Posted on 04/29/2015 10:18:57 AM PDT by markomalley
Amateur radio has stepped in to fill communication gaps in Nepal, which is struggling with power outages and a flaky Internet after a devastating earthquake on Saturday killed over 5,000 people.
The hobbyist radio operators, also known as ham radio operators or hams, are working round-the-clock to help people get in touch with relatives, pass on information and alert about developing crises ever since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit about 80 kilometers from Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu.
Ham radio sends voice or morse code messages across radio frequencies and has often helped in emergencies. It can work off solar power or low-voltage batteries, which means that the radios can continue to work even after smartphones and laptops are discharged, said Jayu Bhide, National Coordinator for Disaster Communication at the Amateur Radio Society of India, on Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at itworld.com ...
Ham radio??? LOL!
Just open up Skype or Snapchat on Wi-Fi if you cant get a phone signal. Like who is going to use that old clunky crap?
LOL!!!! Bwahahahaha!!!
Wire in a tree, car battery. Don’t need no steenking IP.
If that wasn’t sarcasm,you are an idiot.
The same general infrastructure supports the phones and internet.
The ham operator can be completely independent of all that,although it does mean point-to-point communication only. But the ham OUTSIDE the affected area can “patch” the signal from the disaster ham to the working phones in the unaffected places. IF the governments permit it. Some non-US hams have lost government jobs, had their radios confiscated, and been fined, all for rendering aid in an emergency because their nation’s government have very strict rules on use of radios/telecommunications.
CW ftw. Working on mine atm
Text and morse are ok, so once again, morse makes it, where voice doesn't.
/johnny
Flash and priority traffic is being handled by 9N1AA on
14.205 Mhz Secondary traffic is on 14.215 Mhz with various net control ops. Supposedly lots of Indian hams in to handle local comms on VHF. Monitoring here in Jerusalem with a ZS6BKW at 70 feet AGL. 73, 4X1SO/KE2SO
Hams are always the ultimate backup for comms in an emergency.
ARRL bump....
Thanks for reminding me. I need to renew.
LOL! Ham is outdated trash that just some old goats use just to feel special.
(And yes I was being sarcastic)
>> down below 40m <<
If you are an old-timer you’ll remember that back in the day, 20m was considered “down” from 40m, and 15m was “down” from 20m.
On the other hand, 14 MHz is definitely “up” from 7 MHz, just as 21 MHz is “up” from 14 MHz.
Confusing? You bet!
>> Can ham radios operate on pedal power? <<
Yes, but only if your generator has pedals attached.
>> Flash and priority traffic is being handled by 9N1AA <<
My understanding is that he was (and maybe still is) the only Nine-November station on the air right after the quake, because he can run on solar power.
Spark gap radio. It’ll do in a pinch.
Thought this would be an interest of yours.
Kartographer, do you know if there is a ham radio ping list ?
If you haven't already, check out the Straight Key Century Club (http://www.skccgroup.com/). I normally operate higher speed CW with a paddle and keyer, but it's a real hoot to plug in a straight key and have a ragchew at 15 WPM or less. Takes me back to the good old days.
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