Amateur radio group to set up station

SCOTTOWN — An event is scheduled for today in honor of Lawrence County’s only remaining historical covered bridge.

The Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association (SOARA) members will celebrate the covered bridge, located at Scottown and sitting over Indian Guyan Creek on Pleasant Ridge Road (County Road 67) just south of State Route 217.

The bridge, a county landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1874 and is closed to motorized traffic.

SOARA are joining other amateurs across Ohio, where several radio clubs are celebrating their own county’s covered bridge.

An event station will be set up at the Scottown bridge from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Amateurs will be operating radio equipment that will allow contacts to be made not only in Ohio, but throughout the United States and countries around the world.

The groups says all radios will be operated on solar, batteries and generators, and no commercial power will be used. The radio station will use the SOARA’s club FCC call sign, W8SOE.

“The special event station will mimic emergency conditions which would be used when there is a total communications failure of commercial power, telephone, commercial radio, television, cell phone, and web access,” Eddie Jenkins, N8URU Lawrence County Amateur Radio  Emergency service coordinator, said. “This represents the conditions that Puerto Rico incurred during last year’s hurricane. They only had amateur radio to provide critical lifesaving communications.”

James Rowe, N8TVO SOARA, president said it will be a fun event, open to the public.

“You will be allowed to talk on the radios under the direct supervision of an FCC licensed amateur,” he said. “Brochures and handouts will be available about amateur radio. This is a free event.”