Hams stay tuned in 24-hour Field Day
Amateur radio remains an effective tool in emergencies
BY JESSICA SMITH
Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY staff Matt Bajor, Middletown, works on a radio station during an exercise at Croydon Hall on Sunday.

Lightning and rain were not enough to stop the hams.The amateur radio operators, or hams, set up stations Saturday at Croydon Hall in Leonardo for their annual Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day. The event brings members of the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) together to fine-tune their skills as well as compete in a nationwide contest for making the highest number of contacts within a 24-hour period.

"It's a fun hobby. And as you can see, we're out here rain or shine. Our only enemy is lightning," said Mario Sellitti, captain of the RACES Middletown chapter.

The three stations shut down briefly Saturday because of lightning - for safety reasons. If there had been an emergency situation, however, the hams would have stayed up and running.

Amateur radio stations use various technologies, sometimes mixing old with new. The advantage to using older technologies becomes clear during natural disasters and other emergencies.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Chet Galloway, Keansburg, works on his Morse code skills as part of the Amateur Radio Relay League's annual Field Day.

"When your regular communications are down, most of the time our stuff doesn't go down," said Jody Reed.

Amateur radio, however, is not stuck in the past. There is ham satellite radio as well as ham radio transmitted from a space station, which works with children in schools. At Field Day, there was a demonstration of a solar-powered ham radio.

Hams practice at Field Day for such emergency scenarios where their skills become necessary. During Hurricane Katrina, they aided greatly in communications when other modes were unavailable, according to Dominic Cafro, who started as a radio operator in the Army during the Vietnam War.

The three stations used different modes to contact other competitors. There was phone, or single-side band; CW, or Morse code; and GOTA, or "get on the air." GOTA operators require a special license, which allows them to supervise as unlicensed members of the public try their hands at getting on the air.

There was a trailer stocked with food prepared by RACES members, as well as cots set up for those who spent the night.

RACES members are diverse in age as well as experience. Sellitti's daughter Dawn became licensed a year ago, following in the footsteps of her father. Other members have been licensed for decades.

"I helped [radio innovator Guglielmo} Marconi get his license," joked Al Morley, who has been a ham since 1947.

Middletown RACES sponsors free entry-level amateur radio classes with testing. There is a $14 fee for the test. For more information, contact the Middletown Office of Emergency Management at (732) 615-2129 or visit ARRL.org for information on the American Radio Relay League.