For Release: June 26, 1998
Catherine E.
Watson
(757) 864-6122
RELEASE NO. 98-030
Note To Editors/News Directors
AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS TEST EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
As part of Amateur Radio Week, the NASA Langley Amateur Radio Club
will be participating in a national exercise to test its ability to
work under emergency conditions. To simulate actual emergency
conditions, such as a hurricane strike in the Hampton Roads area,
emergency power supplies will be used, including gas-powered
generators and solar panels.
From 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27 to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 28, the
NASA Langley club, in conjunction with the Southern Peninsula
Amateur Radio Klub (SPARK), will attempt to contact other amateur
radio operators around the world. This year's exercise is expected
to involve more than 200,000 amateur radio operators worldwide.
According to the 170,000-member American Radio Relay League
(ARRL), the hobby is more popular than ever. There are currently
more than 650,000 amateur radio operators in the U.S. alone.
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 H.J.E. Reid Conference Center in
Hampton. 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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