Amateur Radio has been a hobby for well over 100 years. For as long as there has been an understanding of electricity and radio waves, people have been experimenting with these technologies and advancing the state of the art. As a result, the world has moved from wired telegraphy to tube radios to telephones -- forward a century -- to GPS and high-speed digital communication devices that fit in your pocket. Advances made by amateur radio experimenters have propelled the work of NASA, satellites, television, the internet, and every communications company in existence today. People fiddling with radios have pushed forward technological advances the world around, time and time again. And yet, the people making these efforts, doing these feats, aren't always the best at documenting and preserving their work for the future. That's where Internet Archive comes in.

Watching the images of charred devastation around Los Angeles, as well as recalling the chaos that enveloped the area amidst local wildfires a couple years ago, it's not hard to imagine scenarios that could be much, much worse. Fortunately, there's a secret weapon in the arsenal of communication and assistance in Clackamas County -- and you’re invited to see what it's all about. See what your neighbors can do when there is no power and confusion is in the air during the upcoming Winter Field Day, courtesy of the Clackamas Amateur Radio Emergency Service (CARES) and Cascade Amateur Radio Society. Amateur radio enthusiasts will be running through various disaster scenarios, and how they can use their short-wave radio set-ups to fill important gaps should disaster strike.

TREMONT -- (25News Now) -- Amateur radio operators around Central Illinois will be setting up radios and antennas during a nationwide winter exercise Jan. 25-26 at the Tazewell County Emergency Management Agency in Tremont. Winter Field Day is an event that will test the ability for amateur radio operators, also known as "hams," to get on the air in emergencies and in various weather conditions.

COLUMBUS -- On Saturday, The Columbus Radio Club met for its weekly gathering at the local firehouse. "The radio bands we have access to (are) a precious resource, much like the rivers and lakes here in Montana, they're for everybody," said Gil Leonard (callsign: NG7IL), a club co-founder. The club was founded about a year ago when Leonard and his friend, Nancy Wolters (callsign: AA7VE), decided to meet in Columbus after communicating over the airwaves. "A couple of the guys (ask over the radio), 'What are you baking today?'" said Wolters. "I've never met them. I’ll probably never, ever, see them face to face ... That's part of the beauty of it."