Newington, CT - Jun 16, 2010 - Amateur radio operators will show off their capabilities June 26-27, 2010, as they erect radio stations at community parks, campgrounds, schools and emergency centers around the country. The events are called a Field Day, and they are designed to show the emergency communications capabilities while having fun talking and texting to friends with their radios.

According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) amateur radio has been growing in the United States. In 2009 more than 30,000 new people became hams. Figures from the ARRL show consistent growth for the past five years. The technical skills of hams also improved as almost 50 percent of American amateur radio operators now go beyond the entry level FCC licensing requirements and pass the more difficult testing to earn higher class federal licenses. There are now more than 682,000 amateur radio operators in the United States, and 2.5 million around the world.

On June 26-27, the public will be able to meet and talk with the hams and see for themselves what amateur radio is all about. Amateur operators will construct temporary, emergency-style radio stations around the country for the weekend and send messages in many forms -- without the use any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in the 2009 event.