LAKE COUNTY – Lake County Ham Radio operators will show off their emergency capabilities this coming weekend.

The Lake County Amateur Radio Society will operate from Vista Point near Lakeport, starting about 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27. The Chicken Net group will go on the air from Navy Camp at Lake Pillsbury about the same time.

Both groups invite the public to come and see ham radio's new capabilities and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.

It was just a year ago devastating lightning-caused fires struck Lake and other nearby counties. Amateur radio operators provided assistance to public agencies with communication needs. When trouble is brewing, ham radio people are often the first to provide critical information and communications.

This weekend the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Lake County ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is all about.

Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communication and even historical Morse Code, Lake County hams will join thousands of others across the country holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.

The 24-hour event, called Field Day, is the climax of week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators can quickly set up their emergency radio networks for emergency response agencies, all for free.

Their slogan, "When all else fails, Amateur Radio works!" is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, the Internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 40,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.

To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org . Come and see for yourself why this is not your grandfather's radio anymore.