Local Amateur Radio Enthusiasts Participate in Nationwide On-Air Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Bedford, Massachusetts, May 22, 2007 — Local amateur ham radio operators will gather on the grounds of The MITRE Corporation's Bedford campus on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24 to participate in the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) annual "Field Day."

The object of Field Day is for ham operators around the country to develop emergency preparedness skills by learning to operate using emergency power supplies on as many stations as possible. Field Day provides opportunities for ham operators to hone their skills while also helping the general public learn more about amateur radio.

"Field Day is an exciting annual event where hams worldwide demonstrate emergency preparedness by setting up and operating their equipment without the utilities and infrastructure that are so often taken for granted," says Joe Chapman, president of the MITRE Bedford Amateur Radio Club. "This year we really want to show newcomers and experienced hams alike all of the interesting facets of amateur radio."

Members of MITRE's amateur radio club and the Billerica Amateur Radio Society (www.hamoperators.com/bars) will work around the clock for a 24-hour period starting on Saturday morning to set up field radio communications, get on the air, and contact thousands of other operators in the U.S. and Canada. From 2:00 p.m. EST Saturday to 2:00 p.m. EST Sunday, club members will make hundreds of contacts, either by voice or Morse code communication. A special highlight will be the station used to make contacts via amateur radio satellites. The ARRL grants awards to clubs based on the number of contacts made and innovative use of alternative power sources.

Through ARRL, ham volunteers provide free emergency communications for the Dept. of Homeland Security's Citizens Corps, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and state and local agencies. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, many of the 13,000 licensed radio operators volunteer their time for National Weather Service "Severe Weather" spotting and during large public events such as the Boston Marathon.

"The communications networks that ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded," says Allen Pitts of the ARRL. For more information about amateur radio and Field Day, visit www.arrl.org.

MITRE (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit company that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.

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