LAKE VILLAGE — Ham operators across the country set up Saturday for a 24 hour test of their capabilities, an annual event that helps the operators practice their skills. A group of the amateur radio operators set up on the grounds of the former Lake Township Fire Department with campers, antennae and multiple radios for the 24-hour event.
The goal is to simulate communications via their radios in the event of a catastrophic loss of power and means to communicate both nationally and worldwide. The group also does weather spotting and sky warning. Michael Swiader, president of the Amateur Radio Association of Newton County, explained the group also assists the Northwest Indiana Search and Rescue cadaver dogs in locating bodies. With their radio’s GPS, they can send the location to within 3 feet anywhere in the world.
Using radio repeater towers spread across the country, they are able to hook up to other ham operators anywhere in the country. Hank Cox, a resident of Crown Point, said he lived in Pueblo, Colo., and by using the repeater towers, he was able to talk to people in Albuquerque, NM with a 5 watt handheld radio.
“We work very closely with sheriff’s departments and fire departments,”Swiader said.
All the ham operators are licensed through the FCC and are given access to more radio bands as they gain knowledge and experience through a series of tests on radio and electronic theory.
Jim Bush of Hebron said he lived in Florida in 2004 when the state was hit by three hurricanes and power was out for three weeks. The only source of communication was the radios, and the amateur operators assisted their local emergency responders in communicating between hospitals, emergency services, food pantries and more. They had nothing more than handheld radios powered by 12V batteries. Solar power, batteries and generators can operate the larger radios.
A generator was set up for the annual event Saturday to power the six or seven radios used in the exercise. They use four repeaters, two in Morocco, one in Crown Point and one in Chebanse, Ill.
The first contact made shortly after set up was a Navy officer in S. Carolina. The group expected to be speaking with other operators across the country, including Hawaii and Alaska, throughout the night and into the next day.
“This is more and more important to do,” Swiader said.
There are 60 members in the group from across Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois. The club hosts bingo two times a month at the Lake Township Community Center and splits the money with the Lake Township Fire Dept. so “it all goes back to the community,” Swiader explained. In the fall each year, they host a car show in the same location, which includes a live band. This money is also given to the fire department. This year, the car show will be Sept. 24.
