“Radio Hams” from the Seal Beach / Los Alamitos Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service will join in a nationwide public Demonstration of Emergency Communications from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday June 26, and Sunday June 27 at the base of the Seal Beach Pier.
These Seal Beach and Los Alamitos “hams” will join with thousands of Amateur Radio operators who will be showing off their emergency capabilities.
During this demonstration the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Seal Beach and Los Alamitos ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service and RACES is about.
This annual event, called “Field Day” is the climax of the week long “Amateur Radio Week” sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio.
Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators all over the country will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards.
Their slogan, “When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works” is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, the internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis.
More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event.
The Seal Beach / Los Alamitos RACES group meets one evening every other month at the Seal Beach Police Department.
As part of their emergency communications training members participate in 5 to 7 communications drills during the year and a half-hour once a week radio check.
Anyone interested in learning how to earn a ham radio license or any hams interested in joining RACES can get more information by phoning (562) 799-4100 ext 1121 and leaving a message for Todd DeVoe, the Seal Beach Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
