eHam.net News for Saturday 17 September 2016
 

eHam.net News

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Ham Radio Group Demonstrates in Centralia for National Preparedness Month:

Posted: 16 Sep 2016 11:17 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37561


To mark National Preparedness Month, Centralia's ARES (Amateur Radio
Emergency Services) group demonstrated their equipment and capabilities
Tuesday for the Centralia City Council. "We are a disaster response team of
volunteers," said Bob Willey, of ARES. "We come out without pay when the
need is there." Willey, formerly of the Centralia Police Department, said
the volunteers in ARES are all ham radio operators able to aid in
communications during emergencies, when cell towers and phone lines aren't
working.


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Morse Code Man:

Posted: 16 Sep 2016 11:15 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37560


Computers and cell phones have become the norm of communication. What
would happen if we faced a catastrophic emergency or lost our electrical
grid, making our phones and computers useless? Who would come to our
rescue? Well, as it turns out, there are thousands of Americans who still
know how to communicate like we did in the 1800's. From his home in McLean,
Jim Talens doesn't look like a superhero. But, in the event of a major
catastrophe, it's people like Jim who will come to our rescue. At one time,
the best way to get information across the United States was by horse.
But, a 180 years ago Morse Code changed everything. "It did because that
represented a giant leap in technology," says Talens. It's a series of dots
and dashes that make letters. Which make words. "It is just a translation
of letters," says Talens. Morse Code helped the allies win World War II. "I
started out as an amateur radio operator at the age of 13," explains
Talens. Jim Talens is one of the best Morse Code operators on the planet.
He won an international contest for being able to contact more than 5,000
other operators in 48 hours. He did it without sleep. "I was number one in
the world." When it comes to Morse Code he's written the book. Today this
old technology is primarily used for fun. But, in the event of a natural
disaster or terrorist attack, Morse Code could still play a vital role
connecting first responders with hospitals.


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Learn Morse Code Online -- 20 Lessons:

Posted: 16 Sep 2016 11:16 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37559


You want to learn Samuel F. B. Morse's (shown
here) most famous code. We want to help. The
South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS)
has developed, and is hosting a series of web
pages, to help you learn
Morse code in
about twenty 30 minute lessons, and then
continue to practice these skills for another
20 lessons.