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American Red Cross Asks for Ham Radio Operators for Puerto Rico Relief Effort

346 points by kw71 9y ago

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Havoc 9y ago
Given how badly they fk'd up Haiti I'm not so sure I'd help them...
- killjoywashere 9y ago
  You should try responding to some disasters. They're all crazy. The DoD did no better in Haiti.
  - hyperbovine 9y ago
    > The DoD did no better in Haiti. The DoD is not a disaster relief organization, so that's a pretty low bar.
    - digikata 9y ago
      They are not, but they should have very good logistics capability for disaster areas with damaged/nonexistent infrastructure.
    - killjoywashere 9y ago
      The DoD sets every world standard in disaster management. They just don't show up until everyone else has given up.
  - pera 9y ago
    I believe the parent poster is talking about this: http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- tertius 9y ago
  You may also want to include the U.N. in your condemnation, even though they are not specifically mentioned. Haiti was not well handled by the big boys... https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html?mcubz=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nat...
- curtis 9y ago
  Haiti was a far more difficult situation. The death toll was on the order of several hundred thousand people, and Haiti was a difficult place to work in even before that.
  - KekDemaga 9y ago
    They spent 500 million to build 4 houses. That's inexcusable.
    - curtis 9y ago
      They spent 500 million dollars on something and no doubt on many different things, but it wasn't on 4 houses. There's definitely a problem in that we don't know what exactly they spent that money on, and we also have no idea if the stuff they spent it on was actually very effective (it's hard to believe that it was anything other than a great waste, but that may also be true of the very large sums of money spent by other non-profits in Haiti). The narrative that the American Red Cross spent half a billion dollars on a handful of houses is so grossly -- and obviously -- over-simplified that it can't be anything but complete baloney. It makes a great headline though. (It goes without saying that this is my own humble opinion, of course.)
      - rpedela 9y ago
        From a 2015 NPR article [1]: "The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people, but the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six." I don't know about you, but that screams fraud to me. 1. http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red...
        24gttghh 9y ago
        Is the Red Cross supposed to build houses? I was under the impression they focus on temporary, emergency shelter...Sounds more like something up Habitat for Humanity's alley.
TallGuyShort 9y ago
I'm a bit out of the loop on amateur radio these days, but if I remember correctly there was a mass exodus from volunteer radio operators from the American Red Cross to the Salvation Army over the background check issue. Volunteers that were bringing thousands of dollars of their own equipment to help saw it as very unnecessary and insulting. I'm a bit surprised to see they're still requiring the background checks... edit: I'm also a bit surprised they're requiring a General Class license. That cuts out a huge number of potential volunteers. Are they really using the other frequencies that opens up enough that it's a requirement? Possibly that is a reasonable requirement, but I've helped with disaster recovery simulations, etc. and my Technican Class license was just fine.
- mikestew 9y ago
  I imagine they might want a General license because you won't transmit beyond the island on a Technician license. Just a guess. EDIT: actually read the fine article, HF voice being one of the requirements. I assume they also want more than the tiny bit of HF that Technician licensees get to use. " Sorry, 10m isn't open, so I can't transmit, and I'm not allowed to use 40m."
  - vvanders 9y ago
    Yeah, WinLink is also almost completely done on HF as well. Most hams I know have their General even if they don't use HF regularly.
- jcrawfordor 9y ago
  ARRL now conducts background checks on ARES volunteers, so the issue is rather moot (in fact ARC and ARRL have an MOU stating that ARRL is responsible for background checks on their volunteers assisting ARC, which presumably applies to this call as well). There have just been too many incidents of people with e.g. sexual assault on their rap sheets turning up working in shelters where there are all manner of vulnerable people. Terrible optics if nothing else. I suspect the general class requirement is just to cut down the applicants to a pool of more dedicated people. A very real problem with disaster volunteers, if I might be a little harsh especially from the amateur radio side, is "fair-weather responders" who will go through all the training and then not actually deploy. I've also personally found that people with higher class licenses are more likely to be into digital modes which is what they're mostly looking for, but that's getting less true as the equipment gets cheaper (to be honest I've never even seen a packet TNC in person). I happen to be both an ARC disaster worker and amateur radio operator, but I speak for myself.
curtis 9y ago
I've seen steady reporting about Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria but it's been exactly that -- "about Puerto Rico" rather than "from Puerto Rico". Everybody seems to think it's bad, but it's really hard to say how bad. I think the major contributing factor to how the situation is being reported is that most of the cell towers (90%?) are out of action, and presumably land lines have also been seriously affected.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  CNN is doing live shots every hour. Hard to say how much of the island they are covering, they are there.
  - curtis 9y ago
    It's also been nearly a week. In all fairness though, it seems like the airports are either shut down or operating at greatly reduced capacity, so it's hard for reporters to get in.
    - MBCook 9y ago
      I saw an article earlier today about how hard it’s going to be to rebuild the electric grid (effectively REPLACE it because it’s 80% gone) that said that for at least a while the airport didn’t have radar and flights had to be confirmed for landing before they could even take off which was adding a massive delay to any attempt to get to the island.
      - Caveman_Coder 9y ago
        > "how hard it’s going to be to rebuild the electric grid..." - ~80% of transmission lines are down - >90% of distribution lines are down - Fuel for their generation plants is desperately needed and needs to be shipped in on a regular basis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Electric_Power_Authority#Power_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Electric_Power_Aut...) Basically, from an electrical-grid-restoration perspective ("Blackstart"), its a nightmare.
brian-armstrong 9y ago
Being a Ham radio operator sounds kind of romantic on paper, but then you try it and realize that 90% of the other operators are curmudgeonly old Trump supporter types. Not really any fun chances for discourse when the person on the other side is pining for the return of Jim Crow laws
- uabstraction 9y ago
