Ham Radio Operators Are Heroes In Oregon

An anonymous reader writes "We all know the impact that Ham radio can have in emergencies, but that often slips by the public and the authorities. Not so in Oregon, where a day after getting inundated with torrential rains and winds and suffering from the usual calamities those cause, Oregon's Governor called the local Ham radio operators heroes. When discussing how the storm affected communications, the governor stated: "I'm going to tell you who the heroes were from the very beginning of this...the ham radio operators." Kudos to the Oregon Ham operators for helping out in a bad situation, and getting the recognition they deserve."

Comments

Not Just In Oregon

[gbulmash]

A friend of mine (Randy Cassingham of This Is True ) is a HAM radio operator and he's helped provide communications for emergency responders during disasters near where he lives in Colorado. When the chips are down, it seems that radio hobbyists are ready, willing, and able to help out. It's nice to see that they're getting some positive press.

Hopefully much of this thread will be kudos for Ham radio operators around the world. A lot of them use their powers for good more often than you might think.

- Greg

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[GrendelT]

FWIW, the "ham" in ham radio radio is not an abbreviation. It's just ham.

There's no definitive answer on the matter, but it goes back to the days when ham radio operators had better sets than the old Navy radios (in spark-gap radio days). Amateur radio operators had more efficient radios and were more powerful than the "professional" radio sets at the time, when a Navy radio operator would try to use the frequency his set was tuned for he may hear some guys "hamming it up" on the air. After a while the saying was commonplace and the term "ham" stuck.

Officially it's known as Amateur Radio, but most people just refer to it as ham radio.

"And now you know the rest of the story, good day!"

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[kb0hae]

Hi Guys. Try searching on NF5B in your favorite search engine. You will get quite a few results, but a few are links to stories about NF5B and his role in saving lives during Katrina. I am fortunate enough to be a good friend of Richard and Kathleed. This legally blind musician and his Lady (who is wheelchair bound most of the time) are true heros, as are many others who seldome get the press coverage, or the recognition that they deserve. Richard and Kathleed also participate in the Maritime Mobile Service Net. This net is composed of Amateir Operators who give their time and use their radio equipment to help ships at sea, and also others in parts of the world who have no other means of communication except for Amateur Radio. The members of this net have saved many lives, and helped countless mariners communicate with loved ones. I monitor this net when conditions permit.

There are many unsung heros among the ranks of Amateur Radio operators.

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[OriginalArlen]

There's a chap where I work who's involved in the Radio Amateurs Emergency Network (RAEnet) which provides emergency comms in situations exactly like this, as well as providing backup to the police & emergency services in less dramatic scenarios. At one point he had a relay in his car providing a live feed via a Google maps mashup so we could see where he was when he didn't turn up in the office. He just *loves* it when we call him "rubber duck" ask about his "twenty" and refer to him as a "good buddy". Ahh, simple pleasures...

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[Nefarious Wheel]

I had always assumed that it's a play on words: Radio Amateur, Radio Am, Ham

Another variation is that it's a self-deprecating qualifier. "Ham" as in "Ham Fisted". One's "fist" is the distinctive keying pattern a person has when keying Morse code, and a "ham fist" would be one who's a bit awkward at the key.

Some of these guys were real artists. Try keying "beesnest" in the middle of some text with a speed key. It'll put you off your rythmn, but some folks wouldn't even blink.

Morse is still relevant in bad conditions, too -- you can get a morse signal across where voice or packet won't, especially in a hurricane.

Ham's day is over, probably

[jimmyhat3939]

I got my first Ham license back in the 1980s. Back then you had to be able to do 20wpm morse code to get to the highest license.

Nowadays they've watered it down so that it's extremely easy to get the licenses. In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world.

Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[couchslug]

"Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old."

The barriers to entry that kept the hobby purist worked a bit too well.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Scud]

That's the problem.

Guys like me (50 years old) don't care to, or are able to, do 5 WPM in Morse code. And as far as that goes, learning Morse never made sense to me anyways, not since the advent of the PC. Hell, I've had an Icom 735 for over 25 years without a license. I like to lurk. :)

So how do you attract new blood to an activity that's waaay too geeky to begin with? Kids aren't going to bother learning Morse when they can use a program to do the same thing - why would they bother?

So faced with either keeping the hobby "pure" and watching it die out as the oldtimer's keys go silent, or conceding to reality and making membership more attactive to younger folks, which would you choose?

