Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members know that communication during an emergency is vital. Don Lewis of the Alexandria Radio Club in Virginia wants CERTs around the country to know how amateur radios can help.
For most preppers quantifying is a problem. We buy stuff and we store stuff, but do we have a true definition of what “prepared” is? The truth about being prepared is that we cannot quantify what we will need.I will let you in on a little secret. Worry more about what you don’t have in comparison to what you do. Instead of concerning yourself with quantity, think more about categories.
Lincoln Park CERT and the Ford Amateur Radio League (FARL) will host an nine-week technician-level amateur radio licensing class, taught by Bill Boyke (N8OZV). The Technician license is the entry level license for amateur radio operators, and you do not need to have a radio to take the class.
We have all seem a pair of walkie-talkies claiming a range of anywhere from 6 to 50 miles; anyone who has used a GRMS/FRS Radio knows the actual range is much, much smaller. The folks over at Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You have been testing the ranges of various consumer GMRS / FRS radios.
So how would you communicate with your family or get help if communications go down? If you found yourself in the middle of a wide-scale disaster such as a hurricane or other catastrophe and you had no government coming to help for a while, how would you communicate with your family or others? What if the power grid went down?
“When all else fails, this is the system that doesn’t.” That’s what the WRAL-TV reporter says in this interview with ham operator KN4AQ as Hurricane Katrina crosses New Orleans. THEN, a recording of actual Amateur Radio communications bringing an emergency message into New Orleans.
Missouri StormAware explains why it is important for families to use NOAA weather alert radios in their homes. Severe weather footage provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
