"In addition to six radios, Hilton has two computers: a laptop and a
desktop. "The radios are hooked into the computer." With his setup, the
Hiltons can talk to other hams as far away as Japan."

Wow, that's a really long way. How cents per minute would that cost? huh
Mister?

TOM wrote:


After nearly forty years as an amateur radio operator, these are some of the
issues that make me reconsider the utility of the amateur service as an
emergency communications provider . Although the amateur service has
played a significant role in handling emergency communications in the past,
the changing face of technology has relegated the amateur service to
a position of little consequence---possibility, with better leadership,
the amateur service can regain its former stature.

I sincerely think, that with the devastation of Charley, Frances and Jeanne
last year, and Katrina this year, the ARRL really needs to get off their ass
and come up with a serious emergency communications plan. I suspect that
the ARRL is a 'has been' organization and a new vision for amateur radio
(emergency communications) needs to take their place.


I think the following pretty well indicates that the hams do a very good
job of providing communications in times of emergency, with or without
the ARRL. Hardly regulated to a position of little consequence,
especially when ham radio is sometimes the only means of communications
that is working, as was in some cases with Katrina.

**********************************
As usual, ham radio operators help sustain wide-ranging relief efforts
By Andrea Kelly
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

When all else fails, it's ham radio to the rescue. Across Arizona, ham
radio operators are helping sustain Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by
helping storm-torn communities communicate with rescue workers and
family across the country.

This is not a first. Ham radio operators come out of the woodwork during
disasters around the world, even transmitting in Morse code if language
barriers pop up, said Mike Swiader, president of the amateur
Superstition Radio Club in Mesa.

Ham radio operators have contributed to emergency communication efforts
since World War II, Swiader said, and were crucial in post-9/11
emergency communications, as well as during the Asian tsunami last
holiday season.

Ham radios work when other communication systems are down because
they're powered by solar energy, batteries or generators rather than the
usual power sources.

The messages are passed from radio to radio until they get to the one
they are directed to, so radios don't need to be near each other to
receive signals, like regular AM/FM radio signals.

"We've been involved in passing traffic to and from the Louisiana and
Mississippi area," said Tom Fagan, a leader of the Arizona ham radio
operators organization. "Whatever needs to come in and go out, we're doing."

When Arizona's ham operators - there are about 16,000 of them - get
messages from the hurricane area, they send them along to agencies like
the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army in the Southeastern region
of the country.

"We're the link," Fagan said.

Because communications within a disaster area are often jumbled, Swiader
said, it's frequently easier for someone there to contact an operator in
someplace like Arizona, who can then relay the message back to a
recipient in the disaster area.

"Sometimes it's easier to be heard that way," he said.

More than 30 ham radio operators from Arizona have already headed toward
the disaster area, hoping to assist relief efforts and give emergency
workers a way to communicate with each other, as well as assisting
searches for missing persons.

"They're moving in when they're allowed by American Red Cross and
Salvation Army," said Ned Stearns, a Phoenix ham operator and vice
director of the American Radio Relay League, the national organization
for ham operators.

In fact, the ham operators plan to compile a list of people they can
determine as missing, deceased, alive or unknown, based on information
transmitted over the ham signals.

To find out about people in the area, visit www.satern.org and fill out
the health and welfare information request for the person you are trying
to find. This information will be sent through the Salvation Army
emergency radio network.



More From The Huntsville Times | Subscribe To The Huntsville Times
Ham radio operators are helping from afar
Sunday, September 11, 2005
By DONNA FORK
For the Times

But sometimes, even the airwaves can be shut down

They also serve who listen and wait.

Huntsville amateur radio operator Douglas Hilton and other "hams" in
North Alabama are helping victims of Hurricane Katrina by relaying
messages between families, officials and each other.


Lately, Hilton's been spending most of his spare time in his "ham shack"
listening to calls for assistance. The systems analyst for Intergraph
Corp. is one of thousands of amateur radio operators who help people
during emergencies.

Hilton is unusual in the ham radio world because he wears three hats: He
is an amateur operator; a member of the Alabama State Defense Force,
heading the Communications Platoon for North Alabama; and he's also a
military communicator authorized to use the Military Affiliate Radio System.

His connection to the military (although he is a civilian) gives him
access to additional radio frequencies most amateurs can't access. He
has been a ham radio operator for 42 years; his father had him build a
crystal radio when he was 7 years old, and he got his ham license as a
teenager. But he wasn't all that active until after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"That hit me right between the eyes," he recalled, and he began to get
back into "hamming."

Now Hilton averages about 100 hours a month on the airwaves and takes
countless courses and certifications. He noted that amateur radio
operators are "amateurs only in that we're not paid." In return for
service "the government gives us frequencies."

