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HAM radio to the rescue — ARES fills communication gaps
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| Pike Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service Teller County liaison and Assistant Emergency Coordinator Dean Buckhouse, left, and Wes Wilson, the service's assistant emergency coordinator development officer, demonstrate a portable HAM radio that could be used to provide communications in an emergency. Photo by Norma Engelberg |
By Norma Engelberg
During the Hayman Fire in 2002 one of biggest issues facing the firefighters besides the dry, windy conditions and containing one of Colorado’s largest wildfires was communicating with the various agencies involved.
“Communication is one of the first things to suffer during an emergency,” said Wes Wilson, member of the Pikes Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service. “That’s where we step in. We use our radios to bridge the gaps between agencies.”
Pikes Peak ARES is a group of ham radio operators who provide radio communications “When all else fails,” — part of the ARES motto, which finishes with “amateur radio works.”
“We call ourselves amateurs but in an emergency we have to be professionals,” Wilson said. “Lives depend on us.”
In a 2003 video report on amateur radio, which includes scenes from the Hayman Fire, TV journalist Walter Cronkite called ham radio “the best back-up communications system in the world.” Wilson carries the video on his personal laptop computer.
The Pikes Peak chapter, ARES District 14, has about 150 operators in El Paso and Teller counties. They have their own equipment and can be and have been called out for a number of emergencies over the years — everything from the Hayman Fire to 911 outages.
When there is a 911 outage, for example, ARES members will be stationed at fire and police stations and at major intersections throughout the county so that people won’t have so far to drive to seek emergency help. The last such outage was in February.
There is an ARES station near the Teller County Sheriff’s Department Dispatch Center and also an area of the Woodland Park Public Library is set up for use by organization members.
Ham radio operators are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and each is assigned a call sign.
“American call signs start with A, K, N, or W,” Wilson said. “The first two letters can tell you approximately where the operator lives.”
Many ARES members have their call sign on their vehicle license plate. Wilson’s is KØHBZ.
“We don’t have badges to identify us but that license plate tells other agencies who we are when we pull into a staging area,” Wilson said. “It’s considered a personalized plate but Colorado only charges us $2 for it instead of the usual $60. We have to bring our FCC license to get one. And we’re the only people who can put a zero with a slash through it on our plates.”
There is no age limit for ham radio operators. Wilson received his FCC license in 1957 at age 9.
“What limits the age is that to get the license you have to take a written exam,” he said.
Lake George resident Dean Buckhouse, call sign KBØVVA, is an ARES member who received his license in 1996. He is an assistant emergency coordinator who acts has ARES liaison with Teller County. He also is qualified to give the FCC licensing exam. The youngest person he has given the test to in Teller County was 8 years old.
Since joining ARES, Wilson has served in almost every position in the statewide organization, he said. Now he is the assistant emergency coordinator development officer. He also has served on 13 fires, three blizzards, two tornados, six point-of-distribution exercises, including the influenza exercise in Teller County, on site when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and as relay for other emergencies.
“Ham radios can reach around the world,” Wilson said. “Some operators talk to operators in other countries all the time. I used to do that. Back during the Cold War I talked to a lot of operators in Russia. They were nice people. The governments cause the problems not the people.”
Now Wilson concentrates his efforts on emergency communications.
“The FCC gives ham operators a large spectrum [bandwidth] at no charge and in exchange we have to be ready to provide communications during emergencies,” he said. “It is our prime directive — we can’t charge for the service we provide. We can be reimbursed for expenses but we seldom ask.”
Buckhouse explained the advantages ham radios have over other forms of communications.
“We don’t need grid power,” he said. “If we have to we can run our equipment on power from a car battery. The equipment is portable and we don’t need tall towers — any tree or pole will do.”
Wilson added that many operators carry a bow to shoot arrows with strings tied to them to pull antennas into trees.
Many ham operators still use Morse Code although learning the code is no longer a licensing requirement.
“Everybody talks about digital these days but Morse Code is the first digital language,” Wilson said. “It’s just dots and dashes and its been around for more than 160 years.”
“It is distinctive,” Buckhouse added. “It’s understandable through static where voices don’t work.”
“I compare voice communications to using a broom stick to pop a balloon,” Wilson said. “It just won’t punch through the static but Morse Code is like using a needle to pop the balloon. It will almost always get through.”
Having an FCC license and the necessary equipment is a prerequisite to become an ARES volunteer but those who are interested in ham radio can join the Mountain Amateur Radio Club even if they don’t have a radio. Club information is available at www.nx0g.org.
