Tri-Cities Amateur Radio Club

Come join the Tri-Cities Amateur Radio Club Winter Field Day 2026. For 2026, it will be held on January 24th and 25th. The 30-hour operational period starts at 1600 UTC on Saturday (8 am PST), the 24th, and ends at 21:59 UTC on Sunday, the 25th (1:59:59 pm PST). The club will be operating from their current meeting location, Confluent Makerspace, 285 Williams Blvd, Richland WA. Stations may begin setting up no earlier than 16:00 UTC (8 am PST) on the Friday before.

The next Tri-Cities Amateur Radio Club meeting will be held on February 2, 2026 7:00pm at:
Confluent Makerspace
285 Williams Blvd
Richland, WA 99354

Agenda includes introduction of 2026 club officers, discussions on the necessity of raising club dues, club projects and upcoming events.

Confluent, a 501(c)3 non-profit makerspace next to Uptown in Richland that has been open since February 6th, 2016, has agreed to our use of their facility for our ham club monthly meetings. The club radio equipment/station and antennas have been stored until a location for a permanent club station can be found.

We have all experienced inflation. Reality is the Tri-Cities Amateur Radio Club has had the same $20 dues rate for at least 25 years. Although the club has always kept costs low, our minimal costs of basic operations, which include annual non-profit corporation costs with the State, liability insurance and meeting place costs are substantially outpacing our income. In the December 2025 club meeting, our excellent Treasurer Cory KJ7GXG pointed out that our 2025 expenses were more than double our costs. Additional costs for 2026 include fixes for all our club repeaters: the Johnson Butte repeater (146.04/.64) is ailing, and the two Rattlesnake mountain long range repeaters have been down for two years due to broken antennas. Antennas that will withstand the WX on Rattlesnake are NOT CHEAP. The officers and membership attending the meeting were convinced, and with an unanimous vote, a motion to raise dues to $40 per year (individual) and $50 per year (family).

And another HAM breakfast is just around the corner.

DATE: Jan. 9th, 2026
TIME: 9:00 am PT official time, some are hungrier earlier
LOCATION: CG Public House, 9221 W Clearwater Ave A, Kennewick, WA 99336

Any HAM Operator (and their wives, etc.), or prospective HAM Operators are welcome to enjoy good food and great company. No club membership or affiliation required - anyone is welcome.
Looking forward seeing some familiar and maybe some not so familiar faces in a few days.
Chow down, dig in, enjoy.

New to the Area? Come to Coffee and Donuts with a bunch of other hams 1st Saturday morning every month at the Spudnut Shop, in Richland(228 Williams Blvd, #3410, Uptown Shopping Center). It starts around 7:30 and the RAG CHEW could go on for a hour or two. If you can't make it, tune into the morning social net on 146.64Mhz (Neg. offset and tone of 100hz) at 7:30am. Ed W6OLA will be net control. Hope to see you there.