The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

(Above left) LOARC’s youngest member contacting a ham radio operator in California. (Above) Making contacts from a generator powered travel trailer. (Far right) Making contact from the LOARC Emergency Communications Trailer. (Photos provided)

Published June 6, 2018

‘Hams’ to give public demo of emergency communications

LAKE OF THE OZARKS - The Lake of the Ozarks Amateur Radio Club (LOARC) will join with thousands of U.S. Amateur Radio operators in showing off their emergency communications capabilities the weekend of June 23-24, 2018.

The club will set up and operate field radio stations to contact other “Hams” throughout the US, Canada, and South America, over a 24 hour period.

The objective is prepare for emergency communications needed during an emergency by seeing who can make the highest number of contacts.

This annual event, called “Field Day” is sponsored by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) the national association for Amateur Radio.

Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will erect antennas and construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country.

The LOARC station will be set up near the fire tower at the Missouri Department of Conservation Center, near Bridal Cave, off old Hwy 5, just North of Camdenton, on Saturday June 23 starting at 1 p.m. and running until 11 a.m. on Sunday June 24.

Information about amateur radio, in general, and the Lake of the Ozarks amateur Radio club in particular, will be available.

Visitors are also welcome to sit at the operating positions, observe what the hams are doing and even participate if they choose.

A map of the MDC location is available on our Club’s website: www.loarc.com/?page_id=663

Each year, the news reports of amateur radio operators providing communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across America including winter storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and other events world-wide.

“The fastest way to turn a crisis into a total disaster is to lose communications,” said Allen Pitts of the ARRL. “From the tsunami in Japan to tornadoes in Missouri and Oklahoma, and hurricanes on the east coast, ham radio provided reliable communication networks in the first critical hours of the events. Because ham radios are not dependent of complex systems, they work when nothing else is available. We need nothing between us but air.”

“We invite everyone to come, meet and talk with our members and see what modern amateur radio can do. We can even help you get on the air,” says Larry Cicchinelli, Club President.

For more information about LOARC, go to www.loarc.com

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