RadioBanter - View Single Post - N0IMD Caught In Two-Faced Flames AGAIN

Dave Heil · October 21st 06, 02:41 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.policy

wrote:
From: Dave Heil on Wed, Oct 18 2006 3:06 pm

wrote:
From: on Mon, Oct 16 2006 4:48am
wrote:
From: on Sun, Oct 15 2006 4:17 pm

Both CNN and Fox News carried accounts of cellular phone
service being disrupted. I'll bet some of those radio hams end up
handling communication in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Have CNN or Fox News carried acounts of hams "up handling
communication" in the aftermath of the [Hawaii] earthquake?
How about ABC, CBS, or NBC? Any major newspapers?

The Hawaii 6.7-Richter earthquake is OVER, senior. No
loss of life. Property damage, some. Utility damage,
some. The Governor of Hawaii has been quoted (several
times) as saying "Hawaii is open for business!" :-)

Is amateur radio about business? Sorry, it can't be.
FCC defines USA amateur radio as being done WITHOUT
pecuniary interest. No money for services rendered.
That doesn't sound like any "business" in the normal sense.

From the ARRL today:
quote

==HAWAIIAN HAMS RESPOND AS EARTHQUAKES STRIKE "BIG ISLAND"

Amateur Radio volunteers scrambled to provide emergency communication and
assist with relief efforts after earthquakes October 15 on the "Big Island"
of Hawaii. The initial jolt of the so-called "Kona Earthquake" just after 7
AM local time rousted many residents from sleep; another followed soon
after. Widespread power outages as well as structural and highway damage
resulted throughout the Hawaiian Islands, although a feared tsunami never
developed and no deaths were reported.

"ARES and RACES operators responded to Hawaii State and Oahu Civil Defense
Emergency Operation Centers," reports Hawaii State RACES Coordinator and
ARRL State Civil Defense (SCD) Emergency Coordinator Ron Hashiro, AH6RH.
Right after Oahu stopped shaking, Hashiro put out a call on the Honolulu
146.88 MHz repeater seeking reports.

"Other stations confirmed the violent shaking," he said. Hashiro started
emergency operations on the Honolulu repeater, then proceeded to the
inter-island 147.06 MHz repeater system and repeated the sequence. Hashiro,
Robin Liu, AH6CP, and Mitch Pinkerton, KH6MP, arrived at the State Emergency
Operations Center (EOC) in short order, and RACES operations from KH6HPZ
commenced within a half hour of the first earthquake. After checking into HF
and VHF nets, ARRL Pacific Section Emergency Coordinator Kevin Bogan, AH6QO,
responded to the SCD EOC.

Bogan said the primary focus was on the Big Island, where most damage
occurred because the epicenter was so close. "Although buildings on Oahu
suffered only minor structural damage, the biggest problem was the power
outage due to generators for the island powering down as a safety
precaution," he said. "Within minutes of the first earthquake, telephone
calls on landline and many cell phone carriers were difficult due to
congestion."

Hashiro said operators at the EOC rotated among the HF and VHF operating
positions, running messages with the EOC operations desk and checking with
staff on their various needs and concerns. The Hawaii Emergency Net on 7088
kHz provided the main HF link in the earthquakes' aftermath. Communication
around the Big Island was handled on 7095 kHz. Where Internet remained
available, radio amateurs were able to take advantage of Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) modes such as EchoLink and IRLP.

At Oahu Civil Defense Agency, RACES Coordinator Ray Moody, AH6LT, responded,
while Adrian Ditucci, KH7GK, handled net control service duties from his
home a few miles away, operating on battery power.

Other Amateur Radio emergency communication volunteers did "the heavy
lifting in the field," Hashiro said. "The key to their success was that they
had varying degrees of portable and mobile capabilities with emergency power
-- using VHF and HF," he said. "They were able to drive right to the scene
and pass along assessments, status reports and messages through us, right
into State CD operations."

"For example, Steve, WH6N, passed formal traffic on the condition of a
hospital and the closure of a neighboring highway due to a landslide,"
Hashiro said. "AH6RR and KH7MS passed information on the condition and
evacuation of Kona Community Hospital, while WH6WI updated us on the
progress and availability of a 1000-person American Red Cross Shelter at the
old Kailua-Kona airport." As a precaution, officials evacuated several
hospitals in Hawaii until they could check the safety of the structures.

Dozens of tremors followed the initial quake, on the west side of the Island
of Hawaii, which measured at 6.7 on the Richter scale. It was the first
major earthquake in Hawaii in 20 years. A second quake measured 6.0, Bogan
said, and there were many aftershocks. Hashiro says State CD RACES/ARES
operations wrapped up at 5:20 PM, while Oahu RACES operations from KH6OCD
ended at 10:55 PM. He reports upward of a dozen stations on the Big Island
provided HF and VHF communication with SCD, while another seven radio
amateurs were active on the island of Maui.

The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) activated for a
short time Sunday afternoon on 14.265 MHz to assist with emergency
communication to handle health-and-welfare inquiries and traffic.

Hashiro says that unlike some other areas of the US, radio amateurs in
Hawaii stress and believe in joint operation -- a collaboration of ARES,
RACES, SKYWARN, HealthComm, the American Red Cross, Volunteers Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOAD), and SATERN.

"We become one operation, one team to our emergency management partners," he
said. "We help each other out and work and train together. That's the only
way to operate; there's simply not enough equipped, capable and available
operators to go around. Isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there's
not a lot of missteps and mistakes we can afford."
unquote

Dave K8MN