LQ ham radio club to participate in 24 hour on-the-air event
A La Quinta ham radio club will participate tomorrowin what’s considered the largest annual on-the-air event in the U.S. andCanada.
Desert R.A.T.S Amateur Radio Club will operate from the La Quinta CityHall Emergency Operations Center during ARRL Field Day, during which more than35,000 radio amateurs gather to operate from remote locations.
The Desert R.A.T.S. will operate from 11 a.m. Saturday to 11 a.m.Sunday, according to Supervisor John Benoit’s office.
The goal of field day is for ham radio operators to contact as manyamateur stations as possible and learn to operate in unusual situations andunder hard conditions. Ham radio operators can provide emergency communicationsfor government and civic groups when normal systems are knocked out oroverloaded during disasters, according to Benoit’s office.
Benoit, who operated a home ham radio station for several years, willjoin the club at noon Saturday.
The public will be able to tour the emergency response trailer, look atthe emergency operations center and make a contact on the air.
“I sincerely appreciate the role ham operators and particularly AmateurRadio Emergency Services and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service groupsplay in our emergency preparedness,” Benoit said. “I encourage citizens tosee the value of their emergency capabilities and come to a field day.”
At its meeting this week, the La Quinta City Council proclaimed it HAMradio week, beginning Saturday.
