11 ms·

Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

228 points by nunodonato 9y ago

tony-allan 9y ago
Story is from September 27, 2017. Great to see American Radio Relay League members doing this important work for the citizens of Puerto Rico in their time of need.
- sctb 9y ago
  Thanks! We've updated the title to clarify.
tuukkah 9y ago
The Finnish media reported last month how the government wants to collaborate with the radio hobbyists who have a network that is more resilient than the official networks. Any longer issue in the mains network causes an emergency and the official radio networks won't stay up long either in the countryside.
- jabl 9y ago
  Interesting, but I couldn't find anything; link?
  - tuukkah 9y ago
    I can't find anything in English but here's a news item in Finnish (translated title "The fire department is interested in the amateur-built network in Northern Carelia"): https://www.karjalainen.fi/uutiset/uutis-alueet/kotimaa/item/174000-hs-pelastuslaitos-kiinnostui-amatoorien-rakentamasta-verkosta-pohjois-karjalassa https://www.karjalainen.fi/uutiset/uutis-alueet/kotimaa/item... EDIT: Tweet from the Defence Department in Finnish ("--the backup network Varve is a great example-- --collaboration between the government and the civil society"): https://mobile.twitter.com/DefenceFinland/status/968087894031290368 https://mobile.twitter.com/DefenceFinland/status/96808789403... One year ago in Finnish ("The role of radio amateurs growing in emergency communications"): https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9268716 https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9268716
jgrahamc 9y ago
The importance of ham radio is that it's infrastructure-less. People are completely used to the Internet and mobile telephones working without thinking about the infrastructure and its maintenance. With my radios I can talk to people all over the place point to point without any infrastructure at all.
- giancarlostoro 9y ago
  After an article about the judge who did the case for Oracle vs Google and how he was a ham I got more and more interested in ham radios. The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment, but if you can reach a main city there's usually repeaters up on those buildings from what I've been told. There's so much to learn I feel and I don't know where to start truly, I've just watched a couple of videos and read a few articles. I know I need to get my license first for sure.
  - tomfanning 9y ago
    Honestly, the best route in is to find a local club. For the US: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club For the UK: http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/first-steps/ http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/first-step... Most nations have a national society that can help signpost you in the same way. Also, come join /r/amateurradio, there's a pretty friendly, if small, community there, with a weekly "ask anything" thread and an alright "getting started" wiki.
  - jgrahamc 9y ago
    Do the basic license (whatever that is in your country) and then you can talk to people. Yes, the equipment can be initially expensive, but you don't need to spend a fortune on the latest crazy HF radio.
  - Ao7bei3s 9y ago
    Ham radio does not necessarily mean expensive equipment. It tends to get expensive, but with some knowledge about electronics, you can build transceivers and antennas very cheaply too - and after all, being allowed to do that is the main, unique perk of a ham radio license. And yes, you can still do long-distance connections that's your goal. Yes, while using repeaters is one of the less interesting aspects of the hobby, I do strongly recommend (licensed) beginners to get a $35 Baofeng 2m/70cm handheld radio precisely because it gets you some gratification very cheaply and very quickly. If you're from the US, you would start at http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed, either with online material or the book. If you're from Germany, I can highly recommend http://amateurfunkpruefung.de/ http://amateurfunkpruefung.de/. Additionally, you should check if there's a group nearby: with a licensed instructor present, you can transmit even before getting your own license, which is also very motivating. And a ham radio club will typically give you access to very expensive tools and knowledgeable people who want to help you succeed.
knob 9y ago
As was mentioned by tony-allan, this article is from last September. I'm living in Puerto Rico and situation is now stabilized regarding communications. I want to take this time to thank everybody that has sent help this way, and those that have enabled for help to reach this. Everybody from ham radio operators, to the electrical service brigades from dozens of States, to emergency personnel, everybody. Thanks. PS: I should start finally working on my ham radio license!
- geff82 9y ago
  I am a German (in Germany) having the Extra Class ham license and soon becoming a volunteer examiner for the ARRL. I can tell you: at least getting the Technician License is a piece of cake. If you just want to have your license, one day of clicking through exams at hamexam.org should be enough preparation.
  - sevensor 9y ago
    Definitely. Most of the questions on the tech exam are there to make sure you understand what it means to be a radio operator and responsible for your transmissions. Pass it and you can use HTs (VHF/UHF walkie-talkies), which is pretty nice. General lets you use SSB on HF, which actually lets you talk to distant people. You have to know some basic EM and electrical safety for General. Personally I had a hard time studying from Q&As/exams, and I think the license manuals are worth reading.
