Escambia Hams Push Through Storms To Practice Emergency Communications

June 29, 2025

Local ham radio operators in Escambia County are taking part in the 2025 American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day this weekend, taking a break only for a thunderstorm.

ARRL Field Day is an opportunity for about 40,000 amateur radio enthusiasts throughout the U.S. and Canada to set up temporary communications stations and make contact with like-minded people. Licensed radio operators, often called “hams,” spent the weekend practicing community outreach, emergency preparedness and technical skills.

The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association is operating  until 4 p.m. Sunday at Ashton Brosnaham Park off East 10 Mile Road. They went on the air about 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Five Flags mateur radio operator Gene Bannon, call sign KB4HAH, said amateur radio operators were the only ones communicating for 36 hours after Hurricane Ivan. He said sheriff’s deputies could not talk to each other and the fire departments couldn’t talk to each other. He added that amateurs were the communications source for the first 36 hours before the arrival of  satellite trucks and other equipment.

Bannon said that’s the reason amateur radio exists.

For more photos from Saturday, click here.

Club members set up their amateur radio equipment — ranging from old 1980s radios to modern digital gear and satellite communications. With a generator and portable antennas, including a wire antenna spanning half a soccer field, they were soon communicating with ham operators across the United States and Canada.

But Saturday afternoon, they  were forced to take a break due to rain and lightning from a thunderstorm. Radios were disconnected from antennas, and equipment was tarped.

“Lightning can quickly send your radio to the trash heap,” Bannon said as the lightning storm began to move away. “And it’s dangerous.”

The amateur radio operators have their own equipment inside the Escambia County Operations Center, ready to provide needed communications during local emergencies. That room was named for Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, a ham operator who passed away in May 2021.

To take a look back at some of the equipment from 2024 (with no lightning, rain delays or tarps), click here.

Comments

One Response to “Escambia Hams Push Through Storms To Practice Emergency Communications”

  1. Sandra Milstead on June 29th, 2025 5:29 am

    Thank you Ham operators!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News