  The great thing about ham radio is that if you don't like what you're hearing, you can just keep spinning the dial. In my experience (NYC metro area), I hear very little politics on the ham bands. There are also CW and digital modes which tend to draw people with more than five brain cells. I know there are a couple infamous HF frequencies where some reality-challenged folks tend to congregate, but there is much more to the hobby than that QRM.
- cjsuk 9y ago
  Perhaps annoyingly you’re spot on. The “local net” near me in London is full of Brexit breathing Farage supporters whining about their XYL. The clubs aren’t any better. It took forever to get my license sorted because of this as well. I was new blood that didn’t want to drink beer, play with black box rigs or bitch about the wife. So I stick to 40m CW. People just want a QSO or two and then go back to playing with their oscilloscopes and soldering irons. It’s too hard to rag chew on CW.
txmx2000 9y ago
Do not donate or help the American Red Cross. They do almost nothing to help those affected by natural disasters. All they do is setup shelters and feed people in those shelters. They do not help rebuild. They do an exceptionally poor job at this. Everyone knows about Katrina. In Houston this year, food sat on loading docks downtown while people starved in local shelters. The American Red Cross ran the main shelter so poorly that the city had to build an entirely new shelter and move everyone there...in the middle of a hurricane. They don’t need your donations. They have a deal with the federal government where they get reimbursed for whatever they spend during a national disaster. The local American Red Cross chapters do this. The national organization does not provide the resources for this. If you donate to the American Red Cross, you’re throwing your money away. The money won’t go to the local chapters. It won’t go to rebuild. It won’t go to the victims of the natural disaster. Do not donate to the American Red Cross.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Maybe a better statement would be, "If you donate to the Red Cross then know what your donation is going to support..." Then maybe you can enumerate the complaints and, if wanted, provide citations. As it is, I think some folks may take offense with you telling them how to spend their money. I, for one, read it as you trying to tell me what I can or cannot do. Edited to add: I see your dead reply. The difference between my suggestions and your post is that you demand, as opposed to ask. You may notice that I'm making a point of not saying you should do something, but that pointing out that you can choose to do something. It's received much more gracefully and people are much more open to the ideas when they are asked, instead of when they are instructed. But, it's entirely up to you how you take it and what you decide to do with it. I've spent years learning to say could instead of should. It has helped me immensely.
  - txmx2000 9y ago
    > I've spent years learning to say could instead of should. It has helped me immensely. Could you be less condescending and pretentious?
  - mbrookes 9y ago
FTA 9y ago
I've been a Technician for many years. I have worked numerous local responses: parades, athletic events, smaller scale weather disasters. It was really rewarding, especially when a family member was actually participating in the event, and you felt awesome knowing you're keeping watch and helping to direct and dispatch help where needed. I met a lot of folks who were much older and had amazing stories. One in particular drove his RV with his wife down to LA shortly after Katrina and, using a ham radio and bag phone, helped relay a lot of the communications flowing out of the area. Unfortunately the bar to get a General license is much higher than Technician, even without the Morse Code. There are a ton of regulations and rules you need to be familiar with that are often not related to E&M. This unfortunately kept me from ever upgrading and being of use in large scale disasters like this. I can understand to an extent why the licensing is still required; otherwise you will have these spectra flooded with people probably using them for commercial purposes with no regulation to cut them off. Basic ham communications are still absolutely critical in major disasters. A few others have touched on this, but bandwidth and throughout for communication is increased with the advent of digital interfaces to the radios to the point that you can essentially establish a data connection over the air. Godspeed to those who make the trek.
- lutorm 9y ago
  I went to get my U.S. Technician license (I've had a Swedish CEPT2 license for a long time but never been very active) after studying a bit online, and after passing that they asked if I wanted to try the General test too, since I was already there. I did, and I passed. (Did the same with Extra, but didn't pass that one.) I would certainly not be comfortable with actually operating a HF rig without doing some prep work, but it seems to me that an active ham would have a reasonable chance of squeezing by the General test if they gave it a chance.
- tzs 9y ago
  > Unfortunately the bar to get a General license is much higher than Technician, even without the Morse Code. There are a ton of regulations and rules you need to be familiar with that are often not related to E&M. I suspect you are underestimating your abilities and/or overestimating the difficulty of the test. The test is very structured and you can take advantage of that. If you are good on the E&M stuff, you can blow a lot of the regulation questions. The tests consist of questions drawn from 10 categories. Here's the breakdown for Technician (T), General (G), and Extra (E): T G G E 6 5 5 6 Commission's Rules 3 5 5 5 Operating Procedures 3 3 3 3 Radio Wave Propagation 2 5 5 5 Amateur Radio Practices 4 3 3 4 Electrical Principles 4 3 2 6 Circuit Components 4 3 3 8 Practical Circuits 4 2 3 4 Signals and Emissions 2 4 4 8 Antennas and Feed Lines 3 2 2 1 Electrical and RF Safety (General is listed twice because I made that table just a couple months before the General test was due to be updated, and I now don't remember which column was for which revision. Extra was revised last year so the counts may be off for that too). For Technician and General you have to get 26 out of 35 to pass. For Extra it is 37 out of 50. So, for general, you get to blow 9 questions. Even if you miss everything in the rules questions, that's only 5 out of your budget of 9. Furthermore, the questions in the pool for each category are further divided into several groups. You get exactly one question from each group. The 5 groups in the rules category on the General exam are: • General Class control operator frequency privileges; primary and secondary allocations • Antenna structure limitations; good engineering and good amateur practice; beacon operation; prohibited transmissions; retransmitting radio signals • Transmitter power regulations; data emission standards • Volunteer Examiners and Volunteer Examiner Coordinators; temporary identification • Control categories; repeater regulations; harmful interference; third party rules; ITU regions; automatically controlled digital station You can almost certainly pick one or two of those groups and learn enough to answer the questions for those groups without much trouble. For example if you can just memorize the lower and upper frequencies of the major HF bands you'll known enough to answer the majority of questions in the "General Class control operator frequency privileges; primary and secondary allocations" group. If you haven't actually given General a try, I'd recommend going to hamexam.org and/or hamstudy.org, and doing some practice tests. You can also review the entire question pool. I bet you'll find that in a weekend or two of practice in your spare time you'll find you are passing with reasonable frequency, and with a little more time you'll get to the point where you pass enough to be confident in taking the actual test. If you make an account at those sites they will keep track of stats, and at least one of them, I believe, will give you stats by category and group so you can figure out what areas to concentrate on.
