PRESS  RELEASE

Loudoun Hams Practice Emergency Communications Skills

JUNE 26 - 27 1999 AT CATOCTIN HOLLOW FARM

- The Public Is Welcomed - See Details Below -

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Norm Styer - AI2C President
Loudoun Amateur Radio Group
18062 Canby Road Leesburg, Va 20175-6914
Phone: 540-338-2584 E-mail: [email protected]

LOUDOUN AMATEUR RADIO GROUP P. O. Box 1004, Purcellville, Virginia 20134
President	Vice-President	Secretary	Treasurer	Editor	Training
Norm Styer	Ray Houff	N. Dluehosh	Dale Cabaniss	John Unger	Paul Dluehosh
AI2C	K4AJA	KE4RTP	KD4LSL	W4AU	N4PD
540-338-2584	540-338-7297	703-771-9284	540-338-3521	540-338-4620	703-771-9284
Clarkes Gap	Purcellville	Leesburg	Hamilton	Hamilton	Leesburg

     For one weekend each summer thousands of amateur radio operators throughout America move into the countryside and open spaces to practice their emergency preparations. For 24-hours they operate their radios under sparse conditions to test their equipment and hone their communications skills. The goal is to be there in case local communities need help in time of crisis. It may be a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake, a severe storm, a flood, a spill or an explosion or any other situation which disrupts the normal communications and support structure of their communities. So they operate in tents, fixed structures, and mobile shelters with quickly erected antennas and emergency electric generators. At other times they may provide communications support in less stressful events. It may be a local 10-mile run for a local charity, a demonstration of modern electronic communications at a local school or may be support for the special community social event.

     Helping at this type of event is a normal activity for the members of the Loudoun Amateur Radio Group who will gather at farm of Gary Quinn near Lovettsville, Virginia on Saturday, June 26, 1999 at 1:00 P.M. for their 24-hour communications support drill. This operation is known as Field Day sponsored by the American Radio Relay League and the goal of the emergency communications operation is measured in how many other similarly situated amateur radio stations in America and Canada they can communicate with. The Loudoun Amateur Radio Group will maintain three radio stations on the air throughout the test. That will task this group of 50 or so regular members. They hope to be up to the challenge of bettering last years record of over 1100 radio contacts. Each fall the Group conducts classroom training for interested radio enthusiasts to qualify them for their amateur radio licenses. This year many of the new operators who obtained their FCC licenses through this training will be there proving their new communications skills.

     "Field Day is a way for hams to test their skills under realistic emergency conditions and still have fun," Gary Quinn of Lovettsville, the Group's Field Day Committee Chairman, says. "But it's also a chance for our newly licensed hams to get their feet wet. You never know when we may be called upon to assist in a real emergency. We use generators and battery power and we set up antennas in the field. Several of our Group have acquired surplus miliary mobile communications shelters and are equipping them with ham radio gear. The idea is to put together a self-sufficient, working station quickly and begin making contacts. The Group will use its Special Club Call Sign: K4LRG to help put Loudoun County on the map."

     On a national basis, the American Radio Relay League Field Organization has been effective in establishing emergency communications nets during floods, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and other major disasters. Members of formal emergency organizations such as the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Communications Emergency Services (RACES) regularly participate. The League estimates that more than 35,000 hams throughout the United States participate in Field Day every year.

     The public is welcome to visit the Loudoun Amateur Radio Group Field Day operating site on Saturday, June 26, 1999 from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M. and on Sunday, June 27, 1999 from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. The site is located at 14282 Rehoboth Church Road southeast of Lovettsville. For directions call Gary Quinn at (540) 882-3017 or visit the Radio Group's WEB sites listed below. Photo opportunities and interviews about the Group's activities and participants are possible. For more information contact Norm Styer at (540) 338-2584. Other information about the Group's other weekly and monthly activities may be obtained from their Internet Sites at http://www.microneil.com/k4lrg/ and at http://www.egroups.com/group/l_a_r_g/fullinfo.html.

File: Ai2c_e\LARG\fd_99_p1.wpd_released on 16 June 1999 - This page reformatted March 2008
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