June 11, 2024 3:05 a.m.

The Umpqua Valley Amateur Radio Club will have a Field Day on Saturday June 22nd.

Field Day is celebrated on June 22nd and 23rd by hobbyists around the country.

Nick Cianci of the local group said members of the club will be operating at O.C. Brown Park in the Dixonville area beginning at 11:00 a.m. Cianci said they will bring their radios, antennas, batteries and solar panels from their homes and into the open. With gear set outside their normal routine, members will spend the day making contacts with other amateur radio operators around the world.

Cianci said they want to make as many contacts as they can. He said the event will help them be prepared should there be lapses in conventional communications or electrical infrastructure.

Residents are invited to the event to meet the hobbyists and see what they do. Club members will be available for questions, demonstrations and even give those interested the opportunity to get on the air themselves.

Cianci said there are many new areas of the hobby that have come around in the past few years. He said people are using amateur bands to communicate with satellites, linking computer networks, assisting the military and law enforcement, and even bouncing signals off the moon.

Field Day is coordinated annually by the American Radio Relay League. For more information about the event, call 530-2018.