County 'ham' radio operators demonstrate relevance

When Tim Weber arrived in Shelton in 1977, he recalls that a small group of amateur or "ham" radio hobbyists gathered monthly in the upper room of Blondie's (then Timbers) restaurant.

"It was informal then, and the main interests included DXing, 2-meters and computer use in packet radio," said Weber, who is Mason County Amateur Radio Club vice president. "I can't recall when the club became more formal, with bylaws and officers, but I know it held field days in the 1980s. I participated in just two of those; one on South Mountain, above the Simpson sort yard, and the other in a field owned by one of our club members, near Mary M. Knight School."

Many hams develop their skills so they can provide emergency communications in their counties and states so that when other lines of communication are overloaded or fail, the radio operators can step in.

On June 24-25, hams across the country set up operations to make as many contacts as possible within 24 hours for this year's American Radio Relay League Field Day. The Mason County club, which operates under the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, was actively involved.

John Carpenter, with the Mason County Communications Unit, is one of roughly two-dozen Mason County club members, and one of several licensed ham radio volunteers in the county who act to support operations at the county's Department of Emergency Management.

"It was a rousing success," Carpenter said of this year's field day, which saw club members set up three radio stations, one of them single sideband digital. "We had a good turnout of club members, especially for our first field day since our forced break due to COVID. My only real disappointment was the lack of kids who showed up this year, because we'd hoped to potentially draw in more younger members."

Carpenter has visited schools to explain the need for amateur radio in a smartphone world. Natural disasters can knock out wireless phone and internet networks, but hams would still be able to contact each other and support services.

"During the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, my cellular phone was useless, but fortunately, I had my handheld ham radio," Carpenter said. "I was able to get a signal all across Puget Sound."

While this year's field day didn't draw the youths Carpenter hoped for, it did draw at least one VIP. Mason County Superior Court Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown sat down to make contact with other stations, under the tutelage of Mason County Amateur Radio Club control operator Dave Blum.

"That was a pretty cool moment," Carpenter said. "I believe she managed to make four contacts that day. Of course, anytime you've got a YL on the mic, everybody will want to talk to her."

The Morse code abbreviation "YL" is short for "young lady," which is used for female amateur radio operators regardless of age.

Mason County Amateur Radio Club member Tom Dennis credited Ferguson-Brown with reaching as far as Utah and Oklahoma, an achievement Carpenter deemed especially impressive because about 80% of U.S. amateur radio operators live east of the 100th meridian.

Carpenter emphasized the importance of not only making contact with others, but also being able to put amateur radio technology in the field. Carpenter, Sue Albee and Joe Stiles prepared a dipole antenna for standing up, before they were joined by Ann Bisek in finalizing an NVIS (near-vertical incidence skywave) military-style antenna.

"Although we can transmit around the world, the NVIS antenna is specifically made for shorter distances, of 1,000 miles or fewer," Carpenter said. "During emergencies in the field, we need to be able to send messages using the ICS and FEMA formats."

Carpenter, Bisek, Albee, Harold St. Clair and Martin Grote are all Emergency Operations Center communications unit volunteers for Mason County, along with Tom Dennis, who is the emergency coordinator radio officer for ARES' Mason County District 3.

"Most of the folks in our club have some level of FEMA training," Carpenter said. "The federal government helps standardize our communications, so we can get coordinated more efficiently."

Carpenter deemed it an additional success that the Mason County Amateur Radio Club's equipment is functional and deployable at a moment's notice. The equipment is not as dependent upon directional alignment as cellular signal towers are.

"Cell towers all have to be aligned properly, and anything from heavy snowfall to floods and fire can cause them to fall out of alignment," Carpenter said. "By contrast, our club and area hams are able to use frequencies, as well as modes and methods of transmission, that are not available to those who aren't licensed as amateur radio operators."

While most radio signal transmissions are analog, Carpenter noted that they can be converted to digital to transmit simple text email messages, without images.

You can visit the Mason County Amateur Radio Club at mc-arc.org or go to its Facebook page by looking up "MCARC."

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
kboxleitner@masoncounty.com