They were kind of a big thing for awhile for some of you fellas, and I was curious if any of you down in the SE had the opportunity/need to use them during this hurricane disaster and how that worked out.

I caught a story on Newsmax earlier that had an interview with a ham operator in NC that was using his radio to get information in/out as all other comms are/were down, and then came across this story as well:



People tend to poo-poo ham radio as an archaic kind of geeky thing...until you need it, then it becomes pretty dang handy.

We/I still use ham and GMRS but have t had to use one in an emergency, yet.

I'm in Middle Tennessee, so I'm outside the affected area but I can tell you they (along with ham radios) have been getting a lot of use. My wife works with a few people that have been affected. 2 are in south GA, and they are still expected to be without power for at least another week. Normal communication is spotty, but they can at least drive out of the area to get supplies/ cell phone reception.

The third is about 5 miles outside Newport, TN- where they had immense flooding. Basically all communication is down there right now. Many people are still missing, and a huge part of the problem was that rescue workers didn't even know where to go because people were unable to call in for help or communicate where issues were. People with radios have still been able to reach out. After this experience, I'll be teaching my wife and her coworker how to use radios.

Repeater link- This is a stream of the W4HTP ham radio repeater outside Charlotte, NC. They have been reporting damage and relaying help requests for days now. They've truly been a community resource, relaying emergency traffic for anybody that needed it, licensed or unlicensed. I link to this one because they are streaming and anyone nationwide can listen in, but many other repeaters in other affected areas have been just as active through this event.

quote:

licensed or unlicensed

IIRC from my licensing exam long ago, during a natural disaster, all forms of commo are legally utilized with or without a license.

This disaster certainly qualifies. The amateur radio operators are worth their weight in gold in times like these.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:

quote:

licensed or unlicensed

IIRC from my licensing exam long ago, during a natural disaster, all forms of commo are legally utilized with or without a license.

This disaster certainly qualifies. The amateur radio operators are worth their weight in gold in times like these.

RMD

This is true! I was just pointing out that they've got some really good people there who are all focused on helping anyone and everyone who needs it and can get on the air.