Ham radio operators from the Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club will “Tune in the World” by participating in a national amateur radio exercise June 24-25 — The Ham Radio Operators On the Air Nationwide Event.

The ARRL Field Day 2023: Tune in the World event is an American Radio Relay League Field Day — an annual amateur radio activity since 1933. ARRL is the National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States.

The public is invited to attend and participate. The Field Day will be at Brookhaven Parks and Recreation, 689 Hwy. 51 N. An “Antenna Party” for setting up antennas will be Thursday, June 23, 5-7 p.m. Inside set-up on Friday will begin at 10 a.m., with broadcasting officially starting 1 p.m. and concluding at 1 p.m. Saturday, after 24 hours of continuous broadcasting. Radios will be operated on battery power only.

“Come see how easy you can make a contact via Amateur (Ham) radio,” said SwMsARC president Jeffery Winborne. “This is one of the times a non-Ham can legally make a contact using Ham Radio.”

The ARRL is for any age participant, and even has a Handiham Program. The Handiham Program is a non-profit that helps persons with any combination of physical and sensory disabilities by providing tools, technology and education to become effective amateur operators.

“Hams have a long history of serving our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers,” said Emergency Coordinator Scott Carpenter. “Ham radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, and a station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.”

During the 2021 Field Day, more than 26,000 ham operators participated from thousands of locations across North America. According to AARL, more than 750,000 radio operators have licenses in the U.S., and there are approximately 3 million ham operators worldwide.

For more information on the event or ham radio, visit www.arrl.org/FieldDay or www.w5wq.net, or contact Winborne at 601-320-2496 or n5znt@hotmail.com.