t3h2mas 9y ago
What are people using to study for HAM licenses these days? Any modern resources to know about?
- kw71 9y ago
  There are lots of practice apps on websites and smartphone apps that give flashcards from the question pool. Some people memorize the answers, but you should look into why the ones you don't know are what they are.
- elihu 9y ago
  The test questions and answers are public, so the simplest/cheapest thing is to just read through them all. Aside from that, I think the ARRL puts out some study guides that are a bit easier to digest.
- jlgaddis 9y ago
  You can buy books on the ARRL web site that contain every question -- along with the answer! -- to every question you could possibly be asked on the tests. If you just want to get the license as quickly/easily as possible, get a copy of the book (hell, the question pools are probably even online, I'm sure) and spend a weekend memorizing the answers before you go take the test. If you want to actually understand the material (which I highly recommend), then spend the extra time to research the questions and answers. I don't think it's ever been easier to get a ham radio license.
- tzs 9y ago
  If you want to actually learn the relevant material, but tailored toward passing the exam, the ARRL books are very good [1] [2] [3]. The exam structure is quite conductive to just memorizing the answers [4], but it is really better if you try to have some understanding so I recommend the books. You can take practice exams, or drill with flash cards, or review the entire question pools at hamexam.org or hamstudy.org. Make accounts at those sites and they will keep stats on how you do for each subsection of the test questions so you can figure out your strengths and weaknesses. There are mobile apps for iOS and Android that provide functionality similar to hamexam.org and hamstudy.org. [1] https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625950136/ https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625... [2] https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1625950314/ https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/d... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1625950551/ https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/... [3] See this comment for some more on the exam structure: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15353793 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15353793
slr555 9y ago
One thing about HAM that I didn't see in perusing the comments is how many tools HAM operators have developed that integrate with the internet. There are a bunch of tools that let you start out on HF and hit a receiver or repeater that puts your traffic into the internet. In an environment with the right kind of repeaters you can hit the internet with a handheld (Puerto Rico likely has had it's repeaters decimated with all other towers). On HF you can go around the world to hit a link to the internet. I imagine the Red Cross and ARRL will be selecting an HF mode and band to take the shortest hop they can into more modern data systems. The secret sauce in HF is that unlike the web, conditions matter to the operator. Things like sunspot activity, the position of the day/night line, if you are near water etc. can greatly affect your ability to successfully communicate. DXpeditions, which are trips HAMs take with their gear to try to hit very distant stations are often based in island locations because HF tends to propagate significantly better with the antenna is near water as opposed to irregular ground. I would just say to all of you who are into tech as I imagine HN readers to be, to give HAM a try. A lot of us are old and HAM sites regularly feature a list of "silent keys" because so many of the hardcore operators are dying off. Yes it's a bit antiquated but the younger generation will be able to marry all the amazing things you've invented to HAM to serve populations where the new tech either hasn't gone or gets knocked out as in the current crisis. For so many of you engineers it will be easy, like dusting off your first Circuits text. Yes, the regs are a drag to learn but I bet the average HN reader has done things that are way more challenging. Have fun! 73
- brians 9y ago
  Ham.
  - slr555 9y ago
    Yep
    - nickysielicki 9y ago
      ham not HAM
aidos 9y ago
My business partner's father (ZL2AL) passed last year and I know he'd be chuffed to see all this HAM talk on HN :-) He demoed the process to me last time I saw him (back in New Zealand). It was amazing to see the speed with which the he (and the other operators) could relay messages around the world. He wrote a bit about his many adventures on his blog (http://www.zl2al.com/ http://www.zl2al.com/). I guess there may even be other HAM operators on here that knew him.
ejcx 9y ago
If you don't get your technicians license and have the opportunity to, I think you're crazy. It's something in tech that doesn't get enough love anymore. It's immensely valuable and actually a fun change of pace from SaaS. It takes about 2-3 hours of studying and you can pretty much keep it for life. KK4PPF. QSL?
mmaunder 9y ago
I'd love to help but 3 weeks is a huge commitment and I can't leave my job that long. I think they may get a tremendous response from the retired folks in the ham community. Anyone have data on HF frequencies being used and if remote relay assistance is helpful? Or any other technical data on the effort? WT1J
grandalf 9y ago
I've been a ham since I was a kid. There are so many different, interesting things to explore. These days I find high speed telegraphy pretty relaxing and meditative, and I have a few ongoing RF projects that keep me going even when everything else seems trend-driven and silly. And let's face it, radio wave propagation still feels magical. I could go on and on. Glad to see some PR even though it's for a sad reason.
westurner 9y ago
Zello trended up during hurricane Harvey: http://zello.com/ http://zello.com/ > Push the button for instant, radio-style talk on any Wi-Fi or data plan. > Access public and private channels. > Choose button for push-to-talk. > [...] available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows PC and Windows Phone 8 ... > Connects to existing LMR radio systems > All Radio Technologies > Interconnect conventional and trunked analog FM, ETSI DMR, ETSI TETRA, MotoTRBO, APCO P25 FDMA, and NXDN. > https://zellowork.com/lmr https://zellowork.com/lmr They probably need some batteries, turbines, and solar cell chargers to get WiFi online?
- westurner 9y ago
