Big Island ARRL News, 09 October 2017, 1620 UTC, Post #336.
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/05/19/ham-radio-old-technology-gets-new-respect.html
Accessed on 09 October 2017, 1620 UTC.
Please click links to get updates on Amateur Radio support for Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts and to gain a historical perspective on the continuing role radio amateurs play in emergency communications.
Comment:
Thanks to ARRL Pacific Section Manager Joe Speroni (AH0A) for finding these items on hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico and for providing a backdrop for the changing role of Amateur Radio in times of natural emergencies.
The first video link is from “Ham Radio Nation”. In this short video, Dr. Bob Heil (K9EID) discusses ongoing communications support rendered by radio amateurs in hurricane-devastated Puerto with ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher (NY2RF). This excellent video gives you a good idea of what the amateur radio community is doing to help first responders handle emergency traffic and provide important communications support to police, fire, and utility companies on the island.
The second video comes from a “Fox News” story aired on 19 May 2014 (“Ham Radio: Old Technology gets new respect”). The article by correspondent Jonathan Serrie focuses on what the state of Georgia did to improve emergency communications in the years since Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans and left much of the southern states without communications and other public services. The interview with Public Safety Captain Herb Schraufnagel of Emory University Hospital Midtown is an eye-opening look at what the “old technology” of ham radio did to maintain communications during this natural disaster. The old phrase “When all else fails, there’s ham radio” comes to mind.
With all this in mind, don’t forget to participate in the 2017 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on Saturday, 21 October 2017, from 0800 to 1300 HST. This is the perfect time to hone your communications skills and prepare for the time when normal communications will fail or be overloaded. For more information, contact cerisanders@gmail.com.
For the latest Amateur Radio news and information, please check the blog sidebars. These news feeds are updated daily.
Please send your Hawaii Island Amateur Radio news items to kh6jrm@arrl.net at least two weeks prior to your event so I can notify our local print and broadcast media in a timely manner.
Thanks for joining us today.
Aloha es 73 de
Russell Roberts (KH6JRM).
Public Information Coordinator
Hawaii County, ARRL Pacific Section