Lenoir Amateur Radio Club Field Day this weekend
The Lenoir Amateur Radio Club (LARC) Field Day is this weekend, June 25th and 26th, 2022, at Mulberry Recreation Center in Lenoir, NC. Field Day is part of the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) annual nationwide emergency communications event.
LARC members will set up two radio stations powered by solar panels and generators and a 40-foot pneumatic antenna mast to demonstrate the club's emergency communications abilities. Community leaders and the public are invited to see shortwave radio communications in action and get some hands-on experience with amateur radio equipment. Tens of thousands of amateur radio operators across North America participate.
"Field Day is a chance for club members to set up our equipment and make sure we are ready to respond if there is an emergency," LARC President Scott Hunt, K4SEH, said. "It's also an opportunity to promote the club and show people what amateur radio is all about."
The LARC Field Day will be at Mulberry Recreation Center pavilion between the main building and Lower Creek. The event starts s at 2:00 pm. LARC members will be at Mulberry Recreation Center for 24 hours manning the club radio stations and making contacts. Members usually make contacts in 40-plus states including Canadian provinces.
"With radio, you can talk to people in the next town, the next state or across the ocean, without the need for phones or the Internet," Hunt said. "It's a really fun hobby, and it can lead to careers in technology, science, and engineering."
When most people think of "radio," they think of listening to AM and FM stations. But AM and FM stations are just a small part of the radio spectrum. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). Transmitters generate radio waves on a certain frequency and receivers translate those waves in audible sounds people can hear. Radio, television, cell phones, two-way radios, wireless networking, and satellite communication all use radio waves to carry information across space from a transmitter to a receiver.
The Lenoir Amateur Radio Club (LARC) was founded in 1986 and incorporated as a 501c3 non-profit in 2008. The club meets in Lenoir, NC, and many members are active in radio services in Caldwell County and the region. LARC is devoted to public service and promoting amateur radio and regularly assists communications during charity races and other public events.
Related: Lenoir Amateur Radio Club hosting Field Day in Lenoir, May 18, 2022
LARC member Ro Maddox, K4HRM, makes contacts during 2020 Field Day.
During 2020 Field Day, LARC members made contacts in the states and Canadian provinces highlighted with colors above.