Jason, I have a question for you. Do you support the Idea of directing people to memorizing the questions and answers sites and having people get a ham license with out knowing even what it is about? I know a lot of youtubers do and especially the most well known ones. I got my ham license when Code was required AND when you had to know not the answers but what the technology really ment. I have held every class of ham license except Novice, and I have been an Extra for many years when the code required was 30 WPM. do ya really think that it is fair to hand people a post card license?
Yes I think that's fine and I have no problem with it at all. In fact, that's how I got my first license in 1994. I just memorized the answers and didn't really understand anything. Learning came later. Everything I know today I've learned by doing, not by reading some questions and answers in a book. Of course, everyone learns differently so if that's how people want to learn, then great. But I don't think there should be a requirement that tells you HOW you should learn the material
This was sickening to read. Thank you. I got my license in 1968. I watched it all fall apart. Not having anyone to talk to no matter what you do is beyond depressing.
The county that I live in is rewriting the county emergency communications plan, they are adding Hams into the county plan. They have handed out county P25 trunking to three key members of the county that are hams to bridge the two radio systems together.
I have worked in the EM field for 20+ years. Ham Radio has always been part of our communications plan in every agency I have worked for. In 2005 I worked a once in 500 year flood event in southern Utah. Not only was cell service inoperable but the radio towers that hosted police and fire radio repeaters were down. We had a small down that was completely cut off from all services (roads, electric, phones, etc). Without having multiple alternate methods of communication (including ham radio) we would not have been able to establish essential communications between first responders and the affected community.
@@Bob-bb3ur I got my Technician license in 2000 specifically because of my work in EM. Ham was pretty much the only option then. However, today there are other radio services available. For local / neighborhood you could use FRS or pay the FCC license fee for your family and get GMRS. That would give you some better capabilities. LORA mesh is an emerging technology that doesn't require a license but not recommended for new comers (too bleeding edge for me still). Getting a Technician license is a good option as you have rights to use VHF/UHF radios and you can find a ham radio group almost anywhere. If you are looking for longer range communications then I recommend working on your "General" class license and save up for an HF radio. They are much more affordable and bring a host of capabilities you don't get in the other radio services.
I live in coastal CT. A couple of years back our amateur club ARES volunteers were deployed to the 8 Red Cross Shelters throughout the region. High winds and localized flooding was expected. Downed trees and power lines expected. The storm went thru and the power stayed on at the shelters and mobile phones remained operational. The Red Cross HQ decided to release the volunteer communicators. Unfortunately, some areas had lost power and the cell towers had been operating on battery backup and now they were failing. Volunteers were contacted by radio to return to certain shelters where they were still needed. HAMS are gonna keep doing what we enjoy and if we can help out we will.
I'm into ham radio because I like technology and learning. The best prepping “tool” you can have is good relationships and staying physically and mentally healthy. If your health is a mess, your radio isn’t likely to save you but it can help. Seeing morbidly obese people on doomsday preppers stockpiling ammo and food was depressing. Humans are bad at accessing risk. These folks were terrified of EMP and governmental collapse, but the heart attack or diabetes that was impending was not a concern to them.
Great topic Jason. I live in the Asheville, NC area and am currently studying for my Technician license. Just about 8 weeks ago Hurricane Helene left a devastating path of destruction on this area as so people are aware. All forms of communication were gone. No internet, no cell coverage, no electric power. In our community we were without power for 8 days which is much better than most. It was a very sinking feeling to say the least. About 100 miles east of Asheville was a HAM operator who made a call the day after the storm to see if anybody needed help. Little did he know that his call would land him in the position of EmComm Coordinator for the next several days. You probably know the "rest of the story"?
The commenter misses that ham radio is about more than having the equipment. It's about knowing how to use the equipment... And emcomms use is for /when/ normal coms fail.
I can get on a mountaintop repeater with my HT and simultaneously reach a thousand hams around the Colorado Front Range in an instant, and get useful information from many of them in a few minutes. Try that on a cellphone. All of the modern emergency communications networks work until they don't. Ham radio communications preparedness is for those times. The most important difference between public service agencies and hams is that there are a lot of hams who know what they're doing with RF, and government people just know how to push a mic button. As an example, I provided emergency communications in a deep canyon in Colorado for a state-wide bicycle event with thousands of riders. I was about 7 miles up a canyon at a rest stop for the tour, surrounded by 150 foot rock cliffs towering overhead. The ONLY communications of any kind from that location was me. No cellphones, no police radios, no ambulance radios, no CB's no nothing worked for communications out of that canyon. It was an RF dead-zone. But I'd arrived the day before with my tiny RV with PV panels, and an old Motorola commercial VHF rig with a hot front-end I'd worked on and tuned up to 170 W on 2 meters, along with a very large 13 element beam that I assembled on site and experimented with by pointing it at various places up on the cliff face for an hour or so, looking for a hotspot until I was bouncing a signal into the Leadville ham repeater with full quieting. The next day I spent on the air nearly nonstop calling in to the tour coordinators, (who had a ham with them at their control center,) for sag wagons for weary or injured riders, or riders with broken bikes that couldn't be fixed on site, or to get more water or snacks for the riders, or to relay messages about broken down bikes 2 miles back down the canyon. And every motorcycle cop along the route with their 10" tall antennas mounted 3 feet off the ground and their little 35W radios would stop as they went by to ask me to relay messages to their captain who was driving along the bike route, (with a ham in their patrol car to facilitate the messages,) and to complain about the 'piece of junk' radios on their Harley's that didn't work in the canyon, and they had no idea why. At times that day there was a line of people waiting for me to send their messages. Now tell me, just what other service is available to to meet that need in that situation. Would the state police have pulled up their half million dollar mobile communications center a mile away from the bike tour rest stop in a location where they could hit a satellite with their rooftop dish? A lot of good that would do. BTW, I'm also Skywarn trained, and we run repeater nets during storms to keep the NWS informed with more useful immediate information, useful info like hail diameter and quantity, that they can't gather from their sensors. Emergency communications is about being adaptable to the needs of the moment in the immediate location. Commercial communications networks are simply NOT very adaptable. Hams are. In an emergency the commercial networks have a dozen or so knowledgeable employees who understand their network well enough to adapt it an maintain functionality, and they will be overwhelmed with doing so. In the same area there are hundreds of hams who can do a similar job. Finally. if anyone bothers to read the FCC Amateur rules and regulations it is stated that the purpose of allowing an Amateur Radio Service is to provide a pool of knowledgeable radio operators during times of emergency. That is why there is a ham radio service. If we ignore that purpose, simply because it's voluntary, then at some point the government will see no reason for the service to exist and tell up we are all going to have to switch to 4 watt CB's if we want to stay on the air. Just something to think about.
I am a ham radio operator in Arizona that belongs to a group that has been generated by our county that wanted ham radio operators to be available in case of an emergency. We are required to complete the FEMA training courses to activate. We do monthly meetings and exercises. We are not preppers, per say, but concerned citizens that want to be able to help if needed. Not unlike the search and rescue personnel that activate when needed. Being a rural county I believe the ham radio community can help during a disaster such as a wild fire or flood. I enjoy your videos. Steve, k7ofg.
Mr. Reddit has no clue about the many circumstances you describe. Our local ARC sponsors monthly ham radio testing sessions, largely in the hopes of finding those interested in filling the ranks of volunteers it will use in an emergency if necessary (it's a large time commitment). To that end, the county purchased a trailer, wired it up for hams to be able to communicate using a generator, and facilitated the many runs of coax for the myriad of antennas used by the group to communicate locally. The plan includes several repeater stations strategically positioned throughout the county to ensure coverage. This group also assists with many county activities requiring communications that aren't emergency related, such as charity runs, bicycling events, festivals, and parades, etc. The system can be turned on remotely during storm watch activities, as well (we are in the heart of Tornado alley). So it's not like the county NEEDS these hams, they just provide a service, for free, and they train to ensure they can deploy their services effectively when needed. The hams doing this work volunteer freely to improve their own skills and as community service.
I am an emergency management coordinator in the north Texas area, and for my city we DO work with hams! We include them in our communication plans and work closely with them during storms and such. I would be relying on them in the event our public safety radio system went down or for other uses outside of that for other situations. I myself have my general and have been learning a ton from our local club about amateur radio.
Hurricane Laura hit Southwest Louisiana... TV towers went down, Cell towers went down, Entergy's main electric transmission towers went down, National Weather service towers went down, the State's fancy radio comm system towers went down... These towers were ON THE GROUND in mangled piles of steel. The entire Electrical Grid was down, wires littering the roadways. Cable internet and TV were down on the ground. We had no electricity from the utility provider for 8 weeks! We had no cable internet for 8 MONTHS! Ham radio was used for Everything for 3-4 Days to keep this part of the state running. It took time for cell providers to bring in PORTABLE towers and the system was overwhelmed. I hope this paints a good picture, this was reality in 2020!
Jason’s final point sums it up: who are you depending on for communication when a worst case scenario unfolds? Texas Snowmageddon convinced me of the need to prepare. But if the unthinkable occurs, I want a tested communication plan that works without public utilities. Also a plan that works if my family is displaced, moving, and fighting for survival.
As a telecom central office tech, I work with cell providers alot. Every tower here has a fiber optic cable to it . When that cable is cut , your tower is down . When we had a 100 year flood , it took the cable , poles, and small substations. We were months getting services back.
A cat5 in St Maarten wiped out all standard and conventional comms. Ham radio was the only way to get out and request proper help. My dad was PJ2MI. He had his hands full. I am convinced that ham radio has a position in emergency situations
He is 100% correct about the HAM/ARES angle. Most local governments don't need any help and a bunch of cranky old busybodies with radios around a disaster command center are not needed or appreciated. As for the remainder of his assertions, he seems to just be engaging in deliberate contrarianism. If he wants to rely on cell service, go for it. But I find my radios pretty damn useful for decentralized local comms amongst my family and friends, disaster or no disaster.
I live in Atlantic County, NJ which is home Atlantic City. In 2012 we had the Derecho come through and bend the counties communications tower over like it was made of straws. Ham's came to their aid and helped get them talking to the essential services until the contingencies could be implemented. 60 days later Super Storm Sandy tore through here and made a hellacious mess of the entire north east, but landfall was Atlantic City, NJ and it kicked our ass. Local Hams staffed emergency shelters and manned radios at the EOC and kept the OEM apprised of shelter needs as well as local hams reporting conditions near their QTH in real time as storm spotters. Information that proved essential to rescue and recovery efforts. After that summer our County OEM realized the integral role Ham Radio played in their efforts and have embraced the Ham Community and support us.
WOW I also live in Atlantic county and I also remember that I was standing on my porch listening to music then all of a sudden high winds started rolling in then I quickly ran inside.the next day I was out and about helping getting trees off of people yards in Mays landing
@@paulbartlett3128 I lived in Mays Landing back then as well. I lived in Harding Lakes. I was supposed Host/Emcee the Mays Landing Hometown Festival that morning.
I was at Union Station in KC when the shooting happened and the cell network was overwhelmed. We couldn’t get calls, texts or data out. We were also in a parking garage which didn’t help signal. There was a HAM next to us and he was able to reach the local digital net and get info from someone watching the live news broadcast. The info didn’t change our circumstance but it did give us an idea of what was happening and what to prepare for while we were gridlocked in the garage.
I always find when an area has a fireworks display, car show, concert, large gathering etc. the cell service is nearly impossible to obtain as it’s easily overwhelmed.
I live in a rural town, and the EOC practices and works constantly with LE and Fire. Its a large group of hams and they are the same ones that do our testing and ham stuff in our area. In his area hams may not be needed but here they are the emergency plan here.
Many people (emergency personnel included) believe that when AT&T shows up with portable towers all will be well in commo land after a disaster. I don't buy in to putting all my eggs in one basket, and I am a former emergency dispatcher. Backups can not share infrastructure. When they do, both systems are vulnerable to the same weaknesses. The rules of PACE are clear on that. This where ham radio fits in nicely for a person not wanting to rely on others for all their comms. It is unfortunate that there are hams out here that want to discourage anyone who finds their way to ham radio through emcomms. I am glad my Elmers have embraced my interest in radio (regardless of where it started) and have introduced me to other areas of the hobby. Thanks for all you do! Your channel and Josh's channel gave me the final push I needed to get my license. 73 KO4WBX
EPRIB is pronounced E-perb and should be standard equipment for an offshore sailboat. If you turn it on or if it becomes submerged, it sends out a satellite signal indicating it's lat long, and other information such as the name of the boat, contact info etc. But you can't talk on it or receive anything on it.
