Ham radio disaster efforts featured in PC Magazine

The following is an excerpt from a column by John C. Dvorak in Nov 8, 2005 issue of PC Magazine.

"Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, it was reported that over 100 Internet networks were still down in Louisiana, as well as another dozen elsewhere that had been in the path of the hurricane.

So much for the notion that the Web is impossible to kill. Hard to have an Internet with no power! WiMAX and other solutions are useless, too, though I suppose a generator would be useful for WiMAX.

Whatever the case, the most overlooked participants in the Katrina relief effort were the ham radio folks, who were doing whatever they could as ad hoc emergency dispatchers, creating their own network within the system.

These dedicated persons pride themselves on their ability to do worldwide communications under adverse conditions, and the ARRL and its members, as well as others, were a big part of the aid effort.

Of course, since amateur radio is anything but trendy in today's Xbox, gene-splicing world, there was zero coverage of its contribution in the mainstream press, and these people are not the world's greatest self-promoters. At least some of us are paying attention.

Good Work, guys! Bush should be giving medals to you all

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