Free Republic

Collin County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Skywarn Spotters were on the job last night when storms went through the Northern cities of Anna and Westminster that produced two tornadoes. At 8:30pm last evening the National Weather Service in Fort Worth alerted our appointed severe weather Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC)Ted Best, KD5JEO, of the severe weather potential for Collin County and asked that we activate our spotters. David Patrick, W7DAV, did a outstanding job as our Net Control Station (NCS) for this particular spotter activation. As is usually the case, a separate frequency was used to provide support from our...

When another disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina comes along, the League will be able to deploy "ham gear ready to go," thanks to manufacturers' donations of Amateur Radio gear, ARRL members' generous monetary contributions and a federal grant. The ARRL Ham Aid-sponsored "Go Kits" now being assembled at League Headquarters are the third leg of a program that's already reimbursed certain out-of-pocket expenses for ham radio hurricane zone volunteers and helped restore Amateur Radio backbone infrastructure along the US Gulf Coast. "To me, this is a first step in ramping up ARRL's ability to support Amateur Radio volunteers...

Ham Radio Operators "True Heroes," Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR, Says in "Salute" NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 9, 2006--US Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR), this week offered "A Salute to Ham Radio Operators" (on the floor of the US House. Ross, one of two Amateur Radio licensees in the House of Representatives (the other is Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI, R-OR), addressed his colleagues February 8 to recognize the contributions of the Amateur Radio community in the wake of last year's devastating hurricane season. "Citizens throughout America dedicated to this hobby--a hobby that some people consider old fashioned or obsolete--were true heroes in...

Internet noise threatens emergency radio 10:31 14 January 2005 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition Barry Fox After the tsunami hit Sri Lanka on 26 December, Victor Goonetilleke, head of the island's amateur radio society, delivered a short-wave radio set and two 12-volt car batteries to the prime minister's emergency headquarters in Colombo. At the same time, three of his friends drove through the devastation to Hambantota, on the hard-hit south-east coast, where they set up another battery-powered short-wave radio. For two days, while the military struggled to restore electricity supplies and phone lines, the prime minister was able to...