In case of a nuclear power plant emergency similar to fukushima that happens in the US, the NRC acknowledged that ham radio operators could help. This is in their contingency plan but it is about last on the list just above semiphore and smoke signals.
Our radios may or may not prove useful in an emergency, won't know till it happens because there are so many possibilities. But one thing for sure is that having no radios means I have a possible backup and those who don't have a radio have no backup. No backup is guaranteed to not work. :)
During Hurricane Florence, we lost access to our state's VIPER tower which is 700/800mhz P25 and an old ham from the FD rigged up a 400mhz ham radio and we made contact with dispatch on the backup 400 system. Cell service was on and off I believe due to saturation after some towers lost backup power.
I think the guy is wrong. It is quite selfish to only think about what YOU would do and not what you and your neighbor would do. Having the ability and capability to exchange health and welfare communications with others a great distance away is quite powerful. ARES and RACES volunteer groups practice and train consistently to maintain a level of proficiency to be able to do that. Granted, certain ares of the country are better than others, but we do exist and we are ready. For those that have a sense of wanting to help others and are willing to invest the time and money to be that one that is ready, is something that service to others means more than just a slogan. Its for the same reason that our brave men and women volunteer for armed services. I am too old for that, but I can get in my car and post at a hospital or EOC; setup and use my ham radio to communicate health and welfare messages when tasked to do so.
Satellites can be disrupted by heavy clouds, Trees and mountains. I was a truck drive and had Sat Comms system so when I was running down the road in mountains and or heavily tree lined roads I could not use the system. Several people have commented on NGOs that provide aid after disasters so I will not get into that. Many Many years ago I was an EMT volunteer for the Boston Marathon. I worked the Sweep buses . We had 1 Ham Operator for Communication on the bus.This was a couple of years before I became a Ham and before the bombing . The town I live in now Ham radio Clubs provide Communications for the Easter and veterans Parades . Bottom line Ham radio has a place in public Community and emergency services more so in the rural areas of the west . There are still large areas in the west that don't have any cell service. Ham radio still has a place in rural parts of the Western Mountain States more so then a heavily populated State/City of the east or west coast.
Trees, tall buildings, mountains, clouds, fog and rain do inhibit satellite signals. But don't these conditions also inhibit VHF and UHF signals. In my urban environment UHF works better than VHF for simplex. Yes, repeaters help, but they have vulnerabilities too, to high winds, earthquakes, wildfires, and extended power outages, all hazards in my region. Every communication system has weaknesses, that's why you need backups, ham/GMRS/FRS/CB are viable backups but not invulnerable. Satellite to smartphone communication is already here in iPhone 14 & 15 and may soon come in Android smartphones. Since 90% of US owns smartphones and 55% of those are iPhones, we already have another backup.
My friend went to a parade for the big winning team of the year. Cell phones were overloaded and of no use. His family had his hand helds and were able to move as a team and keep abreast of changing situations.
Yeah any time you get a large group event in 1 area, they bring in extra portable cell towers and repeaters for the traffic, but often that still isn't enough.
1) Remote regions - I lived in Green Bank WV, there is not cell service. I know of at least on instance where ham radio was used to alert EMS about a nasty crash. I was told radio had been use a few times to possibly save a life where cell service did not exists (see National Radio Quiet Zone). 2) Floods - a year or 2 ago there was a flood in the Pikeville, KY area. They where looking for ARES volunteers to work the area. 3) My state/city needs me - According to the EMA director in my county, the state of Ohio has stated the backup for the MARCS system is ham radio. Your reasons are the same as mine when it comes to radio. Helping authorities only comes after me and mine are secure and if I can spare the time. Eclipse - Been there and done that in Middle Tennessee a few years ago. No problems what so ever.
So Im an accomplished long distance hiker. I hiked the entire Appalachian trail and Pacific Crest trail. Im a wilderness EMT and SAR crew member. Im a newer ham. I have an old Kenwood with a phone patch. More importantly I have a personal location beacon (PLB) like a Garmin inreach is MUCH more useful than ham or mesh networks. Ive seen them save lives. Personally. I think my local 2m/440 repeater network is gonna go tits up during a large scale disaster, but HF is gonna be very useful. Im going to do skywarn online training as soon as I get time....
Our local emergency management for our county reached out to our club recently and requested we cooperate with them during the upcoming total solar eclipse. We did a class where 20-something first responders got their ham licenses. So, while a lot of areas don't recognize amateur radio, it isn't that nowhere does. I agree that we should be prepared to communicate for *us* first. Us and our families. Then if we can serve someone else while we're utilizing said communications, that's a great way to utilize the amateur radio service.
As we found out while working the hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico, Sat Phones were COMPLETELY USELESS there when everyone started using them. The satellites can only handle a set amount of traffic, and the sats were constantly overloaded as everyone was sending sat phones to people down there.
I was in one of the worst hit parts of the April 2011 tornado outbreak. Cell Towers and power lines were down everywhere across several counties. Some areas didn’t get power or cell service for weeks. Once service was restored for a tower, it was immediately overloaded by people. Thank you, but I’ll keep my radios around a bit longer.
Jason, my county EM approached our Ham club to provide auxcomms for our area almost 2 yrs prior to the upcoming eclipse event. The EM installed a fully capable Ham station at the EM office as well as provided all the equipment necessary for multiple remote sites across our county. So for us, they are not only including us but have integrated us into the plan for comms locally, between counties, and from county to state. As a result, it has brought hams out of the woods to support us in these efforts.
Ham radio is definitely an "insurance" tool to have. If you still have a working cell phone, use it first. Ham radio also helps people like me who never delved into electronics to want to start learning and tinkering around. Thanks for the video Jason!
Another recent rescue because of Amateur Radio - Hurricane Ian hero: Maryland firefighter uses his ham radio to send rescuers to Florida's Sanibel Island Firefighter and ham radio hobbyist helped rescue a group stranded by Hurricane Ian Published October 5, 2022. I myself belong to our local ARPSC/ARES, which my county firmly believes to be an asset in the event other communications methods become overloaded or not working at all. When All Else Fails Ham Radio Works!
You hit the nail on the head when you said you're licensed for yourself, family and friends. (And of course, it's also fun and interesting...) Same here. 73! KD0NDC
We' ve had satellite internet 2 different providers. Honestly i was wishing we had dial up. Yep that old. Everything knocks out satellite internet the wind , a cloud, a fly peeing on the dish.
After hurricane Michael: In a disaster zone only accessible by air, Lee Paulet is reaching Hurricane Michael victims by airwaves and helping first responders communicate, too. “They have no TV, they have no fire, no police, no EMS, they’re just done,” Paulet says. Hundreds of miles away in Crystal River- he’s part of a network of “ham radio operators” providing logistical support for emergency crews without communications. “We had a request for several pallets of gasoline fuel and water.” Paulet is also connecting families without cell service who are separated by the storm.
I was active duty at Lackland AFB San Antonio Texas during that snow storm. I had no cell service what so ever, however radio played a CRUCIAL part in getting warm meals delivered to certain locations. As well as staying in contact with command and each other . If it weren’t for my truck and radio I would have been completely out of the loop.
In my county amateur radio is a part of the EOC plan, to provide communications with shelters. I came across the plan where it discusses RACES, as needed. There is a way to link the county emergency communications with the state EOC using an amateur backup system. The requirement is the amateurs in this activity have at least an 8 hour capacity for the radio power.
Also, there was a discussion in one of the clubs I'm a member in regarding the fact it still has autopatch. It is provided as a service to the county EOC as a backup.
I'm 100% with you on this. The cellphone is the (P)rimary in the PACE plan. I have my ham and GMRS license for my family and neighbors. It's not my primary communication plan. I learned a lot from ham radio that applies heavily into emergencies such as back-up power, information gathering, and learning to "lighten the load" (i.e. how to optimize weight of what I'm carrying in equipment.) It also convenient when I'm out hiking or cycling since I don't have to pull out my cell to dial a number or respond to call: just push the PTT button on my handmic connected to my radio. Edit: one reason I also like ham radio is that it can help people. For example, I like the fact that other hams were using my JS8call station to practice relaying messages to each other while running QRP. That can be useful in a power outage and the operators need to conserve power.
I live in a hurricane area, and local hams do play a role in my county during hurricanes. And there are still events that take down cell service, etc. I was going to mention Puerto Rico, and then you did. Hams were passing traffic for months there as the only way some people could get info on their families. Wildfires, like those in Texas and Hawaii, take out cell towers, and are a growing problem across much of the US. And while services were improved after the record 2005 hurricane season, a Cat 5 (or a storm in the Cat 6 that they are now looking at establishing) hitting in the wrong place would totally overwhelm any infrastructure the state or county would have, just as in New Orleans. I have to question whether the person who posted this has ever actually been through a serious hurricane. He admits that one of the few times that hams might be crucial is during floods, but discounts their usefulness in hurricanes - where statistically the greatest threat is flooding. If history has taught us anything about natural disasters, it’s that we’re never as prepared as we think we are. It would be naive in the extreme to believe that the state or local government will always be adequately prepared to handle whatever might come their way.
Great run down man. Going back a few years. In January of 1998 we had a massive ice storm here which tore down communication towers (including one for FIRE/EMS/LE in the area, took down miles of power lines and phone lines, took down miles of main power transmission lines and made some roads impassive. Trees snapped like dynamite. Cell phones were still new around here at that time and were analog. For many days, cell phones did not work. Even the 3 watt phone in the ambulance didn't work, "All circuits are busy, please try your call again later". Landline phones didn't work because the infrastructure needed was destroyed. My town set up a couple of shelters and the command center was the fire dept. Ham radio (2 meter simplex) was used to connect locations together. I installed a 2 meter radio in the ambulance so that it could communicate from 30 miles away back to town, which it was unable to do without one. I remember picking up someone from the hospital and using a repeater to call back to town and talk to another ham. That's how the shelter knew we were coming with someone. There was no other way to communicate. Tying up the only couple of repeated public safety frequencies that were available for coordinating moving people around and non-emergency traffic would be unnecessary. It was no problem putting that on to the Ham bands. HF radio was used to connect this area to the rest of the state, including the Capital. Ham radio is shown to work often. Yes, Katrina and 9/11 and so many other disasters. Last winter during a storm, we had a radio net going and one of the check ins had no phone, no cell phone service, no internet and no power. The ONLY way he had to communicate was Ham Radio. Yep...you're on point. Someone else has to maintain all of those systems. Our county fire system is analog simulcast and sucks. It works so so on a good day and when the transmitters get out of timing (GPS reliant) it works like complete crap. Everything is hubbed through one site, so if that site gets compromised (tower failure, power failure), the entire county system is screwed. Great planning huh? This winter an AT&T site where there is a 2-meter repeater went down. The cause? Weather had blown trees over and ripped down the power lines going to the site. The generator ran so long it killed itself. AT&T brought in another generator and it quickly burned up. It was down for DAYS! Did it bother Hams? Nope...we have other repeaters and HF. Also this winter, a FM broadcast site where there is a 2-meter repeater went down. This is a great site too. Once a crew made it on to the mountain they discovered that the grid had gone down and the generator had run so long, it sucked all of the propane tanks dry. 1600 gallons!!! Nobody knew it was running on generator for several days. They figured it out when the transmitter went off the air. Did it bother Hams? Nope...just an inconvenience. Yeah....I'll stick to radio.
My spouse and I volunteer with the IL county IEMA where we live. They have a ham radio in the office and another in the command van. We do radio checks on the state radio and The ham radio on the van on the 1st Tuesday of the month. AK9CM
I became a Ham because it was something fun for me to do, and a few of my friends encouraged me to do so. Prepping, emergency SHTF situations, standard communication down and all that’s left are radios? Sure, I’ll go for that. Heck, I’ll help in any way I can. Other than that, amateur radio is a hobby, but in the right ways it can also be a useful tool, supplemental to current method of communication. Hams are unrestricted as far as how we can set up communications, aside from some FCC regulations. I think it’s great that we can all do that. I also don’t think that amateur radio is going away any time soon, either. We’re experts of electronics, engineering, and safety. Heck, it’s an important utility for SkyWarn. All in all, I agree with you Jason. Good luck and 73. - KF0QNM
Not far from you in Arlington and same happened here during FreezeMageddon. AT&T down for 3 1/2 days. No cell tower. At that time I had a landline also. I checked and had a dial tone even though electricity was down too. I got excited and tried to contact family but it wouldn't dial thru. Switching station was down. Since I've invested in Midland emegrncy am/weather radio. I have my GMRS licence now. Working on Ham. And I bought a President Randy handheld CB and mag mount antenna. Need to find a good portable 30' mast and base to get my GMRS Ed Fong antenna up. It changed my attitude. I spend contless hours studying radio now. You were the first one I found when i started studying. Its all your fault. 🤣
Have had a couple of instances in the past where ham radio was used to report an accident, and to report an outage. The Public Safety organizations in this region (South Central Colorado) have some of the best equipment available, yet there is a greater interest now in amateur radio as a last resort. Colorado has shifted some of its Amateur Radio Emcomm to Colorado Auxcomm. Not sure what the best answer might be for any given area.
