http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_12707342
“Ham radio fans have a Field Day”
By Lanz Christian Bañes/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 06/28/2009 12:00:37 AM PDT
SNIPPET: “At 9 years old, Alexis Scott of Vallejo already has a sprawling network of contacts.
“There’s an 11 year old who’s in Arizona .... There’s this other one called Anthony, he’s in Washington. He’s, I think, 10,” Alexis said Saturday beneath a blistering sun on Mare Island.
But while her network might be vast, Alexis reaches them all through a jumble of dials, microphones and antennae — the amateur, or “ham,” radio.
Alexis was part of a group of about two dozen people who participated in Field Day, an amateur radio exercise in the United States and Canada made to test the countries’ general emergency communications preparedness.”
SNIPPET: “One station was operated by solar power, while the rest were run from the batteries of club member Dave Woodard’s electric car.
“We’re completely off the grid,” said Woodard, 67, who has worked with amateur radio for 53 years.”
http://www.daily-times.com/ci_12706786
“HAM radio operators practice emergency response skills”
By Elizabeth Piazza The Daily Times
Posted: 06/28/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON —
SNIPPET: “The use of HAM radio is instrumental for communicating during disasters. San Juan County Emergency Management, along with licensed HAM radio operators, participated Saturday in Field Day, a nationwide 24-hour preparedness exercise.
“HAMS are another vehicle for us to communicate when all else fails,” said San Juan County Emergency Manager Don Cooper.
Operators practiced setting up and testing emergency equipment and communicating with operators across the country, simulating what might happen during an emergency.
The operators set up and establish emergency communication using only auxiliary power.”
SNIPPET: “For emergency management nationwide, HAM radio operators are the shining stars in communications, Cooper said.
HAM radio was on the back burner and seen only as a hobby until disasters such as Sept. 11, 2001, and Katrina.
Prior to Katrina, FCC rules forbid operators to use HAM radios for commercial purposes. Following the disaster, HAM radios can be used in the course of emergency services, Cooper said.
“One of the big advantages of HAM radio operators is that there are so many of them and they’re all over the world,” Cooper said.”