ARRL Field Day wasn't the only thing in the air on the weekend of June 27th and 28th in the Pacific region. Hurricane season was also on its way. So the customary demonstrations of ham radio operations that licensed operators provide to the public during the annual ARRL Field Day took on a new purpose - recruitment - as the Maui hams worked hard to build a more robust emergency communications network to serve the region in the months ahead.

While amateurs made an extra effort to connect with other hams so they could fill their logs and have a respectable score at the end of the 24-hour event, hams like Bill Heyde, KH6UU, coordinator of Maui County Amateur Radio Emergency Services, were also busy making contacts with visitors who were not yet hams - but showed an interest in getting a license. Bill told the Hawaii News that he's been licensed since 1982 and so when hurricane Iwa [PRON: EE-VAH] struck later that year, he understood well the value of emergency communications.

That's a lesson he hopes will have been passed on by Field Day 2026 on Maui.

The US National Weather Service expects the central Pacific basin to experience an above-normal hurricane season, which runs through the 30th of November.