Hilton said the North Alabama ham community is large.

"The astronauts are all ham radio operators," he said, noting that
astronaut Owen Garriott "was the first ham in space."

Hilton''s "ham shack" is not really a shack at all. It is located in a
formal dining room - complete with crystal chandelier. It includes six
radios and two computers.

"You don't need six, but don't tell my wife, please," Hilton said as his
wife, Diane, laughed. She recently obtained her "technician class"
license, which is the entry-level license for ham radio operators. The
next is "general class." The highest, which Hilton has, is "amateur
extra." Anyone can be an amateur radio operator, Hilton said. There is
no age limit: Hilton knows a local ham who is 18 and another who is 89.

It doesn't cost much to be an operator either, he said. A beginner could
purchase enough equipment to get started for about $300. Courses are
free through one of the local ham radio clubs, of which there are
several, including the Huntsville Amateur Radio Club (the Web address is
www.harc.net).

In addition to six radios, Hilton has two computers: a laptop and a
desktop. "The radios are hooked into the computer." With his setup, the
Hiltons can talk to other hams as far away as Japan.

But for the past two weeks there hasn't been time to chat about matters
such as which antennas they like the best. There are emergency
frequencies to monitor. At the moment, a critical one is the Salvation
Army's emergency frequency, Hilton said.

Hilton never knows if it will be a busy night or a quiet one. Recent
solar flares have added to the uncertainty because they disrupt
communications. Friday, during the late afternoon and early evening, it
was unusually quiet.

"I'm a little surprised," he said Friday. "I can't believe how dead
these bands are."

Solar flare

It could be a solar flare, or could be something else. "That's the
problem, you never know," he said. The waiting, the listening, "it wears
you out." But it's worth it when you hear a voice and "you might be the
only person who can hear this guy."

On Thursday night, when Hilton was expecting problems, reception was
fine. He was able to contact two operators in Louisiana. He also heard
one Mississippi ham talking to another ham "so at least one is working
there."

ecause of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, there are thousands of
messages piling up, waiting to be delivered by ham radio operators: What
will happen when all their radios start working again?

People like Hilton will be extremely busy. There are thousands of ham
radio operators in Louisiana and Mississippi. When they all get back to
the airwaves, it will be quite a challenge to sort out all the messages.

But meanwhile, as they waited for the deluge of messages, on Thursday
night the Huntsvillians received a call for help from New Mexico.

Maura Campbell Kingston of Clovis, N.M., was trying to reach her aunt,
76-year-old Sister Joan Campbell, a nun, of Harvey, La. Kingston called
the Salvation Army, which contacted a ham radio operator, who called Hilton.

Hilton tried Thursday to reach a radio operator in Louisiana to check on
Campbell, but almost all of them were off the air. Finally on Friday
night Hilton got through to "KG5YK," who is Robert A. Turner of Elm
Grove, La.

When Turner's message came through, hams from all over the United States
could be heard, eager to talk with him.

Helping 'ham brother'

The outpouring of sympathy could not be contained: Radio operators from
Texas, Indiana and elsewhere all expressed their support for their "ham
brother" in Louisiana.

"I hope this never happens again," said Turner of the Katrina disaster.
"It's been a tough time. ... I'm looking for the right words." He
thanked the other hams for their all their help.

"You'd do the same for us," the ham from Texas said. Others echoed his
sentiments.

Turner gave Hilton information about when to call with his "health and
welfare message" about Kingston's aunt. Hilton vowed to keep trying to
deliver the message "for as long as it takes."

But that proved to be unnecessary.

Friday night, after calling her aunt repeatedly, Kingston finally
reached her by phone. She was still at her home in Harvey.

"She was OK," Kingston said in a telephone interview Saturday. "Harvey
stayed dry." But the area was without power and Campbell "was sitting in
the dark with her flashlight."

Later, Kingston called Hilton to thank him. She said he told her: "I'm
just doing it because I want to help."

Kingston was impressed.

"I believe that thing about Southern hospitality."


Thursday, September 15, 2005

Ham radio proves to be more than a hobby
By Jeannetta Edwards

Daily Times Leader

When Hurricane Katrina hit, telephone and cell phone communication hit
an impasse because of downed lines and towers. But, amateur radio
operators did not miss a beat or a transmission.

"Before and after the hurricane, this has proven to be the most reliable
form of communication," said Randall O'Brien, a retired highway
patrolman who has been involved with ham radio operation for 35 years.

"People thought when they got cell phones, they didn't need us anymore,"
said O'Brien, an advanced licensed operator, who often talks to
missionaries in South and Central America.

