Judell (left) communicates with a ham radio operator in northern California Sunday morning while fellow PEARL members Janet Duffy of Wappingers Falls, Paul Glatz of Brewster and Dick Bogholtz listen in

TOWN OF KENT — Licensed radio ham operators from throughout Putnam corresponded with fellow “hams” from across the U.S. and as far as Wales during the American Radio Relay League’s annual Field Day.

Throughout the weekend dozens of members of PEARL (Putnam Emergency Amateur Radio League) took shifts manning equipment at the Putnam Veterans Memorial Park—gear dating back to the late 1940’s all the way to today’s modern technology.

Jay Judell of Lake Carmel, a charter member of PEARL, explained that his group was a service organization that assists the community in case of emergency be it fire, flood, tornado, hurricane or even terrorism: “Ham radio operators communicated messages to emergency workers, responders and agencies following 9-11 when most communications systems failed.”

Judell estimated that more than 1,500 clubs throughout America took part in the 24-hour exercise that began at 2 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday morning at 7 o’clock when the sun provided natural light inside a building at the park, a dozen “hams” communicated on everything from Morse code to digital and satellite technology as the crackle of radio signals and voices from all over the country was deafening.

Alan Lounsbury of Carmel, president of the group, said the event tested the ability to “operate outside of the comfort of our homes without the support of infrastructure. Amateur radio has become widely recognized as the world’s only failsafe means of communication and we at PEARL continue to demonstrate our ability to maintain communication links in Putnam County.”

Putnam Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Adam Stiebeling praised the volunteers: “The dedicated members of PEARL provide an essential back-up to Putnam’s emergency and non-emergency preparedness functions of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services.

Those interested in learning more about the group can call Alex Zagajewski at 917-749-8129 or by contacting PEARL on- line at K2PUT.org.