LA GRANDE— A fishing rod, a car battery and state-of-the-art radio equipment served members of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association this past weekend.

All were used by club members to help make radio contacts while participating in American Radio Relay League Field Day, an annual international event, at Bird Track Springs Campground about 5 miles southwest of Hilgard State Park.

Club members and others assisting made 866 contacts during Field Day throughout the United States and internationally. The contacts were made via Morse code, voice, and digital connections (also described as computer-assisted radio), for each state except Rhode Island.

“We often have trouble with Rhode Island,’’ said Tyson Brooks, a club member.

Countries for which contacts were made included Sweden, Oman, Japan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and portions of Canada, including Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Members of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association wanted to make contacts but the amateur radio enthusiasts had a more important primary objective — to prepare Union County to have a link to the outside world in the event of a disaster like an earthquake, flood or windstorm which could knock out all internet, cellphone or landline communication in the Grande Ronde Valley.

Such a disaster could leave ham radios as the valley’s only connection to the outside world.

“We would be one of the last lines of communication,’’ Brooks said.

He said Field Days provide excellent learning opportunities when they can be conducted in places like Bird Track Springs. He explained that it provides an opportunity to learn what club members need to do to operate radios away from civilization.

Radio operators thus had to rely on sources including batteries and gas-fueled generators to power their equipment.

Chris Leavitt, president of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association, relied on a car battery for his power source. He said participating in Field Day drained just 20% of his battery’s power.

In all, four radio stations were operated at Bird Track Springs by club members and friends. The stations had antennas ranging from 20 to 140 feet. One member, Jason Fouts, installed his antenna with the help of a fishing reel and pole. He loaded his reel with fishing line and then cast it high into trees to help set up antenna wire, Brooks said.

Fouts is among many who used rod and reels to set up antennas for Field Day in the United States, which ran from 11 a.m. Saturday, June 22 to 11 a.m. Sunday, June 23.

The Grande Ronde Radio Amateurs Association has been participating in American Radio Relay League Field Day since 2008.

This year, in addition to the 20 or so club member participating, three children also took part. They included sisters Madeleine Leavitt, 7, and Anneliese Leavitt, 11, the daughters of Holli and Chris Leavitt; and Ivan Patterson, the grandson of club members Les and Cathy Patterson. The Leavitt sisters and Ivan Patterson all made contacts with many stations, including Hawaii.

“It is so delightful to have a mix of young and old. The young people bring so much energy,’’ said club member Ted Ivester.

The next big event the club will be involved in will be the annual Elkhorn Relay. The 80.6-mile event will start the morning or Aug. 10 at Hilgard State Park and run south along Highway 244 and into the Elkhorns. Brooks said that club members of the club will be present with their radios to call for medical aid and other help if necessary.

Portions of the Elkhorn Relay route run through areas where cellphone service is not available, so the radios could play a major role.