In a world that is always looking to use new technology, there are still plenty of uses for ham radio, which dates back to the early 1900’s.

Just ask people who need communication when emergencies strike.

“It is very important as a backup means of communication,” said Jim Van Dongen, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Safety.

Van Dongen said that amateur radio, the official name for ham radio, is useful in all the emergencies that the state faces, such as the wind storms in February and floods in March.

The ability for the more than 5,000 people in New Hampshire who have amateur licenses to make point-to-point contact over long distances using little power, is vital when phones lines are down and cell phones are overwhelmed.

The Red Cross also is relying on amateur radio in emergencies. Ashley Pushkarewicz is the Emergency Service Director for the Red Cross in Nashua. Pushkarewicz said that there is a push to make more members licensed amateurs. She said communication with amateur radio in some cases is preferred even when other options such as phone and internet are available.

“Prior to 2008 we did not use them a lot,” Pushkarewicz said. “Since 2008 you have seen it become more of a priority.”

Bill Bordy, treasurer of the Nashua Area Radio Club and avid proponent of amateur radio, said he felt comfortable in the February ice storms knowing he still had point to point communications with other hams. Bordy said that messages can be conveyed through data, Morse code, and voice. The data can even be sent as an e-mail.

The state’s amateur radio operators will literally and figuratively have their day in the sun this weekend with the annual field day held nationally on the fourth Saturday in June.

The annual field day is a preparation tool for hams to practice and hone their skills in a fun environment Bordy said. The nationwide day is scheduled by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) whose goal is for clubs all over the country to see how many contacts they can make in a 24 hour period in an area that does not have any equipment. The NARC will begin setting up on Friday at 2 p.m. and start the contacts at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Wasserman Park in Merrimack. A similar event will take place in Bedford at Earl Legacy Park.

“We communicate with as many hams as we can over a 24 hour period,” Bordy said. “The idea is, if there is a disaster of some kind we can set up our equipment and communicate.”

In the 24 hour span Bordy says the club could make anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 contacts all over the country. Personally Bordy has used amateur radio talk to people in Antarctica, New Zealand, China and many more countries all over the world and even out of it. Bordy and others have contacted astronauts in outer space.

The ARRL gives points for each contact that is made, but the points system is for bragging rights only. The ARRL web site says that field day is not a contest and there will be no certificates awarded. The NARC won the pride of first place from 1995-98, second place in 1999, and fifth in 2000 and is looking to get back to their winning form.

Ed Deichler, president of the NARC, said the idea of the field day is to have fun, make as many contacts as possible and get more people interested in amateur radio. He said that there about 55 members and about 20-30 of them will be present at the event. There will be 10-12 operating stations running on 100 watts of power each.

Deichler said the average age for the members in the club is close to his age of 61. He said that all the members have their amateur radio license including the youngest member who is an 8 year-old boy.

Deichler is always looking for new people to join, but realizes that he is competing against newer technologies. When Deichler was growing up his attention towards radio was not competing against computers, video cameras, video games, and cell phones. He says that amateur radio is something anyone can get involved with.

“It would be almost seamless for a kid who is good with a computer to grasp it,” Deichler said.

Secretary of the NARC Jack Duffy got involved with amateur radio when he was in high school in 1958. Duffy was watching a television show where a character used amateur radio to contact the police and save the life of another character.

Duffy has been hooked ever since, and is looking forward to this years field day because Earth is coming out of down period for amateur radio.

The sun has an 11-year cycle for the severity of its sunspots, which are magnetic storms that give off radiation which can affect the electrical status of the atmosphere. Ham radio travels long distances by bouncing signals off the electrically charged portion of the sky, known as the ionosphere; a change in solar output can affect the ionosphere.

The sun has been very quiet in recent years, so the ionosphere has not been as heavily charged, which has not allowed for strong radio signals. The more radiation in the ionosphere, the more range the amateur radio will have.

Gregory Meighan can be reached at 594-5833 or gmeighan@nashuatelegraph.com.