ONALASKA, WI (WXOW)—Amateur, or ham radio operators, from around North America partnered together for the last 24 hours for an emergency radio drill called Field Day.
Brittany Wiese, Onalaska High School Ninth Grader, spent four hours on a radio trying to make contact.
"CQ field day CQ field day whisky nine mike victor alpha, whisky nine mike victor alpha," she said.
Sunday was Wiese's first time making contacts on a radio.
"Some people are like, not much people will think that's fun and its actually really fun because you get to talk to millions of people that do the same thing," Wiese said.
The object of field day is to make as many contacts as you can in 24 hours. Sunday they averaged 85 contacts an hour.
Craig Goldbeck, Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Field Day Chairman said there is some strategy involved.
"You try to plunk down on a frequency," Goldbeck said. "You just sit and call and call and let them know your looking for another station to answer your call and when you do that you make your exchange you say thank you, good luck and go on your way."
But you don't just have to use your voice to call; Chris Bryant uses Morse Code.
"I have to be able to hear it," Bryant said. "I don't have to be good at sending it."
As for Wiese, she got her start because her dad is a big HAM.
"He has a whole big room full of stuff and I go in there sometimes and he teaches me the things," Wiese said.
After Sunday, she said she found a new passion and hopes to get her license by the end of the summer so she can run her own station.
The Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Association will find out how it stacks up against other HAMS in December.
Last year, it finished second in the country in its class.
This year, the station is hoping to be in the top ten percent of its class nationally.