According to Denver Baker, Clay County has more than 30 amateur radio
operators, but only a small fraction are active.

"It's a wonderful hobby," said Baker, whose wife recently received her
technician license.

The multi-faceted operation includes digital and satellite communication
and is enjoyed by all age levels.

"This is a good hobby for seniors or for young people," said Baker.

By becoming a ham radio operator, which requires taking a test to obtain
a license, people can communicate with others anywhere in the world.

"The classes for the test are free," said Baker, "and we help you with
everything you need to know."

According to Baker, who has been enjoying this hobby for the last 10
years, the only investment required is the fee for the test and the
purchase of equipment. A handheld transmitter cost around $100.

The self-policing group ensures that everyone adheres to the rules and
regulations.

"We're called amateur radio operators, but there's nothing amateur about
it," said O'Brien, who first became interested in electronic at age 13.

The group, which also belongs to the American Radio Relay League, meets
monthly in West Point.

"We have a good bunch of hams in this area," said Baker. "We bring food
at our meetings and have a good time."

"It's nice, especially for seniors," said Baker.

For information on getting involved in ham radio operation, call O'Brien
at 494-2898 or Baker at 494-9096.


Thursday, September 8, 2005

Ham Radio Operators Offer Help

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans last week, several ears in
the East Mountains and Estancia Valley have been tuned to amateur
short-wave radios.
McIntosh resident Ed Brooks said local Ham radio operators are
willing to relay messages from the Gulf Coast if needed.
"We guys here in the Estancia Valley are just listening," he said.
"We haven't had any need for what we can offer."
Although they may not be needed yet, Brooks said local Ham radio
operators are still listening in to conversations taking place in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
During the interview with Brooks, his Ham radio was tuned to a
conversation involving a Coast Guard helicopter that was rescuing a
family from a rooftop in New Orleans with direction from another Ham
radio operator.
Brooks said similar situations have been broadcast hundreds of
times during the past week.
"It's been really spotty, but what we've been (hearing) is that it
was good fortune that somebody down there had Ham equipment," he said.
Daryl Clutter, an Edgewood Ham operator and member of the Salvation
Army's shortwave network, said he relayed a message from Ontario to U.S.
Coast Guard officials in Washington, D.C., that originated in Louisiana.
"It was just the word 'help' spelled out two times," he said.
Like Brooks, Clutter said he has stayed close to his Ham radio
since Aug. 29.
"There's been so much going on," he said. "Every day, something
happens."
Clutter, a former truck driver who often delivered frozen food to
the Gulf Coast, said radio traffic has slowed since the hurricane
devastated the region.
"You just wonder who all you know, that used to be your customers
down there, that are still alive or had the good sense to get out," he said.
As amateur radio operators, Clutter said, Ham enthusiasts practice
for disasters "every day."
"There's only so many cell phone frequencies," he explained. "If
the phone system goes down, there's no way ... (one company) could
handle all the 60,000 or 70,000 phone calls."
Mountainair resident and Ham operator Bob Scupp said the Salvation
Army network alone has handled more than 128,000 messages since Aug. 29.
Brooks said Ham operators have been relaying messages from
residents to volunteers or emergency personnel. Since a large number of
National Guard and military personnel have arrived in the area, Brooks
said the messages have changed from pleas for help to questions about
well-being.
Shelters for evacuees are beginning to utilize Ham radios to
communicate with other shelters to help families find missing relatives,
Brooks said.
Rescues are still going on.
"There's been instances where they're still finding people, trapped
in houses, trapped in buildings or running out of oxygen," said Clutter.
"It's just terrible what's going on down there."
Clutter and Brooks said they will not offer assistance unless
someone requests contact in the Albuquerque area.
"We don't want to tie up the frequencies," Brooks said.
Clutter and Brooks said they will continue to listen to their Ham
radios for messages or relay requests until communications are restored
in the Gulf Coast.
"We live and breathe this," Clutter said.


Published: September 03, 2005 07:18 pm

Amateur radio operators provide vital communications support
By Teresa Atkerson
MCALESTER NEWS-CAPITAL (MCALESTER, Okla.)
MCALESTER, Okla. -

With more than 10,000 requests for help in finding loved ones, the
amateur radio operators in Louisiana are extremely busy.

In fact, they are so busy, they have asked people to wait with their
requests unless there is an extreme emergency.

Ralph Suter, with the Pittsburg County Amateur Radio Club, said they had
about a half dozen requests for assistance in locating loved ones in the
area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. “The Red Cross funneled the
requests for health and welfare,” he explained. Now, the national
traffic system is backed up with the requests, he said, because there
were so many.

