Newington, CT (PRWEB) June 18, 2010
Amateur Radio activities are growing and thousands of radio operators, usually referred to as ?hams,? will be showing off their capabilities June 26-27. Erecting radio stations at community parks, campgrounds, schools and emergency centers around the country, they will hold a ?Field Day? showing their emergency communications capabilities even though getting enjoyable talking and texting to pals with their radios.
Far from fading in the age of cell phones and Web, Amateur Radio has been expanding in the US and 2009 saw more than 30,000 new folks became ?hams.? Figures from the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, show constant growth for the past 5 years. The technical abilities of hams also improved as almost 50% of American Amateur Radio operators now go beyond the entry level FCC licensing needs and pass the a lot more tough testing to earn greater class federal licenses. There are now more than 682,000 Amateur Radio operators in the US, and two.five million around the globe.
In past months, many reports of ham radio operators providing vital communications in emergencies have been in the news. From Haiti to California, throughout floods, fires, earthquakes, tornados and other crises, Amateur Radio volunteers are offering emergency communications for a lot of rescue and recovery groups. Amateur Radio operators are often the first to report crucial information to responders in the first hours of crisis scenarios. FEMA, DHS, the National Weather Service, and emergency management offices include Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES





