CLAY COUNTY – The Northern Florida Section of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service is sponsoring a Simulated Emergency Test on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m.-noon. The exercise will provide participants with an opportunity to assess capabilities, plans, policies, and procedures. It will focus on coordination, integration and passing of message with other organizations during an activation where Amateur Radio could be used. The expected outcome of the exercise is the strengthening of our communication skills for our served agencies during a hurricane or other disaster where typical modes of communications could be hindered or completely unavailable.

The Northern Florida Section of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service consists of 43 counties, including Clay County.

For more than 100 years, Amateur Radio – also called ham radio – has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster or emergency, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet. The annual S.E.T. demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network.

Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator.

There are more than 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 9 and as old as 100.