An East Boothbay Ham radio team made more contacts than any other team during the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day June 25. The team, consisting of Al Sirois of East Boothbay, his brother Ron, of Salem, Massachusetts, Will Brinegar of Southport and Ron Scribner of Pittston made more short wave radio contacts than the other 22 Maine teams during the 24-hour test period.

The league sponsors the annual field day to prepare amateur short wave radio operators for coordinating emergency communications during an actual disaster. During past  catastrophes like the 9/11 terrorist attack, Oklahoma City bombing and Maine Ice Storm, ham radio operators coordinated emergency rescue responses between local, state and federal rescue teams.

Sirois hosted the event last summer so other licensed amateur radio operators could test their skills during the worldwide exercise.

“This is an opportunity for radio operators to practice emergency communications in a time of worldwide catastrophe. These disasters all disrupt traditional communication. We use generator or battery power so we’re able to set up in a tent and provide communication to coordinate emergency services,” said Al Sirois.

The ARRL results were published in QST Magazine this month. The publication is the organization’s monthly membership journal.  The East Boothbay team scored 1,644, which was third best in New England and 46th out of 119 teams in the U.S.

The 2016 Field Day had 36,729 participants from mostly the U.S. and Canada making contact worldwide in the form of continuous wireless (morse code), digital and phone radio communications.