ARLA/CLUSTER: Os radioamadores americanos e a Agência Protecção Civil (FEMA)

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Ham radios open up communications

The Argus Observer interviews Marlene Moore KF6YNC about amateur radio
and emergency communications

April Ehrlich writes:

If a sudden flood, earthquake or storm hits Payette County, power
lines and cell towers could go down, leaving residents in the dark and
without means to communicate.

That is when ham radio operators would swing into action. Standing
near antennas reaching 50 feet and higher and with high-frequency ham
radios in hand, these operators can provide backup communication for
many organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and even the International Space Station.

Moore did not consider herself a “techie” when she first embarked on
amateur radio. She started as a volunteer with the American Red Cross,
then later became an instructor for FEMA. Two of her students happened
to be ham operators.

“They asked me, ‘What about communications in a disaster? How are you
going to communicate?’” Moore said. “That got me thinking.”

She joined the Amateur Radio Relay League, a national organization.
Since she was a teacher at the time, she qualified for a scholarship
for free radio equipment and was sent to a teachers conference on
wireless technology. From there, the ham radio operators welcomed her
into the community by “elmering,” an operator’s term for mentoring,
her through the different technologies.

Read the full story at
http://www.argusobserver.com/independent/news/out-of-the-dark/article_6027b49e-acab-11e4-b83c-87f352c0398e.html