I always recommend owning an amateur radio or at least a GMRS radio even if you don’t have a license. However, radios are like guns and they’re entirely useless if you don’t know how to use them. Unlike guns, at least in America, you DO need a license to practice using your radio on a regular basis. And just like guns practicing is actually fun. The scenario I worry about the most while hiking, and is probably the most likely scenario that I can’t deal with on my own is breaking a leg or a hip, and not being able to get out before sunset. I practice with my radio on and almost every time I connect to something on top of that. I always have two GPS on me my iPhone and my Apple Watch and if I get myself into a situation that I cannot get out of or I stumble across somebody else that is immobile. I can always contact somebody over the radio with coordinates for help for me, that is the most important and probably the most realistic use case scenario for amateur radio or even GMRS radio. I find those Garmin spots and the other satellite texting services to be pretty much a gimmick. They are useful but more or less to backcountry skiers and real mountaineers..
A Garmin InReach is far from a gimmick. Many have used it to get emergency assistance and even more to stay in contact with friends and family while in remote areas. One can pause the subscription as long as they want. I enable mine a couple days before I go backpacking and pause it after. It can be as cheap as $15 per month. It CAN take a while to work if a satellite just passed and you need to wait for the next one. It can also be iffy in heavy tree cover or canyons. But the point is....most definitely not a gimmick
I have had a satellite phone, a few, since 2003. They are great. BUT when I tried to call family members I received this message "The user you are trying to call does not accept calls from these numbers." After getting into an area that had cell coverage I called my mom and she simply said "I don't answer calls from numbers I don't know." Her carrier has it set up where it won't even go through to her. The problem is the number seems to change every once in a while so locking in a specific number won't work. It is like Amateur Radio, if nobody is listening it is useless.
Jason, When critics use the phrase "... And nothing like that will ever happen", i think to myself "they have a very limited imagination". Possibilities are endless. Emergency Management professionals engage in "what if..." scenarios routinely. Planning and mitigation saves lives and communications is just one contingency in overall community response. Backup plans buttress primary ones. Just because something hasn't occurred doesn't mean it wont! In the first response community, its stated that any scenario isn't an "if it happens" but a "when it happens". Being caught unprepared makes fir a real downer of a day. Besides being radio operators, hams are also problem solvers. Restoring a system can make as much an impact as passing traffic. So i take umbrage to naysayers discounting amateur radio and disaster response. Never say Never.
I always lol when they do the "it's not going to happen" excuse. Let's remind them >Venezuela and Argentina collapse >COVID 19 >California wildfire thanks to gender reveal fireworks >Texas snowstorm >Palestein OH train derailment >NC powergrid attack >Buffalo snowstorm >Maui fire destroying a town and killing lots of people >major banks collapse >Canadian wildfire causing air pollution throughout eastern US And of the most recent: >Texas wildfire >AT&T outage And the most horrific for everyone: >FB outage
I have heard a lot of similar sentiment in the past that the government does not need the help of amateur radio because, "they have systems..." I believe most of the people with that view are based in the big cities like NY, LA, etc, whos police do in fact have robust communication capabilities. However, in the less built up areas, like small cities and sprawling counties in the middle of the country, the communication systems are not as vast and there is a need to include amateur radio in their comms plan.
Addition to my previous post: Not all is lost, LOL. There ARE a few things that can be done. One, specifically, is to find, via eBay, Facebook Market Place, etc, vintage tube type equipment, both receivers and transmitters. The downside is that ALL vaccuum tube driven devices will draw substantially more power that solid state devices, but they WILL be much more resistant to EMPs or serious solar flares. Comments welcome.
I own a 50ah battery in case we lose power. I own paper maps in case gps goes down. I have jugs of water in case we lose fresh water. I own a ham radio in case cellular service goes down. Amat Victoria Curam.
I’m new to this, so help me out 1) in a disaster, who are you talking to for information? Strangers on the air waves? And you just believe what you hear? Or is it like a game of “telephone” where you are getting recycled heresay that’s basically garbage at best, or bad info that leads you to make a horrible decisions at worst. 2) I often go camping for a week, and I’m without power and cut off from outside information, and guess what? I’m just fine. 3) Back in the day, before cell phones and the internet, we ALL got along just fine, in wind storms, blizzards, etc. without constantly talking talking talking to others. If we needed something, we just walked to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. Seems to me like this prepper focus on communication is just more masturbating in the basement.
Ok you ask for help and then you get sarcastic so IDK what you actually want to hear. I'll try some truth, and see how that grabs you. 1. Hearing something is better than being in the dark and not knowing anything at all. 2. Camping isn't a disaster. If it is, you're doing it wrong. 3. Radio has been around for 100 years or more. Long before the Internet and wireless phones. Why would you not want another tool in your toolbox?
@@HamRadio2 Yea, I can be kind of a sarcastic dick sometimes. Sorry. But my confusion is real, and your point #1 is valid. I guess my overall thought is that in my 65+ plus years, I’ve never been in a real disaster situation, nor has anyone in my family, nor my friends, or anyone else I know. So, the whole scary dark apocalypse type of situation just seems beyond remote. Any time there was an “issue” we just turned on the AM radio and found out what was going on pretty quickly. To your point #2 - yup. Done that. Arrived at Boy Scout winter camp in northern MN with a temp of 45 below zero. Fuel oil cabin heaters were frozen. Near blizzard winds. We survived. Point #3 - most useful radio ever was a CB in my car when I was 16 in 1975. We could easily contact 18 yr olds to buy liquor for us, and find all the best house parties and gravel pit parties, and know in advance which girls were there.
HF works during periods of high atmospheric scintillation. If your radio isn't plugged into the electric grid, it will likely be just fine. Further more, a CME is likely only to have significant effects on certain portions of the Earth. So, it won't shutdown worldwide comms. Likely, there will be power surges in some segments of the electric grid and it may mess with devices that are powered on. Vehicles with ICEs, will also probably work just fine.
EPIRB, actually pronounced "EE-perb," is a positioning beacon. Most ships are required to have them. They are often armed any time the ship is at sea and will automatically activate when floating in the water (the ship sinks but the EPIRB floats). A personal EPIRB is probably off all the time until it is manually activated. You won't know if it works until someone finds you. When they do, count on it being an agency who wants to make darn-sure you had a good reason for activating it. I was the designated person to grab our ship's EPIRB during an "abandon ship" event. So, my body would be found... unless the guy who's designated to bring a gun took it. HAHA!
Dunno but in my area (PDX) there are multiple CERT’s (Community Emergency Response Team). These are tied in with fire departments and city disaster response centers. I can’t think of any other radio (2m and 70cm) I’d go to if the power and cell grids went down? There’s plenty of CB but it’s not monitored by the responders .
I think a point that is overlooked is the importance of Preppers using radio as a means of communication before there is any sort of emergency. Its just so useful around the homestead and in small community groups. This I think is the real usefulness of radio comms for Preppers 99% of the time. Yes we do have emergencies like a tractor breaking down or a cow stepping on someone.
I live on a small island with a couple thousand people on it. We're in prime earthquake and forest fire terriroty. An earthquake has a high likelihood of causing fires on our island (especially in winter when many people are heating their homes with their woodstoves). Our repeaters and cell towers are all at the tops of the "mountains" on our island and the islands around us and have 3 - 5 days of fuel for their generators if they don't get burned down first. I was surprised when talking to the various fire, police and paramedics on the island that we have no way to communicate off-island if the cell towers and repeaters go down. There are a couple local hams who have set up an okish EOC, but it is in a terrible spot for communications (ringed by hills/mountains) and has no NVIS and no generator. They've tried to encourage then to get more set up but there's little interest and the budget hasn't been put towards it. They're burnt out from trying. So I got my license and am just doing my own thing, getting my own gear and talking to the people at the regional emergency operations center that would be set up 300km away from here and making sure I can talk to them. If not needed, fine, but I am putting together a completely portable kit that can do almost anything, and if the fit hits the shan I will just show up/key up and ask if they need help with comms. I also have starlink and a small generator with enough fuel to run for about 6 hours/day for about 3 months, so as long as that doesn't break that would be my main backup to cellphones. Not only do I want to selflessly help the community, but I figure by being part of comms I will also be first to know what's going on - where are people being extracted from, where are food and fuel going to be brought to, that kind of thing, and I can make sure my kids are there to get our share and not miss out.
To your point about taking care of yours in your own, For our EMCOM group, the first decision we're expected to make is to determine if your family safe, is your home safe? Is our area safe? Then can we come and help others? And maybe another part of the county needs our help. So that's the very first consideration. Make sure that your family is taken care of. Make sure your home is safe. Your area of the world is safe and and then if you can go to the emergency command center. There help the people in another part of the county to help recover. I enjoy your videos. Please keep it up, thanks.
Ive been a first responder since the 80s and until about 2 years ago I was on a FEMA team. Ive been to numerous large events including several large hurricanes. While our professional radio systems do have some backups, this person is simply wrong. For the first few day after a large hurricane, amateur radios and backup first responder radios (like the tower beside 911 but many of the remote towers are down) were often the only functioning comms. Our professional teams had a few ham operators either within the team or attached fpr that reason.
Jason, I find this interesting. I live in OH and I tuned into the hurricane net 14.325 and 7.268. We had check-ins from FL all of the way up to OH and west into LA. The net control was pleased to have a station check in from TN who spoke English and Spanish. Post hurricane; stations in OH were being asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering with communications in FL. I wonder where u/W5SNx was in time of need? Is u/W5SNx involved in ARES? The point I'm attempting to make is there was a need for someone to do Emcomm, but maybe stations didn't make agencies (EMA, ARES) aware of their existence. Maybe u/5SNx needs to take some initiative and see if the county they live in has ARES volunteers or contact EMA and volunteer to be the EC for ARES.
The two latest iPhone models (14 & 15) can text emergency messages to via satellite (sat phone satellites) in the US at least. It's called the SOS mode. Also, T-Mobile and StarLink are developing a broader satellite messaging system to be rolled out in 1-2 years. System may eventually expanded to voice and data. Samsung is considering adding satellite SOS messaging to its Android phones; nothing definite yet. As people upgrade their phones over the next few year, 55% (iPhones US market share) of your neighbors will have emergency SOS texting capabilities and possibly many more. Technology marches on.
Awesome! You're in my Hometown. My plan is to move back where my family and friends are. I'm in the Lake Conroe area. If the SHTF, I have to be able to reach them. I've been watching you to learn and you're an excellent teacher.
I also live in a hurricane prone area. We have a number of shelters for those who live in evacuation zones. Some which are special needs. These would have medical staff. These shelters include ham radio stations for providing important communication through the county EOC using voice and Winlink.
Forget ham radio, all the preppers are setting up Meshtastic nodes! Not sure how the 500 meter range between your two T-Decks is going to be all that helpful, but go for it!
I’m a VE and I just read through the Extra Class Pool questions going into effect 2024-2028. There are several NEW questions related to MESH networks and AREDN. More tech to familiar ourselves with. 73
@@HamRadio2Yeah, I bought a couple. One is going on the roof with a solar panel and a temp sensor. Right now I don't have any other nodes that I can connect to, but I figured it will be fun to experiment and at least have some weather info that might be useful.
I’m very new to this whole thing. I have a serious question. In a grid down scenario there is no power so there are no repeaters. What good is a ham radio
My shack runs off a 12v battery. I normally charge it with mains, but can also charge with a car or solar or generator. HF doesn’t rely on repeaters either. 2m gives great simplex coverage depending on topography and station locations. Ham/GMRS/CB Radio isn’t a panacea. It does have a place in a well thought out PACE plan however. Our primary for info is internet, with mobile phone internet as the alternative and commercial broadcasts the contingency option for major disruptive events. Getting on HF is the emergency/all else failed option. With a ham HF rig and an NVIS suitable antenna, there are plenty of folk to talk to to find out what is causing the disruption. We had a major evening storm event a few weeks ago where the power grid was massively disrupted locally and cell sites were overloaded. I was still working on my licence and didn’t have a ham rig yet. We couldn’t get a news article on our phones until about 5 hrs into the disruption to find out what was happening. The local UHF CB (Australian) repeater was up but nobody was talking and commercial radio wasn’t providing anything more than the storm has brought down a lot of overhead wires with standard safety messaging. I feel better prepared now. Our petrol generator wouldn’t start. We now have a diesel gen set on property and now I have the Ham Rig with good 2m & 70cm antenna and a working HF Rx antenna. I’ve parts on order to get a NVIS suitable HF EFHW antenna up in the next couple of weeks.
