Once again, Amateur Radio has proven its value in an emergency. With
conventional telecommunication systems unreliable and power still out after
the Category 4 Hurricane Charley blasted across the Florida Peninsula August
13, Amateur Radio has proven to be a communication mainstay.

"The only reliable communication we have here is Amateur Radio," ARRL West
Central Florida Section Manager Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, told ARRL earlier this
week. He was one of the three dozen ARES volunteers at the Charlotte County
command post. "We're out in the field trying to handle so many different
things that it's almost overwhelming," he said five days into the
activation.

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