Local amateur radio operators activated an emergency operation centre at the Steinbach Fire Hall last weekend and participated in the continent-wide Amateur Radio Field Day.

Local Amateur Radio Operator Christopher Friesen says operators like himself participate in amateur radio for fun. He notes though it is a hobby for many people it is also a key part our communities emergency preparedness plan. He says in the event of regular communication disruption amateur radio would be used.

"The City of Steinbach and R.M. of Hanover have an emergency preparedness plan and part of that plan is to use local media to disseminate information to people, but also to employ amateur radio operators in handling official communications for the emergency through their emergency operations centre."

Friesen says in the right conditions amateur radio equipment can reach all the way around the globe and operators can communicate with people as far away as Australia. He says during the Amateur Radio Field Day they activated the emergency operation centre.

"You can go to your local emergency operation centre and you can activate the emergency operation centre and that basically means you are doing exactly what you would do in an emergency situation. You are setting up their equipment and you are testing it out and you are making as many contacts as you possibly can."

Friesen says the field day was a 24-hour event that started on Saturday morning and ended on Sunday. He says the field day has a contest aspect where teams from across North America attempt to make as many contacts as they can.

"The radio wave propagation conditions were pretty tough all weekend long. The number of contacts that we made, I would consider it a low amount for a team of operators who are trying to work 24 hours straight. I believe the final results were around 180 contacts with 180 different amateur radio stations throughout North America."

Friesen notes five of those contacts were through Morse Code. He says though their numbers weren't particularly high he would consider the weekend a success with a good turnout of operators.

Field Day Participants