NIHRAC once again will join the Randallstown Amateur Radio Club (RARC) to participate in the national ARRL Field Day the last weekend of June. We will join over 35,000 radio communicators from across the country and Canada to practice emergency communications and enjoy the amateur radio hobby. We will exercise radio skills from multiple radio stations, in a variety of modes, analog and digital, and will operate only on emergency power—batteries and generators, including a novel backup power system we developed in collaboration with NLM's DIMRC. We will also test the latest version of BMERS, a Winlink-based system developed with NLM to support medical facilities. The event will run from 2PM Saturday June 24^th to 5PM Sunday June 25th, Eastern Time. We will be located at the Washington Monument State Park, west of Frederick on the Appalachian Trail, at an elevation of 1,830 feet, at Fort Necessity Shelter (This is a Google Maps link: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Necessity+Shelter/@39.4975874,-77.6257667,672m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m20!1m14!4m13!1m6!1m2!1s0x89c9e8938cef0323:0x3bca0576159374e6!2sFort+Necessity+Shelter,+Boonsboro,+MD+21713!2m2!1d-77.6244587!2d39.4994369!1m5!1m1!1s0x0:0x3bca0576159374e6!2m2!1d-77.6244587!2d39.4994369!3m4!1s0x89c9e8938cef0323:0x3bca0576159374e6!8m2!3d39.4994369!4d-77.6244587).

We will welcome any visitors, radio hobbyists or not, and specially anyone interested in emergency preparedness, public safety and all the disciplines (including engineering) involved in keeping communications going during a disaster. Friendly “hams” will be available to answer any questions and to help you try your hand at radio communications, if you don't have a ham licence yet.

The Washington Monument State Park is beautiful all year round, but specially during this season, and it’s perfect for a family picnic or a hike along the gorgeous Appalachian Trail. For more information about the park visit: http://dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/western/washington.aspx.