Amateur radio field day set June 25-26 at Shabbona Park

An amateur radio field day is scheduled 1 p.m. June 25 and 26 at La Salle County’s Shabbona Park, 4165 E. 16th Rd.

This event is open to the public.

Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio.

Field Day is a showcase for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network, organizers said.

Ham radio functions independent of the internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with laptops or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes.

“That’s the beauty of amateur radio during a communications outage,” said Joe Tokarz, President of The American Legion Post 33 Amateur Radio Club.

Anyone may become a licensed amateur radio operator. There are more than 750,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100. And with clubs, such as The American Legion Post 33 Amateur Radio Club and the Starved Rock Radio Club, anyone can participate in La Salle County.

For more information about Field Day and ham radio, contact Joe Tokarz at kb9ezz@yahoo.com or visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio.