A county amateur radio club meets in an Eastern Carolina city east twice a year to practice critical public service for the community.
The Onslow Amateur Radio Club members enjoy connecting with other radio enthusiasts over sound waves, but at their annual Winter Field Day, OARC and other amateur clubs practiced turning their hobby into an emergency resource.
“This is an application where we come out in something that’s not our normal and set things up. These radio antennas were put up in a matter of hours, and we try to contact everybody,” said ORAC President Tim Mahlow.
Mahlow said they and others apart of amateur radio serve the disaster relief teams in their community. Over two days, they set up in remote locations and practiced connecting others through radio and digital walkie talkies, so they can be the reliable line of communication when normal connections are down.