Ham Radio Ping ListPlease Freepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.
Posted on 02/24/2005 10:43:19 AM PST by Denver Ditdat
Amateur radio operators are frequently unsung heroes when disaster strikes, and the tsunami proved to be no exception with VoIP technology linked to VHF and shortwave radio playing a big role in relaying information from the South to concerned relatives and friends around the world.
The amateur radio service is uniquely prepared for emergency communications, explained President of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand Mayuree Chotikul. Radio amateurs have the operating and technical skills coupled with the ability to transmit from their homes or a mobile location and they are not dependent on vulnerable public communications networks, she said.
For international communications after the tsunami struck, amateurs here mostly used Echolink, a VoIP network used exclusively by radio amateurs around the world that also provides for text messages to be exchanged.
Bangkok businessman Phatandit Kulaphaichitra operates an Echolink gateway between the Internet and the 2-metre (VHF) amateur band as a hobby and he recalled starting to monitor emergency traffic on 144.725 MHz VHF on Dec 26, after learning of the disaster.
The next morning at 7 a.m., Phatanadit had announced that he was standing by for contacts, and immediately began receiving and responding to information requests from Europe and the USA.
Shortly after that, he said Alongkorn Porrapukkham, a regional executive for an international bank, joined the link and, without any preliminary discussion, stepped in to help handle the traffic in English.
Phatanadit, whose amateur radio call-sign is HS1WFK, later designated his Echolink node as a "News and Information update" and during the next six days handled over 3,800 connections from 57 countries, he said.
Email was also used while HF (short-wave) and VHF communications helped link people on the ground with each other and with the rest of the world, while Thai radio hams also flew aircraft to conduct aerial surveys and performed undersea dives to assess the damage to coral and other natural resources, reporting back by HF or VHF radio. Others helped by collecting dead bodies.
Communications were conducted on shortwave, VHF and over the Internet, often relaying communciations from one frequency band or mode to another. Radio amateurs in Bangkok could listen to amateur radio traffic in Phuket and keep abreast of events there.
Phatanadit, a director of Thailand's national amateur radio society, explained how many amateur radio operators had offered to help in any way they could, such as Damri Namphaya who provided air surveillance using a private plane.
What's next? Phatanadit says he is now helping to set up a Thailand Amateur Radio Emergency Service that will interoperate with other agencies and he and other directors of the radio society have met members of the National Telecommunications Commission to discuss this.
Ham Radio Ping ListPlease Freepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.
Lots of HAM radio threads this week. Maybe next week we'll start seeing a lot of Dungeons & Dragons threads as well.
This is something I would love to explore one day and find out more about it, hopefully in the future when I have more time. I love ham radio.
Find one and post it.
It's a fun hobby, and can be a lifesaver in times of disaster. You'll be welcome to join us!
thanks for the invite, I may just do that in the future.
Amateur Radio Bump.
Thank you. Freepers never cease to amaze me. I have bookmarked those sights and when I have time, i will check them out. Thanks again.
The first two, particularly the second link has info on study materials. The first one of course has links to a local ham radio club in your area that you can find out more about ham radio, and they may even have study materials they can give you, and of course, they will be able to give you information on local testing sessions in your area.
"Ham" radio... communication method for infidels... is forbidden by Islam and it's Prophet (may he rest in pig-fat, a product of "Ham" radio) !!! ;-))
In the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster, radio wins out. When the commercial power grid is down or phone lines and cell sites are overloaded, having that wireless link to the outside world can be a lifesaver. Ask the folks who experienced last year's hurricane season in Florida, or the Christmas tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Ham radio is fun, but it still serves a very real purpose.
Thanks again. I look forward to learning.
Very welcome :)
The net loses in my ham shack. The net, as far as I am concered is more or less a station accessory. It's called ham radio for a reason. The internet serves a purpose for ham radio, but it should not be, in my estimation, a primary purpose.
The Homeland Security folks had an emergency communications system designed around cell phones and computers until a ham pointed out that, once CNN and FOX News inform everyone of the disaster, cell phones will be useless due to overload. Duh. It now looks like computers and ham radio will provide a much more reliable solution.
BTTT
oh, that's a good one.....my ham radio has put a few pounds
on me over the years.
Welcome to the list! Glad you're aboard. 73 de DD
bump for later read
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