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kw5kw wrote:When cell phones go out and the trunked systems go out for the fire/police they call on hams to provide communications for ambulance, fire and police personell.

Does this still go on today? I asked a ham once what the reason for having the "Radio operator" license plates were for and that's what she told me. Although the way she put it was it was more of a thing of a past and just a tradition now.

propellerhead wrote:

kw5kw wrote:When cell phones go out and the trunked systems go out for the fire/police they call on hams to provide communications for ambulance, fire and police personell.

Does this still go on today? I asked a ham once what the reason for having the "Radio operator" license plates were for and that's what she told me. Although the way she put it was it was more of a thing of a past and just a tradition now.

Here's just one page that I quickly found about "amateur radio" and "katrina": http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/02/17/2/

For instance when the terrorist hit London just last year:

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- London police, fire and ambulance crews were hindered in their response to four suicide bombings last year by poor communications, a city government report said.

Rescuers were slowed by an aging communications network that doesn't work under ground and mobile phone system breakdowns, according to the report by the Greater London Assembly today. Medical students acted as ``runners,'' conveying information between Great Ormond Street Hospital and the bombing scene at Russell Square underground station because telephones and radios weren't reliable.

``In the 21st century, in one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced cities in the world, it is unacceptable for the emergency services to need to rely upon runners to gain and exchange information,'' Richard Barnes, a Conservative Party London assembly member, and chairman of the 7/7 review committee, said at a news conference.

to read the rest of the story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... f1vGvEGNLU

In the US?

propellerhead wrote:In the US?

Here's just one page that I quickly found about "amateur radio" and "katrina": http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/02/17/2/

Nice! I've been toying with the idea of getting into ham. But between racing my car at the drag strip and now guns, I'm gonna run out of funds!!! My 'want' list keeps getting longer.

propellerhead wrote:Nice! I've been toying with the idea of getting into ham. But between racing my car at the drag strip and now guns, I'm gonna run out of funds!!! My 'want' list keeps getting longer.

how can I help you?
Come to the Rig on the Third Thursday of any month. A small group of us get together for the KiloCycle Club. We eat at about 6;30 pm and have a quick 'business" meeting at 7:00.
The Rig is located just south of I-20 on I-35W at Alta Mesa exit.

might also look at this... http://www.hamcom.org which is this weekend in Plano.

Russ

Think about this. When electric falis so do communications. When tornado's, hurricanes or terrorists take out power lines, cell towers and regular telephone and cable television poles then we loose the ability to use such things as cell phones, regular telephone and the internet. Cable TV is gone and unless you have a generator you're not going to get broadcast television or satellite television.

The only thing left for reliable communications is amateur radio which can be operated by most 12v. sources.

Russ

I picked up some new portable radios (mine got wet last year). The old ones were FRS and the new set is FRS/GMRS. The cost was about $15.00 and they are good for 5 miles.

According to the instructions, you have to have a license to use the GMRS channels and the GMRS channels have a longer range then the FRS (5 miles vs. 2 miles). I checked the FCC home page and the license is $80.00 for 5 years.

Does anyone really get an 80 dollar license for a 15 dollar radio? Seems a little ridiculous.

John wrote:I picked up some new portable radios (mine got wet last year). The old ones were FRS and the new set is FRS/GMRS. The cost was about $15.00 and they are good for 5 miles.

According to the instructions, you have to have a license to use the GMRS channels and the GMRS channels have a longer range then the FRS (5 miles vs. 2 miles). I checked the FCC home page and the license is $80.00 for 5 years.

Does anyone really get an 80 dollar license for a 15 dollar radio? Seems a little ridiculous.

Yes officially you are supposed to get a license to operate GMRS. If you use GMRS for boating or use it for business purposes then I would get the license. I'm not sure it's really that enforceable otherwise.

Paladin wrote:

John wrote:I picked up some new portable radios (mine got wet last year). The old ones were FRS and the new set is FRS/GMRS. The cost was about $15.00 and they are good for 5 miles.

According to the instructions, you have to have a license to use the GMRS channels and the GMRS channels have a longer range then the FRS (5 miles vs. 2 miles). I checked the FCC home page and the license is $80.00 for 5 years.

Does anyone really get an 80 dollar license for a 15 dollar radio? Seems a little ridiculous.

Yes officially you are supposed to get a license to operate GMRS. If you use GMRS for boating or use it for business purposes then I would get the license. I'm not sure it's really that enforceable otherwise.

Yes you must get the license... "Uncle Charlie" (the FCC) will issue fines for unlicensed usage... and they're not inexpensive.

Better yet... become a ham. A "no-code" technician license will allow you to use radio's that will talk for hundreds of miles... legally.

The best thing is that the license is FREE.
The bad thing is that you must take a test.
The good thing is that you study the questions and the answers before the test.

the good thing is you can talk much further,
the bad thing is that your family must take the test also to talk to them.

(that might not be an entirely bad thing, Huh?)

Russ

I don't need a nother hobby but I would love to have a way to comunicate with my brother in Katy when the next storm pop in.

What about satellite phones? Are those the next big thing?

propellerhead wrote:What about satellite phones? Are those the next big thing?

Never checked into them, I do know my buddy is in Canada and they rented one for a 2 week period while they are there and it cost like $150.00

kw5kw wrote:Yes you must get the license... "Uncle Charlie" (the FCC) will issue fines for unlicensed usage... and they're not inexpensive.

Better yet... become a ham. A "no-code" technician license will allow you to use radio's that will talk for hundreds of miles... legally.

The best thing is that the license is FREE.
The bad thing is that you must take a test.
The good thing is that you study the questions and the answers before the test.

the good thing is you can talk much further,
the bad thing is that your family must take the test also to talk to them.

(that might not be an entirely bad thing, Huh?)

Russ

yikes! another hobby Do I have to tell my wife I've always been interested in ham radio, but never took the plunge, the free license is enticing, but i'm sure the equipment costs can get way up there really fast.

and preparation isn't just for folks in Hurricane territory
when y'all get hit with the canes down there us folks here in the panhandle just get to watch the news stories, and sometimes may get a shower left from the storm
however, its my opinion that no matter what part of the state you live in you need to prepare for what can hit the fan in your area.
us....its tornados, harsh winter weather...and this year blazing grass fires.
I just recently started prep kits/emergency kits for me, the wife, kid and dogs. Food, water, blankets, radios, big first aid kit--wife is a nurse :) , the list goes on and on, weapons, ammo, cleaning supplies, batteries.....
you never can tell when its gonna hit the fan, what season it will be, or what you're gonna be confronted with

John wrote:

kw5kw wrote:Yes you must get the license... "Uncle Charlie" (the FCC) will issue fines for unlicensed usage... and they're not inexpensive.

Better yet... become a ham. A "no-code" technician license will allow you to use radio's that will talk for hundreds of miles... legally.

The best thing is that the license is FREE.
The bad thing is that you must take a test.
The good thing is that you study the questions and the answers before the test.

the good thing is you can talk much further,
the bad thing is that your family must take the test also to talk to them.

(that might not be an entirely bad thing, Huh?)

Russ

yikes! another hobby Do I have to tell my wife I've always been interested in ham radio, but never took the plunge, the free license is enticing, but i'm sure the equipment costs can get way up there really fast.

bran-new 2meter (144.000 ~ 148.000 MHz) full power 50 watts can be had for as little as $160.00, add another 40.00 or so for an antenna. Heck you can spend more than that on a set of 'night sights'.

Russ