There are extreme problems with communications in New Orleans at the
present time. Suter explained VHF radio has to have line of sight while
amateur radio operators can use lower frequencies that can bounce off or
curve to get the message through. “A benefit of amateur radio is you can
throw a piece of wire in a tree or up a flagpole. With 12 volts of
power, you can operate on a local or even worldwide basis,” he explained.

As an example, Suter said recently an amateur radio operator in
Louisiana had some kind of problem that he couldn’t get help with after
the hurricane. He put out the message, it went through Washington state
to Texas and then into Louisiana where the right people were found to
help him.

Amateur radio operators can also communicate via Morse Code, upload
through television or computer or radio to satellite, Suter said. That
gives them even more advantages in communication.

Jim Russell, president of the PCARC, said amateur radio has been around
as long as there has been radio. Even in World War I, amateur radio
operators helped with messages in Morse Code, which is something
operators today still must learn as part of their licensing process.

“We look at it as a hobby,” Suter said. “It’s a resource of individuals
because they have an interest to develop the skills to operate radios in
various modes.

“It’s a resource for trained communicators.”

There are forms that must be used when transmitting messages. “When it
goes into the system at one point and comes out at the destination, it
is exactly the same information, even with the misspelled words,” Suter
said. “It’s our responsibility when handling traffic that it comes out
exactly as it comes in.”

Suter said many of the operators use their radios on a daily basis while
others check weekly. When it comes to disasters, there is the Amateur
Radio Emergency Service. “It’s not really an organization but it is
organized on a national basis for community programs.

John Wright, another PCARC member, checks with the Oklahoma Sooner Net
and with the Salvation Army’s network, SATERN.

After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and 9/11, Russell said amateur
radio was used extensively. It is also used during and after tornadoes
and other natural disasters. Now, the group can work with the Automatic
Position Reporting System to help more accurately report severe weather.

The group has an annual field day, which is a combination of a exercise
and a contest. “We go out and set up radios under adverse conditions to
simulate disaster response,” Suter said. “In the past, we’ve started
with solar power, using a battery in a car or even a portable generator.

“The last time I kept count, we were able to make contacts in 47 states,
the Philippines, some in South America and Puerto Rico in a 24-hour period.”

Suter pointed out that the word “amateur” is not what people interpret
it as. “People interpret it to be an unprofessional group. But while
it’s made up of a lot of people for a hobby, it’s not unorganized or
unprofessional when dealing with disaster. We have capabilities that
public agencies just don’t have,” he said.

Members also have to be licensed. The license testing can be done in
McAlester now so those wishing to be licensed don’t have to go to Dallas
or Oklahoma City as in the past.

Teresa Atkerson writes for the McAlester (Okla.) News-Capital.


Old Technology Still Needed
(Page 1 of 2)

Sept. 8, 2005

Overwhelming Charity

Joe Carcia, station manager of the American Radio Relay League in
Newington, Conn. helps with the disaster relief effort for Hurricane
Katrina's victims along the Gulf Coast. (AP)

If anything, Katrina has taught us the value of redundancy. The best way
to make sure that messages get through is to have standby systems that
can take over when others fail.

(CBS) There is a store in London dedicated to "appropriate technology."
It mostly carries products designed to be used in developing countries
where there is a weak communications infrastructure.

Sadly, that’s now the case for a large swath of the United States where
Hurricane Katrina and its flood waters have wiped out cell phone towers,
telephone switching stations, Internet routers and other ground-based
communications systems. Even wireless Internet depends on nearby
transmitters and receivers on the ground.

But amateur radio is working and, according to Allen Pitts of the
Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), "ham" radio operators from throughout
the country are answering the call to provide vital communications
links. Satellite phones, a much newer technology, are also coming to the
rescue.

Pitts acknowledges that cell phones and other technologies "work
wonderfully when everything is going right," but "they are very
vulnerable when everything is going wrong."

Just as with past hurricanes, earthquakes and on September 11th, the
ground-based infrastructure, in many cases failed because vital parts of
the system were damaged or overwhelmed during the emergency.

In other words, when you need them most, those cell phones are of no value.

Amateur radio, says Pitts, is not vulnerable to these problems "because
each of the radio operators is a complete transmit and reception center
unto themselves able to continue going and continue with nothing more
than an electrical source, such as a battery or a generator, a radio and
piece of wire for an antenna."

Listen to audio of Larry Magid's interview with ARRL's Allen Pitts.