I’m reluctant to call myself a prepper but rather prepared. Living in SoCal I was as prepared for earthquakes as much as possible. Basically water, medical, food, and tools. Now I live in MO so I’m prepared as much as possible for tornados.
Our FD has a Ham radio station. Sure, it's a back up to a back up... But it's still there and the EOC has a ham radio. So some emergency services still have the equipment,
First responders don't need me? I could give a few examples where that is so wrong but I'll just highlight 1. The Highlands Wildfire in Kansas, March 2017.Over 5500 acres in coverage, 10 homes totally destroyed. The Red Cross opened evacuation centers, including an animal center, but couldn't coordinate between the sites. Emergency Management called on ham radio operators to direct evacuees to the various sites, while other operators communicated between them. No public agency is staffed nor equipped to do what we did. WØRHP
These days we are in the way. Generally, behind our back, they say we actually hinder their efforts. The days of ham radio saving the day are now gone. Admit it. We do a fair job with planned events, like fun runs and cross country bike races, but in real emergencies, we generally perform worse than CBers, and the people in charge know that and wish we would go back home, working another 2 minutes FT something, check into a net and give only our call letters. Sorry, that's the way it is. Sad, but it just is. Look at any national report about any disaster and you will never read one word about ham radio. Try it, look at the national coverage about floods, hurricanes, earth quakes...anything and there will be nothing about ham radio. Why, because our days of being useful and long gone.
@@ronjones4069The only ones in the way have no business being there to begin with. There is training and preparation involved before one is allowed to participate in disaster-type scenarios. Too many times, well-meaning but overzealous operators just show up (NEVER self-deploy), get in the way and give the certified ARES/RACES operations a bad name.
I lived in North Richland Hills during the snow disaster. Lost power for 3 days too. I never lost mobile service and I have AT&T. Ended up staying a couple days with my Mom. She lived out on Eagle Mountain Lake and never lost power, just water for a day. That central heat never felt so good.
My home in Grapevine lost power for only a few hours, 1 day. My folks live about 2 miles away and they were without power for 2-3 days also, so they came and stayed at my house because we were in Galveston. It is strange how power outages were so different in areas that are close together.
@@HamRadio2 I live in Keller now. This neighborhood didn't lose power. There's a big hospital about a mile away, so we might be on the same grid. Could explain it. No idea about Mom though. That's Lake Country and is just residential.
Great video Jason. Just to clarify, the EPIRB's and PLB emergency satellite communication devices don't require any investment or subscription beyond the initial purchase of the device and a battery replacement every 5-10 years. The service is federally funded and they work globally. I own several of them. 73!
EPIRB - EMERGENCY POSITION INDICATING RADIO BEACON. Not a SAT phone, but a distress beacon that doesn't require subscriptions. It only sends distress signals to rescue agencies. Nothing else.
EPIRBs are definitely _not_ satphones. They reliably send a signal in a protected band that is monitored by an international consortium for the express purpose of rescue. The sent signal includes registration information and GPS location but that is about it. There is an updated version that permits limited messaging, but I don't think that's available in the USA. Another available satellite technology is a service like SPOT or Garmin's inReach satellite messaging services. These services use private satellite networks and dedicated monitoring centers to provide comprehensive, privately coordinated emergency responses, paid for by subscription. None of these, however, are satellite phones.
You mentioned this about half way in, but to expand on it, there's a book and subsequent short TV series called Five Days at Memorial, about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina: "it tells the story of Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans, where 45 bodies were found in Katrina's aftermath" I'm sure the details are not 100% exact in the TV adaptation but they had many helicopters flying overhead but the people in the hospital had almost no way to get communications out. I'm assuming this part is true, but in the TV series they had basic email capability to their head office, and relied on people there to try and get help, which didn't come in time. And their generators were in the basement of the building which was underwater. I could only think while watching this series, if someone had even a basic handheld, they may have been able to at least get hold of someone local to them to get help quicker. Even an airband radio(although illegal without the applicable license) would have possibly allowed them to contact the people flying overhead to get help.
I would think a ham packet radio network that supports SMS messaging would be useful in times of adverse conditions, especially if it featured automatic retry, error correction, and data rate adjustment, because you could do text messaging, asynchronously, under conditions in which real-time voice conversations were difficult or inconsistent. Kind of like... cell phones. Okay, I am dimly aware that such a thing is already available and in use within the world of amateur radio. I just haven't had any experience with it yet. On the other hand I haven't overheard much talk about it. I guess as long as the cell network is up and you are within range some of the time, who really needs a separate ham service for that? What do you think?
Your last point is the best part of the video Jason. Self-reliant communications is one of the main reasons I got into ham radio. Good discussion. 73 de K5MGK Mark
I'm not sure picking on the "fantasy" hits every circumstance anyways. There are a lot of diverse possibilities and probabilities across the world where "emcom" has different meaning. Even here in the States, there are big cities with giant emergency response budgets and infrastructure with very little need or want of assistance from amateurs, radio or otherwise. There are also areas where volunteers are the plan, the budget and the infrastructure. How is what the government needs or wants exclusively the measure of emcom or even usefulness to the community or the individual? What I think happens often is people see the world from their own narrow perspective and make assumptions regarding what anyone else must experience. Frankly, that's also the case where folks from one sort of community think laws should be made and enforced the same across the board. That's mostly ridiculous. Absolutisms tend to benefit some and ignore the needs of many. Emcom can be, "f___! I'm out of gas and my wallet's at home!" Emcom can be, "f___! 200 miles of coastline just got hit by a tsunami!" Emcom can be, "f___! I get one call and I don't have a lawyer on retainer!" Probably different comms would be appropriate to each of those emergencies and maybe that would be a helluva lot different from one place on earth to another. Ham radio is "a" method of communication that may be useful in an emergency and may not be. If Yellowstone erupts, I'm not setting up on 40 meters; I'm making popcorn, 'cause there's not a dang thing I can do to stop what's coming. On the other hand, it sure is nice to know if our monsoons took out the back road before I try to head into town. So, ... The question isn't is emcom a ham radio fantasy, but rather how do you define emcom where you are and is ham radio useful for your tiny corner of the planet. The answers are probably a moving target.
Ham radio is a craft. Just getting a license and putting a radio in your Go Bag or in a bunker is not enough. For it to work, one needs to get out and use it and learn the skills. After the asteroid hits is the wrong time to be figuring out how to put up a wire antenna and how to use the squelch on the radio.
When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, there was no cell towers working, no PSTN. In the fires in Gatlinburg, TN some years ago, the electrical power was out, and so the generators were running the pumps to keep the water towers full, until the diesel ran out on the generators. So no water available, so no cell either, tower generators would run out of fuel too. IN fact, cell towers destroyed. City and state “needs” us, they don’t know it. Only when this happens do they learn about amateur radio. Disaster can be a wide range of events, Hurricane Katrina to a war. Satellite won’t work if a satellite is taken out. Some of the things he says is true, but overall, I don’t agree.
Great Video - I was texting back and forth with one of my friends about some AREDN Mesh Networking issues this morning - Phoenix Valley - he is one of the AREDN developers - he got knocked completely off line for the better part of a day because someone had a car accident that took out a substation - it has happened multiple times out here. It does not take any kind of nefarious activity to knock out the local networks. I have lived in CA - 3 places, Indiana, CT, West Berlin twice, Arizona, Montana, Florida - Key West, and Oklahoma - Power failures lasting days - not uncommon. I am part of the Emcom group for two counties, as well as the local Sheriff's office, the Red Cross, + several others - Ham radio is a great backup - if you know how to use it - I have watched so many videos saying "I don't need a license in an Emergency" might be legally true - but if you don't know how to use your gear - you have an expensive paperweight. Thank You for producing a common sense video - WELL DONE Sir - I enjoyed it.
Ham use to appeal to me as a kid because you could listen to the world and your neighbor 46.730 i still remember but now that im older i thought about it then lost my family and find it difficult to prepare to communicate with nobody.
A quick search of qrz and i cant see that call sign. 🤷♂️ not that, that is the final absolute. The writer was focused on assisting the authorities. Like you said most just want to save their own butts. Myself included. In an emergency the individual is more or less on their own. Given the population vrs first responders numbers. Granted 2013 in Alberta Canada we had floods that wiped out whole towns. Amateur radio operators were called in to assist. When ive listened to the hurricane nets and all they are passing information to family members and all that. Like you, im set up with my direct neighbors and family within 60miles. Cheers 🍻
Thanks for sharing!! Ham Radio is a must I preach to people daily trying to recruit as many people as I can to get into our hobbie!! Not only is ham radio fun but it plays a important role in all kinds of situations!! Enjoyed video!!
I just want to add that most preppers that I know don't draw any attention to themselves and just want the ability to monitor for information and talk simplex to their peeps short-range on handhelds when things are down. They don't even want to have to use radios to communicate unless systems are down because it's out in the open. Licensees probably have more to worry about from bleedover from neighboring regions on VHF/UHF and on HF from the CB guys with big amps than they do from preppers with fengs. I haven't encountered any.
If you can text, text. There are so many scenarios, but the main issue is power outages lasting for days, and it's worst when you have a mediocre power grid. I wonder what happened with the 2024 Panhandle wildfires? Some reports attribute it to the power lines.
My neighbors in the Florida Keys use FRS radios to stay in touch during and after a hurricane hits and power outages. There is a Ham and GMRS repeater net in the Keys. CB is is also a great option for local coms, especially in the car during an evacuation on U.S. 1.
I have often wonder why they continue to bring up ARES and the like as a reason to get into Ham radio. Here in East Texas not too many years ago we had straight line winds come through and parts of intown were without power for a week, myself included. During that time most services were still in operation. I will say that during the first few hours of this outage yes alternate communication did come in handy to some extent but after backup power and some parts of regular power were up not much was needed. Now short of a long term large outage Ham radio is not as useful as it once was, but as you mentioned the control of such communications is in the hands of the operator and their capabilities and is not reliant on other forms of infrastructure. Either way to me it can be a form of entertainment during outages as well as a form of communications if and when it is needed, so worth the time and trouble for me personally.
You don’t necessarily need fancy long range comms networks during a crisis to be successful. Small scale neighborhood level GMRS simplex communications can give you a big advantage without needing much understanding of radio if the cell towers go down. That being said you have to plan and practice communications.
i keep a few ham radios and a few gmrs radios in the old Faraday cage ,,, while i would love it if i heard signals from other people , i really only bought them so i could communicate with my team when all other forms of communication are down.
Jason, I have a question for you. Do you support the Idea of directing people to memorizing the questions and answers sites and having people get a ham license with out knowing even what it is about? I know a lot of youtubers do and especially the most well known ones. I got my ham license when Code was required AND when you had to know not the answers but what the technology really ment. I have held every class of ham license except Novice, and I have been an Extra for many years when the code required was 30 WPM. do ya really think that it is fair to hand people a post card license?
Yes I think that's fine and I have no problem with it at all. In fact, that's how I got my first license in 1994. I just memorized the answers and didn't really understand anything. Learning came later. Everything I know today I've learned by doing, not by reading some questions and answers in a book. Of course, everyone learns differently so if that's how people want to learn, then great. But I don't think there should be a requirement that tells you HOW you should learn the material
I passed by just remembering keywords. I keep leaning everyday
@@HamRadio2 That is how I passed. I just remembered keywords and then did more learning afterward.
Even GMRS license holders are learning more about radio, after they BUY their license!
This was sickening to read. Thank you. I got my license in 1968. I watched it all fall apart. Not having anyone to talk to no matter what you do is beyond depressing.
The county that I live in is rewriting the county emergency communications plan, they are adding Hams into the county plan. They have handed out county P25 trunking to three key members of the county that are hams to bridge the two radio systems together.
