Believe it or not, there is a little competition in every amateur radio operator.
“There was always this team out of Palomar, Calif., that was beating us every time,” said Randall DePriest, member of the Sawnee Amateur Radio Association.
“But every year we kept getting better and fine tuning what we were doing ... so finally last year we pulled it off and got the first place [in our category].”
SARA will be looking to defend that title this weekend during the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day, a 24-hour amateur radio exhibition.
Radio groups from across the United States and Canada will scour the radio waves, hoping to make as many contacts with other groups as possible.
This year, the SARA will be setting up shop at the Cumming Fairgrounds.
Beyond the friendly competition, DePriest hopes Field Day will bring community exposure to the local club, which has about 50 members.
“We want to reach out to the community and show them what hand radio is all about,” he said.
All visitors are welcome to try their hand at hand radio.
The Sawnee Amateur Radio Association is comprised of licensed amateur radio operators as well as those interested in obtaining their license. Their youngest member is a rising ninth-grader, another is a former radio operator for the Canadian navy.
“It’s really a fascinating crowd we have, but we all have that common love of amateur radio,” DePriest said.
“There was always this team out of Palomar, Calif., that was beating us every time,” said Randall DePriest, member of the Sawnee Amateur Radio Association.
“But every year we kept getting better and fine tuning what we were doing ... so finally last year we pulled it off and got the first place [in our category].”
SARA will be looking to defend that title this weekend during the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day, a 24-hour amateur radio exhibition.
Radio groups from across the United States and Canada will scour the radio waves, hoping to make as many contacts with other groups as possible.
This year, the SARA will be setting up shop at the Cumming Fairgrounds.
Beyond the friendly competition, DePriest hopes Field Day will bring community exposure to the local club, which has about 50 members.
“We want to reach out to the community and show them what hand radio is all about,” he said.
All visitors are welcome to try their hand at hand radio.
The Sawnee Amateur Radio Association is comprised of licensed amateur radio operators as well as those interested in obtaining their license. Their youngest member is a rising ninth-grader, another is a former radio operator for the Canadian navy.
“It’s really a fascinating crowd we have, but we all have that common love of amateur radio,” DePriest said.