  > This phone needs no battery http://www.techradar.com/news/this-phone-needs-no-battery http://www.techradar.com/news/this-phone-needs-no-battery > [...] “We’ve built what we believe is the first functioning cellphone that consumes almost zero power,” said Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the UW and co-author on a paper describing the technology. > Instead, the phone pulls power from its environment - either from ambient radio signals harvested by an antenna, or ambient light collected by a solar cell the size of a grain of rice. The device consumes just 3.5 microwatts of power during use. > [...] “And if every house has a Wi-Fi router in it, you could get battery-free cellphone coverage everywhere." (Also trending on HackerNews right now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15350799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15350799 )
  - atomicthumbs 9y ago
    That's not at all useful, nor is it relevant.
    - westurner 9y ago
      A low energy phone (and WiFi (from a related UW R&D team?)) would be extremely useful in this and future disaster relief scenarios. Furthermore, radio operators who care about the Red Cross may be able to help pull this product through to market.
- 9y ago
kaiwen1 9y ago
Why would there be a preference for ham radio over satellite phones?
- LVB 9y ago
  I'd guess: 1. probably easier to manage, with a central net coordinator and many remotes. 2. there is lots of equipment 3. cheaper
  - justin66 9y ago
    The satellites over the Caribbean are probably pretty swamped right now, too, and operating at or past their capacity. That's just a wild guess but if these past few weeks wouldn't put them past their capacity I don't know what would.
    - LVB 9y ago
      I'm no longer active, but one of the main attractions to the hobby was how simple everything was. The idea that with some power and a basic antenna, I could talk to a radio built 50 years ago with no more alignment then choosing the same frequency, was always very intriguing to me.
- wepple 9y ago
  I addition to what LVD said, Broadcast: I can say something and a good number of people will likely hear, and can relay.
slr555 9y ago
A few people have said that going from Technician to General or General to Extra is difficult. It is not totally easy but I did find a tool when I was studying for my Extra exam (passed). I don't post to much here so if I am out of bounds please let me know and I'll remove the comment. I used a tool called HamTestOnline, https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com, and it was a huge help. I paid for the service and I am in no way associated with them except as a customer. I worked in technical training for 20 years and this guys system is as good as online training systems we shelled out well into six figures for. Like I said if posting a link here is bad form tell me and I'll take it down lickety split. Only want to share something I found very useful.
Animats 9y ago
This indicates how bad things are in Puerto Rico. None of this is necessary for Texas or Florida. But Puerto Rico has lost most of its infrastructure, and it's an island. They have to get the ports cleared of debris and functioning before stuff can be brought in. They need basic communications just to organize the early stages of recovery. It's going to be slow. In the domestic US, within three days after a disaster, the Interstates usually have been cleared and trucks are bringing in supplies. Fairly quickly, the big-box retailers like Wal-Mart will be back up and restocked with necessities. Puerto Rico isn't going to be like that. They need what amounts to a military invasion. The military brings its own infrastructure and can cold-start on bare ground if they have to. Another big problem - the money system is down. No credit card processing. Few ATMs working, and those are mostly out of cash by now. This is the downside of the cashless economy.
- Animats 9y ago
  Update: Port of San Juan is open, 3000 containers of relief supplies have been unloaded by Crowley Marine alone, but there's too much debris on the roads to get semitrailers out of the port yet. Diesel fuel is in stock at tank farms but not getting distributed because roads are blocked. Bulldozers and front end loaders will deal with that, but not instantly. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-rico-port-reopens-but-relief-distribution-remains-slow-1506446137 https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-rico-port-reopens-but-re...
  - Animats 9y ago
    Update 2: Crowley has 10,000 containers stuck at the port, but only 20% of the truck drivers have been located. With cell service down, nobody can call them. Getting Diesel to fuel stations is a problem. 11 tankers are inbound, and 100 fuel trucks have been sent out from San Juan. But damaged gas stations without power can't use the fuel. The further from San Juan, the worse it gets.
jabl 9y ago
Semi-offtopic, any city-dwelling HAM's out there? I've been thinking it would be cool hobby to get into, but I live in a condo. My father is a ham, and he has this long antenna up in the trees across his yard (must be close to 50m long), for HF I guess (he mostly does CW, AFAIK). So it seems a bit pointless if all I can do is operate some VHF band equipment with an indoor antenna, or maybe sticking a short-ish antenna out of the window, with a range of maybe of few tens of km's? What am I missing? If there are city-dwelling hams out there, what do they do?
- tinco 9y ago
  First time I saw a HAM installation was when I bought a lab power supply on Craigslist. I went to pick it up and the guy lived on the third floor of a 5 story building with his family. One room was entirely filled with radio equipment. Some big cables went through his window and up the building. He told me his landlord was OK with him putting antennae on the roof of the building.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  There are. One thing you need to do is to check out if you have roof access and rights to put something on it. Depending on the situation you have with your flat, you could already have all that's needed to be able to put antennas on the roof! For instance, in my country (Poland), being an owner of a flat gives you rights to access the roof and put some small stuff on it. If you happen to be renting, or otherwise can't use the roof, then you still probably can put a smaller antenna on your window or balcony. The general principle is this: the higher you can put your antennas, the better.
Dowwie 9y ago
The ARC is an non-profit organization supported by a movement of volunteers from all walks of life. It gives resources to volunteers willing to help those in need. Thank god it exists. I took a month leave of absence from a programmer position at Merrill Lynch when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. I signed up for a disaster response role in the American Red Cross, who dispatched me relatively quickly to a major shelter in Alexandria, Louisiana. Gandhi said, "You have to be the change you wish to see in the world.". This could not be more true than as a volunteer. A mass response to a disaster of Puerto Rican proportions will be loosely coordinated. Supply chains will operate far from optimal. Volunteers who recognize an inefficiency will either do nothing about it or assume the leadership role required to reduce the inefficiency. A volunteer experience like this is largely what you make of it. Unlike other entrepreneurial endeavors, the ARC gives you the resources to do something great.
jimhefferon 9y ago
Please folks. It is not spelled HAM. It is spelled ham.