I have worked in the EM field for 20+ years. Ham Radio has always been part of our communications plan in every agency I have worked for. In 2005 I worked a once in 500 year flood event in southern Utah. Not only was cell service inoperable but the radio towers that hosted police and fire radio repeaters were down. We had a small down that was completely cut off from all services (roads, electric, phones, etc). Without having multiple alternate methods of communication (including ham radio) we would not have been able to establish essential communications between first responders and the affected community.
We are new to this. You have to have a license for any kind of ham radio right ?
@@Bob-bb3uryou do if you want to transmit anything. Nothing is stopping you from listening.
@@Bob-bb3ur I got my Technician license in 2000 specifically because of my work in EM. Ham was pretty much the only option then. However, today there are other radio services available. For local / neighborhood you could use FRS or pay the FCC license fee for your family and get GMRS. That would give you some better capabilities. LORA mesh is an emerging technology that doesn't require a license but not recommended for new comers (too bleeding edge for me still). Getting a Technician license is a good option as you have rights to use VHF/UHF radios and you can find a ham radio group almost anywhere. If you are looking for longer range communications then I recommend working on your "General" class license and save up for an HF radio. They are much more affordable and bring a host of capabilities you don't get in the other radio services.
I live in coastal CT. A couple of years back our amateur club ARES volunteers were deployed to the 8 Red Cross Shelters throughout the region. High winds and localized flooding was expected. Downed trees and power lines expected. The storm went thru and the power stayed on at the shelters and mobile phones remained operational. The Red Cross HQ decided to release the volunteer communicators. Unfortunately, some areas had lost power and the cell towers had been operating on battery backup and now they were failing. Volunteers were contacted by radio to return to certain shelters where they were still needed. HAMS are gonna keep doing what we enjoy and if we can help out we will.
Which club? I’m in FN31 as well
@@rwrp SECARS, 73, W1RKB
I'm into ham radio because I like technology and learning. The best prepping “tool” you can have is good relationships and staying physically and mentally healthy. If your health is a mess, your radio isn’t likely to save you but it can help. Seeing morbidly obese people on doomsday preppers stockpiling ammo and food was depressing. Humans are bad at accessing risk. These folks were terrified of EMP and governmental collapse, but the heart attack or diabetes that was impending was not a concern to them.
DEFINITELY the comment with the most wisdom!
Well that’s the problem. When you are that unhealthy, you are dependent on the very government that is falling apart around you.
Amateur radio is quite literally written into the emergency communications plan for our county.
Great topic Jason. I live in the Asheville, NC area and am currently studying for my Technician license. Just about 8 weeks ago Hurricane Helene left a devastating path of destruction on this area as so people are aware. All forms of communication were gone. No internet, no cell coverage, no electric power. In our community we were without power for 8 days which is much better than most. It was a very sinking feeling to say the least. About 100 miles east of Asheville was a HAM operator who made a call the day after the storm to see if anybody needed help. Little did he know that his call would land him in the position of EmComm Coordinator for the next several days. You probably know the "rest of the story"?
The commenter misses that ham radio is about more than having the equipment. It's about knowing how to use the equipment... And emcomms use is for /when/ normal coms fail.
I can get on a mountaintop repeater with my HT and simultaneously reach a thousand hams around the Colorado Front Range in an instant, and get useful information from many of them in a few minutes. Try that on a cellphone.
All of the modern emergency communications networks work until they don't. Ham radio communications preparedness is for those times. The most important difference between public service agencies and hams is that there are a lot of hams who know what they're doing with RF, and government people just know how to push a mic button. As an example, I provided emergency communications in a deep canyon in Colorado for a state-wide bicycle event with thousands of riders. I was about 7 miles up a canyon at a rest stop for the tour, surrounded by 150 foot rock cliffs towering overhead. The ONLY communications of any kind from that location was me. No cellphones, no police radios, no ambulance radios, no CB's no nothing worked for communications out of that canyon. It was an RF dead-zone. But I'd arrived the day before with my tiny RV with PV panels, and an old Motorola commercial VHF rig with a hot front-end I'd worked on and tuned up to 170 W on 2 meters, along with a very large 13 element beam that I assembled on site and experimented with by pointing it at various places up on the cliff face for an hour or so, looking for a hotspot until I was bouncing a signal into the Leadville ham repeater with full quieting. The next day I spent on the air nearly nonstop calling in to the tour coordinators, (who had a ham with them at their control center,) for sag wagons for weary or injured riders, or riders with broken bikes that couldn't be fixed on site, or to get more water or snacks for the riders, or to relay messages about broken down bikes 2 miles back down the canyon. And every motorcycle cop along the route with their 10" tall antennas mounted 3 feet off the ground and their little 35W radios would stop as they went by to ask me to relay messages to their captain who was driving along the bike route, (with a ham in their patrol car to facilitate the messages,) and to complain about the 'piece of junk' radios on their Harley's that didn't work in the canyon, and they had no idea why. At times that day there was a line of people waiting for me to send their messages. Now tell me, just what other service is available to to meet that need in that situation. Would the state police have pulled up their half million dollar mobile communications center a mile away from the bike tour rest stop in a location where they could hit a satellite with their rooftop dish? A lot of good that would do.
BTW, I'm also Skywarn trained, and we run repeater nets during storms to keep the NWS informed with more useful immediate information, useful info like hail diameter and quantity, that they can't gather from their sensors.
Emergency communications is about being adaptable to the needs of the moment in the immediate location. Commercial communications networks are simply NOT very adaptable. Hams are. In an emergency the commercial networks have a dozen or so knowledgeable employees who understand their network well enough to adapt it an maintain functionality, and they will be overwhelmed with doing so. In the same area there are hundreds of hams who can do a similar job.
Finally. if anyone bothers to read the FCC Amateur rules and regulations it is stated that the purpose of allowing an Amateur Radio Service is to provide a pool of knowledgeable radio operators during times of emergency. That is why there is a ham radio service. If we ignore that purpose, simply because it's voluntary, then at some point the government will see no reason for the service to exist and tell up we are all going to have to switch to 4 watt CB's if we want to stay on the air. Just something to think about.
I sometimes wonder if we would be appreciated more if we charged the government $25/hr/volunteer the way NGOs conduct activities.
I am a ham radio operator in Arizona that belongs to a group that has been generated by our county that wanted ham radio operators to be available in case of an emergency. We are required to complete the FEMA training courses to activate. We do monthly meetings and exercises. We are not preppers, per say, but concerned citizens that want to be able to help if needed. Not unlike the search and rescue personnel that activate when needed.
Being a rural county I believe the ham radio community can help during a disaster such as a wild fire or flood.
I enjoy your videos.
Steve, k7ofg.
Mr. Reddit has no clue about the many circumstances you describe. Our local ARC sponsors monthly ham radio testing sessions, largely in the hopes of finding those interested in filling the ranks of volunteers it will use in an emergency if necessary (it's a large time commitment). To that end, the county purchased a trailer, wired it up for hams to be able to communicate using a generator, and facilitated the many runs of coax for the myriad of antennas used by the group to communicate locally. The plan includes several repeater stations strategically positioned throughout the county to ensure coverage. This group also assists with many county activities requiring communications that aren't emergency related, such as charity runs, bicycling events, festivals, and parades, etc. The system can be turned on remotely during storm watch activities, as well (we are in the heart of Tornado alley). So it's not like the county NEEDS these hams, they just provide a service, for free, and they train to ensure they can deploy their services effectively when needed. The hams doing this work volunteer freely to improve their own skills and as community service.
I am an emergency management coordinator in the north Texas area, and for my city we DO work with hams! We include them in our communication plans and work closely with them during storms and such. I would be relying on them in the event our public safety radio system went down or for other uses outside of that for other situations.
I myself have my general and have been learning a ton from our local club about amateur radio.
Hurricane Laura hit Southwest Louisiana... TV towers went down, Cell towers went down, Entergy's main electric transmission towers went down, National Weather service towers went down, the State's fancy radio comm system towers went down... These towers were ON THE GROUND in mangled piles of steel. The entire Electrical Grid was down, wires littering the roadways. Cable internet and TV were down on the ground. We had no electricity from the utility provider for 8 weeks! We had no cable internet for 8 MONTHS! Ham radio was used for Everything for 3-4 Days to keep this part of the state running. It took time for cell providers to bring in PORTABLE towers and the system was overwhelmed. I hope this paints a good picture, this was reality in 2020!
Jason’s final point sums it up: who are you depending on for communication when a worst case scenario unfolds? Texas Snowmageddon convinced me of the need to prepare. But if the unthinkable occurs, I want a tested communication plan that works without public utilities. Also a plan that works if my family is displaced, moving, and fighting for survival.
As a telecom central office tech, I work with cell providers alot. Every tower here has a fiber optic cable to it . When that cable is cut , your tower is down . When we had a 100 year flood , it took the cable , poles, and small substations. We were months getting services back.
A cat5 in St Maarten wiped out all standard and conventional comms. Ham radio was the only way to get out and request proper help. My dad was PJ2MI. He had his hands full. I am convinced that ham radio has a position in emergency situations
He is 100% correct about the HAM/ARES angle. Most local governments don't need any help and a bunch of cranky old busybodies with radios around a disaster command center are not needed or appreciated. As for the remainder of his assertions, he seems to just be engaging in deliberate contrarianism. If he wants to rely on cell service, go for it. But I find my radios pretty damn useful for decentralized local comms amongst my family and friends, disaster or no disaster.
I live in Atlantic County, NJ which is home Atlantic City. In 2012 we had the Derecho come through and bend the counties communications tower over like it was made of straws. Ham's came to their aid and helped get them talking to the essential services until the contingencies could be implemented. 60 days later Super Storm Sandy tore through here and made a hellacious mess of the entire north east, but landfall was Atlantic City, NJ and it kicked our ass. Local Hams staffed emergency shelters and manned radios at the EOC and kept the OEM apprised of shelter needs as well as local hams reporting conditions near their QTH in real time as storm spotters. Information that proved essential to rescue and recovery efforts. After that summer our County OEM realized the integral role Ham Radio played in their efforts and have embraced the Ham Community and support us.
WOW I also live in Atlantic county and I also remember that I was standing on my porch listening to music then all of a sudden high winds started rolling in then I quickly ran inside.the next day I was out and about helping getting trees off of people yards in Mays landing
@@paulbartlett3128 I lived in Mays Landing back then as well. I lived in Harding Lakes. I was supposed Host/Emcee the Mays Landing Hometown Festival that morning.
I was at Union Station in KC when the shooting happened and the cell network was overwhelmed. We couldn’t get calls, texts or data out. We were also in a parking garage which didn’t help signal. There was a HAM next to us and he was able to reach the local digital net and get info from someone watching the live news broadcast. The info didn’t change our circumstance but it did give us an idea of what was happening and what to prepare for while we were gridlocked in the garage.
That is an interesting story, is it posted online anywhere?
I always find when an area has a fireworks display, car show, concert, large gathering etc. the cell service is nearly impossible to obtain as it’s easily overwhelmed.
I live in a rural town, and the EOC practices and works constantly with LE and Fire. Its a large group of hams and they are the same ones that do our testing and ham stuff in our area. In his area hams may not be needed but here they are the emergency plan here.
Many people (emergency personnel included) believe that when AT&T shows up with portable towers all will be well in commo land after a disaster. I don't buy in to putting all my eggs in one basket, and I am a former emergency dispatcher. Backups can not share infrastructure. When they do, both systems are vulnerable to the same weaknesses. The rules of PACE are clear on that. This where ham radio fits in nicely for a person not wanting to rely on others for all their comms.
It is unfortunate that there are hams out here that want to discourage anyone who finds their way to ham radio through emcomms. I am glad my Elmers have embraced my interest in radio (regardless of where it started) and have introduced me to other areas of the hobby.
Thanks for all you do! Your channel and Josh's channel gave me the final push I needed to get my license.
73
KO4WBX
EPRIB is pronounced E-perb and should be standard equipment for an offshore sailboat. If you turn it on or if it becomes submerged, it sends out a satellite signal indicating it's lat long, and other information such as the name of the boat, contact info etc. But you can't talk on it or receive anything on it.
In case of a nuclear power plant emergency similar to fukushima that happens in the US, the NRC acknowledged that ham radio operators could help. This is in their contingency plan but it is about last on the list just above semiphore and smoke signals.
Our radios may or may not prove useful in an emergency, won't know till it happens because there are so many possibilities. But one thing for sure is that having no radios means I have a possible backup and those who don't have a radio have no backup. No backup is guaranteed to not work. :)
During Hurricane Florence, we lost access to our state's VIPER tower which is 700/800mhz P25 and an old ham from the FD rigged up a 400mhz ham radio and we made contact with dispatch on the backup 400 system. Cell service was on and off I believe due to saturation after some towers lost backup power.
