For Release: June 26, 1997
Michael Finneran
(757) 864-6121/24
Release No. 97-047
AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS TEST EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
As part of Amateur Radio Week, the NASA Langley Amateur Radio
Club will participate in a national exercise to test its ability to
work under emergency conditions.
To simulate actual emergency conditions, such as a hurricane
strike in Hampton Roads, emergency power supplies will be used,
including gas-powered generators and solar panels.
From 2 p.m. June 28 to 2 p.m. June 29, the NASA Langley club, in
conjunction with the Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Klub (SPARK),
will attempt to contact other amateur radio operators worldwide.
Members of SPARK also will use amateur radio satellites orbiting
the Earth to contact amateur radio operators across the world.
The 1996 national exercise included more than 2,100 amateur
radio clubs across the United States and Canada. This year's
exercise is expected to include 50,000 amateur radio operators in
North America. According to the 170,000-member American Radio Relay
League (ARRL), the hobby is more popular than ever. More than
650,000 amateur radio operators are in the country, an increase of
30 percent over 1990.
Both clubs will begin setting up their equipment (tents, towers,
radios and emergency generators) at 9 a.m. Saturday in the softball
field behind the NASA Langley's H.J.E. Reid Conference Center. The
clubs will work out of tents during the entire 24 hours of the
exercise to simulate actual emergency conditions. Interviews and
photo opportunities are available.
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