But you're right, it's definitely not the same as it was 20 - 30 years ago.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[GrendelT]

I'm not 60.
A vast majority are, but ham radio was the "cool" thing when they were younger, now we have these new-fangled computers and Internets with it's tubes and everything. All the old-school hackers were hams. In the 70s and 80s they all moved toward computers. There's still a subset of younger hams (I'm 27 and almost always younger than anyone I meet on the air.).

Also of note is the fact that Morse code was dropped from ham testing almost a year ago. The jury was out on whether licensing would pick up or not change. After monitoring and graphing the growth in a horribly ugly script, the number are in and - nothing changed really. There was a spike of "lazy" or tone-deaf hams upgrading, but that was about it.
Here's my ugly graph: http://n5dux.com/ham/issued/

73, de N5DUX (Extra with code)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old.

Perhaps that's because they've had their houses since before subdividers began putting a stop to amateur radio with covenants against antennas.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

While I agree with you (mostly) that ham shouldn't just be about the Morse code, Morse has a huge advantage in reception -- a weak signal may be useless for voice, but tones can still be recognized.

Also, disasters strike in many different ways. It's conceivable that there might be an occasion where the only viable communications medium you have is boolean (a carrier wave with no microphone or modulator circuit, or hammers and pipes in a cave-in, or whatever.) If that's the case, it's Morse or nothing.

Ham radio operators pride themselves on being able to communicate when absolutely nothing else works, and the world is crashing down (or blowing up) around them. Morse is another tool in the toolbox.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[gbobeck]

I don't think HAM can get through the center of the Earth

Why bother going through the center of the Earth when the ionosphere can easily bounce radio waves.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[JK_the_Slacker]

Funny how I've seen PSK-31 (a digital mode) work perfectly without a detectable (to my Field Day trained ear) signal. Morse may be better than voice... but a computer can outdo a human ear.

Note that I say this as a computer scientist and as a ham radio operator myself. I'm not suggesting that Morse is obsolete or useless... just that it's not automatically the best thing ever. The wonderful thing about this hobby is that it breeds innovation. From the earliest days of ultra-wide-bandwidth spark gap generators to a complete packet transceiver the size of an Altoids tin, the world of amateur radio, and the amateurs that have built it, is nothing short of amazing. However, if we really want to bring life back in this hobby, we need to stop all the infighting and think. We need to look at each operating mode honestly and attempt to appreciate the merits and the shortcomings of each of them. For every great thing you can name about the code, I can name another mode that does it better. But that's not what the hobby is about.

In response to the article, good on the Oregon hams, and congrats to them for getting recognized. They deserve it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[mikiN]

I'm a HAM radio operator, and the requirement of learning Morse code to be allowed to operate on shortwave has always baffled me. Yes, I can imagine that knowing your dahs from your dits can be an advantage in bad reception conditions and in emergencies, but there is so much more.

For shortwave, knowledge of radio propagation and atmospheric conditions, good antenna design and particularly good Operating Practice are way more important IMO.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mike Buddha]

Purist or Elitist? I've got a General license and I find that particularly on the internet, old hams are dickheads. They act as if we new hams are invading their private paradise, and instead of assisting and community building, they bitch and moan and howl about how ham radio is turning into CB, and how the sky is falling. Those old farts still on the air are just as crotchety as you'd expect, whining about how all the new hams are walking on their amateur band lawns.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Bartab]

The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.

The code-free tech license is in bands that are for all intents (near Canada/mexico border would be the exception) are US only.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Kadin2048]

The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.

The code-free tech license is in bands that are for all intents (near Canada/mexico border would be the exception) are US only. I'm sorry but that's just wrong. It might have been true at some point but it's certainly not true now. Most of the European countries have dropped Morse completely -- the US was one of the last holdouts. (Probably not the last, but definitely up there.) And the Morse requirements for commercial/marine radiotelephone operators licenses are gone too. There's no international pressure to learn it anymore -- most of the impetus to retain Morse in the U.S. was coming from the ARRL, basically from old Hams who wanted the exclusivity it provided.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[thephydes]

Morse is king if you want effective communication over long distances and have only low power available to you. If you have a computer then psk31 is probably (possibly) next best. Good software can pick up psk signals that are so quiet that they are below the noise floor. Ham radio experimenters are responsible for the early development of many communication technologies that we now take for granted. Don't write us off yet, there's still life in the hobby believe me.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MichaelSmith]

He is not saying that Morse code should not be used. Rather that the users should not be required to LEARN morse code. Morse code can remain the encoding for transmission but the device can provide the a less arcane interface like a keyboard and a small display for the operator.

Yeah but its pretty embarrassing that aircraft pilots have to learn CW and radio operators do not.