I think the guy is wrong. It is quite selfish to only think about what YOU would do and not what you and your neighbor would do. Having the ability and capability to exchange health and welfare communications with others a great distance away is quite powerful. ARES and RACES volunteer groups practice and train consistently to maintain a level of proficiency to be able to do that. Granted, certain ares of the country are better than others, but we do exist and we are ready. For those that have a sense of wanting to help others and are willing to invest the time and money to be that one that is ready, is something that service to others means more than just a slogan. Its for the same reason that our brave men and women volunteer for armed services. I am too old for that, but I can get in my car and post at a hospital or EOC; setup and use my ham radio to communicate health and welfare messages when tasked to do so.
Satellites can be disrupted by heavy clouds, Trees and mountains. I was a truck drive and had Sat Comms system so when I was running down the road in mountains and or heavily tree lined roads I could not use the system. Several people have commented on NGOs that provide aid after disasters so I will not get into that. Many Many years ago I was an EMT volunteer for the Boston Marathon. I worked the Sweep buses . We had 1 Ham Operator for Communication on the bus.This was a couple of years before I became a Ham and before the bombing . The town I live in now Ham radio Clubs provide Communications for the Easter and veterans Parades . Bottom line Ham radio has a place in public Community and emergency services more so in the rural areas of the west . There are still large areas in the west that don't have any cell service. Ham radio still has a place in rural parts of the Western Mountain States more so then a heavily populated State/City of the east or west coast.
I agree with satellite issue, even for navigation. I missed a turnoff in a deep valley because I didn't have enough satellites.
Trees, tall buildings, mountains, clouds, fog and rain do inhibit satellite signals. But don't these conditions also inhibit VHF and UHF signals. In my urban environment UHF works better than VHF for simplex. Yes, repeaters help, but they have vulnerabilities too, to high winds, earthquakes, wildfires, and extended power outages, all hazards in my region. Every communication system has weaknesses, that's why you need backups, ham/GMRS/FRS/CB are viable backups but not invulnerable. Satellite to smartphone communication is already here in iPhone 14 & 15 and may soon come in Android smartphones. Since 90% of US owns smartphones and 55% of those are iPhones, we already have another backup.
My friend went to a parade for the big winning team of the year. Cell phones were overloaded and of no use. His family had his hand helds and were able to move as a team and keep abreast of changing situations.
Yeah any time you get a large group event in 1 area, they bring in extra portable cell towers and repeaters for the traffic, but often that still isn't enough.
1) Remote regions - I lived in Green Bank WV, there is not cell service. I know of at least on instance where ham radio was used to alert EMS about a nasty crash. I was told radio had been use a few times to possibly save a life where cell service did not exists (see National Radio Quiet Zone).
2) Floods - a year or 2 ago there was a flood in the Pikeville, KY area. They where looking for ARES volunteers to work the area.
3) My state/city needs me - According to the EMA director in my county, the state of Ohio has stated the backup for the MARCS system is ham radio.
Your reasons are the same as mine when it comes to radio. Helping authorities only comes after me and mine are secure and if I can spare the time.
Eclipse - Been there and done that in Middle Tennessee a few years ago. No problems what so ever.
Totally agree with you. Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.
So Im an accomplished long distance hiker. I hiked the entire Appalachian trail and Pacific Crest trail. Im a wilderness EMT and SAR crew member. Im a newer ham. I have an old Kenwood with a phone patch. More importantly I have a personal location beacon (PLB) like a Garmin inreach is MUCH more useful than ham or mesh networks. Ive seen them save lives. Personally. I think my local 2m/440 repeater network is gonna go tits up during a large scale disaster, but HF is gonna be very useful. Im going to do skywarn online training as soon as I get time....
Our local emergency management for our county reached out to our club recently and requested we cooperate with them during the upcoming total solar eclipse. We did a class where 20-something first responders got their ham licenses. So, while a lot of areas don't recognize amateur radio, it isn't that nowhere does.
I agree that we should be prepared to communicate for *us* first. Us and our families. Then if we can serve someone else while we're utilizing said communications, that's a great way to utilize the amateur radio service.
As we found out while working the hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico, Sat Phones were COMPLETELY USELESS there when everyone started using them. The satellites can only handle a set amount of traffic, and the sats were constantly overloaded as everyone was sending sat phones to people down there.
That's not surprising. The cell networks are the same but not at the same level
I was in one of the worst hit parts of the April 2011 tornado outbreak. Cell Towers and power lines were down everywhere across several counties.
Some areas didn’t get power or cell service for weeks. Once service was restored for a tower, it was immediately overloaded by people.
Thank you, but I’ll keep my radios around a bit longer.
Indeed
@@HamRadio2 I'd also add that it seems most storm spotters that the NWS relies on are Ham operators using Skywarn.
Jason, my county EM approached our Ham club to provide auxcomms for our area almost 2 yrs prior to the upcoming eclipse event. The EM installed a fully capable Ham station at the EM office as well as provided all the equipment necessary for multiple remote sites across our county. So for us, they are not only including us but have integrated us into the plan for comms locally, between counties, and from county to state. As a result, it has brought hams out of the woods to support us in these efforts.
That's great, thanks for sharing
Ham radio is definitely an "insurance" tool to have. If you still have a working cell phone, use it first.
Ham radio also helps people like me who never delved into electronics to want to start learning and tinkering around.
Thanks for the video Jason!
Thanks
Another recent rescue because of Amateur Radio - Hurricane Ian hero: Maryland firefighter uses his ham radio to send rescuers to Florida's Sanibel Island
Firefighter and ham radio hobbyist helped rescue a group stranded by Hurricane Ian
Published October 5, 2022.
I myself belong to our local ARPSC/ARES, which my county firmly believes to be an asset in the event other communications methods become overloaded or not working at all. When All Else Fails Ham Radio Works!
Got a link for that story?
You hit the nail on the head when you said you're licensed for yourself, family and friends. (And of course, it's also fun and interesting...) Same here. 73! KD0NDC
Yep
We' ve had satellite internet 2 different providers. Honestly i was wishing we had dial up. Yep that old. Everything knocks out satellite internet the wind , a cloud, a fly peeing on the dish.
After hurricane Michael:
In a disaster zone only accessible by air, Lee Paulet is reaching Hurricane Michael victims by airwaves and helping first responders communicate, too.
“They have no TV, they have no fire, no police, no EMS, they’re just done,” Paulet says.
Hundreds of miles away in Crystal River- he’s part of a network of “ham radio operators” providing logistical support for emergency crews without communications.
“We had a request for several pallets of gasoline fuel and water.”
Paulet is also connecting families without cell service who are separated by the storm.
Where is this story documented?
I was active duty at Lackland AFB San Antonio Texas during that snow storm. I had no cell service what so ever, however radio played a CRUCIAL part in getting warm meals delivered to certain locations. As well as staying in contact with command and each other . If it weren’t for my truck and radio I would have been completely out of the loop.
In my county amateur radio is a part of the EOC plan, to provide communications with shelters. I came across the plan where it discusses RACES, as needed. There is a way to link the county emergency communications with the state EOC using an amateur backup system.
The requirement is the amateurs in this activity have at least an 8 hour capacity for the radio power.
Also, there was a discussion in one of the clubs I'm a member in regarding the fact it still has autopatch. It is provided as a service to the county EOC as a backup.
I'm 100% with you on this. The cellphone is the (P)rimary in the PACE plan. I have my ham and GMRS license for my family and neighbors. It's not my primary communication plan. I learned a lot from ham radio that applies heavily into emergencies such as back-up power, information gathering, and learning to "lighten the load" (i.e. how to optimize weight of what I'm carrying in equipment.) It also convenient when I'm out hiking or cycling since I don't have to pull out my cell to dial a number or respond to call: just push the PTT button on my handmic connected to my radio.
Edit: one reason I also like ham radio is that it can help people. For example, I like the fact that other hams were using my JS8call station to practice relaying messages to each other while running QRP. That can be useful in a power outage and the operators need to conserve power.
I live in a hurricane area, and local hams do play a role in my county during hurricanes.
And there are still events that take down cell service, etc. I was going to mention Puerto Rico, and then you did. Hams were passing traffic for months there as the only way some people could get info on their families. Wildfires, like those in Texas and Hawaii, take out cell towers, and are a growing problem across much of the US.
And while services were improved after the record 2005 hurricane season, a Cat 5 (or a storm in the Cat 6 that they are now looking at establishing) hitting in the wrong place would totally overwhelm any infrastructure the state or county would have, just as in New Orleans.
I have to question whether the person who posted this has ever actually been through a serious hurricane. He admits that one of the few times that hams might be crucial is during floods, but discounts their usefulness in hurricanes - where statistically the greatest threat is flooding.
If history has taught us anything about natural disasters, it’s that we’re never as prepared as we think we are. It would be naive in the extreme to believe that the state or local government will always be adequately prepared to handle whatever might come their way.
Great run down man.
Going back a few years. In January of 1998 we had a massive ice storm here which tore down communication towers (including one for FIRE/EMS/LE in the area, took down miles of power lines and phone lines, took down miles of main power transmission lines and made some roads impassive. Trees snapped like dynamite. Cell phones were still new around here at that time and were analog. For many days, cell phones did not work. Even the 3 watt phone in the ambulance didn't work, "All circuits are busy, please try your call again later". Landline phones didn't work because the infrastructure needed was destroyed.
My town set up a couple of shelters and the command center was the fire dept. Ham radio (2 meter simplex) was used to connect locations together. I installed a 2 meter radio in the ambulance so that it could communicate from 30 miles away back to town, which it was unable to do without one. I remember picking up someone from the hospital and using a repeater to call back to town and talk to another ham. That's how the shelter knew we were coming with someone. There was no other way to communicate. Tying up the only couple of repeated public safety frequencies that were available for coordinating moving people around and non-emergency traffic would be unnecessary. It was no problem putting that on to the Ham bands.
HF radio was used to connect this area to the rest of the state, including the Capital.
Ham radio is shown to work often. Yes, Katrina and 9/11 and so many other disasters.
Last winter during a storm, we had a radio net going and one of the check ins had no phone, no cell phone service, no internet and no power. The ONLY way he had to communicate was Ham Radio.
Yep...you're on point. Someone else has to maintain all of those systems. Our county fire system is analog simulcast and sucks. It works so so on a good day and when the transmitters get out of timing (GPS reliant) it works like complete crap. Everything is hubbed through one site, so if that site gets compromised (tower failure, power failure), the entire county system is screwed. Great planning huh?
This winter an AT&T site where there is a 2-meter repeater went down. The cause? Weather had blown trees over and ripped down the power lines going to the site. The generator ran so long it killed itself. AT&T brought in another generator and it quickly burned up. It was down for DAYS! Did it bother Hams? Nope...we have other repeaters and HF.
Also this winter, a FM broadcast site where there is a 2-meter repeater went down. This is a great site too. Once a crew made it on to the mountain they discovered that the grid had gone down and the generator had run so long, it sucked all of the propane tanks dry. 1600 gallons!!! Nobody knew it was running on generator for several days. They figured it out when the transmitter went off the air. Did it bother Hams? Nope...just an inconvenience.
Yeah....I'll stick to radio.
Thanks for sharing this info. Where are you located? (what State?) Would you mind if I made a video about these comments?
@@HamRadio2Sure you can. I'm in Maine. I can email you a few more details.
My spouse and I volunteer with the IL county IEMA where we live. They have a ham radio in the office and another in the command van. We do radio checks on the state radio and The ham radio on the van on the 1st Tuesday of the month. AK9CM
I became a Ham because it was something fun for me to do, and a few of my friends encouraged me to do so.
Prepping, emergency SHTF situations, standard communication down and all that’s left are radios? Sure, I’ll go for that. Heck, I’ll help in any way I can.
Other than that, amateur radio is a hobby, but in the right ways it can also be a useful tool, supplemental to current method of communication.
Hams are unrestricted as far as how we can set up communications, aside from some FCC regulations. I think it’s great that we can all do that.
I also don’t think that amateur radio is going away any time soon, either. We’re experts of electronics, engineering, and safety. Heck, it’s an important utility for SkyWarn.
All in all, I agree with you Jason. Good luck and 73. - KF0QNM
Who is here after Helene and Milton?
Enough said!
