HUNTINGTON -- Amateur radio operators from the Tri-State Amateur Radio Association (TARA) will set up and operate an outdoor radio station Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29, at the Tri-State Fire Academy, 4200 Ohio River Road. Local "hams" will join thousands of other North American radio operators in the American Radio Relay League Field Day.

Field Day is an annual event occurring each year during the fourth weekend in June. In previous years, TARA has set up stations in local parks and at the Museum of Radio and Technology. Like last year's Field Day, this year's event is planned in cooperation with Cabell County Emergency Manager Gordon Merry and the Tri-State Fire Academy and its director, Jerry Beckett.

Field Day is a 24-hour test of emergency communication skills and equipment, from 2 p.m. Saturday until 2 p.m. Sunday. TARA will set up its portable tower and other antennas and test its radios and generator. The Cabell County Field Command Post will be on the air as well. In the event of an emergency, the ham radio community can establish a nationwide network in a matter of hours.

Field Day is a "family reunion" of amateur radio operators. Last year, more than 50 TARA members and their families enjoyed the annual event at the Fire Academy. The club talked to Field Day stations in 45 states and four Canadian provinces. We will try to contact all 50 states this year.

Field Day is a contest for amateur radio operators. The radio association estimates that more than 35,000 hams participate in the weekend exercise. Radio clubs compete to see who can make the most contacts during the weekend. Serious contest clubs will make more than 5,000 contacts.

Field Day is an invitation to the public to sample some of amateur radio's fascinating possibilities. Hams have more than 150 years of technology at their command, from the sweet 19th-century sound of Morse Code to the repeater on the orbiting space station. TARA's "Get on the Air" station -- an extra operating position for non-licensed persons -- will be ready for visitors to take a turn at the microphone.

Interested in ham radio? TARA meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Museum of Radio and Technology, 1640 Florence Ave., Huntington. Visitors are welcome.

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