I never got my radio license but I am glad I learnt morse code. And Braille for that matter. Its handy to know.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tgd]

Meh, I'll just tap it out in ASCII. I'd be willing to bet there are more people that can do 7 or 8 bit binary to ASCII in their head than morse anymore. (And I am someone who has their Amateur Radio license and debated doing the additional licensing that needs morse, which I know, but not fast enough or well enough to pass).

Plus, if I'm trapped, I want to be able to tap out messages kids today will understand: "Z0mg, r u there? Needz h3lp, legs broken. S3nd hlp n hookers. ;)"

Try sending an emoticon over morse!

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Oktober Sunset]

yea, if you simutaneously get your eyes jabbed out and your vocal chords ripped out in a disaster situation, you''ll be laughing at all those naysayers then won't you.

or rather, tapping out .... .- .... .- as you will have no vocal chords.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MyLongNickName]

So, it is kind of like Linux then?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Nefarious Wheel]

You can still get a message across in the bush with your car horn when you're far from the nearest phone cell, too. Morse can be useful.

Have you ever noticed the dit-dit-dit dah-dah dit-dit-dit of some phones' SMS alarms? Well, that's what it is -- Morse for "SMS".

See? You're still using it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Bruce Perens]

Pardon me, but the Morse code argument is OVER. There is no Morse code requirement any longer, anywhere, with the possible exception of Russia.

Unfortunately, this came a few decades too late. We did not get an increase in new people becoming hams. A lot of existing hams upgraded their licenses, but the overall number of radio amateurs is declining today. New hams are not enrolling in sufficient amounts to replace those with expiring licenses (who are probably mostly dead).

Bruce

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[josecanuc]

This is why bands like the 80 and 160m bands are morse code only. This is false. 80m and 160m bands are legal for all modes.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[afternoon_nap]

Ham radio is alive, even with computers, and that goes for cw and PSK31. If you use a computer for decoding PSK31 (which I do) then why not use the same hardware for decoding cw? I use a computer to decode my cw. I've passed my 5wpm test a few years ago and can copy 10-15wpm. However, with a wife, a career, and kids running around the house I can't dedicate time to improving my cw copy speed. However, for a few bucks at I can make a cw and RTTY keying interface for my computer and let a number of programs key the radio and transmit. I work a lot of DX this way and have a lot of fun doing so. Using the above setup I worked all over the world into places I needed a map to see where they were.

So my workaround is to still work cw, except I use my computer. A very good digimode program is fldigi which is GPLd in linux and ported to FreeBSD by VA3DB (Diane Bruce, who wrote a lot of the IRC code). fldigi has also been imported into DM780, part of Ham Radio Deluxe. Both programs take advantage of protocols permitting the computer to control the radio via a serial interface.

Diane has also created a bootable cdrom full of ham software she's ported to FreeBSD, called HamFreeSBIE. Google it for a download link, as it's always under development.

Hams tinker and homebuild and develop because they can, just like they go to far away places and operate: because they can. We also provide emergency services because we can. And we make stuff work because we can. I have fewer limitations when using ham radio than when I use my cell phone. And I don't have to pay access fees, either. I do this hobby because I can.

If you want to get more insight into what hams are doing with computers and software, check into irc.freenode.net #hamradio and chat. You'll meet some very good developers and users alike, both working to keep ham radio active.

- N4CI

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[GooberToo]

Even membership at the largest groups like the Free Masons is drastically down because of this "me,me,me,ME!" shift in community focus.

My belief is you're seeing the same sickness which has infected almost all levels of society. And IMOHO, it seems to get worse with the current generation. The current generation is all about "me" and all feel entitled. And if you don't play their game of giving to them, then you're not worth spit so why should they do anything for anyone else.

In other words, I don't see what you're describing as a ham problem, I see it as a larger societal problem.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[AgentPaper]

Funny, that. My parents purchased a sat-phone for remote area travel (they do a lot of fishing and hunting in extremely remote locations, both in the US and internationally), with the understanding that the phone would work anywhere you could see the sky. Wrong - there also needs to be a ground uplink station somewhere within a thousand miles of your location. That little caveat came back to haunt them in northern Alaska, and then again in Labrador. Satellites all over the place, but they couldn't get a signal from the ground station, which rendered the sat-phone a $600 brick (and I do mean brick - the blasted thing weighs about a pound and comes in a bright yellow Pelican case that looks like it could hold a nuclear device).

