PowerFilm Solar of Ames erected an impressive 1 kW military-grade Solar Shade for our use over the weekend, providing electricity for most of our Field Day equipment.

Two dignitaries also visited the site: Joyce Flinn, the Readiness and Response Bureau Chief for the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division; and Lt. Col. Kevin Plagman of the Iowa National Guard. Both took a tour of the Field Day site and learned the purpose and goals of the Field Day event, and then visited with operators.

The DMRAA would like to thank everyone who helped with setup, tear-down, and operating and also to all of the visitors that made a trip to Polk City to see what amateur radio was all about!

If you would like to be on the Field Day committee to help plan next year’s W0AK Field Day, see a DMRAA board member or e-mail us at info@dmraa.com.

A video of the event is embedded below, and pictures will soon be added to the DMRAA’s Flickr account. Do you have pictures you want to share with us? E-mail them to info@dmraa.com with your name and callsign (if applicable) for proper credit.

If you want to volunteer or need more information, visit the Polk County ARES website at PolkCountyARES.com.

A missile range instrumentation ship named after a western Iowa man, who’s considered to be the “Father of Electronic Warfare,” will be christened Saturday afternoon in Mississippi. Howard O. Lorenzen died February of 2000, in Washington State, at the age of 87. Lorenzen grew up and graduated from Atlantic before obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronic Engineering in 1935 from Iowa State College, before it became known as Iowa State University.

The Seattle Times obituary notes the Atlantic, Iowa native’s advances in wireless communications science, and also his love for amateur radio.

“It was important what he did at NRL,” said his daughter, Susan Black of Redmond. “But he loved ham radio. He was really into that. . . . He got his first call in 1927. He had collected (call) cards from all states and all countries as verified by the Amateur Radio League.”

The Des Moines Radio Amateurs’ Association (DMRAA), Iowa’s largest and oldest amateur radio organization, will be joining the Des Moines Amateur Radio Technical Society (ARTS) to host the Des Moines Field Day event at Big Creek State Park near Polk City. At the event, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with area amateur radio operators and see for themselves what the amateur radio hobby is about. Showing the newest digital, satellite, high-frequency technologies and even historical Morse code, hams from across the nation will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities. Last year, the Des Moines Field Day operation netted just under 1,000 contacts from around the world.

The proclamation signed by Gov. Culver will be on display at the Field Day site throughout Field Day weekend.

Field Day is a publicly-held training exercise that helps radio amateurs prepare for emergencies. Skilled work and planning is required to select radio equipment, frequencies, and antennas to facilitate operating under less-than-ideal conditions. During Field Day, operators set up in remote areas, at shopping malls, or even in their own backyards, and get on the air using generators or battery power. Radio operators then try to contact as many other Field Day stations as possible.

Amateur radio activity is growing in the United States. In 2009, over 30,000 new people became “hams.” The technical skills of hams also has improved as almost 50% of American amateur radio operators have gone beyond the entry-level licensing requirements and passed the more difficult testing to earn higher-class FCC licenses. There are more than 680,000 amateur radio operators in the US, and 2.5 million around the world.

For more information on the Des Moines Field Day event, visit http://www.dmraa.com/fieldday/ or e-mail info@dmraa.com.

The text of the proclamation as signed by Gov. Culver is attached below.

WHEREAS, the State recognizes the services amateur radio operators provide to our many emergency response organizations, including FEMA, DHS, and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management; and

WHEREAS, these same individuals have further demonstrated their value in public assistance by providing free radio communications for local parades, bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, fairs and other charitable public events; and

WHEREAS, the State of Iowa recognizes and appreciates the diligence of these “hams” who also serve as weather spotters in the Skywarn program of the National Weather Service; and

WHEREAS, amateur radio once again proved its undisputed relevance in the modern world in 2005 by providing emergency communications when other systems failed in the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the USA and in the tsunami catastrophe overseas; and

WHEREAS, these amateur radio services are provided wholly uncompensated; and

WHEREAS, the ARRL is the leading organization for amateur radio in the USA; and

WHEREAS, the ARRL Field Day exercise will take place on June 26-27 and is a 24-hour emergency encampment exercise and demonstration of the Radio Amateurs’ skills and readiness to provide self-supporting communications even in fields without further infrastructure:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Chester J. Culver, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby proclaim the week of June 20-26, 2010 as Amateur Radio Week in Iowa.

The Des Moines Radio Amateurs’ Association, a non-profit organization and one of the oldest amateur radio clubs in the midwest, was established to conduct its programs and activities to advance the general interest and welfare of amateur radio in the community. The club regularly hosts programs, activities and exercises and maintains radio communication systems to benefit the community.

If you want to volunteer or need more information, visit the Polk County ARES website at PolkCountyARES.com.