The role of amateur radio in providing emergency electronic communication for disaster management around the world
In the USA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides support to State and local governments in fulfilment of their responsibilities for preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation of disasters. One method FEMA has used to support State and local emergency communication functions was to sign and implement a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) for amateur radio operators to provide electronic communications for State and local governments in disasters. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has licensed more than 600,000 amateur radio operators in the USA. The national organization of amateur radio operators called the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was formed in 1914. More than 80,000 of these amateurs have registered their availability for emergency communications in disasters in the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). Amateur radio operators have been providing communications in natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes since 1910.
The same happens in South Africa with its licensed ham operators. South Africa has the South African Radio League (SARL) which in turn has HAMNET (the National Emergency Communications division of the SARL) which is a smaller group dedicated to emergency communications who are in close contact with emergency services. Many members of the emergency services are themselves licenced ham operators but HAMNET specifically extends to include civilian volunteers. Radio Hams have a full range of communication modes at their disposal (and a much broader range of frequencies). These include plain voice, Morse code, numerous digital computer modes and even graphical modes like television.
These groups do not just sit around waiting for a disaster to happen, and they conduct exercises at regular intervals to test communications preparedness along with disaster services. For example, one exercise includes preparedness to quickly construct a temporary repeater station on a nearby hill or mountain for cases where the regular repeater is out of action or where communications needs to be extended to a remote area without coverage. The Western Cape Province in South Africa for example already has an established repeater networks that covers 100's of km spanning various mountain ranges and high sites.
See US preparedness at www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/ful… and South Africa at www.sarl.org.za/public/hamnet/…
#hamradio #disasters #amateurradio
Image credit: www.4x4training.com/Articles/S…
from Beiträge von Danie van der Merwe https://ift.tt/2WlQCrU
via IFTTT
The same happens in South Africa with its licensed ham operators. South Africa has the South African Radio League (SARL) which in turn has HAMNET (the National Emergency Communications division of the SARL) which is a smaller group dedicated to emergency communications who are in close contact with emergency services. Many members of the emergency services are themselves licenced ham operators but HAMNET specifically extends to include civilian volunteers. Radio Hams have a full range of communication modes at their disposal (and a much broader range of frequencies). These include plain voice, Morse code, numerous digital computer modes and even graphical modes like television.
These groups do not just sit around waiting for a disaster to happen, and they conduct exercises at regular intervals to test communications preparedness along with disaster services. For example, one exercise includes preparedness to quickly construct a temporary repeater station on a nearby hill or mountain for cases where the regular repeater is out of action or where communications needs to be extended to a remote area without coverage. The Western Cape Province in South Africa for example already has an established repeater networks that covers 100's of km spanning various mountain ranges and high sites.
See US preparedness at www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/ful… and South Africa at www.sarl.org.za/public/hamnet/…
#hamradio #disasters #amateurradio
Image credit: www.4x4training.com/Articles/S…
from Beiträge von Danie van der Merwe https://ift.tt/2WlQCrU
via IFTTT
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