During the weekend of June 27-29, members of the Ski Country Amateur Radio Club (SCARC) built temporary radio stations, communicated with other similar stations all across the country and then took the stations down — all on Colorado Mountain College’s Spring Valley campus.
The weekend’s events were part of the American Radio Relay League’s annual ham Field Day. The purpose of the Field Day is for licensed amateur radio operators to practice emergency preparedness and radio communication skills. It is also a contest, where these stations attempt to contact as many other stations as possible within 24 hours.
On June 27, SCARC members arrived at the Spring Valley site and began constructing their stations. They set up a camper and two tents, each filled with radio equipment and supplies. The team also assembled several antennas on-site. Once everything was in place, members signed up for time slots to operate the stations. To ensure continuous communication during the 24-hour window, some volunteers even committed to overnight shifts.
The SCARC team built three stations this year: Single Sideband; Continuous Wave; and Franke Taylor 8 (FT8). These stations were responsible for sending and receiving voice, Morse code and text signals during the Field Day.
“I like the community, I like conversing with people with similar interests,” said SCARC President Clark Heckert. “I’ve enjoyed working with these folks.” Heckert said he first got into ham radio in 1972 on a lunch break. He heard a Morse code class going on nearby and went to see what was going on. Within weeks he was licensed.
Amateur radio has proven to be helpful many times in the past. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck, a lot of communication technology in the area was wiped out. Ham radio operators were able to relay calls of help and facilitate communication with the Red Cross.
SCARC club member Michael Ferguson recalled a time in the early ‘70s when he helped a music festival deep in the mountains in New England communicate with the Red Cross to provide aid to the festival goers.
“They had no way of communicating between the hospital, the Red Cross and the venue,” said Ferguson. “I spent a fair amount of time on site at a clinic at the venue and I provided communications back to the police department and the hospital when necessary for emergency services.”
Apart from practicing amateur radio communication, SCARC also focuses on community outreach. During the event, Tyler Fischer, a Colorado Mountain College student, stopped by after seeing the club set up. He stopped by the FT8 station to watch them contact other stations.
“It’s really cool. I like how [ham radio] can be used for a lot of different things,” Fischer said. “I like how it can be used for a hobby but also in an emergency.”
Among the younger attendees of the event were 11-year-old Daniel Harwood and 9-year-old Caleb Jackson. The two were attending the event with their fathers. Both Harwood and Jackson now plan on getting their amateur radio licenses in the future.
While most of the event attendees were licensed, there were also newer members taking their licensing exams. The exam is a multiple choice test given by a volunteer administrator. Test takers must score at least a 74% on the exam to pass, then they can receive a license and a call sign.
The call sign is a unique identifier given to someone once they become licensed for amateur radio. It’s common for members to wear badges with their call signs, and some even customize the license plates on their cars to feature their call sign.
After the Field Day excitement, the site was packed up and returned to normal. While Field Day happens only once a year, SCARC members regularly practice their radio skills. They check in over the airwaves every Sunday and host a weekly breakfast gathering on Tuesdays in Glenwood Springs.
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