Sat-phones also don't work particularly well in storms or heavy cloud cover, nor do they work at sea (see above about ground stations). In short, they're fairly useless in just about every situation where you'd need them the most. Ham radio has no such restrictions - there's always a way to get a signal through. If I were going to the boonies and had the choice of a radio or a sat-phone, I'd take the radio every time.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joseph.moore]

I've been reading the comments about old hams being rude and failing to mentor new hams and I have to tell you, I don't see it. I've been licensed since 1982 and I still consider myself a new ham in many respects. With every new venture I seek the mentoring of those who came before me and I usually get good advise. When I get the chance, I share what I have learned in my quarter century of being a ham. That may classify me as one of the old farts you refer to, but remember all of those old farts were young hams once too.

As for the bands turning into CB, well see that in some areas. Take a listen on 75 meters and tell me if you would like your family or friends to listen in! Personally it is disappointing to think that a person skilled enough to setup and operate an HF station would act the way some do. I was shocked at the vulgar language, blatant disregard for the rules or others. There are vulgar old farts and young pups alike ... plenty of blame to go around! Perception is important and it is true, a minority give a bad perception.

Do I think that changing the testing requirements has ruined the hobby? Not by a long shot!

For myself, I'll let you consider me an old fart, a young pup or something in the middle and I'll enjoy the hobby for what it is. When the time comes to help others as an Elmer or in an emergency I'll be there the best I can. Truly, isn't that we all strive for?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

Actually, it does! People who are expert at Morse code develop a distinctive keying rhythm or style, which an experienced receiver can identify. Hams refer to this as recognizing their "fist."

For a fairly well documented account, check out some of the histories of code breaking that was going on in WWII. The Allied radio operators who were intercepting German messages were able to recognize many individual German radio officers just by the pattern of their dits and dahs. This was especially helpful in identifying which ship was transmitting, as the same operators continued to work from the same boats. It also was reportedly used to recognize when a spy had been captured. The spy was forced to reveal their transmission frequencies, times, and code words, and the Germans kept up a phony conversation, trying to feed the Allies misinformation. But if anyone but the spy sent the message, the Allied radio operator might recognize the difference in the fist.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

For every great thing you can name about the code, I can name another mode that does it better.

Only because you brought it up, I will point out that packet transmitters will likely not survive an EMP. Digital transmitters, receivers, and decoders will be useless from that moment forward. Even transistor-based analog radios will be destroyed. The induced current will cause semiconductors to fry themselves out in everything from mainframes to iPods, and cars to refrigerators, regardless of their power state at the time of the blast. But vacuum tube radios will continue to work, and I am unaware of any valve-based PSK decoders.

And that's the kind of old-school reliability that old-school hams hang on to Morse for. Ask any 55-year-old if they remember classroom drills taking shelter under their desks from the fallout in case the Russkies "drop the big one". Terrorists with their wimpy box cutters are nothing but punks compared to the threat of armies of commies sending us real atom bombs. Whether or not you or I still consider nuclear war to be an actual threat isn't relevant. The lessons associated with that kind of fear stay with you forever.

But that's not what the hobby is about.

I totally agree. The spirit of hams is in the "can-do" attitude, and most of the hams I know savor their ability to communicate three different ways in otherwise impossible conditions.

New form of file sharing!

[calebt3]

If one could account for signal distortion/degradation, ham radio sets could conceivably be used for broadcasting files. And I mean as a binary ogg/mp3/aac/flac/whatever, not as audio that can be played by any radio.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[corsec67]

You mean something like Packet Radio

Re:New form of file sharing!

[gbobeck]

Actually, I prefer D-Star ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR ) over packet radio.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Rorschach1]

Up to 802.11b speeds are in general use - mostly using 802.11b equipment, in fact. Megabit range data links aren't uncommon for microwave frequencies.

Myself, I stick mostly to slow but useful 1200 baud AFSK on VHF. When you're passing things like short text messages, telemetry, and position reports, you don't NEED huge amounts of speed. What you need is a system to get the most critical information to where it will do the most good. And 1200 baud has a big advantage in that you can use it over damn near anything that'll pass a voice signal. You can fit an entire modem and protocol stack in a $2, 8-bit microcontroller, too - no fancy ASICs or DSPs needed (see my link below).

As for the long-distance HF communications people usually associate with ham radio, there's PSK-31 which is a very robust and efficient mode designed for keyboard-to-keyboard use. It's slow, but works when almost nothing else does. It can be encoded with the above-mentioned MCU (I do that for propagation beacons and such) but most people just use a sound card and PC.

Pactor III and other modes give you speeds suitable for email on the HF bands, and they're used for that quite a bit.

