Events
What does 3 Rivers Club do? Most any Ham related event we can. Our members love this hobby so much that some of our members are also members of other clubs such as Orofino-based Clearwater Valley ARC, and Grangeville area Camas Prairie ARC. We do this to support the amateur radio community, provide information and education within our respective clubs and for all our communities.
Hamfests - Pictured above on the right is Richard Hammerschlag W7BN. He organizes an annual April Hamfest in Kamiah, Idaho. Our club is ARRL affiliated, and for 2024 we are excited to sponsor this April event.
Jet boat races - The past few years we have helped support radio comms for CVARC at the June Clearwater Rush Jet Boat Races - they race from Ahsahka to the Kamiah bridge. We Hams work either shore positions or on Safety Boats.
Field Day - yep that too! The above image was June 2023. Don Mabee KW7DWM on the left is working the bands for his first ever Field Day and stayed with the radio the entire 24-hours. Richard showed him, as well as others, how to make contacts.
City Celebrations, Parades & Fun Runs - Our radio club provides radio communications to ensure public safety and participants' safety during these events. Our club has been honored to help with Kooskia Days held at the end of July. For better than a decade we provided communications for the annual event by placing radio operators in strategic positions along the course through the town to keep an eye on the participants in case of emergencies and ensure their safety. In 2023 Hams worked with the Idaho County Sheriff's Posse to expand needed coverage for the parade. For these preplanned events, we practice the Incident Command System (ICS) in that we prepare an Incident Action Plan (IAP) with a Net Control Station (NCS). A NCS is an in-field "dispatch center."
Search & Rescue (SAR) - A few of our members are also members of local SAR groups. SAR relies on communications in the rugged backcountry, and these incidents are done by a callout in which communications personnel need to deploy quickly and efficiently. In August 2023, Grangeville Mountain Rescue Unit (GMRU) hosted a SAR exercise, a mock search in a remote area which ICSO Sheriff's Posse members and our Club's Posse Radio Unit participated in. We set up a Net Control Station in the backcountry in order to have the needed communication between Incident Command (IC) and the boots-on-the ground personnel.
Coffee Tea & HAM - Food? The Saturday after our monthly meeting, we have a breakfast at a cafe (location to be determined) where we gather to have good grub and camaraderie. The benefits discovered are as a group of our amateur radio community, we build trust, respect, get to know one another, have feedback for the club needs that might not be mentioned during a meeting.
A Weekly Net - we do one of those too. Not only do we need to check our equipment to make sure it is in operating order, this practice also trains us to be confident on the radio.
Below are but some of the photos of these mentioned events. Enjoy!
Field Day 2023
Grangeville Mountain Rescue Unit (GMRU hosted a Mock Search & Rescue - August 2023
Middle, top photo: Net Control consisted of an 8800 mobile using a battery as a power source for communicating on two channels with the field personnel. Two FT-60R's monitored other frequencies including a law enforcement dispatch.
Above is the area searched. Below is paperwork and notes O'my!
Coffee Tea & HAM
Reggy KC5MSQ, president, started the breakfasts. 19 participants attended the first one - success.
Steve 1 & Steve 2, resident copycats.
A cow tried to escape nearly causing a moo-castrophe.
Weekly Nets
Each Tuesday except for the 2nd Tuesday of the month when we have our Club meeting, we do a Net. All licensed radio amateurs are invited to participate.
On the left, a Net Control Station, a basic and mobile station with a homemade tape measure antenna with a closeup on the right of the FT60R. Excellent reception!
Below, our Club weekly Net went mobile this summer at a city park to teach new Hams how a Net Control Station operates - success!
Jet Boat Races
Start / Finish line at Kamiah. A Ham volunteer worked with the event's timing crew, and radioed to the Kamiah Net Control the time and boat identification. In turn Kamiah NC radioed the Ahsahka NC the information. All along the shore, including the safety boats, were able to track these high-powered boats along the course.
That's what Hams can do!
