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The PurpleHull Pea Amateur Radio Club's callsign is, appropriately, K5PEA.
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Pea-Fest Ham Radio
Operators Crucial for Successful Festival
There are many out-of-the-ordinary,
quirky things about our festival. One that we noticed early on was
the unusually large number of amateur or "ham" radio operators who were
contributing their time and effort to make the festival possible.
In 2004, we weren't at all
surprised to learn these hams had gone a step further and formed the PurpleHull Pea Amateur Radio Club. Shortly thereafter, the FCC
granted the club the highly appropriate callsign, K5PEA.
Just what do these ham radio
operators do?
In addition to the typical ham-related assistance, the festival's
official photographer and official meteorologist are hams.
Two former Commissioners of Tiller Racing are hams.
The Master of Ceremony for the World Cup PurpleHull Pea Shelling
Competition is a ham.
The festival electrician is a ham.
The chairman of the festival's "Million Tiller Parade" is a ham. (He
is also a former mayor of Emerson, and his wife
- a former festival chairman - and four daughters are licensed as well.)
The "Pea-R Guy" (the publicity chairman) is a ham.
The fellow who does a tremendous amount of footwork for the festival is a
ham.
Many of those who provide security assistance during the festival are also
licensed.
If you're interested in getting your amateur radio operator's license,
visit the Web site of the
ARRL - the Amateur Radio Relay League.
Or you can contact the club at the address below:
PurpleHull Pea Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 273
Emerson, AR 71740 USA
Email: purplehull@juno.com |
