around the country and different parts of the world depending on radio frequency signal strength and weather conditions.Start-up costs for an operator aren’t that expensive. You can purchase a simple radio transmitter for around $50 and there are signal relays, “repeaters”, in this area that can relay your signal farther than the radio’s actual range. Training can be obtained through workshops offered by area clubs and online. To become certified, you take a test by the FCC and then receive your radio call name, a combination of letters and a number.Besides the fun of communicating with operators around the country and internationally, some individuals volunteer to serve their community during emergencies as a liaison with area law enforcement and emergency management. They provided Charlotte County Emergency Management with important feedback on real time conditions after Hurricane Ian. Two members, Steve Malone (KN4YIV) and his wife, Shirley Duke (KN4YIU), are members of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) with Charlotte County. One of the training modules offered was ham radio which they took and became active club members. Michael Reid (N3MR) started as a young man listening to short wave radio back in the 1960s and became a ham radio operator to be able to talk with the people he was listening to. Club treasurer Bob McAlister (KN4RKE) says, “You can have awful lot of fun being a ham operator.” He would like to see more young people get involved and experience the fun of communicating with others and building friendships through ham radio.
If you would like to learn more, visit earsradioclub.org or email [email protected]. Meet some of the 20 club members who participated in the Field Day event (l-r): Steve Malone, Shirley Duke, Michael Reid, Kelly Combes, Bill Dolan, Bob McAlister, Steve Bishop, and Bill Reid.