Ham radio in emergency situations is less about fancy toys, though, and more about having people with the training and knowledge to be able to use them, and to improvise when things go wrong. That's another reason I stick with relatively low-tech stuff - I'd rather build low-cost devices that can be kludged into doing all sorts of useful things than to focus on finicky, expensive, cutting-edge stuff that's going to fall apart when the fecal matter hits the air circulating device.

Yes, there are a lot of crusty old guys on the radio. But keep in mind that ham radio is what nerds did BEFORE computers and Slashdot, and a lot of them remember that spirit, even if they've fallen behind the curve a bit in technology. There's also a growing number of young hams developing exciting things like GNU Radio, and the open source philosophy is increasingly prevalent in the community. I'm certain that in the next decade open source will be THE major driving force in the hobby.

In the end, it's really just a return to the hobby's roots. There's always been a great deal of information sharing and experimentation, but much of that spirit has dwindled in recent years because of the aging population and the increasing complexity and manufacturing costs associated with modern gear. Open source software, plus DSP, FPGAs, fast computers, and software-defined radios, as well as increased ease of collaboration and access to contract manufacturing are swinging things back the other way.

Think of it this way - a weekend's worth of dedicated cramming can get you a license that grants access to some rather large chunks of spectrum, often with relatively little in the way of restrictions on how you use it. That's the sort of resource that corporations spend millions for - look at the 700 MHz auctions going on now. That license gets you a huge radio frequency playground that's not only wide open for experimentation, it NEEDS active experimentation and exploitation or it will be taken away and auctioned off to the corporations. Don't wait for Google's Android to save wireless communications from the likes of AT&T - go develop an open replacement for a proprietary mode (start with Pactor III or D*Star's AMBE codec), or start a solar-powered 802.11b backbone, or SOMETHING.

Hell, just to make things interesting - I'll send one of my OpenTracker+ kits, free, anywhere in the world, to anyone with a Slashdot account that already exists as of today who gets a license before the end of February 2008. It may not be everyone's thing, but A) it's free and B) it comes with source code. Email scott@argentdata.com.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[NGinuity]

Actually.....the 1.2 GHz D-Star modules (the ID-1 for example), will give you the equivalent of ISDN connectivity.

Peace of mind

[Dan East]

Cell phones are very convenient, but what gives me peace of mind is knowing my quad-band (70cm, 1.25m, 2m, 6m), wide-receive, submersible Yaesu VX-7R hand-held transceiver is close at hand. If James Kim would have had even a basic Amateur hand-held transceiver with him things would have probably turned out much different.

Dan East

Re:Peace of mind

[Bl4ckJ3sus]

If James Kim had a $100.00 handheld GPS with him, things would have been different.

Re:Peace of mind

[Anonymous Coward]

Link for those (like me) who aren't familiar with the story: James Kim.

Sure, having a basic radio could have saved James' life. So could have a GPS, or if the gate had been locked, or if he hadn't decided to leave the car, or if his family had taken the train. Anybody can think of dozens of ways he could be alive. Tragedies like this are always the result of a long sequence of events going wrong -- if any had gone right, it would have been avoided.

That's not at all specific to ham radios, though. Ham radios aren't magic, and won't solve every crisis. It's just the nature of tragedies.

It's still a mess

[Z80xxc!]

I live in Oregon, and let me say, things are still a huge mess around here. Although I personally didn't need rescuing (although someone I know did!), I must say that the HAM operators are an invaluable asset in an event like this. On the coast, communications are still spotty, if existent at all. There was an article in the Oregonian today about how some places on the coast don't even have 911 service, since all of the fiber links for phones are out, and the 911 center doesn't have power anyway - the gas for the generator ran out. It's situations like this where HAM radio operators are particularly useful.

It's still a mess out here. Lots of roads are still closed - Interstate 5 is closed in Washington, effectively cutting off all transportation between Portland and Seattle. Thousands of cars, and most importantly, trucks, travel[ed] this highway daily. The train tracks are closed too, so there's no amtrak or freight trains. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens... things are improving, but in no speedy fashion.

I'm a Hero!

[Abuzar]

Yay! Finally! Someone recognizes I'm important! Now, if only I could get a date...
Goddess, I just wish there would be a natural disaster and a cute girl for me to save ;-)

Re:I'm a Hero!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is how Bond villains are created...

Oh Sure...

[MightyMartian]

Yeah, they're heroes today, but when Oregon's power utilities decide to start providing Internet over their power lines, turning their electrical grid into one vast RF radiator that wipes out HAM frequencies, we'll have all those all-knowing /.ers declaring HAM radio a thing of the past, that they should get a life, and my personal favorite "Don't worry, when the power goes out, we can turn on your HAM radio sets and save us all, so what's the problem?"

