Members of the Chicago Suburban Radio Association will hold their annual Field Day exercises at Veterans Park, located on 26th Street, on half mile west of Harlem Avenue in North Riverside, IL on Saturday June 25 and Sunday June 26, 2011.

Operating from 1:00pm Saturday to 1:00pm Sunday

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

West of Harlem Avenue on 26th Street. Just south of North Riverside Park Mall.

Park in the lot on 26th Street and take the path north to the site.
Look for the banners and the welcome station.

TALK IN ON 146.76 repeater and 145.555 simplex

CLUB BBQ SET FOR 5:00PM SATURDAY EVENING!

Bring a dish to pass and enjoy some socializing!

 

LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS TEST
THEIR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

( North Riverside , IL. June 25 & 26, 2011)

Members of the Chicago Suburban Radio Association (CSRA) will put their emergency communication skills to the test when they participate in “Field Day” June 25 and 26.  The annual preparedness exercise brings together Amateur Radio operators from throughout North and South America who are committed to assisting their communities in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.  Field Day is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) the national association for Amateur Radio.

Field Day is designed to test operators’ abilities to set up and operate stations in the field under emergency conditions, such as the loss of commercial electricity.  During the weekend, radio operators try to contact as many other Field Day stations as possible, simulating the fast on-air skills needed to assist local officials and services agencies during an emergency.  CSRA’s members are based in Chicago and the near western suburbs including North Riverside , Riverside-Lyons , Oak Park , Berwyn , Westchester , Brookfield , Forest Park, Cicero and other towns.  Approximately 35,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event.  The first Field Day was held in 1933.

Ham radio operators typically help with communication during weather related emergencies such as devastating tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest and hurricanes like Katrina and other disasters.  Ham operators were also utilized during the recovery efforts following the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster.  But, the need for their services doesn’t stop there.  A federal grant awarded for emergency communications training in 2002 emphasizes support for ham radio’s role in homeland defense.

CSRA will set up its Field Day stations in Veterans Park , which is located between 26th and 24th Streets, just south of the North Riverside Park Mall, and will operate continuously from 1:00 P.M. on Saturday June 25 until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday June 26.  The public is invited to stop by and tour the site.  CSRA members will set up and operate using emergency power and temporary antennas.  We will also have a solar powered station that can operate indefinitely without any commercial power or fuel for generators.

Today there are nearly 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide.  Information on how to become involved in Amateur Radio is available from the Chicago Suburban Radio Association by calling their Ham Hotline at 630-575-6950 or visiting CSRA on the web at www.csraham.com.  The club holds monthly meetings, open to all interested in radio or communications.

The Chicago Suburban Radio Association has been serving Chicago Hams and radio enthusiasts since the dawn of radio itself!  CSRA members have spanned all walks of life from construction workers to lawyers: bankers to broadcasters, teachers to truck drivers.  CSRA is the oldest radio club chartered in the State of Illinois and was founded in 1924.  

 

 

A LOOK AT PAST CSRA FIELD DAYS

 

 

 

 

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