eHam.net News

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St. Louis Ham Radio Operators Practice Response to Major Earthquake:

Posted: 01 Oct 2016 05:05 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37661


If a major disaster were to strike the St. Louis area, odds are the St.
Louis County Emergency Operations Center near Ballwin would be swarming
with personnel. On Saturday, a handful of ham radio operators reported to
the center to practice their role in an emergency: getting the word
out. "This is an exercise," Bob Gale said into his radio at the center as
beeps and static sounded in the background. "District 2 police are
requesting county officer help in redirecting traffic on Gravois as the
bridge over the River Des Peres has collapsed." For several hours
volunteers with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service program used different
radio frequencies to communicate with places throughout St. Louis and St.
Louis County from the county emergency center. This year's practice
scenario is a 7.7 magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid fault. "The
initial response was to close roads just over and under every bridge, every
overpass, every creek, every river. And there are a few of those in the St.
Louis, so for the most part people would be stuck pretty much where they
are and they would have to get by and find ways around," said Janelle
Haible a spokeswoman for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.


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Cops Catch Suspect Who Made Death Threats on Police Radio:

Posted: 01 Oct 2016 05:07 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37660


For most of September, police have been on the lookout for two men who were
impersonating police officers to pull over drivers and rob them. And in
August, in a seemingly unrelated case, the NYPD began searching for someone
who was yodeling and making prank calls and death threats over their radio
frequency. Today investigators announced that one arrest this weekend
netted all of the suspects in both cases. The September robbery spree
included three more robberies that stretched into this weekend, in which
the men came away with cash, a bike and a victim's Samsung Galaxy. After
police responded to a robbery in Queens on Sunday, September 25th, officers
found the white van that the suspects were allegedly using in all of their
robberies, parked on 14th Street and 37th Avenue in Queens. According to
police, Officers Christina McDonald and Dwight Wander then saw a man who
matched the description of one of the suspects walking into the 21st
Street-Queensbridge F stop. After stopping the man, identified as
29-year-old Ricardo Torres of Harlem, Officers McDonald and Wander found
him in possession of two radios that could transmit on police frequencies
and a flashlight with the word "Police" inscribed on it. Police say that
Torres is "a ham radio enthusiast" who had provided Peralta and Remache
with two-way radios. Police also pegged Peralta as the man who, beginning
in April of this year, made a string of unauthorized broadcasts on NYPD
radio frequencies in which he falsely reported an officer being shot in the
Bronx, threatened the life of a captain in the Midtown South Precinct, and
yodeled.


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Foundations of Amateur Radio -- #69:

Posted: 01 Oct 2016 03:20 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37659


The Internet Radio Linking Project, better
known as IRLP came online in 1997. Since then
it has spawned many inventions across Amateur
Radio and beyond. We use digital radio, link
to conferences, talk across the globe on a
hand-held thanks to the invention of a 22
year old radio amateur. Say Hi to Dave
VE7LTD.