In times of emergency, one communication service that remains consistent throughout severe weather and conditions is amateur radio.
This weekend, the Callaway Amateur Radio League (CARL) will host a Field Day in which it will showcase to the public a national emergency preparedness test. The event will be held from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday in the picnic shelter just southwest of the emergency room at the Callaway Community Hospital.
"It's a multi-purpose kind of event" said CARL secretary David Mueller. "It's a social activity and it serves an emergency function as well."
According to Mueller, the event is a test for CARL emergency communication, a social gathering, an opportunity for public education and a contest between smaller organizations within the American Radio Relay League (AARL) like CARL to compete with each other.
This event will be held in conjunction with the national field day for 2014. The radio operators, called "hams," "will join with thousands of other amateur radio operators showing their emergency capabilities this weekend," according to a press release.
Open to the public in hopes of educating participants and community members on the benefits of amateur radio, the field day will consist of emergency tests, contacting other radios and information about the amateur radio club and how those interested can get involved.
The CARL members provide help with education and the testing process required to operate in amateur radio.
"Sometimes people may become interested," said Mueller, "and we can help with them getting licensed."
According to Mueller, many people across the Mid-Missouri area were invited to the event, including government officials and representatives from non-profit organizations. He says that with the guidance of licensed operators from CARL, participants can use the amateur radio to get on the air.