Amateur radio doesn\u2019t look quite like this any more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019ll admit, at first I was intrigued mostly by the gear. I\u2019m a gadget guy at heart, and I\u2019ve always been fascinated by the latest, coolest gizmos, from\u00a0smartphones to one-handed fire-starting devices, LED flashlights, and titanium multi-tools. And at first, I thought amateur radio gear was all old-school, nearly antique technology, walkie-talkies with huge antennas or big desk radios with multiple knobs and dials and an accompanying, huge chrome microphone like they used in the old days (see picture).<\/p>\n And I was partially right. There are walkie-talkies and big desktop radios. But the technology has been changing constantly, and I found those changes fascinating. The amount of change isn\u2019t in the same order of magnitude as with\u00a0massively-popular smartphones or high-resolution, flat-screen, 3D TVs with built-in Internet applications, but there have been big changes, including increased popularity of digital technology such as APRS and D-STAR, software-defined radio, and (tongue in cheek\u2026) the use of 20th-century technology such as USB connectors in desktop and even some handheld radios.<\/p>\n Modern handheld radios are loaded with high-tech features! (Kenwood TH-D72A)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nowadays, you can get small and very powerful radios jam-packed full of cutting edge circuitry. They don\u2019t come with video-games, but they will transmit and receive all manner of radio signals very, very well. And for the hard-core gadget junkies among you, some of the hand-held radios even come with built-in GPS and Bluetooth support. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Barring the destruction of our telecommunications infrastructure, amateur radio will never be as popular as texting, playing word games with friends, taking pictures and video, or listening to music on the latest, coolest phone. But radio still has allure, and not just because of the radios themselves. Now you\u2019re wondering\u2026 if it\u2019s not just about the gadgets, the apps, the bling with the two\u00a0hundred million dollar advertising budget, what then?<\/p>\n It should go without saying that any serious prepper should have radios and know how to use them, SHTF, TEOTWAKI and all. But we\u2019re talking about relatively\u00a0common scenarios in which ham radio plays a vital role very often.<\/p>\n Do you like to help people when they\u2019re in trouble? At the scene of an accident, are you the type of person who will call 911 instead of taking pictures with your phone? (I just talked to someone the other day who took pictures with his phone as a fire burned a nearby building. Nobody called 911 for several minutes, and he didn\u2019t even think of it until later<\/em>. Yes, there are people like that. But if you\u2019re reading this article, you most likely aren\u2019t.)<\/p>\n Amateur radio is frequently used in emergency situations in which normal communications aren\u2019t sufficient, either because they are unavailable (e.g., tornado or earthquake destroys or temporarily disables normal communications infrastructure), overloaded (not enough cell phones to go around, towers or land-lines overloaded), or you just need a well-trained communicator to do the talking.<\/p>\n Local ham radio operators, as well as operators from out of the area, through local organizations such as ARES or RACES, the Red Cross, and other groups, volunteer in disaster areas to help people in need. You could do this too, if this type of volunteering floats your boat.<\/p>\n Are you not ready for that much stress? There are other ways to volunteer that are much easier. Consider the many options to get involved in your community when everything is \u201cnormal.\u201d For example, event organizers very frequently recruit local ham radio operators (usually through clubs or emergency communications groups) to help at events such as foot races, bike races, parades, walk-a-thons, etc. These events are usually very complex to organize, and hams play a vital role in ensuring messages get transferred rapidly and efficiently, people are safe, and problems are identified before they get too serious. Aside from being a great way to practice using equipment and getting to know how it will work in which locations and situations, these events are usually a lot of fun anyhow.<\/p>\n The great sci-fi author Robert Heinlein wrote:<\/p>\n While he didn\u2019t say \u201cA human being should be able to operate a radio,\u201d I\u00a0bet he\u00a0would have included it if he had more room.\u00a0Many other\u00a0important things didn\u2019t make the cut, so ham radio operators shouldn\u2019t feel slighted :-). And while I\u2019m not a famous writer like Heinlein, I am a writer, so I\u2019ll say this (and quote me all you like!):<\/p>\n Yes, everyone should have a basic idea of how to operate a radio. There\u00a0are some simple things you should know, for example:<\/p>\n But there\u2019s bonus material. Everyone should also have a very basic understanding of what electricity is, what radio waves are, and how an antenna is used. We don\u2019t need to know that on a day-to-day basis the same way we need to know to tie our shoes or how to not overdraw the checking account, but it\u2019s still good information, and radios are a part of our world. For example, cell phones are radios\u2026<\/p>\n Another thing people should know about, which ties back to number two on the list, is who will be available to help in an emergency. Do you know who your emergency communications (emcomm) volunteers are in your area? How about the location of your city or county emergency operations center? And an even better question\u2026 would they let you in to help in an emergency? Go get an amateur radio license, volunteer for the group, get a fancy access badge, and you\u2019re in!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget one of the biggest reasons of all.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fun! \u00a0The people are great. The technology is cool. The opportunities to learn and help others are endless. And the hobby is fun.<\/p>\n Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why mess with amateur radio? What\u2019s cool about it? Why put in the time and effort, just to talk to someone, especially when you already have a phone?\u00a0 Take a deep breath and the answers will\u00a0be revealed\u2026 There is more here than meets the eye. 1. The Cool, High-Tech Gear Amateur radio doesn\u2019t look quite … Continue reading The Top Three Reasons to Take up Amateur Radio<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-preparedness","category-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":827,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.andrewbaze.com\/wparchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20151223055030\/http:\/\/emergencycommunicationsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/ham-operator.png\" "\\"amateur")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n2. Open New Doors<\/h2>\n
3. Learn Stuff You Should Know Anyway<\/h2>\n
\u00a0\u201cA human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.\u201d<\/h3>\n
\u201cA human being should be able to operate a radio.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n