When Disaster Strikes, There May Not Be an App for That:

When a 4.3 magnitude earthquake jolted southern British Columbia late at night Dec. 30, 2015, social media lit up. People hit Twitter and Facebook to confirm what they'd just felt. But when a major quake hits, as geologists predict it will someday, that option may not be available. Power could be out, cell phone service disrupted, the internet cut off. That's when old-school amateur radio could kick in to reestablish communications to the outside world, between communities, emergency services and even people looking for word on the fate of loved ones. This weekend more than 40,000 amateur radio operators from around North America, including two local groups, will be putting their capability to provide communication services to the test in their annual Field Day. Paul Bryan, the president of the Coquitlam Amateur Radio and Emergency Services Society (CARESS) said the event is a chance for amateur radio hobbyists to dry run their own emergency procedures and equipment, before they're needed. "Activating in this way provides us with the opportunity to exercise our own procedures," Bryan said. "Also, exercising the equipment gives us a chance to check how it's working when you're not in an emergency. It's all the little details that going into being able to set up a station, like spare batteries. Often that's the part that's overlooked." Bryan said about 30 to 40 amateur radio operators from his club, as well as clubs in Burnaby and New Westminster, will be encamped at Blue Mountain Park from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. They'll be running their radios off generators and batteries as they communicate by voice, digital signals and even morse code to other radio operators around the world. There will also be a demonstration of low-power transmission that uses as little as five watts, and operating radios with solar-powered batteries.

from Ham Radio Times http://ift.tt/2tED4un
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