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Red Cross Asks For 50 Ham Radio Operators To Fly To Puerto Rico (arrl.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the relief-efforts dept.

Bruce Perens writes: The red cross has asked for 50 ham radio operators to fly to Puerto Rico and be deployed there for up to three weeks. This is unprecedented in the 75-year cooperation between Red Cross and ARRL, the national organization of ham radio operators for the U.S. The operators will relay health-and-welfare messages and provide communications links where those are missing and are essential to rescue and recovery. With much infrastructure destroyed, short-wave radio is a critical means of communicating from Puerto Rico to the Mainland at this time.

28 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Nobody believed me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When I said ham radio was still important because cell phones don't work in disasters where infrastructure is no longer in place. Been a ham since college in 1999.

    1. Re:Nobody believed me by geekmux · · Score: 2

      The only catch I see here is - don't other parts of that area also need support?

      Communications is rather vital to coordinate and execute many other critical projects related to health, infrastructure, etc.

    2. Re:Nobody believed me by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      When I said ham radio was still important

      That's not what you said. What you said was: "Trump says, "Wait, their all black & spanish? And that's the end of that."

      Maybe if you had an account and put a name to what you said you could provide some citation that "Nobody believed you" because quite frankly your view has a lot of support on Slashdot.

    3. Re:Nobody believed me by msauve · · Score: 2

      You're also Anonymous Coward, the guy who posts goatse links and hurls racial epithets.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    4. Re:Nobody believed me by grumling · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yea, not really. 1200 baud packet is pretty bad for transmitting even basic information on a sustained basis. APRS use is sparse in most of the US, yet listening to 144.39 in any city shows that the channel is almost always saturated, even when there are a lot of high digipeaters and everyone is using the newer wideN-n path.

      In a traditional packet network where you connect to stations using 1 or more digis (connect N0XXX via K1YYY), the channel is quickly saturated with digipeating, which gets far worse when you have hidden node problems and other collisions.

      Mesh networks using modified 802.11x equipment will work better only because there's an automatic routing that takes place, but it will still suffer if there's a high node that becomes a bottleneck, and hidden nodes. At least it will be a little faster and have a decent T/R turn-around time though.

      The time to build these networks is before there's a disaster, then harden the nodes. Or at least identify locations and test ahead of time but keep the equipment out of harm's way until needed. And we hams who want high speed networks on VHF and UHF need to start using what we've got (56 Ksps with QAM and other modulation, OFDM carriers, etc) and then petition the FCC for more bandwidth after we've maxed out what we have.

      --
      "Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
    5. Re:Nobody believed me by AsylumWraith · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The morse requirement is long since gone. Testing costs something like $15, (sorry, I haven't gone to a testing session for a while.) A Chinese handheld capable of 2m and 70cm costs under $50 on eBay.

      That's not what I call exclusivity.

    6. Re:Nobody believed me by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      But satellite phones do, and cell companies have options available for pop-up cell towers that use microwave beam, mesh radio or satellite backhaul and can be quickly deployed.

      The call for ham operators in Puerto Rico is an exception - that's why it's newsworthy. Twenty years ago this would have been done for everywhere the hurricane hit.

    7. Re:Nobody believed me by geekmux · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not really

      Give up your cell phone for a week. See how insignificant it is for you to not have communications you've grown to rely on to organize your life and coordinate with your friends, family, and employer.

      Now multiply that impact by 3 million. In a disaster zone.

    8. Re:Nobody believed me by eclectro · · Score: 2

      I somewhat disagree* about putting networks in place before disaster, because the disaster can happen where your network is not. Amateur radio has always had a strong portable emphasis anyways.

      What is needed is a different methodology and different equipment if necessary. That's what hams do. They create what's needed to do more with less and be more effective as they create and use state of the art.

      That's what brought packet radio into being in the first place.

      *I do think that as time goes on emergency links will become increasingly important.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    9. Re:Nobody believed me by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Even 1200 bits per second is more than even several people can type at a sustained rate. A UUCP-like system could deliver more than one SMS message per second.

      In fact, UUCP is still the right tool for this job, if you're using such a slow radio link, and especially if it is intermittent. Seems like it could also handle interplanetary communications with a new protocol or two, but that's another discussion.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    10. Re:Nobody believed me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's not packet radio, they're asking for operators with experience using WinLink which is an HF (long range 100's and 1000's of miles) email system. Remote stations on PR will connect via HF to 'base stations' around the world (in this case mostly US based stations) and send emails which can include very small (25kB) attachments.