While base-station radios are larger and require an electrical power
source, there are also portable ham radios slightly larger than a pack
of cigarettes with a range of about 20 miles, according to Pitts. Pitts
says that the next sized radio, about the size of a paperback book, can
communicate up to about 50 miles without a repeater while larger
systems, "about the size of a desktop computer" can communicate globally.

Amateur radio operators are in demand. When I checked the ARRL’s Web
site there was a call from the Salvation Army for "10, two-operator
Amateur Radio teams for deployment in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Operators
must hold at least a General class license. Teams should be fully self
sufficient in terms of food, water and lodging and plan to remain in the
disaster area for from one to two weeks."

Pitts said there was a "lady in Connecticut," who was listening on her
amateur radio and happened to hear that there was a woman "who was
trapped for four days without food and water." She was able to relay
that message, by ham radio, into an operations center that dispatched
the fire department. A day later she got a call from the trapped woman’s
mother, thanking her for her role in the rescue.

Ironically, this comes at a time when amateur radio is struggling for
respect and, to some extent, survival. What was once a popular hobby has
fallen into somewhat hard times for a variety of reasons, including the
fact that the Internet, cheap long distance calling, cell phones and
other technologies make the ability to use these two-way radios not
quite as compelling as it once was.

Also, there is a bit of a rift between some members of the amateur radio
community and some parts of the Internet industry over the use of power
lines to transmit Internet signals. This technology, which could put
power companies into competition with cable and phone companies for
broadband service, has been criticized by some ham operators because of
possible interference problems.

Despite the fact that their origins go back to the early 20th century,
hams are hardly low-tech. There are now bridges between ham operators
and other technologies including the Internet, cellular phone systems
and Internet phones. In fact, long before the Internet became popular,
ham operators were using their radio gear to transmit data along with
voice and morse code.

Also coming to the rescue are satellite phones. These phones - which are
much more expensive to buy and use than cell phones - rely on satellites
rather than ground equipment to communicate with the phone network.

Because satellites are in space, they’re not vulnerable to conditions
here on earth. Also, as long as you have a view of the sky, you’re able
to communicate. Iridium, which operates "66 low-earth orbiting (LEO),
cross-linked satellites and 11 in-orbit spares," says it provides
"complete coverage of the earth (including oceans, airways and Polar
Regions)."

I carried an Iridium phone with me when I traveled to Peru a few years
ago. It worked great when I was in the clear such as on a boat in the
middle of the Amazon River but, because it requires a line of site view
of the sky, it had problems in dense jungle and in cities with tall
buildings.

Iridium spokesperson Liz DeCastro estimates that there are currently
about 10,000 of Iridium's phones being used in the region with orders
for about 6,000 more. The company sells through resellers so it doesn’t
have exact numbers. DeCastro says that "traffic in the region increased
by 3,000 percent" since the storm hit and that the number of subscribers
increased by 500 percent.

Satellite phones are a lot cheaper to use then when I went to Peru, but
they still cost between $1 and $1.25 per minute to use, according to
DeCastro. That’s a lot more than domestic cell use, though often cheaper
than using U.S. phones when roaming overseas. The phones themselves cost
between $1,000 and $1,500 she says.

In addition to handling voice calls, satellite phones can also be used
for messaging or data, albeit at modem rather than broadband speed.

If anything, Katrina has taught us the value of redundancy. The best way
to make sure that messages get through is to have standby systems that
can take over when others fail.

That’s why some news organizations keep manual typewriters around. You
never know when that old technology may suddenly become the "appropriate
technology."


NYNewsday.com
Amateur radio operators head to Gulf Coast

September 6, 2005, 1:00 AM EDT

NEWINGTON, Conn. -- Oscar Fuller only became an amateur radio operator
about a year ago, but he knows how valuable his equipment can be in an
emergency.

So even though he has never responded to a crisis, the American Relay
Radio League member is planning to head to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf
Coast and see if he can help establish an emergency communication network.

"This is a tragic set of circumstances," said Fuller, who recently
retired from IBM. "If I can lend a hand, I want to."

Fuller and about 14 other members of the Newington-based amateur radio
operator network have signed up to join the relief efforts for Hurricane
Katrina. The amateur operators _ known as hams _ can often use their
equipment to communicate in difficult circumstances.

Because the radio equipment operates on many frequencies, is
self-contained and portable, it can often work when other communication
networks, such as telephones, aren't working. It can never be blocked,
which is why operators say it is good in disasters.

"When all else fails, ham radios work," said Betsy Doane of Shelton, who
oversees the 2,500 members of the league in Connecticut.

David Patton, an official with the radio group, said as many as 750
volunteers may be needed. The Connecticut volunteers are going to help
provide communication support for more than 200 American Red Cross
Shelters in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

"There are limited resources to an overwhelming disaster," said Allen
Pitts, public relations manager for the radio league. "So there is not a
ham on every corner. The hams are put where they are needed most of all,
in emergency traffic or for saving lives."

