Ham radio operators plan demonstration at Black Bear Festival

Bayouland Emergency Amateur Radio Service, or BEARS, plans a demonstration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday during the Black Bear Festival, the club announced in a news release.
The home base for the club is Morgan City, however membership is made up of ham radio operators from throughout St. Mary, Iberia, Lafayette and Acadia parishes, as well as members from Texas and Florida.
The club’s purpose is emergency preparedness and to keep members current with pertinent activities, a special Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or ARES net, is held every Sunday for members and non-members to check in to for the latest information.
The club has been recognized for more than 25 years of service as an American Radio Relay League Affiliated Club and has also been recognized as a Special Service Club by the ARRL. This means the club is active in community affairs and makes itself available when help is needed. It is also available to help anyone interested in becoming a ham radio operator by sponsoring classes and test sessions, as testing is required to obtain a ham radio license.
There are 26 members of the club. Longevity of member licenses ranges from less than a year to over 50 years as a licensed ham radio operator.
Saturday, the station will be set up directly across from the Young Sanders Center. The purpose of the station is to first, show the public what can be achieved at a portable station, talking strictly on a wire antenna. In addition, publicizing the Black Bear Festival across the country to ham operators who will be calling in to the station on the bayou. Also, an Echo Link station will be receiving calls and will be able to show the public just how many stations worldwide are listed on Echo Link. This is a combination of digital communications tied in with VHF radio.
At the special event station last year, the club was contacted by over 100 stations from throughout the United States, and many wrote that they would be looking for the station again this year.
A picture of P.K. Chin of Ipoh, Malaysia, who is one of Jackie Price’s radio contacts will be on display. Leonard Price from Morgan City, Jackie’s son, was able to meet Chin and his family and had dinner with them on his trip to Malaysia two years ago and again six weeks ago he enjoyed visiting the entire Chin family in their home. Jackie Price had sent Chin a pound of CDM Coffee and chicory, a can of condensed milk and the recipe for making café au lait. In response, Chin asked Leonard Price to bring back some of Ipoh’s world famous white coffee. A packet of this will be in the radio booth also for interested people to see. The presentation will be handled by Deborah Price.
There will be a presentation on the Young Lady Radio League presented by Karen Marshall. The YLRL is a worldwide organization of women ham radio operators who are active on ham radio throughout the year.
Meetings are the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in Morgan City. If interested, call 985-384-3875 or stop by and visit the station.