      The WinLink system is completely volunteer run, designed and maintained and uses the PACTOR family of protocols (today PACTOR 2, 3 &4, along with Winmor a soundcard based solution).

      I use to be a part of the WinLink development team, and currently an ASM/ASEC for ARRL/ARES.

    11. Re: Nobody believed me by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or, perhaps, there is more to social support than the military. Like FEMA, like the Red Cross, like hundreds of other organizations. Like amateur radio.

      The US military is sending assistance and they can do things that nobody else can do (the Navy hospital ship, for instance). There is no earthly reason that the military HAS to be the only group working a disaster.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  2. Re: Trump says, "Wait, their all black & spani by chill · · Score: 4, Informative

    The summary is slightly inaccurate. It is the American Red Cross that is coordinating this effort.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  3. Thanks for the info. I am volunteering. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hi from Adam KB2JPD FDNY*EMS

    Contacted the ARRL right away. I am a first responder from 9/11, EMT for 25 years, 23 years with FDNY, am Spanish speaking, and am a General class amatuer radio operator.
    Please have us in your thoughts and prayers so we can make several miarcles there in Puerto Rico. Those wanting more video and info from the island can look for my friend Nomar Vizcarrondo works for Univision, is a ham, and is getting internet video and news out of Puerto Rico. Much of the audio is in Spanish but the video is self-explanatory.

    1. Re:Thanks for the info. I am volunteering. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Best luck to you KB2JPD. Hope you can do some good while you're there!

      Don't forget to stand up and stretch one in a while if you're going to be sitting at the bit-flipper all day.

    2. Re:Thanks for the info. I am volunteering. by mattr · · Score: 2

      Good luck and your efforts are much appreciated!!!! Stay safe and healthy.

  4. Re:Trump says, "Wait, their all black & spanis by stealth_finger · · Score: 2, Informative

    And that's the end of that.

    Their all black and spanish what? Or did you mean they're?

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  5. Just two words by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 2

    Satellite phone

    1. Re: Just two words by kenh · · Score: 2

      At a cost of what per minute?

      Itâ(TM)s cheaper and easier to deploy hams in shelters, just adds one more mouth to feed, one more soul to find a cot at the shelter.

      --
      Ken
    2. Re:Just two words by thule · · Score: 2

      At the same time Irma was happening, the Earth was getting hit by a solar flare. It was the "perfect storm" in that we were experiencing a terrestrial storm and a solar flare at the same time. The solar flare impacts HF radio ( 30Mhz), GPS accuracy and satellite phones. VHF can still be useful, but long distance HF skip is iffy. Hams have some nice digital modes that can burst data. I would still rather have access to ham radios in a situation like that over sat phones. Search TamithaSkov on youtube for space weather reports and how the sun impacts radio.

  6. Hate the Red Cross by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I know this is second-hand and anecdotal, however, it's not the only time nor the last will I hear about the Red Cross behaving badly.

    In 1966, my dad was standing on a pier in San Francisco waiting, with thousands of other brave men, for the troop ships that would take them to fight in Vietnam. The ships were due to depart at about 0800. At about 0530, the Red Cross comes around selling coffee and donuts to the troops. My dad, an immigrant already, thought it weird and declined. Thirty minutes later, the Salvation Army comes around GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE to the troops. My dad never forgot that.

    I knew a lady personally who was sent a bill for blankets and bottled water after her area was flooded.

    Just recently in Houston, the Red Cross rejected pleas of help from people who really needed it.

    I will never help them for any reason. Were it the Salvation Army needing HAMs, I'd pay for my own ticket.

  7. Re: Mesh Networks and store and forward like uunet by kenh · · Score: 2

    You are trying too hard - AREDN to an Internet uplink. Easily-deplorable $100 nodes with a few dozen $1,000 nodes with strong sector antennas and a reliable backbone network - every element of which can be bought off Amazon.

    --
    Ken
  8. Also accepting hams. by sabbede · · Score: 2

    They've got to be hungry.

