Locals gathering to celebrate amateur ham radio

Image by Flickr user nw0aa Image by 20090620-hamradio.jpg

Amateur Radio Filed Day is coming Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, and many locals are expected to gather throughout the region to celebrate independent and resilient personal broadcasting known as ham radio.

It's entirely possible this will be a geeky gathering, but don't be so quick to dismiss the entire practice as a geek endeavor, as the technology ensures communication even during a disaster when even traditional radio may have failed.

The National Association For Amateur Radio explains about the weekends events, in part:

ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air operating event in amateur radio. On the fourth full weekend in June, tens of thousands of amateur radio operators gather for a public demonstration of our service. Field Day is part educational event, part operating event, part public relations event – and ALL about FUN!

Field Day is truly the time in which we bring amateur radio to Main Street USA.

The Summerville Journal Scene also has a nice overview of the forthcoming Summerville event and the local ham radio community.

In all there are four local gatherings listed for the weekend, it looks like the one in North Charleston and Summerville will be the most interesting, but there are also events listed for Summerville and Moncks Corner.

Here are the details for the North Charleston event, and Summerville.

If you're unfamiliar with the technology and culture, Wikipedia's page serves as a good orientation.