California is home to many beautiful things: miles of spectacular coastline, amazing weather and a culturally rich environment. Danger also lurks within the beauty. From wildfires and floods to mudslides and earthquakes, California is home to a darker side that its residents need to be mindful of. Many feel it is just a matter of time before one of these many homegrown calamities occurs. Getting in touch with loved ones across town or throughout the region when there is no power, no phone service, little if any cell coverage and no internet is the goal of the amateur radio operators (or hams).

They are poised to help pickup the pieces in the aftermath of a major disaster.  Hams have the capacity and the skill to provide some of those initial vital links to family and friends outside the affected area. Ham radio operators will be a valued help in times of disaster. Those interested in learning more about what amateur radio operators can do are invited to the National Field Day on June 22 and June 23 in Verdugo Park, 1621 Canada Blvd. in Glendale. The Crescenta Valley Radio Club will be participating in National Field Day activities when amateur radio operators take their equipment and expertise “to the field” to make as many contacts as possible across the U.S. and Canada over a 24-hour period. While Field Day has been termed ham radios’ “open house” its deeper purpose is disaster preparedness as radio operators practice communicating under circumstances that mimic the displacement of a disaster. 

Operators will be on duty beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning and continuing for 24 hours. All are invited to visit, ask questions and see how this pastime can play a crucial role in providing communication to the outside world when disaster strikes.

For over a half a century the Crescenta Valley Amateur Radio Club has been providing communication services to the community. At the Field Day, ham radio will demonstrate how to utilize both the digital and analogue techniques and blending them together into new communication modalities. Visitors will see how a seemingly simple hand-held radio can communicate with fellow operators literally around the world. There will be a chance to talk to other hams who are actively building a high-speed mesh network that is intended to provide back-up communications for essential county medical facilities in the aftermath of a disaster. It is a project created, funded and operated by Amateur Radio Operators of Los Angeles County. 

The Crescenta Valley Radio Club meets every second Thursday of the month at Verdugo Hills Hospital at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are open to the public and all are invited to attend. For more information, contact Pet Natividad (N6PET), club president, through the club website at cvrc.club.

Submitted by: George W. Eckart (KJ6LA)