346 points by kw71 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Havoc 9y ago

Given how badly they fk'd up Haiti I'm not so sure I'd help them...

killjoywashere 9y ago
You should try responding to some disasters. They're all crazy. The DoD did no better in Haiti.
- hyperbovine 9y ago
  > The DoD did no better in Haiti. The DoD is not a disaster relief organization, so that's a pretty low bar.
  - digikata 9y ago
    They are not, but they should have very good logistics capability for disaster areas with damaged/nonexistent infrastructure.
  - killjoywashere 9y ago
    The DoD sets every world standard in disaster management. They just don't show up until everyone else has given up.
- pera 9y ago
  I believe the parent poster is talking about this: http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
tertius 9y ago
You may also want to include the U.N. in your condemnation, even though they are not specifically mentioned. Haiti was not well handled by the big boys... https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html?mcubz=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nat...
curtis 9y ago
Haiti was a far more difficult situation. The death toll was on the order of several hundred thousand people, and Haiti was a difficult place to work in even before that.
- KekDemaga 9y ago
  They spent 500 million to build 4 houses. That's inexcusable.
  - curtis 9y ago
    They spent 500 million dollars on something and no doubt on many different things, but it wasn't on 4 houses. There's definitely a problem in that we don't know what exactly they spent that money on, and we also have no idea if the stuff they spent it on was actually very effective (it's hard to believe that it was anything other than a great waste, but that may also be true of the very large sums of money spent by other non-profits in Haiti). The narrative that the American Red Cross spent half a billion dollars on a handful of houses is so grossly -- and obviously -- over-simplified that it can't be anything but complete baloney. It makes a great headline though. (It goes without saying that this is my own humble opinion, of course.)
    - rpedela 9y ago
      From a 2015 NPR article [1]: "The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people, but the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six." I don't know about you, but that screams fraud to me. 1. http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red...
      - 24gttghh 9y ago
        Is the Red Cross supposed to build houses? I was under the impression they focus on temporary, emergency shelter...Sounds more like something up Habitat for Humanity's alley.

TallGuyShort 9y ago

I'm a bit out of the loop on amateur radio these days, but if I remember correctly there was a mass exodus from volunteer radio operators from the American Red Cross to the Salvation Army over the background check issue. Volunteers that were bringing thousands of dollars of their own equipment to help saw it as very unnecessary and insulting. I'm a bit surprised to see they're still requiring the background checks... edit: I'm also a bit surprised they're requiring a General Class license. That cuts out a huge number of potential volunteers. Are they really using the other frequencies that opens up enough that it's a requirement? Possibly that is a reasonable requirement, but I've helped with disaster recovery simulations, etc. and my Technican Class license was just fine.

mikestew 9y ago
I imagine they might want a General license because you won't transmit beyond the island on a Technician license. Just a guess. EDIT: actually read the fine article, HF voice being one of the requirements. I assume they also want more than the tiny bit of HF that Technician licensees get to use. " Sorry, 10m isn't open, so I can't transmit, and I'm not allowed to use 40m."
- vvanders 9y ago
  Yeah, WinLink is also almost completely done on HF as well. Most hams I know have their General even if they don't use HF regularly.
jcrawfordor 9y ago
ARRL now conducts background checks on ARES volunteers, so the issue is rather moot (in fact ARC and ARRL have an MOU stating that ARRL is responsible for background checks on their volunteers assisting ARC, which presumably applies to this call as well). There have just been too many incidents of people with e.g. sexual assault on their rap sheets turning up working in shelters where there are all manner of vulnerable people. Terrible optics if nothing else. I suspect the general class requirement is just to cut down the applicants to a pool of more dedicated people. A very real problem with disaster volunteers, if I might be a little harsh especially from the amateur radio side, is "fair-weather responders" who will go through all the training and then not actually deploy. I've also personally found that people with higher class licenses are more likely to be into digital modes which is what they're mostly looking for, but that's getting less true as the equipment gets cheaper (to be honest I've never even seen a packet TNC in person). I happen to be both an ARC disaster worker and amateur radio operator, but I speak for myself.

curtis 9y ago

I've seen steady reporting about Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria but it's been exactly that -- "about Puerto Rico" rather than "from Puerto Rico". Everybody seems to think it's bad, but it's really hard to say how bad. I think the major contributing factor to how the situation is being reported is that most of the cell towers (90%?) are out of action, and presumably land lines have also been seriously affected.

maxerickson 9y ago
CNN is doing live shots every hour. Hard to say how much of the island they are covering, they are there.
- curtis 9y ago
  It's also been nearly a week. In all fairness though, it seems like the airports are either shut down or operating at greatly reduced capacity, so it's hard for reporters to get in.
  - MBCook 9y ago
    I saw an article earlier today about how hard it’s going to be to rebuild the electric grid (effectively REPLACE it because it’s 80% gone) that said that for at least a while the airport didn’t have radar and flights had to be confirmed for landing before they could even take off which was adding a massive delay to any attempt to get to the island.
    - Caveman_Coder 9y ago
      > "how hard it’s going to be to rebuild the electric grid..." - ~80% of transmission lines are down - >90% of distribution lines are down - Fuel for their generation plants is desperately needed and needs to be shipped in on a regular basis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Electric_Power_Authority#Power_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Electric_Power_Aut...) Basically, from an electrical-grid-restoration perspective ("Blackstart"), its a nightmare.

