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El Segundo ham radio group runs ARRL Field Day demonstration, tests off-grid emergency communications
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Summary
Members of the El Segundo Amateur Radio Group set up at Aerospace Corporation and Hilltop Park for ARRL Field Day to demonstrate amateur radio to the public and practice off-grid emergency communications, including a city communications truck and antennas expected to contact operators in about 20 states over 24 hours.
Members of the El Segundo Amateur Radio Group gathered at the Aerospace Corporation and at Hilltop Park during ARRL Field Day to demonstrate amateur radio capabilities and to test off-grid emergency communications. From the sites, operators used a city-supported communications truck and temporary antennas that the group said would allow them to operate without grid power.
The demonstration aims to show residents how amateur radio can provide backup communications in an emergency, and to exercise equipment and procedures. An El Segundo Amateur Radio Group member said, “Today, we re, is ARRL Field Day, and so we re participating in that event today. There re all sorts of ham clubs and hams all over the country that are trying to contact each other on amateur radio this day.”
An El Segundo Amateur Radio Group member described the group s a club of volunteer operators whose “main function is to provide backup, emergency communication support for the city of El Segundo.” The member said the van on site is a communications truck outfitted with radio equipment that connects to radios mounted on the truck and to portable antennas, enabling local and long-distance contacts when other systems fail. “We expect to probably talk to maybe operators in 20 different states over the course of the next 24 hours,” the member added.
Participants said the exercise also tests operations without grid power. “It llows us to talk both locally and across the country and possibly even across national borders in the case of an emergency when other forms of communication are not available,” an El Segundo Amateur Radio Group member said. Another participant, identified as a visiting ham operator, said he came after finding the event listed on the American Radio Relay League website.
The event included visiting operators who described personal reasons for attending. One visiting ham operator said he has been a ham for 12 years and enjoyed meeting new people; another said he has been licensed since age 14 and values radio s a point-to-point technology that does not rely on the internet.
The demonstration is a public-facing exercise and a functional test; there was no formal action, vote, or policy decision at the event. Organizers described the activity as a training and outreach opportunity and did not specify any follow-up tasks or funding changes.
