The Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communications Service mobile communications setup, otherwise known as the HAMbulance will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday.
A member of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitors a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
Members of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitor a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
Members of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitor a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
The Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communications Service mobile communications setup, otherwise known as the HAMbulance will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday.
Karl Holappa/ Daily Record
A member of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitors a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
Karl Holappa/ Daily Record
Members of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitor a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
Karl Holappa/ Daily Record
Members of the Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service monitor a channel during a mountain race in 2021. Members of the group will be on hand at Rotary Park Saturday as part of a national communications field day event.
People out recreating Saturday near Rotary Park in Ellensburg might notice something a bit technical going on, and it is the hope of a local group that they will stop, inquire, learn, and maybe even participate.
The Kittitas County Amateur Radio Communication Service will be setting up its gear at the park Saturday as part of national amateur radio field day exercise. The group will set up four radio apparatus stations at the event, where people will be able to have the opportunity to get on a radio and talk to someone across the county, or even across the world.
According to a press release from the group, the event was established by the American Radio Relay League and is held once a year to give amateur radio operators experience in conducting communications in portable conditions as a way to train for emergency communications.
This is KCARCS member Gary LaHaie’s first year with the event and has taken on the task of organizing it for the group. Along with the experiential component for the operators themselves, LaHaie said the event is meant to be a relaxing and fun opportunity for locals to learn more about what the group does.
“It’s a day where radio operators are encouraged to go mobile, as it helps support any emergency situations,” he said of the first component. “But it also opens up the radios for the public. You can be a non-licensed (operator), and as long as there is a licensed (operator) there monitoring his station, you can get on it and use it. It allows the public to get on Ham radios and use the channel.”
With the timing of the day when the event will be taking place, LaHaie said the public should have a great opportunity to experience firsthand what it is like to communicate over a radio.
“There should be all kinds of traffic on the radio,” he said. “It’s a huge day in radio communications. We’re going to be making contacts and recording those. It’s a day where everybody where everybody learns to put up the radio, and it’s a fun day where parents and their kids, grandkids, everybody can learn about the radios.”
With approximately 1,500 locations being set up around the country by various amateur radio communications groups, LaHaie said the level of national participation is guaranteed to create some fun communications throughout the day. During the event, most of the Kittitas County club will be on hand to explain what they do throughout the year, not only as a hobby but also in the field of emergency communications.
“We all know Ham radio has a reputation as everyone being a bunch of geeks,” LaHaie said with a laugh. “And that’s OK, but it’s a way to open up and show people what the equipment looks like, how it works, how it’s portable, and how it all runs off of batteries. There’s going to be some real experienced hands there, and the newer members will have a chance to learn from them. I think the main thing is that it’s supposed to be a fun, relaxing day for the public to hang out, use the radios, and get out of the house.”