Not far from you in Arlington and same happened here during FreezeMageddon. AT&T down for 3 1/2 days. No cell tower. At that time I had a landline also. I checked and had a dial tone even though electricity was down too. I got excited and tried to contact family but it wouldn't dial thru. Switching station was down. Since I've invested in Midland emegrncy am/weather radio. I have my GMRS licence now. Working on Ham. And I bought a President Randy handheld CB and mag mount antenna. Need to find a good portable 30' mast and base to get my GMRS Ed Fong antenna up. It changed my attitude. I spend contless hours studying radio now. You were the first one I found when i started studying. Its all your fault. 🤣
Have had a couple of instances in the past where ham radio was used to report an accident, and to report an outage. The Public Safety organizations in this region (South Central Colorado) have some of the best equipment available, yet there is a greater interest now in amateur radio as a last resort. Colorado has shifted some of its Amateur Radio Emcomm to Colorado Auxcomm. Not sure what the best answer might be for any given area.
I always recommend owning an amateur radio or at least a GMRS radio even if you don’t have a license. However, radios are like guns and they’re entirely useless if you don’t know how to use them. Unlike guns, at least in America, you DO need a license to practice using your radio on a regular basis. And just like guns practicing is actually fun. The scenario I worry about the most while hiking, and is probably the most likely scenario that I can’t deal with on my own is breaking a leg or a hip, and not being able to get out before sunset. I practice with my radio on and almost every time I connect to something on top of that. I always have two GPS on me my iPhone and my Apple Watch and if I get myself into a situation that I cannot get out of or I stumble across somebody else that is immobile. I can always contact somebody over the radio with coordinates for help for me, that is the most important and probably the most realistic use case scenario for amateur radio or even GMRS radio. I find those Garmin spots and the other satellite texting services to be pretty much a gimmick. They are useful but more or less to backcountry skiers and real mountaineers..
A Garmin InReach is far from a gimmick. Many have used it to get emergency assistance and even more to stay in contact with friends and family while in remote areas. One can pause the subscription as long as they want. I enable mine a couple days before I go backpacking and pause it after. It can be as cheap as $15 per month. It CAN take a while to work if a satellite just passed and you need to wait for the next one. It can also be iffy in heavy tree cover or canyons. But the point is....most definitely not a gimmick
I have had a satellite phone, a few, since 2003. They are great. BUT when I tried to call family members I received this message "The user you are trying to call does not accept calls from these numbers." After getting into an area that had cell coverage I called my mom and she simply said "I don't answer calls from numbers I don't know." Her carrier has it set up where it won't even go through to her. The problem is the number seems to change every once in a while so locking in a specific number won't work. It is like Amateur Radio, if nobody is listening it is useless.
Interesting
Jason,
When critics use the phrase "... And nothing like that will ever happen", i think to myself "they have a very limited imagination". Possibilities are endless. Emergency Management professionals engage in "what if..." scenarios routinely. Planning and mitigation saves lives and communications is just one contingency in overall community response. Backup plans buttress primary ones.
Just because something hasn't occurred doesn't mean it wont! In the first response community, its stated that any scenario isn't an "if it happens" but a "when it happens". Being caught unprepared makes fir a real downer of a day.
Besides being radio operators, hams are also problem solvers. Restoring a system can make as much an impact as passing traffic. So i take umbrage to naysayers discounting amateur radio and disaster response.
Never say Never.
Yep
I always lol when they do the "it's not going to happen" excuse. Let's remind them
>Venezuela and Argentina collapse
>COVID 19
>California wildfire thanks to gender reveal fireworks
>Texas snowstorm
>Palestein OH train derailment
>NC powergrid attack
>Buffalo snowstorm
>Maui fire destroying a town and killing lots of people
>major banks collapse
>Canadian wildfire causing air pollution throughout eastern US
And of the most recent:
>Texas wildfire
>AT&T outage
And the most horrific for everyone:
>FB outage
I have heard a lot of similar sentiment in the past that the government does not need the help of amateur radio because, "they have systems..."
I believe most of the people with that view are based in the big cities like NY, LA, etc, whos police do in fact have robust communication capabilities.
However, in the less built up areas, like small cities and sprawling counties in the middle of the country, the communication systems are not as vast and there is a need to include amateur radio in their comms plan.
Addition to my previous post: Not all is lost, LOL. There ARE a few things that can be done. One, specifically, is to find, via eBay, Facebook Market Place, etc, vintage tube type equipment, both receivers and transmitters. The downside is that ALL vaccuum tube driven devices will draw substantially more power that solid state devices, but they WILL be much more resistant to EMPs or serious solar flares. Comments welcome.
I own a 50ah battery in case we lose power. I own paper maps in case gps goes down. I have jugs of water in case we lose fresh water. I own a ham radio in case cellular service goes down. Amat Victoria Curam.
I do the same
I’m new to this, so help me out 1) in a disaster, who are you talking to for information? Strangers on the air waves? And you just believe what you hear? Or is it like a game of “telephone” where you are getting recycled heresay that’s basically garbage at best, or bad info that leads you to make a horrible decisions at worst. 2) I often go camping for a week, and I’m without power and cut off from outside information, and guess what? I’m just fine. 3) Back in the day, before cell phones and the internet, we ALL got along just fine, in wind storms, blizzards, etc. without constantly talking talking talking to others. If we needed something, we just walked to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. Seems to me like this prepper focus on communication is just more masturbating in the basement.
Ok you ask for help and then you get sarcastic so IDK what you actually want to hear. I'll try some truth, and see how that grabs you.
1. Hearing something is better than being in the dark and not knowing anything at all.
2. Camping isn't a disaster. If it is, you're doing it wrong.
3. Radio has been around for 100 years or more. Long before the Internet and wireless phones.
Why would you not want another tool in your toolbox?
@@HamRadio2 Yea, I can be kind of a sarcastic dick sometimes. Sorry. But my confusion is real, and your point #1 is valid. I guess my overall thought is that in my 65+ plus years, I’ve never been in a real disaster situation, nor has anyone in my family, nor my friends, or anyone else I know. So, the whole scary dark apocalypse type of situation just seems beyond remote. Any time there was an “issue” we just turned on the AM radio and found out what was going on pretty quickly. To your point #2 - yup. Done that. Arrived at Boy Scout winter camp in northern MN with a temp of 45 below zero. Fuel oil cabin heaters were frozen. Near blizzard winds. We survived. Point #3 - most useful radio ever was a CB in my car when I was 16 in 1975. We could easily contact 18 yr olds to buy liquor for us, and find all the best house parties and gravel pit parties, and know in advance which girls were there.
HF works during periods of high atmospheric scintillation. If your radio isn't plugged into the electric grid, it will likely be just fine. Further more, a CME is likely only to have significant effects on certain portions of the Earth. So, it won't shutdown worldwide comms. Likely, there will be power surges in some segments of the electric grid and it may mess with devices that are powered on. Vehicles with ICEs, will also probably work just fine.
EPIRB, actually pronounced "EE-perb," is a positioning beacon. Most ships are required to have them. They are often armed any time the ship is at sea and will automatically activate when floating in the water (the ship sinks but the EPIRB floats). A personal EPIRB is probably off all the time until it is manually activated. You won't know if it works until someone finds you. When they do, count on it being an agency who wants to make darn-sure you had a good reason for activating it. I was the designated person to grab our ship's EPIRB during an "abandon ship" event. So, my body would be found... unless the guy who's designated to bring a gun took it. HAHA!
Dunno but in my area (PDX) there are multiple CERT’s (Community Emergency Response Team).
These are tied in with fire departments and city disaster response centers.
I can’t think of any other radio (2m and 70cm) I’d go to if the power and cell grids went down?
There’s plenty of CB but it’s not monitored by the responders .
I think a point that is overlooked is the importance of Preppers using radio as a means of communication before there is any sort of emergency. Its just so useful around the homestead and in small community groups. This I think is the real usefulness of radio comms for Preppers 99% of the time. Yes we do have emergencies like a tractor breaking down or a cow stepping on someone.
I think that gets overlooked by many groups
I live on a small island with a couple thousand people on it. We're in prime earthquake and forest fire terriroty. An earthquake has a high likelihood of causing fires on our island (especially in winter when many people are heating their homes with their woodstoves). Our repeaters and cell towers are all at the tops of the "mountains" on our island and the islands around us and have 3 - 5 days of fuel for their generators if they don't get burned down first. I was surprised when talking to the various fire, police and paramedics on the island that we have no way to communicate off-island if the cell towers and repeaters go down. There are a couple local hams who have set up an okish EOC, but it is in a terrible spot for communications (ringed by hills/mountains) and has no NVIS and no generator. They've tried to encourage then to get more set up but there's little interest and the budget hasn't been put towards it. They're burnt out from trying. So I got my license and am just doing my own thing, getting my own gear and talking to the people at the regional emergency operations center that would be set up 300km away from here and making sure I can talk to them. If not needed, fine, but I am putting together a completely portable kit that can do almost anything, and if the fit hits the shan I will just show up/key up and ask if they need help with comms. I also have starlink and a small generator with enough fuel to run for about 6 hours/day for about 3 months, so as long as that doesn't break that would be my main backup to cellphones. Not only do I want to selflessly help the community, but I figure by being part of comms I will also be first to know what's going on - where are people being extracted from, where are food and fuel going to be brought to, that kind of thing, and I can make sure my kids are there to get our share and not miss out.
To your point about taking care of yours in your own, For our EMCOM group, the first decision we're expected to make is to determine if your family safe, is your home safe? Is our area safe? Then can we come and help others? And maybe another part of the county needs our help. So that's the very first consideration.
Make sure that your family is taken care of. Make sure your home is safe. Your area of the world is safe and and then if you can go to the emergency command center. There help the people in another part of the county to help recover.
I enjoy your videos. Please keep it up, thanks.
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Ive been a first responder since the 80s and until about 2 years ago I was on a FEMA team. Ive been to numerous large events including several large hurricanes. While our professional radio systems do have some backups, this person is simply wrong. For the first few day after a large hurricane, amateur radios and backup first responder radios (like the tower beside 911 but many of the remote towers are down) were often the only functioning comms. Our professional teams had a few ham operators either within the team or attached fpr that reason.
I am new ham. Passed my test Monday. Got my call sign Wednesday morning. I really enjoy watching your videos. KQ4PMD 73.
An EPIRB isn't directly a satelite phone. Its an emergency locator beacon. Only recently have they started using simple text messaging services.
Jason, I find this interesting. I live in OH and I tuned into the hurricane net 14.325 and 7.268. We had check-ins from FL all of the way up to OH and west into LA. The net control was pleased to have a station check in from TN who spoke English and Spanish. Post hurricane; stations in OH were being asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering with communications in FL.
I wonder where u/W5SNx was in time of need? Is u/W5SNx involved in ARES? The point I'm attempting to make is there was a need for someone to do Emcomm, but maybe stations didn't make agencies (EMA, ARES) aware of their existence. Maybe u/5SNx needs to take some initiative and see if the county they live in has ARES volunteers or contact EMA and volunteer to be the EC for ARES.
The two latest iPhone models (14 & 15) can text emergency messages to via satellite (sat phone satellites) in the US at least. It's called the SOS mode. Also, T-Mobile and StarLink are developing a broader satellite messaging system to be rolled out in 1-2 years. System may eventually expanded to voice and data. Samsung is considering adding satellite SOS messaging to its Android phones; nothing definite yet. As people upgrade their phones over the next few year, 55% (iPhones US market share) of your neighbors will have emergency SOS texting capabilities and possibly many more. Technology marches on.
Awesome! You're in my Hometown. My plan is to move back where my family and friends are. I'm in the Lake Conroe area. If the SHTF, I have to be able to reach them. I've been watching you to learn and you're an excellent teacher.
EPIRB is an emergency locator beacon used by marine environments. It’s not a satellite radio that you can converse on.
I also live in a hurricane prone area. We have a number of shelters for those who live in evacuation zones. Some which are special needs. These would have medical staff. These shelters include ham radio stations for providing important communication through the county EOC using voice and Winlink.
That is cool, I should look for something like that around here
Hey Jason, very good video, from,KF4KQL HIGHPOINT NC KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND 73s.....
Thanks, will do!
Forget ham radio, all the preppers are setting up Meshtastic nodes! Not sure how the 500 meter range between your two T-Decks is going to be all that helpful, but go for it!
Haha... I have looked at those too, it is a neat idea but it should be considered an addition to the toolbox, not a replacement
I’m a VE and I just read through the Extra Class Pool questions going into effect 2024-2028. There are several NEW questions related to MESH networks and AREDN. More tech to familiar ourselves with. 73
@@HamRadio2Yeah, I bought a couple. One is going on the roof with a solar panel and a temp sensor.
