Recent natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and the volcanic eruption in Chile have raised concerns about how the Puget Sound would cope with such devastation.

One group that would be on the frontlines of communication and emergency response is the Lake Washington Ham Club radio operators.

“We do focus on emergency preparedness like for earthquakes,” said the Lake Washington Ham Club (LWHC) secretary treasurer Don Sayler. “The internet will fail – ham won’t.”

Unlike cell phones that need a signal tower or the internet that needs a connection source, ham radios only need a battery or a generator.

Many cities and some businesses have a ham radio emergency group to help in emergency situations. Kirkland has the Kirkland Emergency Communications Team, of which LWHC members are involved.

The club currently owns and operates an analogue repeater system on Rose Hill in Kirkland and a D Star repeater system in Bellevue.

Ham radio operators are required to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as the radio airwaves are limited and used by many different entities. The reasons for the license is so the FCC can traffic the airwaves and for safety.

“RF (radio frequency) energy can be hazardous,” said Sayler. “Getting a license will teach you how to use it in a safe way.”

One of the LWHC’s main focuses is to help local residents, especially kids, earn their license.

“Without them the hobby dies,” said Conrad Thompson, LWHC vice president.

But the club has done a lot for building interest in Kirkland among all ages.

“We have licensed over 100 people during the past 12 months,” said LWHC member Dave Condon, who teaches some of the organization’s classes. “Kirkland has the highest concentration of ham radio operators in the United States thanks to this program.”

The organization’s biggest day of the year is a national event called Field Day. The local event, which is free to the general public, will be held on June 25-26 at Juanita Beach Park.

Registrants pay an entry fee of $10-25 for the two-day event. The event is designed to show the public how amateur radio can support the community in the case of a major disaster and give interested people a chance to find out more about ham radio.

The LWHC currently has about 70 active members and meets once a month at local fire stations. The meetings focus on getting the word out about events and classes.

“We do focus on getting the idea over to children,” said LWHC member Bob Morrisson.

During a meeting on Saturday morning at the Houghton Fire Station 22, some young kids worked on building a circuit with an electronic kit.

“After they assemble the kit it will make some sort of interesting sound,” said LWHC member Tim Elam. “They both have their radio licenses.”

But the advantages for some kids to being a part of the club have gone far beyond just having a new hobby.

“I think the first batch of kids we got licensed are now 27 years old,” said Condon, who is also a teacher at Ben Franklin Elementary School. “One of the guys works in the wireless Wii program. We have had people get into Stanford or got a job because they have a radio license. Some businesses need a safety coordinator. It is good to have a diversity on your resume. It opens up all sorts of doors.”

Condon said his children are all licensed ham radio operators and for his daughter it came in handy during the recent New Zealand earthquake in Christchurch.

“Everyone thinks that kids aren’t interested in radios or won’t understand it, but they are into all sorts of forms of technology,” said Condon. “They have a good understanding of moving a cell phone around to get a signal.”

Will Clawson, 14, received his license when he was in fourth grade after getting to know Condon, who was a teacher at his school.

“He got me interested in the whole thing,” said Clawson, who currently attends Inglewood Junior High in Sammamish. “Technology is interesting to me, but with this I get to do something that is not the internet or a cell phone.”

Clawson has even learned to combine technologies in that he uses his laptop in conjunction with his radio to send a type of “text message” through the radio frequency.

“Some of the (ham radio operators) are doing some development that some companies are not,” Morrisson added.

But Clawson’s hobby has helped him in his general education. Clawson recently got accepted into Aviation High School in Des Moines, Wash., the only college preparatory aviation-themed high school in the Northwest.

“It really made my resume stand out,” said Clawson, who doesn’t have time for his ham radio during the school year, but will put in an hour a day during the summer. “I have always liked planes and becoming a pilot has kind of been a dream of mine.”

Visit http://lakewashingtonhamclub.org for more information on the LWHC or Field Day event.