    - geff82 9y ago
      ...it is worth mentioning that indeed the ARRL license manuals are worth every penny! Just great books.
- godelski 9y ago
  I suggest taking a bunch of these tests. You might be able to schedule one test and get both technician and general. I did two tests in one day (and missed like 2 or 3 from getting my general). But the technician is fairly easy, but there is some memorization that you need to do. http://aa9pw.com/radio/ http://aa9pw.com/radio/
Tunecrew 9y ago
Apparently this exercise was not quite what it was made out to be: http://adam.curry.com/html/PleasecancelyourARRL-1508324966.html http://adam.curry.com/html/PleasecancelyourARRL-1508324966.h... http://www.kb6nu.com/weighing-puerto-rico/ http://www.kb6nu.com/weighing-puerto-rico/ (FCC Amateur Extra class here)
- chrissnell 9y ago
  That story on Adam Curry's blog was not written by Curry himself, but by a Richard Dougherty (NS0S) of Kansas City. The Reddit story it linked to was deleted, so take this all with a grain of salt. That said, it doesn't surprise me in the least. There are a lot of wannabe-cop wannabe-military whackers in the amateur radio community, unfortunately. (NW5W here)
  - dpeck 9y ago
    Its one of the things that has kept me away from amateur radion. I'm interested in decentralized/emergency communications and have a good understanding of RF, I've even picked up a couple of Baofeng handheld units to listen in on things and get more familiar with that part of the spectrum but the other people involved in the hobby aren't exactly the kind of folks I want to hang around enough to learn from.
    - clarkmoody 9y ago
      There are plenty of ugly people in any hobby, but getting your license and spending time on the air is the best way to hone your skills so that when the emergency happens, you'll be able to make a difference.
    - DamnYuppie 9y ago
      Please note the channels you pick up on the Baofeng are VHF which are generally very close. As such the quality of the conversations will vary greatly from region to region. Overall the HAM community is like any other in that it is varied and diverse. To truly enjoy HAM radio you will need to get a general license so you can get on 80,40, 15, and 10 meter bands. You will then get to find people all over the world, often times broadcasting from very remote or interesting places.
jenkstom 9y ago
There was a lot of drama on this. Personality conflicts and such. But I'm glad the amateurs could help. I tried to go, but they filled the volunteer slots very quickly.
BenjiWiebe 9y ago
Another thing I want to point out to all those talking about the expense - buy an SDR. The RTL-SDR is cheap, and with direct sampling and a length of wire can receive HF. Monitor stuff, find out how it works, and when you are bitten with the bug, you can get licensed and start shopping for transceivers.
slr555 9y ago
If I remember the original request from ARRL one of the things they were looking for was HF operators who could use the data modes that exist in the ham world to allow communication to insurance company internet resources based in the mainland. I thought this request was intriguing but wondered why they weren't able to deploy BGAN for this purpose. A surgeon friend of mine said that after Katrina sat phones were of minimal utility because the broadcast networks had contracts that were consuming virtually all of the bandwidth. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who can comment on this. Some of the most interesting amateur radio technologies today are hybrid modes like DMR that leverage the internet along with traditional amateur radio technologies. With DMR it I have been able to speak from NYC to Malta with crystal clear signal from an HT. While this is fun and I like DMR, in some ways it is like a worldwide cellular party line. It would not be a go to solution for a situation like Puerto Rico.
alex_hitchins 9y ago
To anyone interested in taking up the hobby, it's very easy to get started and if you get into the rhythm of studying it's possible to go from Foundation to Advanced in about a year. I was fortunate enough to go from M6 to M0 (I'm in the UK) in just under a year. Intermediate (2E0) isn't much of a stretch past foundation but the advanced (M0) took dedicated study time. The excellent bit about gaining Full licence is the ability to transmit in most other countries (providing you adhere to the local laws).
Wize1 9y ago
Radio can be a lifesaving tool in these kind of emergencies. A friend in PR told me that even the non hams were able to utilize radio when the power was down, by using CB units hooked to car batteries.
Dowwie 9y ago
Whatever happened to mesh networking?
- masukomi 9y ago
  pretty sure the main problem is distance on the frequencies and power ratings that are available to unlicensed users. Hams can use more power (because in theory we know how to do it without cooking nearby people) and we can transmit on wavelengths with greater potential for travel. https://disaster.radio https://disaster.radio is one of the groups trying to address similar problems via unlicensed mesh networks but the problem they (and others) have is that you just need a boatload of nodes to get the signal across any distance. You can't roll that out in an emergency, and it's a logistical nightmare to buy, setup, power, and maintain enough of them that in an emergency (including power outage) there will be enough of them to get the message from the people in need to the people who can do something about it.

