Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
shown up instantly. In my case, I live in a fairly small town, and the local ham operator group
did not show up using the ARRL Web tool, but several larger “official” groups in nearby cities
did appear. By contacting those groups, one of their members could surely have connected me
with a ham operator in my own town.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have
voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public
service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or
any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Because
ARES is an amateur radio service, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership.
These volunteers are trained to step in and provide coordinated emergency communications
services in times of disaster and crisis.
The time to develop your network connections with local ham operators is while skies are
sunny and things are still working well in your world. If you wait until the next catastrophe, it
will be too late. If you wish to become a ham radio operator, it does not take a lot of money and
time to get started. For a couple of hundred bucks you can pick up a decent used transceiver, or
a basic starter model. In many cases, the guys who are really into this hobby have collected
tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment over decades of active amateur radio opera-
tions, but most of them will tell you that they started off quite simply with low-cost gear pur-
chased on a tight budget. Some of these guys talk about attaching an alligator clip to their bed
springs to boost their antenna output when they first started out. Since the range and options for
ham radio equipment are so extensive, I can't offer you any “best buys” advice on specific
starter models, but suggest you network with local experienced “hams,” your local Radio
Shack salesmen, or contact some of the reputable suppliers listed in appendix 2 for advice on
equipment that meets your budget and desires.
CB Radio
The “CB” in CB radio stands for “citizens' band.” Though waning in popularity, due to over-
crowding of the forty-channel bandwidth for CB combined with the modern explosion in cell
phone and Internet use, CB radio still performs a valuable function for truckers and many other
people who are on the road for long periods of time, as well as for local communications when
the phone lines are down. There is probably no better way to get the latest road and weather
conditions in your area, than to turn on a CB radio and listen to the talk between truckers.
