On Saturday, a 55-foot antenna found a home at the Masonic Youth Center in Warwick. Multiple U-Haul trucks accompanied the structure. Wires hung from the trees, and radio static poured out of tents.

By Sunday evening, it was all gone.

This past weekend, the Providence Radio Association (PRA), W10P, packed their equipment from their clubhouse in Johnston and brought it to Warwick for their annual field day challenge. The National Association for Amateur Radio League, known as the ARRL, holds the challenge every June, including around 40,000 amateur radio spanning North America.

Getting on the air isn’t much of a challenge for the W10P. But, for field day, organizations across the country must set up temporary stations in a public area and attempt to contact other amateur radio stations across the world. PRA President David Tessitore said that the challenge is a test of emergency preparedness and a testament to amateur radio’s durability.

“One of the advantages of ham radio is that it is completely independent,” he said, which positions it to serve in times of natural disasters, even calling it the “network of last resort.”

“When the state system fails, we still can work helping with health and welfare,” he added.

With rainstorms during the Friday evening setup and the Saturday challenge, the PRA was well prepared to stay on the air. After the challenge, Tessitore called the storms “fitting for an emergency preparedness challenge” and did not impede the PRA.

From Warwick, the PRA contacted more than 2,700 other stations, some as far away as New Zealand. Around 900 of these connections were via Morse code. Though PRA has participated in a field day for decades, this is only the second year it has taken place at the Masonic Youth Center.

Tessitore first got interested in ham radio as a child, enamored by hearing his family members using it to listen to opera from Italy.

“Here I am in Rhode Island listening to it,” Tessitore recalled thinking.

After going to the public library to learn more about the technology behind the radio, he joined the PRA, the organization he now serves as president.

His story is a common one among members, he said. Members find a lifelong interest in ham radio as children or teens, before applying that interest in their careers, even if they lose connection with amateur radio. Tessitore noted that many of PRA’s members have found successful careers in technology and engineering, working for companies like Raytheon.

Robert Hart, a member of the PRA and captain at the Warwick Police Department, called the club a “second family.”

Hart, who has been interested in ham radio since high school, finally got his license during the pandemic. Early into the challenge, Hart said they were a “well-oiled machine,” commending the setup as “one of our best years.”

Tessitore was excited to see the large turnout compared to past years, saying around 75% of the club’s members showed up. In previous years, it was normally only 50%. The PRA has around 70 active members, he said, and meets every Tuesday night. The club was founded in 1919.

Early into the challenge on Saturday, Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi visited the Masonic Youth Center to talk to club members. Tessitore said the club saw “a great outpouring of the community,” with visitors stopping by their temporary camp.

Despite the connections made both on and off the radio, the club packed up on Sunday at the end of the 24-hour challenge.

“By 3 pm, you never would have known we were there,” Tessitore said.