TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 489.fidonet-ls_arrl@1:2320/33 28e15305   
   PID: Synchronet 3.20a-Win32 master/1c63f4d2c May 24 2023 MSC 1929   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 master/1c63f4d2c May 24 2023 MSC 1929   
   BBSID: TBOLT   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   WHEN DISASTER STRIKES   
       
   Be prepared...that's the motto of the Boy Scouts, but hams live by it   
   as well. No part of the world is immune to natural disasters, which   
   often strike with little or no warning. When disaster does strike,   
   public safety agencies are often overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of   
   it all. That's when hams can - and do - provide their greatest public   
   service. By taking over communication, they permit officials and relief   
   agencies to concentrate on helping people in need and on keeping damage   
   from spreading.   
       
   Neither rain nor sleet...nor hail nor gloom of night are supposed to   
   stay the Postman from his appointed rounds. But when it comes to   
   delivering urgent messages in the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes,   
   tornados, even volcanos, communities across the nation and the world   
   turn to Amateur Radio.   
       
   * March 27, 1954: Alaska is struck by a monstrous earthquake. Normal   
   communication lines are cut. Amateur Radio operators help coordinate   
   rescue operations.   
       
   * November 23, 1980: A major quake devastates Southern Italy. For   
   thousands of Americans with friends or relatives in the quake area,   
   Amateur Radio is the only way to find out who's OK.   
       
   * May 18, 1980: Mt. St. Helens, the long-dormant volcano in Washington   
   State, erupts with a blast, spreading damage over hundreds of miles.   
   Hams are on hand to help with the crush of messages going into and out   
   of affected areas.   
       
   * September, 1981: Hurricanes Allen and David sweep through the   
   Caribbean, heading for the US coast. First damage reports from   
   battered islands come via ham radio, often a day or more before   
   normal communications are restored.   
       
   * September, 1985: An earthquake levels blocks of Mexico City, killing   
   thousands. Amateurs keep families and friends around the world in   
   touch with the status of their loved ones.   
       
   * November, 1985: Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano in Colombia, begins to erupt.   
   Contact with the town of Armero, in the direct path of the eruption,   
   is maintained through the Mayor, HK6HTC and many other hams in the area.   
   Although over 25,000 lives are lost, the survivors are aided by the   
   Nation-wide Amateur VHF network.   
       
   * February, 1986: Amateurs on the West Coast are called into service as   
   extensive flooding is experienced in all areas. Hams provide   
   communications between "Flood Watch" teams, rescue efforts and   
   emergency shelters.   
       
   * January, 1999: Arkansas has its worst tornado outbreak on record.   
   Amateur radio storm spotter reports provided extra lead time for   
   tornado warnings across the state.   
       
   * August, 2005: Hurricane Katrina, one of the strongest hurricanes   
   ever, struck Florida first, then the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Ham Radio   
   operators assisted in emergency communications before, during, and   
   after the storm.   
      
   AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE   
       
   The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ARES, provides training and   
   structure for coordinated response by Amateur Radio operators during   
   disasters and other emergencies. National in scope, ARES is organized   
   on local and county levels to provide help on whatever scale is needed.   
   Local ARES officials work closely with government emergency services   
   personnel and are often provided with special facilities in disaster   
   "command centers".   
       
   ARES is part of the American Radio Relay League which sponsors several   
   "Simulated Emergency Tests" and "Preparedness Drills" on the air each   
   year. Field Day is an annual exercise in emergency preparedness. It's   
   also a lot of fun and provides many people their first contact with   
   Amateur Radio. The idea is to set up a station "in the field", get on   
   the air quickly and, if possible, without using commercial power. Then   
   comes the fun of trying to contact as many stations as possible in a   
   short period of time. Learning how to set up an emergency station "for   
   fun", makes it easier when it's "for real".   
       
   HAM RADIO IN SPACE   
       
   The date was November 30, 1983. The voice belonged to Dr. Owen Garriott,   
   NASA astronaut, Amateur Radio operator, as he called "CQ", ham radio   
   shorthand for "Calling Anybody". Over the next several days, several   
   thousand "anybodies" on Earth returned Garriott's calls. It was the   
   first time a ham had operated his radio in space. Only a few hundred   
   earthbound hams got through, but more than ten thousand others were able   
   to listen with simple equipment. The experience of sitting at home or   
   in their cars and hearing a voice directly from space, was excitement   
   enough.   
       
   In 1985, the success of the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment)   
   Project prompted a strong commitment from NASA for future "Ham-in-Space"   
   missions. SAREX is a two-way television picture exchange - Slow-scan TV -   
   from the shuttle to Earth. More than 7,600 school children participated   
   in the experiment. Thanks to Tony England, W0ORE, on board the Challenger,   
   Slow-scan TV got the chance to show how valuable amateur radio can be to   
   the success of a mission. While Astronauts Garriott and England's   
   transmissions from space ushered in a new era in Amateur Radio history,   
   they were by no means the first Amateur Radio SIGNALS heard from space.   
   Hams haven't needed one of their own IN space to make use of it.   
       
   OSCAR   
       
   Who is Oscar? Well, OSCAR is more of a "what" than a "who". The   
   letters stand for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio, and   
   actually refer to a series of ham radio satellites - relay stations in   
   space. The first OSCAR was launched back in 1951, just four years into   
   the Space Age. It was the first satelite that didn't belong to   
   somebody's government.   
       
   Nearly 10,000 hams around the world have used the OSCAR satellites.   
   Many have won special awards for contacting hams in 100 or more   
   countries via satellite. OSCAR-1 was a fairly primitive satellite,   
   built by a group of hams fromCalifornia. OSCAR-10, launched in 1983,   
   was an international effort, built by hams from four continents,   
   coordinated by AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. AMSAT is   
   a non-profit scientific organization based in Washington, DC. Its   
   primary goal is to further the use of space for ham radio   
   communication. It depends on member contributions to pay the cost of   
   such things as building satellites and getting them launched. It   
   receives no government funds. More information is available from AMSAT,   
   PO Box 27, Washington, DC 20044.   
      
   Keplerian Elements for various satellites are elsewhere in this door   
   from ARRL, AMSAT, and NASA.   
   --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32   
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)   
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