Events & Activities 

MDARC Field Day 2008

In response to the ever present danger of disaster striking its citizens, the City of Walnut Creek, along with the members of the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club, hosted a radio communications event called Field Day. Field Day is a national event, during which Amateur Radio Operators set up and run their radios as an emergency preparedness exercise. This June, 27th - 29th,  the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club operated from Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek. The public was able to witness radio communications, similar to what would be necessary after a wide scale disaster.

This annual event is the climax of the week-long  Amateur Radio Week�, sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power for the entire operation, club members communicated with other Amateur Radio Operators from around both California and the world.

Over the past couple of years, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications in emergencies including the California wildfires, Oregon and Michigan storms, tornadoes and other events world-wide. During Hurricane Katrina, Amateur Radio, often called "ham radio", was often the ONLY way people could communicate, and hundreds of volunteer  hams traveled south to save lives and property. Most recently, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes in China, amateur radio operators were there, helping to get the information through, even though the public infrastructure was overloaded. When trouble is brewing, hams are often the first to provide critical information and communication.

View photos from this year's MDARC field day activities at Heather Farms Park,  compliments of:
 - Richard Lueck
 - Jason Chavez -W9JPC