  9. CQ CQ QUA /.? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Today's Slashdot outage is an excellent example of why Commercial Communications, and especially the Internet, needs volunteer backups like Hams with their own Gear.
    BTW, will we ever get an explanation as to why Slashdot and Sourceforge were down all day?
    2 Meters and Repeaters aren't good enough. They won't reach the Mainland from Puerto Rico for one thing. It's fine for local stuff, as long as the Repeaters stay up, but how many of them are on Emergency Generators? And if so, for how long?
    A QRP Sideband Rig on the lower Bands will run off a decent Car Battery for a week.
    A few reminders:
    *Ham Gear is Cheap. My most recent Rig covers 160-6, including the Marine Bands, (Called "Opening It Up". Not legal; nobody cares.), and including _everything_ cost $175. Elmer was giving it up.
    *There is no Code Test. Hasn't been one for years.
    *The Tests are ridiculously easy, and are given by Volunteers, either singly or by Clubs.
    *In Emergencies, the FCC doesn't give a Flea Fart as to whether you are Licensed. Learn some manners and some rules, pass some Traffic, keep the Frequencies clear when needed. You really have to be an obnoxious Bucketmouth to attract FCC attention.

    So Slashdot is finally back up, and as Bruce noted elsewhere, he hopes this Article stays on the front page for days. Lessons Learned.

  10. Re:Why do people bother with prayers? by Pseudonym · · Score: 2

    If you believe in some all powerful being [...]

    That doesn't necessarily follow from the word "prayers" alone. Some people pray to ancestors, saints, or some other non-fundamentalist entity which doesn't satisfy the properties of a classical deity with the three "omnis".

    Besides, the main effect of prayer is probably to change the person praying and that alone can be valuable.

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  11. Re:Why do people bother with prayers? by EmagGeek · · Score: 2, Informative

    The point of prayer is to strengthen our relationship with God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

    "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" is a common question, but it's a little flawed. First, there are no such things as good people. We are all sinners. I, for one, am also a hypocrite, because I preach the virtues of a life that I could never lead, and worship a God that I am supposed to be like, but will never be able to. People often ask me accusingly, "how can you preach that kind of life when you don't even live it?" My response to that question is often, "how could I hope to life that life if I'm not preaching it?"

    God does all things according to His plan. We ruined our relationship with Him with our sin, and He has since been trying to draw us back. Being a believer in God and disciple of Christ doesn't mean life is supposed to be perfect and without peril. But, when peril does happen, we have a rock to stand on when people fail us (and they will, just as I will fail others). There is comfort in God, and in the scriptures, and in all of the examples in the Bible of incredibly broken people who nevertheless kept faithful to Him.

    The people of Puerto Rico have experienced a great peril, but in that peril lies an opportunity at an outpouring of Christ-like love and humility, and not just for them, but also for us. In a time when many people look negatively at Puerto Rico for whatever reason, we should all be reminded that they are still people just like us. Sinners, just like us. We all fall to the same level ground. We are right there with them in their peril, as a brother is periled, so are we.

    Not only does God care about the people of Puerto Rico, He cares about us how we respond to it. I see the terrible tragedy here, but I also see the tremendous opportunity to be a reflection of God's Grace as He intended us to be. Jesus never did anything for Himself. He was never selfish, and he constantly poured Himself out, emptying Himself on behalf of others. He never did anything out of selfish ambition or conceit. I want so badly to live that life the way He did, but I can't. I'm too selfish, and too great a sinner. But, that doesn't mean I can't try to emulate the love of Jesus and accept the Grace of His salvation from my sin.

    So, yes I will absolutely continue to pray for the people of Puerto Rico, and I will do what I can to show them the love that Christ had for me. It might be all I can do to relay some messages home, but I will do it faithfully to glorify God and His plan.

  12. Re: Trump says, "Wait, their all black & spani by guruevi · · Score: 2

    Can't expect trolls to know grammer and speling.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  13. Re: Mesh Networks and store and forward like uune by Miamicanes · · Score: 2

    I agree totally.

    Imagine two scenarios:

    Scenario 1: ham spends 16 hours & relays a few hundred "We're alive" messages.

    Scenario 2: ham bolts a VSAT satellite dish onto a pole w/southern view, fires up a small generator, aims the dish, configures the hughes.net (or WildBlue, or some other service) satellite modem, sets up an 802.11ac access point, then tells 2,000 people "it's working!", so they can post THEIR OWN messages instead of relying on one ham to do everything.

    IMHO, it's a no-brainer which scenario would put the ham's skills to best use & benefit the most people directly (scenario #2, obviously).

    And the gear isn't even all that expensive... maybe $3k/site, if FEMA or the American Red Cross gets totally raped & (over-)pays full list price for everything. More like $2k/site if they even TRIED to get a good deal. Add maybe $500-2000/month per site for satellite internet service and generator gas, max. To FEMA or the Red Cross, this is literally pocket change... they probably spend more money transporting a single truckload of bottled water.