Field Day: Ham radio operators connect.

Byline: Ben Fuchs The Register-Guard

Armed with an arsenal of high-tech gadgets capable of contacting their counterparts thousands of miles away, amateur radio hobbyists hunkered down for a daylong test of their skills designed to simulate a disaster.

Saturday was the start of Field Day, when members of area radio clubs gathered at the Eugene office of the American Red Cross' Oregon Pacific Chapter as part of an annual worldwide emergency-preparedness exercise. The event continues through noon today.

Steven Myers, a member of the Valley Radio Club since 1987, was using the event as an opportunity to keep his ham radio skills up to speed.

"The basic idea of Field Day is to make as many contacts as possible under adverse conditions," Myers said. "It's real good practice for an emergency situation."

The 55-year-old Myers, a math teacher at Lane Community College, was using a shortwave radio Saturday to speak with ham operators as far north as British Columbia to as far south as Santa Barbara, Calif.

Rick Iverson, also a member of the Valley Radio Club, put his skills to work last year summer volunteering to help relay information at the Biscuit Fire in Southern Oregon.

He said amateur radio hobbyists are often vital to communication efforts in disaster areas. Club members also have helped local authorities in the aftermath of the deadly 1989 earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, and also lent a hand during the Willamette Valley floods of 1996. Ham radio operators also played a key role after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

To 36-year-old Eugene resident Jeff Klupenger, a Eugene technician who has been a volunteer firefighter since his high school days, the public service aspect of ham radio is obligatory.

"A big part of amateur radio is being ready to volunteer and offer services that the regular agencies may not have," said Klupenger, who towed his Army-surplus, double-walled portable aluminum radio station to the Red Cross center.

But the attraction for many amateur radio operators is the thrill of connecting with far-away places.

Like outer space.

Steve Jepsen said he used a high-frequency radio to speak with an American astronaut - if only briefly - as his two-man international spacestation passed over the western United States on Saturday morning.

"He basically acknowledged me ... said something about looking out the window and moved on to the next guy," Jepsen said, referring to the thousands of ham radio operators participating in Field Day. An estimated 35,000 amateurs of all ages took part in last year's drill in the United States.

And the future seems bright for the hobby: Several members in the Valley Radio Club aren't even old enough to drive yet. Matt Grimes, an eighth-grader at Cal Young Middle School in Eugene, started up a ham radio club at his school in April.

"I'm learning new things that I want to be able to teach to other kids," he said.

Its the simple nature of the far-reaching machine that captures the wonder of Byron Vanderpool.

"It's the fact that I can take a radio, a battery and a piece of wire and talk to someone across the world," said the 50-year-old Vanderpool, who has connected with other ham radio operators as far away as Australia. "It's magic."

CAPTION(S):

Steve Myers of the Valley Radio Club calls other ham radio operators as part of a disaster- preparedness exercise at the American Red Cross headquarters in Eugene on Saturday. Thomas Boyd / The Register-Guard