brian-armstrong 9y ago

Being a Ham radio operator sounds kind of romantic on paper, but then you try it and realize that 90% of the other operators are curmudgeonly old Trump supporter types. Not really any fun chances for discourse when the person on the other side is pining for the return of Jim Crow laws

uabstraction 9y ago
The great thing about ham radio is that if you don't like what you're hearing, you can just keep spinning the dial. In my experience (NYC metro area), I hear very little politics on the ham bands. There are also CW and digital modes which tend to draw people with more than five brain cells. I know there are a couple infamous HF frequencies where some reality-challenged folks tend to congregate, but there is much more to the hobby than that QRM.
cjsuk 9y ago
Perhaps annoyingly you’re spot on. The “local net” near me in London is full of Brexit breathing Farage supporters whining about their XYL. The clubs aren’t any better. It took forever to get my license sorted because of this as well. I was new blood that didn’t want to drink beer, play with black box rigs or bitch about the wife. So I stick to 40m CW. People just want a QSO or two and then go back to playing with their oscilloscopes and soldering irons. It’s too hard to rag chew on CW.

txmx2000 9y ago

Do not donate or help the American Red Cross. They do almost nothing to help those affected by natural disasters. All they do is setup shelters and feed people in those shelters. They do not help rebuild. They do an exceptionally poor job at this. Everyone knows about Katrina. In Houston this year, food sat on loading docks downtown while people starved in local shelters. The American Red Cross ran the main shelter so poorly that the city had to build an entirely new shelter and move everyone there...in the middle of a hurricane. They don’t need your donations. They have a deal with the federal government where they get reimbursed for whatever they spend during a national disaster. The local American Red Cross chapters do this. The national organization does not provide the resources for this. If you donate to the American Red Cross, you’re throwing your money away. The money won’t go to the local chapters. It won’t go to rebuild. It won’t go to the victims of the natural disaster. Do not donate to the American Red Cross.

KGIII 9y ago
Maybe a better statement would be, "If you donate to the Red Cross then know what your donation is going to support..." Then maybe you can enumerate the complaints and, if wanted, provide citations. As it is, I think some folks may take offense with you telling them how to spend their money. I, for one, read it as you trying to tell me what I can or cannot do. Edited to add: I see your dead reply. The difference between my suggestions and your post is that you demand, as opposed to ask. You may notice that I'm making a point of not saying you should do something, but that pointing out that you can choose to do something. It's received much more gracefully and people are much more open to the ideas when they are asked, instead of when they are instructed. But, it's entirely up to you how you take it and what you decide to do with it. I've spent years learning to say could instead of should. It has helped me immensely.
- txmx2000 9y ago
  > I've spent years learning to say could instead of should. It has helped me immensely. Could you be less condescending and pretentious?
- mbrookes 9y ago

FTA 9y ago

I've been a Technician for many years. I have worked numerous local responses: parades, athletic events, smaller scale weather disasters. It was really rewarding, especially when a family member was actually participating in the event, and you felt awesome knowing you're keeping watch and helping to direct and dispatch help where needed. I met a lot of folks who were much older and had amazing stories. One in particular drove his RV with his wife down to LA shortly after Katrina and, using a ham radio and bag phone, helped relay a lot of the communications flowing out of the area. Unfortunately the bar to get a General license is much higher than Technician, even without the Morse Code. There are a ton of regulations and rules you need to be familiar with that are often not related to E&M. This unfortunately kept me from ever upgrading and being of use in large scale disasters like this. I can understand to an extent why the licensing is still required; otherwise you will have these spectra flooded with people probably using them for commercial purposes with no regulation to cut them off. Basic ham communications are still absolutely critical in major disasters. A few others have touched on this, but bandwidth and throughout for communication is increased with the advent of digital interfaces to the radios to the point that you can essentially establish a data connection over the air. Godspeed to those who make the trek.

lutorm 9y ago
I went to get my U.S. Technician license (I've had a Swedish CEPT2 license for a long time but never been very active) after studying a bit online, and after passing that they asked if I wanted to try the General test too, since I was already there. I did, and I passed. (Did the same with Extra, but didn't pass that one.) I would certainly not be comfortable with actually operating a HF rig without doing some prep work, but it seems to me that an active ham would have a reasonable chance of squeezing by the General test if they gave it a chance.
tzs 9y ago
> Unfortunately the bar to get a General license is much higher than Technician, even without the Morse Code. There are a ton of regulations and rules you need to be familiar with that are often not related to E&M. I suspect you are underestimating your abilities and/or overestimating the difficulty of the test. The test is very structured and you can take advantage of that. If you are good on the E&M stuff, you can blow a lot of the regulation questions. The tests consist of questions drawn from 10 categories. Here's the breakdown for Technician (T), General (G), and Extra (E): T G G E 6 5 5 6 Commission's Rules 3 5 5 5 Operating Procedures 3 3 3 3 Radio Wave Propagation 2 5 5 5 Amateur Radio Practices 4 3 3 4 Electrical Principles 4 3 2 6 Circuit Components 4 3 3 8 Practical Circuits 4 2 3 4 Signals and Emissions 2 4 4 8 Antennas and Feed Lines 3 2 2 1 Electrical and RF Safety (General is listed twice because I made that table just a couple months before the General test was due to be updated, and I now don't remember which column was for which revision. Extra was revised last year so the counts may be off for that too). For Technician and General you have to get 26 out of 35 to pass. For Extra it is 37 out of 50. So, for general, you get to blow 9 questions. Even if you miss everything in the rules questions, that's only 5 out of your budget of 9. Furthermore, the questions in the pool for each category are further divided into several groups. You get exactly one question from each group. The 5 groups in the rules category on the General exam are: • General Class control operator frequency privileges; primary and secondary allocations • Antenna structure limitations; good engineering and good amateur practice; beacon operation; prohibited transmissions; retransmitting radio signals • Transmitter power regulations; data emission standards • Volunteer Examiners and Volunteer Examiner Coordinators; temporary identification • Control categories; repeater regulations; harmful interference; third party rules; ITU regions; automatically controlled digital station You can almost certainly pick one or two of those groups and learn enough to answer the questions for those groups without much trouble. For example if you can just memorize the lower and upper frequencies of the major HF bands you'll known enough to answer the majority of questions in the "General Class control operator frequency privileges; primary and secondary allocations" group. If you haven't actually given General a try, I'd recommend going to hamexam.org and/or hamstudy.org, and doing some practice tests. You can also review the entire question pool. I bet you'll find that in a weekend or two of practice in your spare time you'll find you are passing with reasonable frequency, and with a little more time you'll get to the point where you pass enough to be confident in taking the actual test. If you make an account at those sites they will keep track of stats, and at least one of them, I believe, will give you stats by category and group so you can figure out what areas to concentrate on.

