News Release

Making Waves on the Prairie with Ham Radio

Ham radio operators at the preserve

Jim Andera

News Release Date: April 2, 2019 Strong City, KS - On Saturday, April 13, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve will be making waves that will be heard around the country--and maybe even around the world. Amateur radio operators associated with the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club, Olathe, will be operating two amateur radio stations from the park. These “ham radio operators” or simply “hams” as they are often called, will exchange greetings with other amateur radio operators around the country, calling attention to this piece of the Kansas prairie that that has been preserved for everyone to enjoy.

Most of the communications on that Saturday will be conducted using voice, but visitors may also be treated to seeing and hearing Morse code used for communications. Ham radio operators may be found operating from their home, car, truck or RV most anyplace in the world. Some may operate from an airplane, boat, mountain top or a remote island in a distant ocean. On April 13, this group of hams will be operating from the historic three-story limestone barn located just north of the park’s visitor center. The operation is expected to begin about 10 a.m. and run until about 2 p.m.

Amateur Radio is an educational and enjoyable hobby that lets participants communicate near and far, generally without a dependency on any man-made infrastructure such as the internet or telephone system. Ham radio operators in the US are licensed by the FCC, and among many other activities, are known for being able to provide communication in the aftermath of disasters when other communicants fail or become overloaded. This tallgrass operation will be part of a Parks-On-The-Air (POTA) program that encourages portable amateur radio operations from national, state, and provincial parks. This in turn helps provide radio operator training and public awareness of amateur radio’s emergency communication capabilities.
If you have an interest in learning more about amateur radio or are just looking for an excuse to visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, mark April 13^th on your calendar. In the event of severe weather on the 13th, the event would be postponed until May 4th.

The Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club website is http://sftarc.org and will have more details about club news and events. Information on POTA can be found at https://parksontheair.com/.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve invites you to discover the meaning of national parks, how your park inspires you – both in personal connections and memorable experiences. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is located two miles north of Strong City on Kansas State Highway 177 (the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway) and is a unique public/private partnership between the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy. For additional information about Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, please visit www.nps.gov/tapr, email [e-mail], call the preserve at [phone], or visit the preserve’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NPS.TallgrassPrairie. To learn more about The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, visit the Conservancy’s website at www.nature.org/Kansas or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TNCKansas .
 -NPS-