HAMNET Report 7th February

HAMNET is a voluntary group of South African radio amateurs who make their unique communication skills available to assist and help others in distress during and after disasters.
HAMNET is represented on the sub-committee of the South African Search & Rescue Organisation, and is also affiliated to IRESC

Occasionally one should sit back and take cognisance of what is going on around us.  With all the hype of Haiti and preparations for the Soccer World Cup, it is time to reflect on who we are, what we are trying to achieve and the way forward. My reason for this is quite simple. 

Technologically, so much has changed over the past few years.

The introduction of cell phone technology, Satellite phones, digital technology, the home computer and Internet, made me think.  How is Hamnet adapting to all this? What has changed!  No more sitting around listening to static, no more duty spells – except maybe over long weekends and school holidays. 

So, where do we go from here in this new technological era! Well, the need for alternative communication will always be there.  It is now a case of adaptation!  Yes, gone are the days when we had many monitors sitting patiently waiting for that “emergency traffic” call.  Our role has changed, but our expertise to supply alternative communication prevails! 

Mr. Riley Hollingsworth, who represented Amateur Radio at the FCC as well as the late Walter Kronkite, both suggested that amateur radio is your only “fail safe” emergency network on the planet! That fact, no matter how advanced alternative technology may become, will always remain!  It is just that situations have changed. 

The cell phone now advises us of that serious traffic accidents or it can be phoned directly to the authorities.  The satellite phone – albeit rather expense to use can now be used to phone internationally.  The internet with Echolink can now communicate effectively anywhere in the world and again proved how successful it was during the Haiti disaster. However, amateur radio still has the benefit of versatility – it can go anywhere at any time and is not reliant on electricity for power. 

The need for emergency communication has also changed when it comes to major disasters.  Going into an area where communication is needed is relatively easy to achieve when all else around you is in a chaotic situation, when cell phone communication fails, when power fails.  A radio, a length of wire, battery or generator power, a little bit of imagination, one or two other items and – you have instant communication! 

Scenarios may present themselves in different ways, but when the chips are down, amateur radio, can still supply that desperate bit of information to the outside world which under normal circumstances would not have been possible. 

The tsunami in 2004 and a DX team on the Andaman Islands is a classic example of being in the right place at the right time. Hamnet is adapting to changed circumstances to ensure that we will always be ready to fill that communications gap and get the message through! 

Francois Botha, ZS6BUU

Hamnet website
The South African Radio League