The Kershaw County Amateur Radio Club (KCARC) will be setting up a booth and radio station at the Kershaw County Farmers Market Saturday and again May 24. The club’s mission is to provide emergency communications to the community, present information to better prepare the community for those emergencies and inspire interest in the hobby. KCARC has been designated a special services club by the Amateur Radio Relay League, along with being Ambassadors for the Weather Ready Nation program.

These designations are indicative of the level of commitment the club is prepared to provide to Kershaw County. One of the club’s current projects is to assemble teams and equipment to cover any type of contingency it may be asked to support. Recently, members of the club were involved in providing communications support for the Tour de Cure in Columbia and a search and rescue effort in Congaree National Park.

At the Farmers Market, the club will be operating using solar power and batteries to practice operations under blackout conditions. Dependent on solar conditions, affecting signal propagation, the distances signals travel will vary; but it is likely that there will be radio conversations with European and Asian stations. Recently conditions have allowed for many contacts in the Middle East and continental Africa.

Stop by the club’s booth and see for yourself how small this planet becomes through amateur radio. The hobby is in an exciting period, with technology making new and fun ways to participate in it. Please visit the KCARC website at www.kc4rc.com for more information and plan to visit them at the market.