t3h2mas 9y ago

What are people using to study for HAM licenses these days? Any modern resources to know about?

kw71 9y ago
There are lots of practice apps on websites and smartphone apps that give flashcards from the question pool. Some people memorize the answers, but you should look into why the ones you don't know are what they are.
elihu 9y ago
The test questions and answers are public, so the simplest/cheapest thing is to just read through them all. Aside from that, I think the ARRL puts out some study guides that are a bit easier to digest.
jlgaddis 9y ago
You can buy books on the ARRL web site that contain every question -- along with the answer! -- to every question you could possibly be asked on the tests. If you just want to get the license as quickly/easily as possible, get a copy of the book (hell, the question pools are probably even online, I'm sure) and spend a weekend memorizing the answers before you go take the test. If you want to actually understand the material (which I highly recommend), then spend the extra time to research the questions and answers. I don't think it's ever been easier to get a ham radio license.
tzs 9y ago
If you want to actually learn the relevant material, but tailored toward passing the exam, the ARRL books are very good [1] [2] [3]. The exam structure is quite conductive to just memorizing the answers [4], but it is really better if you try to have some understanding so I recommend the books. You can take practice exams, or drill with flash cards, or review the entire question pools at hamexam.org or hamstudy.org. Make accounts at those sites and they will keep stats on how you do for each subsection of the test questions so you can figure out your strengths and weaknesses. There are mobile apps for iOS and Android that provide functionality similar to hamexam.org and hamstudy.org. [1] https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625950136/ https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625... [2] https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1625950314/ https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/d... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/1625950551/ https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Class-License-Manual-Spiral/dp/... [3] See this comment for some more on the exam structure: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15353793 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15353793

slr555 9y ago

One thing about HAM that I didn't see in perusing the comments is how many tools HAM operators have developed that integrate with the internet. There are a bunch of tools that let you start out on HF and hit a receiver or repeater that puts your traffic into the internet. In an environment with the right kind of repeaters you can hit the internet with a handheld (Puerto Rico likely has had it's repeaters decimated with all other towers). On HF you can go around the world to hit a link to the internet. I imagine the Red Cross and ARRL will be selecting an HF mode and band to take the shortest hop they can into more modern data systems. The secret sauce in HF is that unlike the web, conditions matter to the operator. Things like sunspot activity, the position of the day/night line, if you are near water etc. can greatly affect your ability to successfully communicate. DXpeditions, which are trips HAMs take with their gear to try to hit very distant stations are often based in island locations because HF tends to propagate significantly better with the antenna is near water as opposed to irregular ground. I would just say to all of you who are into tech as I imagine HN readers to be, to give HAM a try. A lot of us are old and HAM sites regularly feature a list of "silent keys" because so many of the hardcore operators are dying off. Yes it's a bit antiquated but the younger generation will be able to marry all the amazing things you've invented to HAM to serve populations where the new tech either hasn't gone or gets knocked out as in the current crisis. For so many of you engineers it will be easy, like dusting off your first Circuits text. Yes, the regs are a drag to learn but I bet the average HN reader has done things that are way more challenging. Have fun! 73

brians 9y ago
Ham.
- slr555 9y ago
  Yep
  - nickysielicki 9y ago
    ham not HAM

aidos 9y ago

My business partner's father (ZL2AL) passed last year and I know he'd be chuffed to see all this HAM talk on HN :-) He demoed the process to me last time I saw him (back in New Zealand). It was amazing to see the speed with which the he (and the other operators) could relay messages around the world. He wrote a bit about his many adventures on his blog (http://www.zl2al.com/ http://www.zl2al.com/). I guess there may even be other HAM operators on here that knew him.

ejcx 9y ago

If you don't get your technicians license and have the opportunity to, I think you're crazy. It's something in tech that doesn't get enough love anymore. It's immensely valuable and actually a fun change of pace from SaaS. It takes about 2-3 hours of studying and you can pretty much keep it for life. KK4PPF. QSL?

mmaunder 9y ago

I'd love to help but 3 weeks is a huge commitment and I can't leave my job that long. I think they may get a tremendous response from the retired folks in the ham community. Anyone have data on HF frequencies being used and if remote relay assistance is helpful? Or any other technical data on the effort? WT1J

grandalf 9y ago

I've been a ham since I was a kid. There are so many different, interesting things to explore. These days I find high speed telegraphy pretty relaxing and meditative, and I have a few ongoing RF projects that keep me going even when everything else seems trend-driven and silly. And let's face it, radio wave propagation still feels magical. I could go on and on. Glad to see some PR even though it's for a sad reason.

westurner 9y ago

Zello trended up during hurricane Harvey: http://zello.com/ http://zello.com/ > Push the button for instant, radio-style talk on any Wi-Fi or data plan. > Access public and private channels. > Choose button for push-to-talk. > [...] available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows PC and Windows Phone 8 ... > Connects to existing LMR radio systems > All Radio Technologies > Interconnect conventional and trunked analog FM, ETSI DMR, ETSI TETRA, MotoTRBO, APCO P25 FDMA, and NXDN. > https://zellowork.com/lmr https://zellowork.com/lmr They probably need some batteries, turbines, and solar cell chargers to get WiFi online?

westurner 9y ago
> This phone needs no battery http://www.techradar.com/news/this-phone-needs-no-battery http://www.techradar.com/news/this-phone-needs-no-battery > [...] “We’ve built what we believe is the first functioning cellphone that consumes almost zero power,” said Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the UW and co-author on a paper describing the technology. > Instead, the phone pulls power from its environment - either from ambient radio signals harvested by an antenna, or ambient light collected by a solar cell the size of a grain of rice. The device consumes just 3.5 microwatts of power during use. > [...] “And if every house has a Wi-Fi router in it, you could get battery-free cellphone coverage everywhere." (Also trending on HackerNews right now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15350799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15350799 )
- atomicthumbs 9y ago
  That's not at all useful, nor is it relevant.
  - westurner 9y ago
    A low energy phone (and WiFi (from a related UW R&D team?)) would be extremely useful in this and future disaster relief scenarios. Furthermore, radio operators who care about the Red Cross may be able to help pull this product through to market.
9y ago

kaiwen1 9y ago

Why would there be a preference for ham radio over satellite phones?

