Hub-area radio operators testing equipment at "Field Day" | News

LAMAR COUNTY, MS (WDAM)- Amateur radio operators in the Pine Belt are joining thousands of others across the country who are testing their emergency communications equipment this weekend. The annual "Field Day" event is a 24-hour exercise involving more than 35,000 ham radio operators in the U.S.

The goal is to set up equipment under emergency conditions and try to contact as many other radio operators as possible. The Hattiesburg Amateur Radio Club and the Lamar Amateur Radio Club are co-hosting a "Field Day" set-up at the old Southern Miss golf course.

"It is a competition also," said Bill Wilks, one of the participants. "It's how many stations you can contact, how many different states you can contact and how many different countries you contact," Wilks said.

The event will conclude at one o'clock Sunday afternoon.

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