Re:Oh Sure...

[forkazoo]

Yeah, they're heroes today, but when Oregon's power utilities decide to start providing Internet over their power lines, turning their electrical grid into one vast RF radiator that wipes out HAM frequencies, we'll have all those all-knowing /.ers declaring HAM radio a thing of the past, that they should get a life, and my personal favorite "Don't worry, when the power goes out, we can turn on your HAM radio sets and save us all, so what's the problem?"

I was actually thinking the same thing. I mean, I'm all in favor of a new form of broadband to promote competition, but IMHO wiping out HAM to do it just isn't worth the price. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a few states including a few weeks of basic HAM instruction as part of the standard high school curriculum so that people are more aware of an incredibly important resource in emergencies.

Re:Oh Sure...

[K0RGR]

I teach ham radio classes. The toughest part of the electronic theory required for the basic license IS taught in freshman science class in our local high schools!!! Memorize some rules and regulations, apply common sense to questions like "When is it permitted to send false and misleading transmisions", and you, too, can pass the test! Seriously, it will require some study, but it's not neurosurgery.

Packet Radio

[camperdave]

If one could account for signal distortion/degradation, ham radio sets could conceivably be used for broadcasting files. And I mean as a binary ogg/mp3/aac/flac/whatever, not as audio that can be played by any radio.

It's called Packet Radio, and has been around about as long as the internet itself. In fact, one of the first demonstrations of TCP/IP's versatility was the connecting of a satellite network, a packet radio network, and the ARPANet. This happened back in 1977.

Another hundred year flood ?

[HW_Hack]

I live in the Portland-Metro area and can confirm we (as in the Pacific NW) had a doozy of a storm. Mist - rain - horizontal rain - and rain like a cow pissing on a flat rock.

This is basically a repeat of what we got in 1996 which I believe was rated as a hundred year flood -- so within 10yrs we have another event. Wonder how all this maps into the whole climate change picture.

And yes - thanks to the Hams for helping out as they always do. In any major disaster where public communications infrastructure will be damaged --- independent radio operators can make critical connections

Golf Oscar Oscar Delta Juliet Oscar Bravo!

[xPsi]

i.e. good job

Flood Pics and Info

[SmoothTom]

Actually, SW Washington state probably got hit the worst this particular time.

Here is a site just put up by the folks there:

http://flood.dothelp.net/

Links to lots of pics and such.

--
Tomas

kudos as well..

[Hillview]

To the governor mentioned, for giving credit where it was due. All too rare these days.

Good job!

[SamMichaels]

It's good to see some publicity about amateur radio.

Pretty easy to get your license, too. About a week's worth of studying will get you on the air. The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) has a ton of info about getting licensed.

It's exciting that you can IM someone through the internet and have it appear in a couple milliseconds........but how about sending a transmission through the air to someone on the other side of the world at the speed of light using something half the size of your laptop and an antenna as long as that crazy cat-5 wire you have stretched across 3 rooms?

73 de KB3OOJ

Re:Good job!

[gbobeck]

It's exciting that you can IM someone through the internet and have it appear in a couple milliseconds........but how about sending a transmission through the air to someone on the other side of the world at the speed of light using something half the size of your laptop and an antenna as long as that crazy cat-5 wire you have stretched across 3 rooms?

Even better... sending that transmission using less than a watt of power through a homemade antenna to the other side of the world.

73. W9QNY

Re:Good job!

[DeepHurtn!]

I'm no ham, but I think the difference is that in the case of a cellphone, *you* aren't sending that message across the world -- your cellphone carrier is. You're dependent on them; if they go down, your phone becomes absolutely useless. The ham operator, on the other hand, is actually self-sufficient.

Some people value that, *especially* in emergencies like what we're talking about here, when ham radio became literally the *only* method of communication available.

Thanks to the Hams!!!

[SmoothTom]

I live north of most of the problems, but have friends right in the middle of the flood disaster in SW Washington state: http://flood.dothelp.net/

Much of the communication is out due to drowned central offices, soaked cables, power outages, and such. Even the remaining working cell towers are in serious trouble, seriously overloaded, and communications is very spotty.

20 miles of Interstrate 5 are closed, with a several hundred mile detour over a mountain range, and the highway will likely be closed for a week, possibly more. Some parts of it were ten feet under water yesterday, and there was a lot of damage to the highway and it's foundation.

