In natural or man-made disasters, ham-radio enthusiasts put their hobby to work.
There’s a sense of urgency in the air at a Virginia nuclear power plant. Everything within at least a five-mile radius is at immediate risk due to a critical meltdown. One of the emergency responders opens the envelope she’s holding, scans its contents, and announces the bad news: “We just lost 911 and the cell towers are overloaded.”
There are some groans, but the team of amateur radio operators knew this was a possibility, and they’re prepared. They have their radios at the ready to coordinate evacuations, making sure that no shelters are overwhelmed and that evacuees arrive at the right locations. Two detach themselves from the rest and make their way over to the lead coordinator. They’re acting as the points of contact for all emergency services, which means they’re responsible for relaying information about everything from fires to urgent medical care to illegal activities.
It’s no small task, especially when there’s a nuclear meltdown in the background, but this isn’t the first time these radio operators have tackled a problem of this scale: Similar disasters happen every two years, after all. This time, it’s an earthquake that caused a cooling tower to fail. Sometimes it’s a terrorist attack, or perhaps a hurricane. Fortunately, none of these are real disasters: They’re Simulated Emergency Tests (SET), mock disasters that radio-operator groups use to show the typical emergency players—police, the Red Cross, FEMA—that when the worst happens, these hobbyists can be an essential part of the response…READ MORE
The FCC has turned away a Petition for Rulemaking from a Michigan radio amateur that asked the Commission to amend Section 97.205 of the Amateur Servi... Read more
After many years’ involvement in monitoring intruders on the amateur bands, Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, has decided to retire at the end of 2019. Wolf has work... Read more
If you’re feeling a chill in the air, it must be time for the January VHF Contest! Those in the northern tier of the US (or in a good part of the US t... Read more
IQ Demo Files Here you can find off air IQ recordings for you to check your SDRuno and related software settings for a variety of different situations... Read more
How to Extend Radio Range Without Adding a Repeater? When there’s a need to extend the coverage of handheld two-way radios, the first option is usuall... Read more
Eugene UA4RX will be active from Heiss Island, IOTA EU-019, August 2015 to August 2016 as RI1FJ. He will operate on 160 to 10m CW, SSB and Digi. QSL v... Read more
HF verticals are very popular for the smaller suburban gardens. How do they perform and are there any improvements you should consider? Read more
Tim Duffy, K3LR, has announced that Contest University (CTU) USA 2020 will be held online via Zoom on Thursday May 14, starting at 1245 UTC. CTU 2020... Read more
MPN: RFI-ICOM-7300 Type: NEW Country/Region of Manufacture: United States Filter Power Rating (PEP watts): = Cable Rating RFI Suppression Range (MHz):... Read more
Here is a review of the 40 and 80 meter band Double Bazooka antennas as used on the HF shortwave bands. This will be of interest to amateur (ham) radi... Read more
Barker & Williamson’s BWDS series of broadband folded dipole antennas, together with our MK114 or MK112 mast systems, gives rear tactical a... Read more
Newly released handy transceiver ID-31PLUS for amateur radio which can enjoy long distance communication with D-STAR ® easily Product name / model nu... Read more
Israel special event During the week of Chanukah celebrations, special Israeli radio amateur stations will be active on the air with a special callsig... Read more
Pope Francis visits the USA Special Event Event Information Pope Francis visits the United States September 22 – 27 and amateur radio will be pa... Read more
RSGB FT4 Contest Series A series of three short duration events on 80m to allow entrants to experience the latest machine-generated contest mode As th... Read more
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FCC Denies Petition Aimed at Preventing Interference from Digital Repeaters to Analog Repeaters
DK2OM receives IARU Diamond Award on retirement from his role as IARUMS coordinator
Warm Up with the January VHF Contest, January 21-23
SDRplay has added sample IQ files to their website
How to Extend Radio Range Without Adding a Repeater?
RI1FJ Heiss Island EU-019
Improving Suburban HF Vertical Antennas
Contest University (CTU) 2020 will be Free and Online
Transceiver RFI Kit – 5 Noise Reduction Filters
The Double Bazooka Antenna – A Review
BWDS Base Broadband HF Folded Dipole Antenna
Compact D-Star Transceiver, Icom ID-31 upgraded!
Israel special event
Amateur Radio Special Event Stations to Mark Pope’s US Visit
FT4 contests announced – RSGB
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