The Big Island Amateur Radio Club invites folks of all ages to stop by between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. today to watch amateur radio operators, aka “hams,” contact faraway operators from a temporary bivouac set up at the Reed’s Bay Hotel on Banyan Drive in Hilo.

The oceanfront site will be headquarters of the club’s annual Field Day event, hosted concurrently with radio operators throughout the U.S. and Canada.

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Watch hams in action as they do long-distance transmitting and receiving over the airwaves via various high-frequency modes, including traditional setups and modern digital formats, using a variety of equipment. The event is staged annually by the American Radio Relay League.

Admission is free.

Licensed operators are invited to participate from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Members of the Big Island Amateur Radio Club also will demonstrate how 2-meter, or low-frequency, radio is used locally, and around the world, to assist with emergency communications in times of disaster.

Everybody is invited to “come and learn and watch,” say coordinators.

Each year, ham radio operators throughout Hawaii and the rest of the nation stage 24-hour events on the last full weekend in June.

The annual event lets radio hobbyists gather to compare notes, make contacts over the airwaves and share the finer points of their hobby with interested visitors.

Members will be onsite shortly after daybreak to set up antennas and radio equipment for the activities, which will continue overnight.

“We invite everyone to stop by and join us in celebrating the miracle of radio transmissions over the airwaves and the accomplishments of amateur radio operators worldwide,” said BIARC President Pascal Nelson, noting the huge role hams play each year by providing volunteer emergency communications during times of crisis.

Forest fires, earthquakes, volcanoes tsunami, floods, tornadoes and just plain-old heavy rain or snow can knock out cell towers and/or the electrical grid, shutting down regular lines of communications.

Time after time, whenever and wherever there’s a crisis, ham radio operators step in and fill the void until normalcy returns.

“In 2015, the ARRL celebrated a century of service,” Nelson said.

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“Amateur radio operators have provided countless hours of community services throughout these decades and have also provided a bridge between people, societies and countries by creating friendships and the sharing of ideas.”

“Each year, the nationwide traditional Field Day operating event simulates setting up a station ‘in the field’ and operating 24 hours to polish communications skills that are vital to emergency operations,” he added.