Red Cross Amateur Radio Operators “Ham It Up” on Field Day
Volunteers maintain vital service for providing communications during emergencies
Red Cross volunteers Jerry Kostro (left) and Bob Birch practice
communiating with amateur radio during the annual "Field Day" exercise.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2008
Contact: Peyton Roberts
858-309-1271 office
(SAN DIEGO) – Amateur radio operators with the San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter of the American Red Cross joined thousands of operators nationwide demonstrating their skills and emergency capabilities this weekend during the annual “Field Day” exercise.
More than 34,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in this year’s event, including several hundred operators in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Red Cross participants included Bonnie Armstrong, KI6MMI;Travis Beeson, K6TWB; Bob Birch, KG6RGI, Jim Egerton, W6SST; Timothy Everingham, NG6YQR; Delora Fletcher, KI6DBL; Jerry Kostro, AK6QJ; Georgia Smith, KI6LAV;Ted Thompson, KG6URD; and Grady Yearwood, KI4OHS. Based at the Palomar Amateur Radio Club Field Day site in San Marcos, the Red Cross team demonstrated the capability of the Red Cross to communicate in an emergency using only amateur radio technology and answered questions from the public.
Despite the availability of modern communications technology including cell phones, satellite phones, and the Internet, all rely on infrastructure that can be damaged and inoperable during a crisis. Antennas can burn down or be flooded. Power lines can become disabled. Amateur radio operators can send messages in many forms without any of these systems being available.
Amateur radio operators have provided critical communications for the Red Cross in emergencies including the 2007 California wildfires and recent flooding in the Midwest. During Hurricane Katrina, amateur radio (sometimes called "ham radio") was often the only way people could communicate, and hundreds of volunteer operators worked around the clock to provide a link between responders and those affected, saving lives and property. When trouble is brewing, amateur radio operators are often the first to provide critical information and communications.
“This isn’t just your grandpa’s quaint little hobby,” said Bob Birch, Red Cross volunteer and Response Communications Chairperson. "The communication networks amateur radio people can stand up and operate instantly have saved many lives in recent months when other systems failed or were overloaded. Amateur radio is a vital part of Red Cross preparedness and response in times of emergency and we stand ready to contribute our skills whenever they are needed.”
“We take every opportunity to sharpen our skills and the tools we would use in disaster operations in support of the Red Cross” added Birch, including a weekly amateur radio network meeting on the air, called a “net,” drills and exercises.
There are 650,000 amateur radio licensees in the United States, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Many provide volunteer emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all for free. Thanks to the efforts of disaster volunteer Steve Early, AD6VI, the Red Cross conducts free licensing classes. The aggressive training push has resulted in over 100 local disaster volunteers being licensed as amateur radio operators.
To learn more about amateur radio operations as part of the Red Cross’s local disaster response plan or how to get licensed as an operator through Red Cross sponsored training courses, contact Bob Birch at kg6rgi@amsat.org, or the San Diego/Imperial Counties chapter of the American Red Cross at 858-309-1200, or www.sdarc.org # # #
Article by Gayle Falkenthal