Dennis Motschenbacher of Colchester was among the first volunteers to
say he would go. He spent Sunday shopping for supplies and getting ready
for the 18-hour, 1,100 mile drive to Montgomery, Ala., where he will be
dispatched to a shelter.

"Everything I need, I'm bringing," he said. "There won't be any Radio
Shack to go to."

The 57-year-old has been a ham for more than 40 years. He has operated
his radio from places as far as East Timor and the Balkans.

The hardest part will be "seeing people in this troubled state _ smelly,
sick, depressed, angry. And no matter what any of us do, it won't be
enough for all of them."


NBC
Headline News - Top Stories
Ham Radio Operators Pitch In To Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort General
Interest
09/07/2005
With communications out all over New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the
professionals are turning to amateurs to be their ears to what's going
on in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Local operators say they've been in touch with people in and around New
Orleans since the beginning of the ordeal.

Ed McLaughlin, of Kennewick, says in the days that followed the
disaster, he was able to help a family in Medford, Ore., get an update
on how their relatives were. He's provided similar contact for a family
in Chicago.

The reason-- ham radio, which is able to get in places that have no
other means for communication when land-based infrastructure fails.

Ham radio has been such a success during these recent days that FEMA and
the Red Cross are now using it as their primary mode for communication
until other modes of communication are restored.


News-Leader.com Springfield Mo.
Ham radio helps close communication gap

Nixa man relayed message from president to New Orleans' mayor.

Joe Hargis works on his amateur radio in his home in Nixa. Hargis helped
rescue an elderly woman by notifying someone who could contact rescue
workers via radio.

By Sarah Overstreet
News-Leader

If you've been unsuccessfully trying to get information about someone
living in Hurricane Katrina's region of havoc, here's an avenue you may
not have considered: local ham radio operators.

While cell phones rely on towers and traditional telephones rely on
intact land lines, ham radios transmit from radio to radio, bouncing
waves off the ionosphere in the upper atmosphere far above the Earth's
tantrums. They can run off batteries, generators and sometimes even the sun.

Two Ozarks amateur ham radio groups - the Nixa Amateur Radio Club and
the Christian County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) - have been
relaying messages from people all over the world to those whose
communication has been cut off by Katrina.

David Beckler, a ham radio operator from Nixa, even relayed a message
Tuesday from the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
Texas to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

"He had a message from President Bush to the mayor of the city of New
Orleans," says Beckler, a New Orleans native who moved to Nixa six years
ago.

Since the message was an emergency communication, the dispatch needed to
go through the net control station on an emergency frequency, Beckler
said. He knew it was important, because the ham operator had said,
"break, break, break," which requires all other communications to yield
and give that one priority.

"The net control station or other stations on this frequency could not
hear this message," Beckler says. Beckler contacted the net control
station, and people there asked him to contact the sending ham operator
and relay the message back to that operator. "That's when he told me it
was from President Bush."

Joe Hargis, another Nixa ham club member, also helped with an urgent
message. "I was monitoring the SATERN network (Salvation Army Team
Emergency Radio Network)," said Hargis, a retired elementary schoolteacher.

"A person called in with a piece of emergency traffic and the
(receiving) person could not hear him. He said, 'Is there anyone on the
frequency who can copy this?' I broke in and told him I could hear it fine."

Hargis relayed the message back to SATERN, and the operator there could
hear Hargis well. "It was a 90-year-old woman and her elderly neighbors.
They were afraid to leave their home because of the unrest in the
neighborhood, things that were going on, and they needed assistance to
be evacuated. They were running low on medicine, and one was running out
of her oxygen supply."

Nixa ham club member Rod Kittleman says their members helped save the
lives of a couple in New Orleans.

"A weak, disabled elderly couple were trapped in their attic. Their
phone worked, but they couldn't get through to local authorities," the
KADI radio program manager explains.

Too weak to break through their roof so emergency personnel could find
them, the couple called their daughter in this area. She contacted the
Nixa club, which relayed the message to a local ham operator who is
licensed to operate on emergency frequencies.

"He got through to authorities in New Orleans over the radio, and they
were rescued. (The ham operator) relayed the message back to their daughter.

Dan/W4NTI wrote in message
ink.net...
Gee TOM....do you think you had problem on the "National Simplex
Frequency"
of 146.52 because you are NOT SUPPOSED TO USE IT for contesting?

Just a thought.