228 points by nunodonato 9y ago

Story is from September 27, 2017. Great to see American Radio Relay League members doing this important work for the citizens of Puerto Rico in their time of need.

sctb 9y ago
Thanks! We've updated the title to clarify.

tuukkah 9y ago

The Finnish media reported last month how the government wants to collaborate with the radio hobbyists who have a network that is more resilient than the official networks. Any longer issue in the mains network causes an emergency and the official radio networks won't stay up long either in the countryside.

jabl 9y ago
Interesting, but I couldn't find anything; link?
- tuukkah 9y ago
  I can't find anything in English but here's a news item in Finnish (translated title "The fire department is interested in the amateur-built network in Northern Carelia"): https://www.karjalainen.fi/uutiset/uutis-alueet/kotimaa/item/174000-hs-pelastuslaitos-kiinnostui-amatoorien-rakentamasta-verkosta-pohjois-karjalassa https://www.karjalainen.fi/uutiset/uutis-alueet/kotimaa/item... EDIT: Tweet from the Defence Department in Finnish ("--the backup network Varve is a great example-- --collaboration between the government and the civil society"): https://mobile.twitter.com/DefenceFinland/status/968087894031290368 https://mobile.twitter.com/DefenceFinland/status/96808789403... One year ago in Finnish ("The role of radio amateurs growing in emergency communications"): https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9268716 https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9268716

jgrahamc 9y ago

The importance of ham radio is that it's infrastructure-less. People are completely used to the Internet and mobile telephones working without thinking about the infrastructure and its maintenance. With my radios I can talk to people all over the place point to point without any infrastructure at all.

giancarlostoro 9y ago
After an article about the judge who did the case for Oracle vs Google and how he was a ham I got more and more interested in ham radios. The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment, but if you can reach a main city there's usually repeaters up on those buildings from what I've been told. There's so much to learn I feel and I don't know where to start truly, I've just watched a couple of videos and read a few articles. I know I need to get my license first for sure.
- tomfanning 9y ago
  Honestly, the best route in is to find a local club. For the US: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club For the UK: http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/first-steps/ http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/first-step... Most nations have a national society that can help signpost you in the same way. Also, come join /r/amateurradio, there's a pretty friendly, if small, community there, with a weekly "ask anything" thread and an alright "getting started" wiki.
- jgrahamc 9y ago
  Do the basic license (whatever that is in your country) and then you can talk to people. Yes, the equipment can be initially expensive, but you don't need to spend a fortune on the latest crazy HF radio.
- Ao7bei3s 9y ago
  Ham radio does not necessarily mean expensive equipment. It tends to get expensive, but with some knowledge about electronics, you can build transceivers and antennas very cheaply too - and after all, being allowed to do that is the main, unique perk of a ham radio license. And yes, you can still do long-distance connections that's your goal. Yes, while using repeaters is one of the less interesting aspects of the hobby, I do strongly recommend (licensed) beginners to get a $35 Baofeng 2m/70cm handheld radio precisely because it gets you some gratification very cheaply and very quickly. If you're from the US, you would start at http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed, either with online material or the book. If you're from Germany, I can highly recommend http://amateurfunkpruefung.de/ http://amateurfunkpruefung.de/. Additionally, you should check if there's a group nearby: with a licensed instructor present, you can transmit even before getting your own license, which is also very motivating. And a ham radio club will typically give you access to very expensive tools and knowledgeable people who want to help you succeed.

knob 9y ago

As was mentioned by tony-allan, this article is from last September. I'm living in Puerto Rico and situation is now stabilized regarding communications. I want to take this time to thank everybody that has sent help this way, and those that have enabled for help to reach this. Everybody from ham radio operators, to the electrical service brigades from dozens of States, to emergency personnel, everybody. Thanks. PS: I should start finally working on my ham radio license!

geff82 9y ago
I am a German (in Germany) having the Extra Class ham license and soon becoming a volunteer examiner for the ARRL. I can tell you: at least getting the Technician License is a piece of cake. If you just want to have your license, one day of clicking through exams at hamexam.org should be enough preparation.
- sevensor 9y ago
  Definitely. Most of the questions on the tech exam are there to make sure you understand what it means to be a radio operator and responsible for your transmissions. Pass it and you can use HTs (VHF/UHF walkie-talkies), which is pretty nice. General lets you use SSB on HF, which actually lets you talk to distant people. You have to know some basic EM and electrical safety for General. Personally I had a hard time studying from Q&As/exams, and I think the license manuals are worth reading.
  - geff82 9y ago
    ...it is worth mentioning that indeed the ARRL license manuals are worth every penny! Just great books.
godelski 9y ago
I suggest taking a bunch of these tests. You might be able to schedule one test and get both technician and general. I did two tests in one day (and missed like 2 or 3 from getting my general). But the technician is fairly easy, but there is some memorization that you need to do. http://aa9pw.com/radio/ http://aa9pw.com/radio/

