{"id":33442,"date":"2012-07-21T21:51:03","date_gmt":"2012-07-21T19:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/?p=33442"},"modified":"2023-10-06T10:57:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T08:57:24","slug":"ham-operators-communicate-globally-when-others-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/ham-radio-news\/ham-operators-communicate-globally-when-others-cant\/","title":{"rendered":"Amateur radio is more than a hobby"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo \u00a9 RW3AH<\/p><\/div>\n

HAM operators communicate globally when others can\u2019t<\/strong><\/p>\n

By EMILIE NELSON<\/em><\/p>\n

In the event of a natural disaster in which most forms of electronic communication fail, one form can still be counted on to get messages to the right agencies to bring aid to those in need of assistance.<\/p>\n

Amateur radio, also known as HAM radio, is used for communication in a variety of situations, including disasters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called a hobby, but really it is more of a service, especially as people push to further the use of amateur radio,\u201d said Jason Smith, assistant coordinator of the Webster County Amateur Radio Emergency Service.<\/p>\n

Most area radio operators are trained storm spotters who communicate with and report to the National Weather Service and FEMA when severe weather strikes, Ron Vought Webster County ARES coordinator said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our guys go to spotter training every year,\u201d Vought said. \u2018You\u2019ve got to know what you\u2019re looking at to be able to report it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vought said the spotters and radio operators are often the first to get weather information to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be the first to the damaged area and can radio the damage reports back to the National Weather Service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spotters can report things to the National Weather Service that sometimes, their radars don\u2019t pick up, especially if it is occurring below 2,000 feet,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

The ARES also works closely with Webster County Emergency Management and a program called Storm Net to track storms and damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt designates specific areas, we\u2019re able to be disbursed to track storms,\u201d Smith said. \u201cUsually within a matter of a few minutes after the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

The technology ARES works with also allows them to work closely with FEMA to provide them with photographs and information they may not receive otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps give FEMA needed information because sometimes FEMA can\u2019t get there until the clean-up process has begun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ARES group serves as a back-up form of communication when all other forms are unable to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re only activated by Emergency Management when everything else has failed,\u201d said Vought.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith just a radio and a power source we can pass photos and and provide lists of information that can be valuable,\u201d said Smith. \u201cOur national slogan is \u2018when all else fails, amateur radio works.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Amateur radio has the capability of allowing operators to communicate worldwide, Vought said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main purpose is always back up communication,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can back up locally and worldwide. We can communicate down the street, to the next state over, and when the signals are right, around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said that affiliation with the International Radio Emergency Support Coalition ties Webster County to every country in the world.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve recently used their equipment to locate a radio operator from West Virginia who was traveling through Iowa to notify him of a family emergency when family members were unable to reach him.<\/p>\n

The group of radio operators also assist with traffic control at local events such as parades and the Webster County Health Department\u2019s drive-through flu shot clinic.<\/p>\n

Contact Emilie Nelson at (515) 573-2141 or enelson@messengernews.net<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAM operators communicate globally when others can\u2019t By EMILIE NELSON In the event of a natural disaster in which most forms of electronic communication fail, one form can still be counted on to get messages to the right agencies to bring aid to those in need of assistance. Amateur radio, also known as HAM radio,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[190,194,203,234],"class_list":["post-33442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ham-radio-news","tag-ham","tag-ham_radio","tag-hamradio","tag-info","category-5","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqdx.ru\/ham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}