Dan/W4NTI

Thanks Dan... I was wrong it appears... I checked the FD rules and found
this item at the end of the list:

[snip]
9. Miscellaneous:

9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of 146.52 MHz
should not be used for making Field Day contacts.
[snip]

It does raise an interesting question... there was nobody to hear my FD
calls on 52? It appears that the National Simplex Calling Frequency wasn't
monitored that day through a large portion of state. There was nobody to
say, "Hey fellow, no FD on 52!" Perhaps my FD calls on 52 really did reveal
an inadequacy of amateur emergency communications---at least in this state.

The facts Mam just the facts

Shame, Blame, and Flame

--
CL -- I doubt, therefore I might be !






"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Caveat Lector" wrote

Read the ARRL Field Day Rules at URL:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2...s-fd-2005.html

SEZ "9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of
146.52 MHz should not be used for making Field Day contacts."

Holy Crap, CL!

Now see what you went and done! You'll spoiled his lovely rant with a
FACT! Shame, shame, shame!

73, de Hans, K0HB

"TOM" wrote in message
...

Dan/W4NTI wrote in message
ink.net...
Gee TOM....do you think you had problem on the "National Simplex
Frequency"
of 146.52 because you are NOT SUPPOSED TO USE IT for contesting?

Just a thought.

Dan/W4NTI

Thanks Dan... I was wrong it appears... I checked the FD rules and found
this item at the end of the list:

[snip]
9. Miscellaneous:

9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of 146.52 MHz
should not be used for making Field Day contacts.
[snip]

It does raise an interesting question... there was nobody to hear my FD
calls on 52? It appears that the National Simplex Calling Frequency
wasn't
monitored that day through a large portion of state. There was nobody to
say, "Hey fellow, no FD on 52!" Perhaps my FD calls on 52 really did
reveal
an inadequacy of amateur emergency communications---at least in this
state.



of course not, everyone was busy on real fd stuff. and there is no
requirement that anyone monitor that frequency any time anyway... i have it
in my scan sequence and it rarely gets a hit.

Brad posted:

"Wow, that's a really long way. How cents per minute would that cost?
huh
Mister?"

Brad, relize that if he is forwarding voice communications through his
computer to Japan, he is likely using the Internet which is cost free.

Then too, this neat ability would be worthless in an emergency
preparedness exercise where the assumption is made that all power and
telephone lines are down, and the service that Hams perform is largely
communicating across their own towns or to to closely adjacient
communities.

Under these circumstances, the more simplistic your rig is, the better.
The lower its power consumption, the longer your batteries will last
and if you are operating from generator power, the lower your
consumption of almost unobtainable fuel will be. This is precisely why
CD provided many hams with the low powered Gonset Communicators (Gooney
Boxes) in bright yellow painted cases.

CD had a pretty good handle on what is needed of hams during an
emergency situation, but stupidly CD was eliminated at the end of the
cold war and was replaced by FEMA. Sadly, FEMA has demonstrated its
failure to meet the needs of an emergency situation, and so hopefully
will be restructed into a modernized version of the original CD
organization. Then too, the entire Homeland Security organization has
proven itself to be nothing but a cruel joke!

A bit off topic I know, but realize that at the end of the cold war as
CD was dismantled, all of their Gooney Boxes, Geiger Counters and other
vital items were collected and sold off at government auctions. Years
later we now face the terrorism threat of nuclear devices and "dirty
bombs", with local communities having neither the instrumentation
available to either detect the radiation hazard or to communicate if
and when a disaster takes place as it eventually will. Dhuh!

Today's yuppies sit in front of their off-the-shelf commercially
produced rigs chatting with each other about meaningless subjects
while, for the most part, lacking the technical ability to either
construct their own rigs or even knowing how to repair them when the
have a problem. Essentially, many are simply displaced CB operators who
happened to cram through an exam as the result of memorizing some Q&A
book. It is a serious mistake to confuse such people with real hams who
have the ability to improvise a simple transmitter when needed. That's
why, when an actual emergency does occur, the retirement of us "old
farts" is interrupted to come to the assistance of the community. We
still have the needed vacuum tube receivers (plus spare parts) and
transmitters that will measure up to the needs of the occasion. Many of
us old hams who remember the cold war also have the radiation detection
gear needed to monitor a potential radiation hazard to our local
community (thanks to the auction of CD assets).

Curmudgeonly yours, Harry C.

p.s., I just watched a documentary about how Cuba prepares for a
hurrican emergency. Not suprisingly they still employ something
equivalent to our now dismantled CD organization, which obviously works
very well for them. Cuba calls to mind that old saying: "If it ain't
broke, don't fix it". Sadly, here in the US we forget that other good
saying: "Better is the enemy of good."