In conditions like this, hams with mobile or portable radios, or with emergency generators are often the ONLY communication to the outside.

http://flood.dothelp.net/ has a lot of information about the damage, rescue efforts, pictures, etc. (The server itself is OUTSIDE the disaster area.)

Thanks to the hams!!!

--
Tomas

The hobby is growing

[Anonymous Coward]

Here in Canada amateur radio is a integral part of almost every city/town. Many radio clubs/societies receive grants from municipal and provincial government bodies to purchase gear, train new members,etc.

A good 1/3 of our members now are under 30. With such a young crew we can invest in and easily learn cutting edge technology to further assist the population in a time of need. We actually run asterisk based voip, video conferencing, instant messaging and of course email between our EOC's (emergency operation centres). Connectivity is done by way of 11Mbps wireless data on the 2.4ghz amateur radio band (non-802.11). We also make use of low speed packet based systems on VHF/UHF for your basic email (winlink: http://www.winlink.org/ ) and message handling.

Low bandwidth, high noise resistance

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

These advantages are shared by computer-generated modulation schemes such as PSK31, which theoretically fits into 31 Hz (though in practice many signals are distorted and splatter over more spectrum than that) and which can be decoded when it's too faint to be heard through the noise.

In my old HAM Club...

[TekGnos]

There was a guy who not only used his 5 Watt HAM radio to communicate directly with the Space Station, but he also bounced radio waves off of the moon to communicate with someone in the other hemisphere! I don't know his exact setup, but he was into some serious HAM. Its amazing how great the spectrum they use is... Oh and passing the HAM test is probably doable without any studying. Its multiple choice and pretty damn easy if you can take those kinds of tests. I took it so I could operate an amateur TV transmitter from a model airplane. But thats another story...

Not Just During Disasters

[Comatose51]

I've actually encountered Ham radio operators during my MS150 charity bike rides. The 150 stands for the distance (usually more) we ride over two days to raise money for research on multiple sclerosis. Along the way I remember seeing Ham radio operators at the various stops operating radios and coordinating the support for the riders. Most of the routes MS150 rides go through is just the country side far away from urban areas and when a rider needs help or is injured, you need a reliable form of communication. Imagine going down 80 miles from the nearest city with no cellphone reception. I am thankful to have them volunteer for the events.

Boy Scouts

[SoyChemist]

I remember participating in Scouting on the Air, a ham radio event for Boy Scouts, and hearing the leader tell us how Ham radio operators are so helpful in disasters. They tend to be great people. I strongly agree with him. The guys at Cal IT 2 in San Diego are amazing with using supercomputing to update maps of disaster areas.

Thanks, guys!

[EmagGeek]

I always like it when Ham Radio Opers get the credit they deserve. When Hurricane Bonnie rolled through the south east, I was working with the guys at W4AQL monitoring emergency comms. I also gave an interview for local TV about how Ham Radio operators are a crucial part of any disaster plan.

I have never heard of it, and I realize it may be a false assumption that one does not exist, but I am wondering if FEMA has an official process for calling up Ham Radio Opers to help as part of their disaster plan....

73
N2JBE

Proud to be part of the greatest hobby on earth.

[GomezAdams]

I was near Detroit on a business trip when the grid went down in 2003. In under 8 hours the cell phone towers went dark and my 2 meter hand held made it possible for me to talk to local hams and get information.

Another example of the use of amateur radio use in disasters is during the tsunami in 2004. Amateur radio was used to carry messages using low power battery operated equipment using morse code. Morse code uses far less power to put out a useful signal then voice and other modes. A lot of information was passed using 5 watts of power and code.

Morse is still useful and Army MARS (Military Amateur Radio System) is going to start using morse again on their nets. I hope Navy MARS does too.

A 'Know Code" HAM (www.fists.com) - Straight Key operator (www.skccgroup.com) - Navy MARS operator.

And most people laugh at them them

[thorkyl]

I for one have seen the impact they make.
I work Mounted Search and Rescue, (horse back) and have hauled their equipment to the tops of mountains for them so they can set up comms for the area.

I have also had HAM's make a radio call to another state just to make an emergency phone call. So its real good seeing this kind of press for them.

when everything bricks

[p51d007]

People turn to the amateur radio community. Check most cities that have a amateur radio club, and you can bet that once or twice a year, you will see them holding a "field day" where they try, in short amount of time, to contact as many other operators across the world, as a contest, and to make sure their "portability" works. This keeps them in tune, in case of a major disaster, when utilities, such as power, phone, CELLULAR fail. We can get the important messages to the outside world. 73's KB0GNK

There are various stories about the origin.

