Ham Radio in a Park!

A few of us operate amateur radios from state parks around Chicagoland on the second Sunday of each month. For March, we’ll be at Moraine Hills State Park in McHenry.

You’re welcome to join us. You don’t need to bring anything, and you don’t need an amateur radio license to stop by, ask questions, or even make a contact if you’d like. A licensed operator can guide you while you use their callsign.

We play a radio game called, Parks on the Air. The basic idea is to setup portable radios inside a state park and try to contact as many different stations as possible. Conversations are usually short and fast.
Here’s a short video that explains how it works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odegfaGczAc

We’ll have several portable stations setup with different types of antennas:
-One focused on far contacts around the U.S. and Canada
-One for local Chicagoland contacts

Moraine is a large park, so operators may spread out a bit to reduce interference. See the GPS coordinates to find where I'll be. Most of us use voice, though some operators use Morse code.

Stay for as little or as long as you want. We usually operate for a couple of hours and then grab lunch nearby. You’re welcome to join us for that as well.

Dress for the weather as we'll be outdoors for a while.