GINA B. GOOD / PVT ARES/RACES operators Jerry Fuge, left, and George Cox work on getting the Morse Code key to function while Steve Bird looks on. Advertisement

Tens of thousands of ham radio operators gathered at locations across the country recently to talk to each other on the air using specific emergency protocols in a nationwide exercise. Three local ham radio groups participated in the annual field day, earning points for communicating with other operators, national organizations, as well as other countries.

In Pahrump, about 30 members of ARES, or Amateur Radio Emergency Services, and RACES, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, covered the valley, setting up their headquarters at the EMS Operations Center on Siri Lane.

PARA, the Pahrump Amateur Repeater Association, took up positions on high ground in the flat mesa area and the Amargosa Valley Radio Club set up on Farm Road across from the community center.

"We have never exercised the high frequency emergency radios with multi-bands at the same time in a world-wide exercise," said long-time ARES/RACES operator Jerry Fuge.

Pahrump's 30 operators worked in shifts to cover the 24-hour exercise, from noon June 27 to noon the next day, running a designator of "Four Foxtrot Nevada," which signifies four radios were in operation at an emergency operations center ("Foxtrot") in Nevada.

Some members of the group were participating on their radios at home, with a designation of "One Echo," telling other hams they were at home running on emergency power, or "Alpha," running on commercial power. Sixteen Echo would mean 16 radios operating at home on emergency power.

Certain members of the club had set frequencies on which to broadcast and listen, but part of the test to earn points meant finding a particular operating frequency within a time frame.

Diaries were kept during the day, noting time of contact, who was contacted, frequencies and designators. There were also exercises in Morse code. Participants are given one point for each contact in many different classes and sub-groups, including phone, Morse code (also called "continuous wave") and packet (computer contact).

"ARRL Headquarters will send out a message and we can send a message to our state director in Elko and get extra points," said Richard Gamble (aka K7RTG), also a long time member of the ARES/RACES club.