[OFARC] From the Orlando Sentinel: Ham radio: A fading hobby ... until emergencies hit

[John Westerlage]

<http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-02-03/news/os-amateur-radio-20100203_1_ham-radio-amateur-radio-american-radio-relay-league>

For those who missed it.  Also, in the left hand column, at the bottom
of the story, several other stories related to ham radio are referenced.

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Ham radio: A fading hobby ... until emergencies hit
February 03, 2010|By Anika Myers Palm | Orlando Sentinel

At the National Weather Service, meteorologists are surrounded by some
of the most up-to-date technology, which they use to track weather
systems and dangerous storms.

But when the computers go down, forecasters may have to depend on
hundreds of Central Florida hobbyists who use a method widely perceived
to be decidedly less technologically advanced: amateur radio.

"Each individual county has one or more individual ham groups that can
provide backup communications," said Scott Spratt, warning-coordination
meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Melbourne. "We have
about 20 groups we interact with."

Amateur, or ham, radio is a method of using wireless-radio
communications devices to talk with other radio operators using
frequencies set aside by the Federal Communications Commission.

The technology became popular in the early part of the past century as
radio technology was developing. As early as 1914, hams were
communicating nationwide, according to the American Radio Relay League,
a national ham-radio group. Hams are required to take tests and are
licensed by the FCC.

In the Orlando area, hundreds of hobbyists speak to other hams near and
far for fun, while others, such as law-enforcement and
emergency-services personnel, use the technology as part of their jobs.
About 17 groups of ham-radio enthusiasts are in the region, including
chapters in The Villages and Daytona Beach.

Contrary to popular belief, they're not socially awkward shut-ins
without access to cell phones and more current technology. Hams are
police officers, engineers, city officials, teachers and even young
students who just enjoy radio.

They're also able to help during natural disasters in other parts of the
world.

In the wake of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, hams in
Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and other
nearby locations rallied to listen for emergency communications from the
devastated island nation.

A group of hams coordinated the collection and transport of supplies for
a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, entirely by amateur radio on Jan. 30,
according to Dan Fisher of the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society.

Hams also gather each year at an event called Hamcation. Self-billed as
the premier amateur-radio event in the Southeast, it comes to the
Central Florida Fairgrounds for three days beginning Feb. 12.

                                                                     
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