[DigitalReverend]

One of them being that there were professional telegraph operators that still worked for the railroads. As amateur radio took off CW (morse code) was what those amateurs used to communicate. It was initially an insult as the professional telegraph operators thought that the amateurs operated their code keys as if they were ham fisted. Ham fisted radio operator later became ham radio operator.

No one truly knows where the term originated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio

73 (yes only 73, not 73s)
de KI8JC

PSK31

[Chembal]

PSK31 uses (you guessed it!) about 31 hertz of bandwidth, though it doesn't have error correction built in to the mode. There is also a related mode (PSK63) that uses 63 hertz of bandwidth with a higher data rate. PSK is indeed a very reliable low-power and low-bandwidth means of communication. Whether you're a ham or a short-wave listener, I highly recommend giving it and the other digital modes a try. Just hook up your radio's audio out to your computer's sound-card, download one of the many digital mode software packages out there, and enjoy monitoring! If you're a ham, hook up a few more cables, adjust your audio level a bit, and you're on the air! I recommend MultiPSK as a good software package to get started. It's a bit ugly in the interface but it will work with almost any digital mode on the air. Or, for just PSK and RTTY, give WinWarbler a try, from the DXLab suite. It's a much easier to use interface, and is my personal favorite for when I don't care about anything but PSK.

Enjoy!
Brad - N0TCP

When all else fails....

[whoppo]

"When all else fails"... four words that really sum up what amateur radio brings to the community at large.
Many people hear the term "Ham Radio" and can only imagine a long-bearded nerd wearing headphones and shouting "CQ" into a vintage microphone. While that may be an accurate description of some hams, it's but the tip of the iceberg. I personally know hams ranging in age from 6 to over 100, and the individual interests cover the entire spectrum of available operation modes... CW (morse code), RTTY, PSK-31, Packet, SSTV, AM, FM, SSB, the list goes on and on. There are hams in just about every profession imaginable.. students, lawyers, physicians, truck drivers, programmers, home makers, teachers... again, the list seems to never end. Much, if not most, of the communication technology that is taken for granted these days can be traced back to amateur radio and/or amateur radio operators who've applied the knowledge they've developed as hams. Equipment in use today ranges from single vacuum tube transmitters, to microprocessor controlled marvels.. my own shack has a transmitter from the 50's beside a receiver from the 40's, beside a Kenwood TS2000X that covers amateur radio bands from 1.6 MHZ up to 1.2GHz on all modes... about the size of two stacked laptops. Vintage or state-of-the-art, there's plenty of enjoyment to be had. With less than 100 watts of power, I've talked with hams in more than 130 countries from my SUV. No matter where I am, I can communicate with friends and family anywhere in the world... even where there's no power, no cell towers, no visible satellites (oh yes.. there are ham satellites too... and plenty of 'em).

The ability to communicate globally without commercial infrastructure is the key to amateur radio's real value to the world community. When large scale disasters occur, the commercial infrastructure is often impacted. Power is lost, phone lines go down, cell circuits are jammed (until their backup power fails.. then they disappear), simply checking on the welfare of friends and family in the affected areas could be impossible if it were not for amateur radio and the hams that diligently maintain equipment and train to become proficient communicators. From a Red Cross shelter that needs supplies, to a sailboat taking on water hundreds of miles off shore... ham radio has saved the day countless times.

Ok... now that I've spit-shined ham radio, it's only fair to acknowledge the other side of the coin. Ham radio operators are human beings... and as a result of that, there are hams that truly deserve to wear the "Ass Hat" on a daily basis. I've run across foul language, bad attitudes, malicious interference, complete lack of respect and all of the other unfortunate manifestations of today's society. There's no escaping this in ham radio, CB, the Internet, the local pub, school, work... it's a part of living and interacting with other human beings. For these situations I can only offer the suggestion of changing frequency... there's plenty of spectrum for everyone if you're a little patient.

I'm in my late 40's now and have been a ham since my high school days (give or take a year or two). I've tested for technical knowledge, morse code proficiency and operating regulations... I hold an Extra class license... I'm the Emergency Coordinator for my county affiliated with ARES, RACES and County EMA, I'm an ARRL VE and I help proctor license examinations every month. I've had the pleasure of checking the "PASSED" box for new hams as young as 6 years old as well as for folks more than twice my age. My significant other is a coded general class ham and she loves everything about amateur radio. It really has so good much to offer that the bad things pale in comparison. I have no problem with the elimination of the morse code requirements.. most of the new hams that have been able to pass the test as a result are fine operators and contribute immensely to the community (some fall into that other category.. remember... humans) and while I encourage them all to learn mors