“We also like to steer people to the National Association for Amateur Radio,” Wilson said. “They have excellent Web pages that tell people how to get started.”
The national organization Web site is www.arrl.org. Information about the Pikes Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service — not plural, Wilson said, “We provide only one service — communications,” — is at www.ppares.org.
“Communication is one of the first things to suffer during an emergency,” said Wes Wilson, member of the Pikes Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service. “That’s where we step in. We use our radios to bridge the gaps between agencies.”
Pikes Peak ARES is a group of ham radio operators who provide radio communications “When all else fails,” — part of the ARES motto, which finishes with “amateur radio works.”
“We call ourselves amateurs but in an emergency we have to be professionals,” Wilson said. “Lives depend on us.”
In a 2003 video report on amateur radio, which includes scenes from the Hayman Fire, TV journalist Walter Cronkite called ham radio “the best back-up communications system in the world.” Wilson carries the video on his personal laptop computer.
The Pikes Peak chapter, ARES District 14, has about 150 operators in El Paso and Teller counties. They have their own equipment and can be and have been called out for a number of emergencies over the years — everything from the Hayman Fire to 911 outages.
When there is a 911 outage, for example, ARES members will be stationed at fire and police stations and at major intersections throughout the county so that people won’t have so far to drive to seek emergency help. The last such outage was in February.
There is an ARES station near the Teller County Sheriff’s Department Dispatch Center and also an area of the Woodland Park Public Library is set up for use by organization members.
Ham radio operators are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and each is assigned a call sign.
“American call signs start with A, K, N, or W,” Wilson said. “The first two letters can tell you approximately where the operator lives.”
Many ARES members have their call sign on their vehicle license plate. Wilson’s is KØHBZ.
“We don’t have badges to identify us but that license plate tells other agencies who we are when we pull into a staging area,” Wilson said. “It’s considered a personalized plate but Colorado only charges us $2 for it instead of the usual $60. We have to bring our FCC license to get one. And we’re the only people who can put a zero with a slash through it on our plates.”
There is no age limit for ham radio operators. Wilson received his FCC license in 1957 at age 9.
“What limits the age is that to get the license you have to take a written exam,” he said.
Lake George resident Dean Buckhouse, call sign KBØVVA, is an ARES member who received his license in 1996. He is an assistant emergency coordinator who acts has ARES liaison with Teller County. He also is qualified to give the FCC licensing exam. The youngest person he has given the test to in Teller County was 8 years old.
Since joining ARES, Wilson has served in almost every position in the statewide organization, he said. Now he is the assistant emergency coordinator development officer. He also has served on 13 fires, three blizzards, two tornados, six point-of-distribution exercises, including the influenza exercise in Teller County, on site when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and as relay for other emergencies.
“Ham radios can reach around the world,” Wilson said. “Some operators talk to operators in other countries all the time. I used to do that. Back during the Cold War I talked to a lot of operators in Russia. They were nice people. The governments cause the problems not the people.”
Now Wilson concentrates his efforts on emergency communications.
“The FCC gives ham operators a large spectrum [bandwidth] at no charge and in exchange we have to be ready to provide communications during emergencies,” he said. “It is our prime directive — we can’t charge for the service we provide. We can be reimbursed for expenses but we seldom ask.”
Buckhouse explained the advantages ham radios have over other forms of communications.
“We don’t need grid power,” he said. “If we have to we can run our equipment on power from a car battery. The equipment is portable and we don’t need tall towers — any tree or pole will do.”
Wilson added that many operators carry a bow to shoot arrows with strings tied to them to pull antennas into trees.
Many ham operators still use Morse Code although learning the code is no longer a licensing requirement.
“Everybody talks about digital these days but Morse Code is the first digital language,” Wilson said. “It’s just dots and dashes and its been around for more than 160 years.”
“It is distinctive,” Buckhouse added. “It’s understandable through static where voices don’t work.”
“I compare voice communications to using a broom stick to pop a balloon,” Wilson said. “It just won’t punch through the static but Morse Code is like using a needle to pop the balloon. It will almost always get through.”
Having an FCC license and the necessary equipment is a prerequisite to become an ARES volunteer but those who are interested in ham radio can join the Mountain Amateur Radio Club even if they don’t have a radio. Club information is available at www.nx0g.org.
“We also like to steer people to the National Association for Amateur Radio,” Wilson said. “They have excellent Web pages that tell people how to get started.”
The national organization Web site is www.arrl.org. Information about the Pikes Peak Amateur Radio Emergency Service — not plural, Wilson said, “We provide only one service — communications,” — is at www.ppares.org.
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