LVB 9y ago
I'd guess: 1. probably easier to manage, with a central net coordinator and many remotes. 2. there is lots of equipment 3. cheaper
- justin66 9y ago
  The satellites over the Caribbean are probably pretty swamped right now, too, and operating at or past their capacity. That's just a wild guess but if these past few weeks wouldn't put them past their capacity I don't know what would.
  - LVB 9y ago
    I'm no longer active, but one of the main attractions to the hobby was how simple everything was. The idea that with some power and a basic antenna, I could talk to a radio built 50 years ago with no more alignment then choosing the same frequency, was always very intriguing to me.
wepple 9y ago
I addition to what LVD said, Broadcast: I can say something and a good number of people will likely hear, and can relay.

slr555 9y ago

A few people have said that going from Technician to General or General to Extra is difficult. It is not totally easy but I did find a tool when I was studying for my Extra exam (passed). I don't post to much here so if I am out of bounds please let me know and I'll remove the comment. I used a tool called HamTestOnline, https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com, and it was a huge help. I paid for the service and I am in no way associated with them except as a customer. I worked in technical training for 20 years and this guys system is as good as online training systems we shelled out well into six figures for. Like I said if posting a link here is bad form tell me and I'll take it down lickety split. Only want to share something I found very useful.

Animats 9y ago

This indicates how bad things are in Puerto Rico. None of this is necessary for Texas or Florida. But Puerto Rico has lost most of its infrastructure, and it's an island. They have to get the ports cleared of debris and functioning before stuff can be brought in. They need basic communications just to organize the early stages of recovery. It's going to be slow. In the domestic US, within three days after a disaster, the Interstates usually have been cleared and trucks are bringing in supplies. Fairly quickly, the big-box retailers like Wal-Mart will be back up and restocked with necessities. Puerto Rico isn't going to be like that. They need what amounts to a military invasion. The military brings its own infrastructure and can cold-start on bare ground if they have to. Another big problem - the money system is down. No credit card processing. Few ATMs working, and those are mostly out of cash by now. This is the downside of the cashless economy.

Animats 9y ago
Update: Port of San Juan is open, 3000 containers of relief supplies have been unloaded by Crowley Marine alone, but there's too much debris on the roads to get semitrailers out of the port yet. Diesel fuel is in stock at tank farms but not getting distributed because roads are blocked. Bulldozers and front end loaders will deal with that, but not instantly. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-rico-port-reopens-but-relief-distribution-remains-slow-1506446137 https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-rico-port-reopens-but-re...
- Animats 9y ago
  Update 2: Crowley has 10,000 containers stuck at the port, but only 20% of the truck drivers have been located. With cell service down, nobody can call them. Getting Diesel to fuel stations is a problem. 11 tankers are inbound, and 100 fuel trucks have been sent out from San Juan. But damaged gas stations without power can't use the fuel. The further from San Juan, the worse it gets.

jabl 9y ago

Semi-offtopic, any city-dwelling HAM's out there? I've been thinking it would be cool hobby to get into, but I live in a condo. My father is a ham, and he has this long antenna up in the trees across his yard (must be close to 50m long), for HF I guess (he mostly does CW, AFAIK). So it seems a bit pointless if all I can do is operate some VHF band equipment with an indoor antenna, or maybe sticking a short-ish antenna out of the window, with a range of maybe of few tens of km's? What am I missing? If there are city-dwelling hams out there, what do they do?

tinco 9y ago
First time I saw a HAM installation was when I bought a lab power supply on Craigslist. I went to pick it up and the guy lived on the third floor of a 5 story building with his family. One room was entirely filled with radio equipment. Some big cables went through his window and up the building. He told me his landlord was OK with him putting antennae on the roof of the building.
TeMPOraL 9y ago
There are. One thing you need to do is to check out if you have roof access and rights to put something on it. Depending on the situation you have with your flat, you could already have all that's needed to be able to put antennas on the roof! For instance, in my country (Poland), being an owner of a flat gives you rights to access the roof and put some small stuff on it. If you happen to be renting, or otherwise can't use the roof, then you still probably can put a smaller antenna on your window or balcony. The general principle is this: the higher you can put your antennas, the better.

Dowwie 9y ago

The ARC is an non-profit organization supported by a movement of volunteers from all walks of life. It gives resources to volunteers willing to help those in need. Thank god it exists. I took a month leave of absence from a programmer position at Merrill Lynch when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. I signed up for a disaster response role in the American Red Cross, who dispatched me relatively quickly to a major shelter in Alexandria, Louisiana. Gandhi said, "You have to be the change you wish to see in the world.". This could not be more true than as a volunteer. A mass response to a disaster of Puerto Rican proportions will be loosely coordinated. Supply chains will operate far from optimal. Volunteers who recognize an inefficiency will either do nothing about it or assume the leadership role required to reduce the inefficiency. A volunteer experience like this is largely what you make of it. Unlike other entrepreneurial endeavors, the ARC gives you the resources to do something great.

jimhefferon 9y ago

Please folks. It is not spelled HAM. It is spelled ham.