by Scott Thayer

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: September 30, 2011

Amateur (Ham radio) is one those hobbies, that has many different branches, and each one of these branches, can be a "sub-hobbie" - some of those could be things like Digital Communication, Satellite's, Low power Operations. One of the most satisfying aspect of Ham Radio to me is Emergency Communications.

A lot of people do not realize how many times HAM's are called on to provide communications - wether it be to provide life saving supplies to a disaster area, or a 911 link when the phone lines are down - we are always their, ready to give of our time, knowledge, and equipment to help out our communities, state or country whenever requested without expecting (OR even allowed to) to get anything in return.

During disaster such as Earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes amateur radio operators are often called to provide weather updates, to assist in Red Cross evacuation shelters, and in a lot of the times to provide the only type of communication into or out of an area. We are able to provide this service, because most public service agencies rely sole on a repeater system, situated on mountaintops to provide all their radio communication needs - when those mountains loose power, or the equipment is damaged - they loose their ability to talk. One of the things that set's us apart from other communications systems; is our ability to show up someplace, whether is be at a county Emergency Operations Center, Evacuation site, or a tent out in the middle of the desert - we can set-up a radio system, and communication not only locally, but also worldwide if needed.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Services is made up of thousands of armature radio operators who have voluntarily signed up and are willing to provide emergency communication when needed - the only requirement for being a ARES operator is that must have a amateur radio licence - no membership in any organization is needed.

Most dedicated hams in the ARES service have the ability it a moments notice to leave their house, and set-up a station anywhere they are needed - and be fully self-supporting for a matter days - we will have our own power source (batteries, solar power, etc), food, water - anything we might need - out goal is to provide communication, not put a further strain on the already strained system during a disaster situation.

With all the advanced in technology that are happening on a daily basis, with the proliferation of cell phones, and wireless communication devises a lot of people have the idea "I have a cell phone, that is all I need" -what happens when those cell towers are not working? How would you get a message to your family in another state that you are OK? - the answer is amateur radio through the National Traffic System

The national Traffic System is a worldwide system of amateur radio station that relay messages from people from all over the world, these may be messages like "please call us the telephone: all the way to "town is flooding, send help".. These station are online every day, 365 days a year, just to pass messages, relayed from one station to the next, until it is delivered.

Some of the other things that we are also asked to help out with may be bicycle races, walk-thions, Olympic Trials, Homeland Security Training, Red Cross training, CERT teams - Many local, state, and federal agencies know that we can provide them with a very well organized, and effective communication system - and each time we help out with any type of event, it further prepares for when we are needed for a actual emergency.

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