WichitaFallsComplete.com
It's Time To Declare Your Information and Communications Independence!
If you're like most people, your knowledge of what's going on in your city on a daily basis is totally dependent on what the media and government agencies want you to know. Your local police department, fire department, EMS and other agencies have specific jobs to perform during disasters, large and small. Keeping you, the private citizen, informed, up-to-the-minute, is not their primary function. When they do release information, it is basically what they think you need to know, or what they have time to tell you.
You must, however, still keep yourself informed. Do you monitor your local law enforcement frequencies? If you do, that's good. More and more agencies are making it harder, and even impossible, to monitor due to "trunking", digitization and encryption. If you live in one of those areas, you really are at the mercy of those agencies for whatever information they choose to release.
Emergencies, however, usually don't start at the police department, and there are other avenues of obtaining information. For example, if the emergency is at Wal-Mart, you can bet it is being heavily discussed on their company two-way radios. If it involves a school, they are radio-equipped also.
There is an answer to your communications information problems. The answer is Amateur Radio! During times of disaster, Amateur Radio operators acquire and exchange information with each other at the local and national level. These networks are one way to keep yourself informed during minor and major incidents.
If you are not an Amateur Radio operator, I urge you to equip yourself with a radio "scanner" and monitor as much local Amateur Radio traffic as possible, learning all you can about important situations. You need only a basic scanner in the $100 range (less if purchased used). If you are an Amateur Radio operator, I urge you to keep your communications open and "in the clear" (analog as opposed to digital) so that your community can continue to monitor you.
Storm Spotters perform a valuable service in many communities around the country. However, unless you are listening to them directly, on their frequency, you will not get the minute-by-minute reports. What you will get is the condensed version, or the actual "warning", from your local radio and/or TV stations, or the National Weather Service. These folks, by the way, ARE monitoring the Storm Spotters. Your "weather radio", if you have one, isn't going to keep you informed about emergency operations after the initial event has passed.
What happens if and when your power is interrupted and your radio and TV is silent? These devices operate on batteries, you say? That's a great capability to have, but what if the radio and TV stations lose power and/or antennas in a tornado, hurricane or major storm? If there's a problem with your TV cable, can you receive your local TV stations direct? Is your satellite dish still on the roof? You do have some "rabbit ears" stashed away, don't you? And you did procure one of those digital TV converter boxes, didn't you? Do you still have commercial power? Even if the local radio and TV stations are still up and running, what quality of information do they have for you? Unless they have their own people out roving the city, they must get their information from some other source. Again, if that source is a government agency, are you really hearing everything you need to know?
Oh, yes, you have a cell phone! Cell phone towers and power systems are very vulnerable to tornadoes and hurricanes. Those portions of the cell phone system that do survive a disaster, assuming they still have power, are soon overloaded by people trying to call in and out of the affected area. This scenario is repeated time and again in "tornado alley" and on the eastern and gulf coasts. Who were you going to call on that cell phone anyway? Are they tuned in to the "right" frequencies? Do they have any useful information for you? Maybe. Maybe not.
Remember, your ability to send e-mail or "instant messages" via the Internet and "text messages" by cell phone is at the mercy of the next thunderstorm that brings down a tree limb across a cable or power line, or an errant back hoe digging in the wrong place. It happens across the nation on a daily basis. Back-up power for your computer won't help you if you depend on cable or phone lines and those systems are disrupted. Satellite capability is great, but it still requires power. The same goes for you "online scanning" enthusiasts. Listening to your local PD or fire department via online feeds should not be relied upon during disasters.
Also, communications requires at least two people. You may be up and running 100% in a disaster, but if the folks you want to give information to, or receive information from, are not operational, then your system may as well be a large paperweight or doorstop.
If you want to be "in the know" you need to be able to listen to those Amateur Radio Operators who exchange information with each other on a daily basis, not just during times of disaster. During "peacetime", Amateur Radio Operators keep these lines of communication open by regularly engaging in formal on-the-air nets as well as informal chatter, often about radio equipment, the weather and other topics. They often communicate through repeaters, greatly extending their range and effectiveness, but they also use "simplex" communications. (Simplex means communicating "direct", antenna to antenna, without the help of repeaters or Internet linking).
Maintaining effective simplex capabilities assures that the message will get through even when the repeaters are out of service. These Amateur Radio Operators also maintain their independence from the "power grid", communicating using long-life storage batteries, solar power, and/or generators. When you tune in to local Amateur Radio Operators, you will most definitely have those "two or more" people needed to enable the intelligent transfer of information about flooding, road conditions, hazardous waste, storm damage, and other important items.
Do you know what frequencies to monitor? Check the "directory" page for a list (developing) of Amateur Radio repeater and simplex frequencies in your area. Amateur Radio Operators, sometimes referred to as "hams", communicate using many different modes and frequencies. Most larger cities have multiple "repeaters" which are used to extend the range of local VHF-UHF communications.
Is there an Amateur Radio club in your area? There probably is, but you may not know about it, yet. Amateur Radio clubs provide communications for local events such as bike rides and races, marathons, and parades. They also provide emergency communications, if and when needed, for agencies such as the American Red Cross and local emergency managers during floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other calamities.
Storm Spotting during threatening weather is another popular activity. If you're not directly involved or affected by the activity being supported by an Amateur Radio club, you usually aren't aware of their presence. Luckily, most of us are never involved in a true disaster and only read or hear about them in the media. When the disaster is closer to home, we still tend to learn only what the local media and government agencies tell us.
Remember that local Amateur Radio Operators are able to work independently of the Internet, and even their own repeater systems, to send and receive information directly to each other. They maintain their equipment in operating order to include back-up power and antenna systems. They'll be there when cell phones and the Internet let you down.
Contact your local Amateur Radio Club and ask about attending a meeting, or ask about a demonstration of Amateur Radio for your civic group or your child's school!
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