Right now I don't have any other nodes that I can connect to, but I figured it will be fun to experiment and at least have some weather info that might be useful.
I’m very new to this whole thing. I have a serious question. In a grid down scenario there is no power so there are no repeaters. What good is a ham radio
My shack runs off a 12v battery. I normally charge it with mains, but can also charge with a car or solar or generator. HF doesn’t rely on repeaters either. 2m gives great simplex coverage depending on topography and station locations.
Ham/GMRS/CB Radio isn’t a panacea. It does have a place in a well thought out PACE plan however. Our primary for info is internet, with mobile phone internet as the alternative and commercial broadcasts the contingency option for major disruptive events. Getting on HF is the emergency/all else failed option. With a ham HF rig and an NVIS suitable antenna, there are plenty of folk to talk to to find out what is causing the disruption.
We had a major evening storm event a few weeks ago where the power grid was massively disrupted locally and cell sites were overloaded. I was still working on my licence and didn’t have a ham rig yet. We couldn’t get a news article on our phones until about 5 hrs into the disruption to find out what was happening. The local UHF CB (Australian) repeater was up but nobody was talking and commercial radio wasn’t providing anything more than the storm has brought down a lot of overhead wires with standard safety messaging.
I feel better prepared now. Our petrol generator wouldn’t start. We now have a diesel gen set on property and now I have the Ham Rig with good 2m & 70cm antenna and a working HF Rx antenna. I’ve parts on order to get a NVIS suitable HF EFHW antenna up in the next couple of weeks.
Informative, thank you.
Most all radios can run on some sort of 12VDC
The hams in Houston used the 146.000 repeater as an unofficial net. With no power, TV out. And laptop computers batteries need power to charged.
I’m reluctant to call myself a prepper but rather prepared. Living in SoCal I was as prepared for earthquakes as much as possible. Basically water, medical, food, and tools. Now I live in MO so I’m prepared as much as possible for tornados.
Our FD has a Ham radio station. Sure, it's a back up to a back up... But it's still there and the EOC has a ham radio. So some emergency services still have the equipment,
First responders don't need me? I could give a few examples where that is so wrong but I'll just highlight 1. The Highlands Wildfire in Kansas, March 2017.Over 5500 acres in coverage, 10 homes totally destroyed. The Red Cross opened evacuation centers, including an animal center, but couldn't coordinate between the sites. Emergency Management called on ham radio operators to direct evacuees to the various sites, while other operators communicated between them. No public agency is staffed nor equipped to do what we did. WØRHP
Well said
These days we are in the way. Generally, behind our back, they say we actually hinder their efforts. The days of ham radio saving the day are now gone. Admit it. We do a fair job with planned events, like fun runs and cross country bike races, but in real emergencies, we generally perform worse than CBers, and the people in charge know that and wish we would go back home, working another 2 minutes FT something, check into a net and give only our call letters. Sorry, that's the way it is. Sad, but it just is. Look at any national report about any disaster and you will never read one word about ham radio. Try it, look at the national coverage about floods, hurricanes, earth quakes...anything and there will be nothing about ham radio. Why, because our days of being useful and long gone.
@@ronjones4069The only ones in the way have no business being there to begin with. There is training and preparation involved before one is allowed to participate in disaster-type scenarios. Too many times, well-meaning but overzealous operators just show up (NEVER self-deploy), get in the way and give the certified ARES/RACES operations a bad name.
I lived in North Richland Hills during the snow disaster. Lost power for 3 days too. I never lost mobile service and I have AT&T. Ended up staying a couple days with my Mom. She lived out on Eagle Mountain Lake and never lost power, just water for a day. That central heat never felt so good.
My home in Grapevine lost power for only a few hours, 1 day. My folks live about 2 miles away and they were without power for 2-3 days also, so they came and stayed at my house because we were in Galveston. It is strange how power outages were so different in areas that are close together.
@@HamRadio2 I live in Keller now. This neighborhood didn't lose power. There's a big hospital about a mile away, so we might be on the same grid. Could explain it. No idea about Mom though. That's Lake Country and is just residential.
Great video Jason. Just to clarify, the EPIRB's and PLB emergency satellite communication devices don't require any investment or subscription beyond the initial purchase of the device and a battery replacement every 5-10 years. The service is federally funded and they work globally. I own several of them. 73!
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EPIRB - EMERGENCY POSITION INDICATING RADIO BEACON. Not a SAT phone, but a distress beacon that doesn't require subscriptions. It only sends distress signals to rescue agencies. Nothing else.
EPIRBs are definitely _not_ satphones. They reliably send a signal in a protected band that is monitored by an international consortium for the express purpose of rescue. The sent signal includes registration information and GPS location but that is about it. There is an updated version that permits limited messaging, but I don't think that's available in the USA.
Another available satellite technology is a service like SPOT or Garmin's inReach satellite messaging services. These services use private satellite networks and dedicated monitoring centers to provide comprehensive, privately coordinated emergency responses, paid for by subscription. None of these, however, are satellite phones.
How do you get into ham radios? I got a baofeng and a good antenna I still can't pick up anyone talking. I only pick up the emergency stations.
You mentioned this about half way in, but to expand on it, there's a book and subsequent short TV series called Five Days at Memorial, about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina: "it tells the story of Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans, where 45 bodies were found in Katrina's aftermath"
I'm sure the details are not 100% exact in the TV adaptation but they had many helicopters flying overhead but the people in the hospital had almost no way to get communications out. I'm assuming this part is true, but in the TV series they had basic email capability to their head office, and relied on people there to try and get help, which didn't come in time.
And their generators were in the basement of the building which was underwater.
I could only think while watching this series, if someone had even a basic handheld, they may have been able to at least get hold of someone local to them to get help quicker. Even an airband radio(although illegal without the applicable license) would have possibly allowed them to contact the people flying overhead to get help.
I would think a ham packet radio network that supports SMS messaging would be useful in times of adverse conditions, especially if it featured automatic retry, error correction, and data rate adjustment, because you could do text messaging, asynchronously, under conditions in which real-time voice conversations were difficult or inconsistent. Kind of like... cell phones. Okay, I am dimly aware that such a thing is already available and in use within the world of amateur radio. I just haven't had any experience with it yet. On the other hand I haven't overheard much talk about it. I guess as long as the cell network is up and you are within range some of the time, who really needs a separate ham service for that? What do you think?
Your last point is the best part of the video Jason. Self-reliant communications is one of the main reasons I got into ham radio. Good discussion. 73 de K5MGK Mark
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I'm not sure picking on the "fantasy" hits every circumstance anyways. There are a lot of diverse possibilities and probabilities across the world where "emcom" has different meaning. Even here in the States, there are big cities with giant emergency response budgets and infrastructure with very little need or want of assistance from amateurs, radio or otherwise. There are also areas where volunteers are the plan, the budget and the infrastructure. How is what the government needs or wants exclusively the measure of emcom or even usefulness to the community or the individual? What I think happens often is people see the world from their own narrow perspective and make assumptions regarding what anyone else must experience. Frankly, that's also the case where folks from one sort of community think laws should be made and enforced the same across the board. That's mostly ridiculous. Absolutisms tend to benefit some and ignore the needs of many. Emcom can be, "f___! I'm out of gas and my wallet's at home!" Emcom can be, "f___! 200 miles of coastline just got hit by a tsunami!" Emcom can be, "f___! I get one call and I don't have a lawyer on retainer!" Probably different comms would be appropriate to each of those emergencies and maybe that would be a helluva lot different from one place on earth to another. Ham radio is "a" method of communication that may be useful in an emergency and may not be. If Yellowstone erupts, I'm not setting up on 40 meters; I'm making popcorn, 'cause there's not a dang thing I can do to stop what's coming. On the other hand, it sure is nice to know if our monsoons took out the back road before I try to head into town. So, ... The question isn't is emcom a ham radio fantasy, but rather how do you define emcom where you are and is ham radio useful for your tiny corner of the planet. The answers are probably a moving target.
Ham radio is a craft. Just getting a license and putting a radio in your Go Bag or in a bunker is not enough. For it to work, one needs to get out and use it and learn the skills. After the asteroid hits is the wrong time to be figuring out how to put up a wire antenna and how to use the squelch on the radio.
Yes
When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, there was no cell towers working, no PSTN. In the fires in Gatlinburg, TN some years ago, the electrical power was out, and so the generators were running the pumps to keep the water towers full, until the diesel ran out on the generators. So no water available, so no cell either, tower generators would run out of fuel too. IN fact, cell towers destroyed. City and state “needs” us, they don’t know it. Only when this happens do they learn about amateur radio.
Disaster can be a wide range of events, Hurricane Katrina to a war. Satellite won’t work if a satellite is taken out. Some of the things he says is true, but overall, I don’t agree.
Great Video - I was texting back and forth with one of my friends about some AREDN Mesh Networking issues this morning - Phoenix Valley - he is one of the AREDN developers - he got knocked completely off line for the better part of a day because someone had a car accident that took out a substation - it has happened multiple times out here. It does not take any kind of nefarious activity to knock out the local networks. I have lived in CA - 3 places, Indiana, CT, West Berlin twice, Arizona, Montana, Florida - Key West, and Oklahoma - Power failures lasting days - not uncommon. I am part of the Emcom group for two counties, as well as the local Sheriff's office, the Red Cross, + several others - Ham radio is a great backup - if you know how to use it - I have watched so many videos saying "I don't need a license in an Emergency" might be legally true - but if you don't know how to use your gear - you have an expensive paperweight. Thank You for producing a common sense video - WELL DONE Sir - I enjoyed it.
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EPIRBS are not a subscription they are mainly for boating but can either use satellite or vhf uhf emergency beaconing.
Ham use to appeal to me as a kid because you could listen to the world and your neighbor 46.730 i still remember but now that im older i thought about it then lost my family and find it difficult to prepare to communicate with nobody.
A quick search of qrz and i cant see that call sign. 🤷♂️ not that, that is the final absolute.
The writer was focused on assisting the authorities. Like you said most just want to save their own butts. Myself included.
In an emergency the individual is more or less on their own. Given the population vrs first responders numbers.
Granted 2013 in Alberta Canada we had floods that wiped out whole towns. Amateur radio operators were called in to assist.
When ive listened to the hurricane nets and all they are passing information to family members and all that.
Like you, im set up with my direct neighbors and family within 60miles.
Cheers 🍻
Great overview, there really are so many things to consider based on where you are or might be. One size does not fit all. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing!! Ham Radio is a must I preach to people daily trying to recruit as many people as I can to get into our hobbie!! Not only is ham radio fun but it plays a important role in all kinds of situations!! Enjoyed video!!
Well said!
I just want to add that most preppers that I know don't draw any attention to themselves and just want the ability to monitor for information and talk simplex to their peeps short-range on handhelds when things are down. They don't even want to have to use radios to communicate unless systems are down because it's out in the open. Licensees probably have more to worry about from bleedover from neighboring regions on VHF/UHF and on HF from the CB guys with big amps than they do from preppers with fengs. I haven't encountered any.
If you can text, text. There are so many scenarios, but the main issue is power outages lasting for days, and it's worst when you have a mediocre power grid. I wonder what happened with the 2024 Panhandle wildfires? Some reports attribute it to the power lines.
My neighbors in the Florida Keys use FRS radios to stay in touch during and after a hurricane hits and power outages. There is a Ham and GMRS repeater net in the Keys. CB is is also a great option for local coms, especially in the car during an evacuation on U.S. 1.
I have often wonder why they continue to bring up ARES and the like as a reason to get into Ham radio. Here in East Texas not too many years ago we had straight line winds come through and parts of intown were without power for a week, myself included. During that time most services were still in operation. I will say that during the first few hours of this outage yes alternate communication did come in handy to some extent but after backup power and some parts of regular power were up not much was needed. Now short of a long term large outage Ham radio is not as useful as it once was, but as you mentioned the control of such communications is in the hands of the operator and their capabilities and is not reliant on other forms of infrastructure. Either way to me it can be a form of entertainment during outages as well as a form of communications if and when it is needed, so worth the time and trouble for me personally.
You don’t necessarily need fancy long range comms networks during a crisis to be successful. Small scale neighborhood level GMRS simplex communications can give you a big advantage without needing much understanding of radio if the cell towers go down. That being said you have to plan and practice communications.
i keep a few ham radios and a few gmrs radios in the old Faraday cage ,,, while i would love it if i heard signals from other people , i really only bought them so i could communicate with my team when all other forms of communication are down.