More on Ham Radio

I received this in an email today and thought it was fitting to add as part of my previous post.

Oregon emergency officials say ham radio operators the unsung heroes

12/4/2007, 5:39 p.m. PST By SARAH SKIDMORE The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When parts of Oregon were overwhelmed by wind and water during the recent storm, vital communication often was lacking, with trees down and across phone lines and cell coverage limited.

Even the state police had difficulty in reaching some of their own troops.

But ham radio worked.

In fact, amateur radio operators were heralded by state emergency officials as heroes. Ham radio is more than just a hobby to some. It can set up networks for government and emergency officials to communicate when other communication services fail.

"One of the problems in this is always communication," Gov. Ted Kulongoski said after a visit Tuesday to Vernonia and a fly-over there and other affected areas. "I'm going to tell you who the heroes were from the very beginning of this...the ham radio operators. These people just came in and actually provided a tremendous communication link to us."

A network of at least 60 volunteer amateur radio operators working along the coast and inland helped from keep crucial systems such as 911 calls, American Red Cross and hospital services connected. They relayed information about patient care and relayed lists of supplies needed in areas cut off by water.

In addition to getting an FCC license to operate, certain groups of operators are cleared by the federal government to work as emergency responders.

"You are amateur in name only," said Steve Sanders, a spokesman for District One of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which helped in several key counties hit by the storm.

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management said the radio operators were tireless in their efforts to keep the systems connected.

It was ham radio that kept New York City agencies in touch with each other after their command center was destroyed on 9-11, according to the National Association for Amateur Radio. When hurricanes like Katrina hit, amateur radio helped provide life-and-death communication services when everything else failed.

Amateur radio works on a set of radio frequencies known as "amateur bands" just above the AM broadcast band all the way up to high microwave frequencies. Operators use their own equipment to communicate with other operators, using different equipment and frequencies than emergency responders.

So when some services won't work, they can relay messages.

Sometimes it takes creativity and a lot of leg work, such as setting up a new link on the top of a mountain when no other options are available.

The only major limitation, Sanders said, is the number of volunteers.

"This was just the poster child storm for what we do," Sander said.

Something different

Since I really didn't have any running or firefighting excitement to report I thought I'd share something a little different. Below is a photo of my Amateur Radio Station or Ham Radio as some call it. For those that know nothing about Ham Radio, it has been used for probably over 100 years for communications throughout the world. During disasters, Ham Radio is sometimes the only means of communications. During Hurricane Katrina Ham Radio operators passed emergency traffic 24/7 while normal land line and cell phone service was out of commission. Hams were also embedded with emergency workers to help provide communications. This was just one of many disasters where Ham Radio was used. From wild fires in California to Tornadoes in the south, Ham Radio operators are there to assist in communications. This is all done as volunteers, with some often traveling and staying weeks in a disaster area using their own funds.

My Ham Shack - 2meter/440 radio, HF all band/all mode radio, power supplies, power amp, antenna tuner, computer

There are many bands, frequencies and modes that are used. A lot depends on the atmospheric conditions and also the type of license the operator has. You have to take a test and pass to becoome an operator. It's not like CB radio and a lot of it is very technical knowledge that must be learned. Operating rules are very strict. For more info on what Ham Radio is all about you can follow this link: http://www.arrl.org/ .

As far as my station, I run a 24/7 Voice over Internet Station through a system called "Echolink". Echolink allows licensed hams to communicate all over the world through computer links. Basically how it works is that the computer and internet are connected to a radio. The internet acts as an antenna allowing an operator to talk into a link through a radio or by computer. It's pretty cool what you can do with it. I once talked to a guy that was driving through the bush in South Africa while I was using a hand held radio. We were both connected to computer nodes in our areas that connected each other together. I have been able to communicate all over the world with this while walking around my house.

During non-emergency times, operators prepare and practice a lot for disasters by running local Nets, contests and just experimenting with different equipment, antennas, modes, etc. We build a lot of our own antennas and equipment. Also during severe weather, ham radio operators man the National Weather Service stations and do storm spotting while driving around. Ham Radio operators along with fire and police departments are the first line of defense when it comes to major storms.

With the advent of cell phones, Ham Radio has seen a decline in the number of operators but cell phone service is not reliable in times of disaster. Two-way radio is the ONLY reliable means of communications during these times. Recent changes in license requirements has allowed more people to get into ham radio so it is coming back some. A lot of it is really old school technology but it also is on the leading edge of digital communications throughout the world.

There is really too much to write about this in one post but I just thought I'd pass on a little of the info on the subject as something different.