Media Release: Greyhound Amateur Radio Club

WHO/WHAT Members of the Greyhound Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise, June 27th – 28th at RCEC Plaza, 101 N Main Portales, NM. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

WHEN Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28. On Saturday, June 27, from 12 PM to 9 PM and on Sunday, June 28, from 7 AM to 12 PM.

WHERE RCEC Plaza 101 N Main Street Portales, NM 88130

WHY Field Day is a showcase for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network.

“Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with laptops or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of amateur radio during a communications outage,” said Sierra Harrop, W5DX, Public Relations and Outreach Manager for ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, http://www.arrl.org(), which represents amateur (or “ham”) radio operators across the country. “In today’s connected world, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters or emergencies if the standard communication infrastructure goes down. Ham radio is also a great sandbox for tomorrow’s technology leaders to get hands-on with STEM concepts,” Harrop added.

Anyone may become a licensed amateur radio operator. There are more than 750,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as the Greyhound Amateur Radio Club, it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in Portales and all of Eastern New Mexico. For more information about Field Day or amateur radio, contact greyhoundarc.nm@gmail.com or visit

KE5RUE.org

www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.