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...
Dan/W4NTI wrote:
Gee TOM....do you think you had problem on the "National Simplex
Frequency" of 146.52 because you are NOT SUPPOSED TO USE IT for
contesting?

But... but! That must be the ARRL's fault too, Dan! If Tom wants to call
Field day CQ on his cell phone, he should be able to......

Sorry, just getting a little carried away..


- Mike KB3EIA -

And he will probably get similar results. Perhaps he could then write
"another" BS note and bad mouth the ARRL. Makes sense to me......

Dan/W4NTI

wrote in message
oups.com...
Korbin posted:

"Well FM on 2, 6 or 10m is not used for Field Day, I don't know why but
its
not."

First, likely I missed in in the original post, but I don't recall him
mentioning the use of FM modulation. In every field day and emergency
preparedness I have ever participated in, a.m was the accepted
standard.

Second, the use of a 75-watt transmitter with a collinear raised
30-feet above the ground on field day? Evidently TOM doesn't grasp the
spirit of the event which combines with the fact that he isn't a very
experienced ham operator. Then too, the ham community has eroded
considerably since these exercises were devised. In fact, a competent
ham should have been nearly able to work multiple states with the rig
he has described.

Anybody left alive here that remembers the 2M Gooney Box, the rig that
was the standard for ham emergency communication for more years than I
personally care to remember? Its final was a 2E26; Its antenna was
typically a quarter-wave stub (a piece of stiff wire poked into the UHF
connector on the top of its box or an antenna consisting of a half-wave
piece of tv twin line. Its output was anywhere from 5-watts to 10-watts
run into that improvised antenna. When battery powered on field day,
the output of the rig was arguably between 3 and 5-watts.

Still on field day exercises conducted in preparation for an emergency,
even the low power rigs with a minimal antenna could garnish at least
50 contact on field day, but this was during the 1970s. Ham radio has
seriously declined since that time. This is why I ceased to renew my
K2JEZ General Class license around 1982.

Read into my above comments what ever you want.

Harry C.


Yes indeed....I cut my "phone" teeth with the Gonset II. I used a 10
element antenna, built up a balun for the antenna and fed it with 300 ohm
twin. Made another balun and stuck it into the coax connector. I learned
how to do that from my ARRL Handbook, circa 1961.

Put it outside my bedroom window and regularly worked stations in New York,
most of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, etc. This from North East Ohio.
Armstrong rotar of course.

Activity is a MAJOR factor. Hams now think 2m FM is all there is on VHF.
What a pity.

Dan/W4NTI

"TOM" wrote in message
...

Dan/W4NTI wrote in message
ink.net...
Gee TOM....do you think you had problem on the "National Simplex
Frequency"
of 146.52 because you are NOT SUPPOSED TO USE IT for contesting?

Just a thought.

Dan/W4NTI

Thanks Dan... I was wrong it appears... I checked the FD rules and found
this item at the end of the list:

[snip]
9. Miscellaneous:

9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of 146.52 MHz
should not be used for making Field Day contacts.
[snip]

It does raise an interesting question... there was nobody to hear my FD
calls on 52? It appears that the National Simplex Calling Frequency
wasn't
monitored that day through a large portion of state. There was nobody to
say, "Hey fellow, no FD on 52!" Perhaps my FD calls on 52 really did
reveal
an inadequacy of amateur emergency communications---at least in this
state.



Could be TOM. I get similar results here on 2 meters. We have THREE MAJOR
repeators (As in high up). With hardly any activity on them. Forget
simplex.

Dan/W4NTI

Field Day 2005 Rules
9. Miscellaneous:

9.3. Remember that the national simplex FM calling frequency of 146.52 MHz
should not be used for making Field Day contacts.

http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2...s-fd-2005.html



Ace - WH2T



"TOM" wrote in message
...
I thought I might share a couple of observations I've made regarding the
Amateur Service; the situation in other locations may differ.

Based upon my adventures last year in Florida when we got pounded by three
hurricanes I was interested in finding out the utility of my Ham two meter
transceiver by taking advantage of Field Day (simulated emergency test) in
June. I raised a collinear with an advertised gain of 7 dB to thirty feet
and powered my transceiver with a deep cycle battery. Operating on the
'National Simplex Calling Frequency' 146.52 MHz with 75 watts output power
I
attempted to find out how many stations I could contact and the extent of
my
operating range during the test. From my numerous calls I was able to
contact NO ONE! Not one person responded to my Field Day calls throughout
the day and I heard NO ONE calling Field Day! Not one Ham could I find
operating Field Day on the two meter National Simplex Calling Frequency!