thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Ham radio operators will be showing off their emergency capabilities in Blount County this weekend on Field Day, the annual event that highlights Amateur Radio Week.

Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations across the country in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards.

In Blount County, the Smoky Mountain Amateur Radio Club will hold demonstrations at Shorty’s Lake from 2 p.m. Saturday until 2 p.m. Sunday.

“We hope that people will come and see for themselves, this is not your grandfather’s radio anymore,” said Allen Pitts of American Radio Relay League.

“The communications networks that ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives in the past months when other systems failed or were overloaded.”

Ham radio is a hobby most of the time — an interesting way to communicate with like-minded enthusiasts. But when emergency strikes, including over the past year with wildfires in California, storms in Oregon and Michigan, tornadoes in the nation’s heartland and events worldwide, volunteer ham radio operators provide critical communications.

This weekend people will be able to talk with local ham operators, see the newest digital and satellite capabilities, and hear voice communications and historical Morse code during demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.

To learn more about amateur radio, go to the Web at emergency-radio.org or the Smoky Mountain Amateur Radio Club site at smokymountainarc.org.