That’s part of the setup on the south end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus for Field Day, the amateur-radio operators’ event described as “part drill, part contest, part show-and-tell.” The latter is where you come in. You’re invited to visit any time before it ends at 10 am tomorrow – the “Get On The Air” tent (that beige one in our photo) will be happy to set you up with a licensed mentor so you can take a turn. We listened in for a bit:
Field Day involves thousands of other operators, mostly in North America, and so far, as of our visit this afternoon, the hams here had made contacts as far away as Pennsylvania and San Diego – every new contact means a point for the competition, as well as every new means of contact (they’re even using Morse Code in one part of the field). By the way – Field Day will remind you that amateur radio is for all ages:
Those participating include members of the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club:
Also part of Field Day, members of the Puget Sound Repeater Group and the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service. Related in particular to that last group, another thing that’s potentially of interest – the solar-power setups, as this event is completely off the grid; in case of disaster, hams are ready to be a key part of the communication network, and many regularly train for that. Again, you’re welcome to visit – if you’re driving or riding, enter SSC via the south entrance, and head to the southeasternmost edge of the southern lot – you’ll see the tents and antennas.