The Lenoir Amateur Radio Club (LARC) is hosting a Field Day at Mulberry Recreation Center in Lenoir Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26, 2022. LARC’s Field Day is part of an annual nationwide emergency communications event.

The public is invited to come see shortwave radio communications in action and get some hands-on experience with amateur radio equipment. Visitors who come out to Field Day will even have a chance to get on the air and speak with someone around the world without the internet.

During Field Day, LARC members and tens of thousands of other amateur radio operators across the country set up mobile radio equipment to practice and demonstrate emergency communication abilities to community leaders and the public.

LARC owns a mobile radio trailer and mobile antennas. Club members also have lots of personal radio equipment they can use in the field. LARC has mobile generators that can power the radio equipment, and some members have solar power for their comms. If television and phones go down during a major storm or power outage, LARC can set up the club’s equipment to help communicate with and coordinate local emergency response.

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.

LARC members will start setting up Field Day operations at 9:00 am Saturday. Field Day officially starts at 2:00 pm and continues for 24 hours.

Anyone interested in learning more about Amateur Radio and emergency communications is encouraged to stop by Field Day, meet some local hams, and learn more about LARC. If you just want to make a call over radio, that’s great too, come on by!

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 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. 

LARC member Gary Schwartz, ham radio call sign K3OS, talking with other hams in the LARC Radio Trailer during the 2019 Field Day event.

Radio waves are just one part of the electromagnetic (em) radiation spectrum. The em spectrum also includes microwaves, infrared, visible light, xrays, and radiation.

Within the em spectrum, radio waves are divided into different bands that are assigned for different purposes inlcuding maritime navigation, AM/FM radio, television, cell phones, and satellite communication.