Tunecrew 9y ago

Apparently this exercise was not quite what it was made out to be: http://adam.curry.com/html/PleasecancelyourARRL-1508324966.html http://adam.curry.com/html/PleasecancelyourARRL-1508324966.h... http://www.kb6nu.com/weighing-puerto-rico/ http://www.kb6nu.com/weighing-puerto-rico/ (FCC Amateur Extra class here)

chrissnell 9y ago
That story on Adam Curry's blog was not written by Curry himself, but by a Richard Dougherty (NS0S) of Kansas City. The Reddit story it linked to was deleted, so take this all with a grain of salt. That said, it doesn't surprise me in the least. There are a lot of wannabe-cop wannabe-military whackers in the amateur radio community, unfortunately. (NW5W here)
- dpeck 9y ago
  Its one of the things that has kept me away from amateur radion. I'm interested in decentralized/emergency communications and have a good understanding of RF, I've even picked up a couple of Baofeng handheld units to listen in on things and get more familiar with that part of the spectrum but the other people involved in the hobby aren't exactly the kind of folks I want to hang around enough to learn from.
  - clarkmoody 9y ago
    There are plenty of ugly people in any hobby, but getting your license and spending time on the air is the best way to hone your skills so that when the emergency happens, you'll be able to make a difference.
  - DamnYuppie 9y ago
    Please note the channels you pick up on the Baofeng are VHF which are generally very close. As such the quality of the conversations will vary greatly from region to region. Overall the HAM community is like any other in that it is varied and diverse. To truly enjoy HAM radio you will need to get a general license so you can get on 80,40, 15, and 10 meter bands. You will then get to find people all over the world, often times broadcasting from very remote or interesting places.

jenkstom 9y ago

There was a lot of drama on this. Personality conflicts and such. But I'm glad the amateurs could help. I tried to go, but they filled the volunteer slots very quickly.

BenjiWiebe 9y ago

Another thing I want to point out to all those talking about the expense - buy an SDR. The RTL-SDR is cheap, and with direct sampling and a length of wire can receive HF. Monitor stuff, find out how it works, and when you are bitten with the bug, you can get licensed and start shopping for transceivers.

slr555 9y ago

If I remember the original request from ARRL one of the things they were looking for was HF operators who could use the data modes that exist in the ham world to allow communication to insurance company internet resources based in the mainland. I thought this request was intriguing but wondered why they weren't able to deploy BGAN for this purpose. A surgeon friend of mine said that after Katrina sat phones were of minimal utility because the broadcast networks had contracts that were consuming virtually all of the bandwidth. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who can comment on this. Some of the most interesting amateur radio technologies today are hybrid modes like DMR that leverage the internet along with traditional amateur radio technologies. With DMR it I have been able to speak from NYC to Malta with crystal clear signal from an HT. While this is fun and I like DMR, in some ways it is like a worldwide cellular party line. It would not be a go to solution for a situation like Puerto Rico.

alex_hitchins 9y ago

To anyone interested in taking up the hobby, it's very easy to get started and if you get into the rhythm of studying it's possible to go from Foundation to Advanced in about a year. I was fortunate enough to go from M6 to M0 (I'm in the UK) in just under a year. Intermediate (2E0) isn't much of a stretch past foundation but the advanced (M0) took dedicated study time. The excellent bit about gaining Full licence is the ability to transmit in most other countries (providing you adhere to the local laws).

Wize1 9y ago

Radio can be a lifesaving tool in these kind of emergencies. A friend in PR told me that even the non hams were able to utilize radio when the power was down, by using CB units hooked to car batteries.

Dowwie 9y ago

Whatever happened to mesh networking?

masukomi 9y ago
pretty sure the main problem is distance on the frequencies and power ratings that are available to unlicensed users. Hams can use more power (because in theory we know how to do it without cooking nearby people) and we can transmit on wavelengths with greater potential for travel. https://disaster.radio https://disaster.radio is one of the groups trying to address similar problems via unlicensed mesh networks but the problem they (and others) have is that you just need a boatload of nodes to get the signal across any distance. You can't roll that out in an emergency, and it's a logistical nightmare to buy, setup, power, and maintain enough of them that in an emergency (including power outage) there will be enough of them to get the message from the people in need to the people who can do something about it.