Mike Troy, center, communicates with an individual hundreds of miles away as fellow PEARL members
Sue Raymond of and Mike Brooks await their turn to use the two way radios
MAHOPAC – A dozen associates of Putnam’s Emergency and Amateur Repeater League (PEARL) tested their ability to communicate with the outside world last weekend during the organization’s annual 24-hour field day event.
Members spent Saturday and Sunday at Sycamore Park in Mahopac to recognize what members described as the “world’s only failsafe means of communication.”
The organization operates under the auspices of the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) by maintaining communication links in Putnam during storms, emergencies or radiological events.
During the 24 hours last weekend, ham radio operators communicated with others around the globe by use of generated power and solar energy.
PEARL member Diana Ahrens of Mahopac said the contest stressed “competitiveness while preparing for a natural or manmade disaster.”
PEARL volunteers were in contact with others in Puerto Rico, throughout the U.S. and even communicated with fellow operators in Europe and Asia.
Rick Coupe of Carmel, a member of the organization’s Board of Directors, said “when all else fails, amateur radio comes to the rescue. We can set up emergency operations without electricity—generators will do—and communicate with others located anywhere in the world.”
PEARL’s current membership includes: Bill and Diana Ahrens, Jim Burke, Liam Comerford, John Rusinko, Mike Brooks, Mike Troy, Sue Raymond, Bill Musoke, Tom Rose and Coupe.
PEARL is always looking for new members. The group meets on the third Wednesday of the month at the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services Operations Center on Old Route 6 in Carmel at 7 p.m.
Those interested may contact Ahrens at KD2AEG@gmail.com
