Huntsville Amateur Radio Club hosts annual field day

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (WHNT) – It’s that time of year when amateur radio operators across northern Alabama participate in the statewide Field Day event.

This year, the Huntsville Amateur Radio Club (HARC) is hosting the event at Ditto Landing on June 22-23. When you arrive at Ditto Landing, HARC will have signs directing you to the venue.

This event is free for all ages and you do not need to have an amateur radio license to participate.

While the main sports day starts at 1pm on Saturday, the club meets on Friday morning to set up the equipment.

For safety reasons, 17 people are required to assemble the antennas. Although it looks like the antenna comes in one piece, it is actually made up of five parts that are assembled before being placed upright.

This year there will be four main stations, two working telephones and two CW (Morse code) stations. There will also be a satellite station, an FM station for sending emails and the Get On The Air (GOTA) station.

GOTA gives unlicensed individuals the opportunity to go on air and connect with others across the country. This station is especially popular with children!

It’s going to be a hot weekend, so if you plan to attend, it’s important to stay hydrated and apply multiple layers of sunscreen.