Efforts of Amateur Radio Operators are Making a Difference:

When a windstorm knocked out power to thousands of households in a six-county region in March, the fragility of the modern communications most of us have become accustomed to was obvious. "With the major windstorm everyone lost power and a lot of people in the region were cut off," said Joseph Gangi, Jr., of Albion. "But we were still able to communicate and get information out there to truckers and people on the roads about road conditions and hazards." Gangi was able to communicate via amateur radio (also called ham radio). He's the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Coordinator for Orleans County and founder and president of the Community Amateur Radio Club -- a group of about 12 members from Orleans County that meets monthly at the Hoag Library in Albion, Orleans County. During the windstorm, members disseminated information about accidents, downed power lines and missing stop signs to the Orleans County Sheriff's Department and other operators. Their equipment was run via emergency power (battery backup and solar power) from their homes.

from Ham Radio Times http://ift.tt/2twtqgz
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