Posted on 12/31/2008 5:46:19 PM PST by george76
Cape Girardeau County emergency management director Dick Knaup and three volunteers took advantage of Tuesday's good weather...
"We took the pieces of the antenna damaged by the storm off the tower and installed one new antenna and one old one," said Phil Nash, who volunteers for emergency management duties ...
Amateur radio operators — nicknamed "hams" — are critical members of the communications process during an emergency. They are able to set up and operate off generators when telephones and other devices are not functioning.
Knaup said amateur radio operators have a reputation for finding ingenious ways of creating a radio connection.
"They say a ham can take a piece of wire, a can and a battery and they'll make a radio out of it," he said.
Chiles laughed and agreed.
"We're not quite MacGyver, but close."
"Especially after Hurricane Katrina, that's what brought the idea of emergency communications to the forefront," Chiles said. "The cell towers were out, the circuits were overloaded. For the first 72 hours, the hams provided the bulk of the communication."
Ham operators have the capability to send messages halfway around the globe, though shorter distances tend to take priority during disasters...
(Excerpt) Read more at semissourian.com ...
Didn’t the FCC under Clinton want to basically do away with HAM radio operators? Or was that under Bush?
Where did you get that idea? Absolutely not true.
K5KKX
Ice can be hell for these big ol antennas
I heard some of the fellows grousing about his.
When the last big hurricane came through there were actually guys on Galveston transmitting
Was several years ago, I think before I even found FR, and it went nowhere fast. Something to do with the licensing or the frequencies but can’t remember what since I’m not an operator. Article jogged my memory about it, particularly the part about hams usefulness in Katrina.
Far as I get with building a radio.....:o)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKmwT0EccE
I was grateful for the guys who ran MARS when I was active duty ! HAM’s are good folks !
I’d love to get into HAM, but we live at altitude with winds that frequently hit 70-75mph and gusts to over 100.
Can’t figure out an effective antennae that could survive these conditions.
I remember during the Clinton years they wanted to take some of the bands away from the ham operators. It was definitely in the papers.
Heartwarming! Some good old-fashioned American ingenuity and know-how on parade!
An antenna to operate into 2 meter or higher frequency repeaters would be feasible. Here is a web page that will allow you to locate amateur operators in your zip code area. Some of them may have a solution even for HF operations.
http://www.arrl.org/fcc/hamszip.html
Make a wire dipole antenna, and nail it (every 6" or so) under the roof's eave of your house --- I did that for a couple years when the landlord where I was renting would not let me put up an antenna. The wire was so small, and under the eave, that it could not be easily seen. Worked fine.
regards
> I’d love to get into HAM, but we live at altitude with winds that frequently hit 70-75mph and gusts to over 100 <
No trouble at all with a properly constructed wire antenna.
And for a tower mounted antenna, all you’d probably need would be a tower that can be cranked down when not in use.
I have a fairly good size attenna array that has survived some very nasty weather indeed.
You just have to put it up with the weather in mind. Stout moorings and properly strung guy lines. The wire di-pole is an excellent idea too. That might be the best place to start. Lots of info available on the 'net
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.