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Ham Radio Operators To Show Off Skills This Weekend In Montgomery County

WHITEMARSH, Pa. (CBS) -- Members of the PHIL-MONT Mobile Radio Club will gather this weekend for an Amateur Radio Field Day at Fort Washington Park in Whitemarsh.

It's an opportunity for radio operators to show off their skills and the science behind ham radios.

"Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with tablets or smartphones and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That's the beauty of Amateur Radio during a communications outage," says David Isgur, N1RSN, communications manager for the national association for Amateur Radio.

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"In today's electronic do-it-yourself environment, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters or emergencies if the standard communication infrastructure goes down," Isgur adds.

There are more than 725,000 licensed ham radio operators in the country, ranging in age from 9-years-old to 100.

Click here for more information about the event.

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