24 hours of ham radio demonstrations this weekend in Cottage Grove

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·1 min read

Jun. 23—Area amateur radio operators will show off their communications skills this weekend in Cottage Grove as part of a 24-hour national amateur radio exercise.

Members of the South East Metro Amateur Radio Club will at Cottage Grove Fire Station No. 3 from 1 p.m. Saturday until 1 p.m. Sunday. Similar events involving more than 18,000 radio operators are being held at more than 2,500 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

"Operators will demonstrate new digital communications systems as well as voice communications and Morse code," said David Blume, the club's Field Day coordinator. "Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers."

In addition, information about becoming a ham will be available, including how licensed operators can assist with weather spotting and emergency communications.

The public is invited to visit and ask questions about ham radio. For more information, go to www.semarc.org or call Joe Hibberd at 651-491-4753.