This weekend thousands of amateur radio operators throughout the country set up temporary transmitters to practice being prepared for an emergency and to just have fun.

Each year on the fourth weekend of June, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) hosts Field Day. Field Day is a 24-hour event that allows amateur radio clubs to practice with their equipment and compete against other operators and clubs.

The clubs set up temporary antennas and operating stations which allow them to go on air and contact other clubs across the country. They then log their contacts and at the end of the weekend the logs are sent to the ARRL where it becomes a contest to see who has the most contacts and points.

The Wood County Amateur Radio Club took part in Field Day again this year at the Wood County Museum.

Club President Jeff Halsey said Field Day is an important day for amateur radio, also known as ham radio, as it allows operators to practice their emergency preparedness.

“In cases where if the power grid goes down, if the internet goes down, if cell phone coverage goes down, which it does, then we’re here and we can demonstrate that look, we can communicate to stations all around the country and in fact the world,” Halsey said.

During emergency situations, Eric Willman, the emergency coordinator for the club, said ham radio operators are often deployed in case emergency personal need communication support.

“If public safety systems were compromised, we would step in,” Willman said. “During Hurricane Katrina, ham radio people in Louisiana rode the fire trucks and were the radio operators for them going out and taking care of things.”

Even with the importance of Field Day, Halsey said the club still has fun and enjoys getting to connect with other operators from across the country.

Throughout the day, the ARRL sends volunteers to check on the different clubs.

Amanda Farone, an ARRL affiliated club coordinator for Ohio, traveled from Youngstown to visit clubs throughout Northwest Ohio. She said the ARRL sends volunteers to let each club know that they are supported.

While Farone is traveling to show support, she also said it gives her the opportunity to learn something new.

“I always learn something new at every place that I stop about something that they’re doing, you see something different, so I love that,” Farone said.

Ham radio allows for people to connect from across the world. Bob Daney, who is part of the Wood County Amateur Radio Club, said he has connected with people from around 200 different countries.

Through his connections, Daney said he has gotten to learn a lot about other countries.

“I always enjoy geography, so I enjoy making contact with people all over the world,” Daney said. “Makes me envision in my mind what their country looks like, talk to them about what they’re doing.”

The connections the operators make allow them to make new friends they wouldn’t have made before. Halsey said he loves to talk and ham radio gives him the opportunity to talk to new people for hours.

The Wood County Amateur Radio Club has monthly meetings and throughout the year host a variety of different events. More information can be found at wcarc.bgsu.edu.