PORT ANGELES — Ham radio operator Doug Welcker leaned near his microphone while looking at a computer screen and operating a foot-high stack of radio gear.
“W4RMC, this is W7FEL. We are Three Alpha Western Washington,” he said into the mic.
He and other amateur radio operators were busily making contact with other stations all over the United States and Canada as part of the American Radio Relay League’s International Field Day on Sunday.
W7FEL — often pronounced by operators as Whiskey Seven Fox Echo Lima — is the call sign for the Clallam County Amateur Radio Club, which was taking part in the field day.
Standing nearby was club Treasurer Ernie Griffith.
“It’s set up for an emergency,” Griffith said of the radio gear.
“Everything’s running on emergency power,” he said, noting the nearby hum of a gasoline-powered generator.
The club gets points for each contact they make with other stations, but Griffith said the club was more focused on having fun and gaining experience.
“Then in case of emergency we know we can do all this,” he said.
“How about a big earthquake here? That’s the biggest one everybody is worrying about.”
The event was held for a 24-hour period across North America.
“Everybody starts out at 1800 Zulu,” he said, referring to the Coordinated Universal Time starting time.
For the Clallam County Amateur Radio Club, that means they started at 11 a.m. Saturday and wrapped things up at around 11 a.m. Sunday.
Outside the tents stood a metal antenna that matched the height of nearby tall trees. Standing about 100 feet tall, the antenna can retract to a length small enough to fit on a small trailer.
A foot-high radio stack sat on a table next to a flat-panel computer screen. The computer screen displayed a log of all contacts made, as well as the frequency the radio was operating on.
“The computer’s actually controlling the radio. And then you turn the knob on the radio, and you can see that change,” he said.
The frequency can be adjusted two ways: If the operator rotates the tuning dial on the radio, the computer will adjust its display to match the radio, or vice-versa.
“Hey, I’ve talked all over the world on these things,” Griffith said. “I made contact with South Africa . . . Saudi Arabia.”
Griffith said he’s even contacted Russian astronauts aboard the Mir space station.
“You got about 11 minutes as it went over,” he said.
In Jefferson County, members of the Jefferson County Amateur Radio Club and the Port Ludlow Amateur Radio Club also operated several stations under emergency conditions.
For more information about the American Radio Relay League, visit www.arrl.org.
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Reporter Chris Tucker can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at chris.tucker@peninsuladailynews.com.
