[ILHam] Bolingbrook Amateur Radio Society Field Day

[Elden P. Laffoon, Sr.]

Many Bolingbrook area Amateur Radio operators will work around the clock the
weekend of June 24-25 to set up simulated emergency field radio
communications stations, get on the air, and contact thousands of other
operators in the US and Canada as part of their participation in the annual
American Radio Relay League's Field Day exercise.

This activity gives Amateur Radio operators the opportunity to practice
communication skills under primitive conditions with generators, battery
powered equipment and portable antennas. Field Day is a competition as well
as a 'trial run' for emergency communication skills used during disaster
situations such as severe weather. The lessons learned in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated factually that even the best state-of-the-art
communications systems were no match in a severe storm.  ONLY Amateur Radio
remained viable to save lives and provide the vital communications so
desperately needed.  The Bolingbrook Amateur Radio Society is a regular
participant and major player in the Multi-County SKYWARN severe weather
spotting activities. During a time of severe weather threats, they dispatch
numerous volunteer spotters into the field to report back to the National
Weather Service via Amateur Radio of weather conditions in their immediate
area, providing the National Weather Service with additional 'eyes in the
field'.  The Bolingbrook VHF (2-Meter) repeater, manned by Bolingbrook
SKYWARN control operators and BARS members, provides one of the largest
wide-area weather nets in Northeast Illinois and covers more than eight of
the surrounding counties.

  For those non-licensed interested in giving Amateur Radio a try, there
will be a special station with a licensed operator available for
demonstration and "hands-on" experience.  The Bolingbrook Amateur Radio
Society Field Day operations will be held at the Veteran's Woods Forest
Preserve on Joliet Road, at the intersection of East Industrial Parkway, in
Bolingbrook. The public is cordially invited to visit on Saturday June 24
thru Sunday June 25 and see what Amateur Radio is all about.