EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
A CQ Magazine National Section Emergency Coordinator Survey
Is amateur radio still at the forefront of emergency and public service communications? During the “great flood” of 1913 that devastated many areas of the Midwest (see photo), it was reported that a teenaged radio amateur, Herbert Ackerberg, used his spark gap radio station in Columbus, Ohio, to contact a commercial radio station and request help reporting “men are hanging on trees” with major devastation. Since this first recorded use of amateur radio in a disaster, our service has been proven over and over to be that first voice heard.
In the wake of tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes, amateur radio operators worldwide have exhibited the skills and equipment to establish communication from stricken areas. It is normal that an amateur operator would be heard first from those areas. At least that’s the mantra behind the “When all else fails” slogan.
The profile of amateur radio has changed in recent history. As late as the 1970s, ham operators were able to provide cutting-edge technology (“You can make phone calls from that?”). During the “Blizzard of ’78” in Central Ohio, the wide-area 146.76 repeater didn’t key down for over three days handling phone calls and messages. National Guard helicopters were dispatched over that repeater on their lifesaving missions. Activity slowed after 9/11, but stories abound from Hurricane Katrina as amateur operators stepped up and regained some of the recognition for our hobby.
But what is the actual state of amateur radio in emergency communications these days? Can we find out “what condition our condition is in?” () We took an unscientific, limited snapshot by asking a representative sampling of ARRL Section
