Radiofags,
Seen at Forbidden City and may be useful in emergency:
With an amateur radio callsign, you can download and use the EchoLink app for tablets and smart phones: http://www.echolink.org/. This app gives you access, over the Internet, to hundreds of repeaters across the world. You can use them to talk to HAM radio operators in other states or countries, even on other continents.
The HAMs you contact over EchoLink might not be using EchoLink themselves - I talked to people on mobile radios in rural areas of states like Minnesota or Colorado as they drive to and from work listening to their local repeater. Many of the people I’ve talked to over EchoLink are surprised to hear someone from so far away.*
EchoLink could be especially useful if you have a friend in another city who is a HAM. You could talk to them for free over the radio even if they happen to be in an area with poor or no cell phone coverage.
The hacker spirit is about making things work even when conditions conspire against you, and to make use of all available tools. While it’s possible to use 100 percent HAM radio equipment to make connections to other HAMs, we must recognize how powerful the Internet can be, and EchoLink combines the power of HAM radio with the power of the Internet.
Requires internet, of no use if internet is down.
HAMs can also send email by satellite even if the internet is down. Slow and clunky, but if there's no other comms it might keep you in touch with your peeps if you plan ahead.