CQ CQ CQ .. calling all amateur radio operators
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First 2005 Kid's Day is Sunday, January 2 (Dec 26, 2004) -- The first Kid's Day in 2005 will be Sunday, January 2 (the second will be Saturday, June 18). Kid's Day will run from 1800 to 2400 UTC. Suggested frequencies are 14.270-14.300, 21.350-21.400 and 28.380-28.400 MHz plus 2 meter repeaters (with the permission of the repeater's sponsor). There's no limit on operating time, and the recommended exchange is name, age, location and favorite color. Intended to encourage young people to get acquainted with Amateur Radio, Kid's Day offers a "mentoring opportunity" for experienced amateurs while giving youngsters some firsthand ham radio experience and perhaps sparking a lifelong interest. ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, hopes veteran radio amateurs will "walk the walk" by getting involved. To serve as a positive example, he'll be putting W1AW on the air for Kid's Day. Perennial Kid's Day promoters Peter and Jeanne Schipelliti, W1DAD and K1MOM, plan to be on the air from special event station K1D during the week before and the week after Kid's Day. The couple's two older children, Geena and Luciano (photo), are old hands at Kid's Day. All participants are eligible for certificates. To coincide with ARRL's Kid's Day, AMSAT-NA will sponsor its own event for youngsters on the Echo satellite (AO-51) from approximately 1600 UTC on January 2 until 0345 UTC on January 3. AMSAT asks for the cooperation of all satellite users in using the window as a way to promote satellite operation with kids and to limit contacts to stations operating with youngsters at the microphone. Note the change in uplink frequency for the event to 145.880 MHz FM voice, 67 Hz tone; downlink is 435.300 MHz FM voice.--some information via ANS
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Earthquake, Tsunamis Hit Southern Asia; VU4 DXpedition in Emergency Mode
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 26, 2004--A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra just before 0100 UTC today, killing or injuring many thousands and causing widespread damage. The disaster also has shut down the Andaman and Nicobar Islands VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition--perhaps permanently. The team appears to have shifted into emergency mode, since one of the stations was reported on the air earlier today using battery power to maintain communication with India. The earthquake, multiple aftershocks and tidal waves--tsunamis--of 30 feet or higher following the initial quake subsequently jolted the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The US Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center reports aftershocks between 5.7 and 7.3 on the Richter scale in the vicinity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are closer to the earthquake's epicenter than the Indian mainland.
"All of us here in the US are watching the unfolding news of the earthquake and tsunamis with shock and horror," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, messaged Charly Harpole, K4VUD/VU3CHE, who has been visiting the VU4 DXpedition. Sumner asked Harpole to relay word "that all of you, and friends and families affected by the tragedy, are foremost in our thoughts and prayers." It's not known if Sumner's e-mail got through. Harpole has been filing regular e-mail dispatches via The Daily DX.
Unconfirmed DX spots from stations hearing VU4NRO or VU4RBI after the earthquake indicate that the five team members of the National Institute of Amateur Radio-sponsored DXpedition are okay. DX spots further indicated that power in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was knocked out by the earthquake, which occurred at around 6:30 AM local time, and the consequent tsunamis. The VU4RBI/VU4NRO team was reported on the air running 20 W from battery power, working back to India and likely passing emergency traffic--although that has not been confirmed. The DXpedition had been scheduled to conclude operations December 31.
An IndiaNews report called the destruction in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands "unprecedented, with the gigantic tidal waves sinking two civilian ships and destroying dry docks."
Hardest hit were Indonesia, southeastern India and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Estimates vary, but the natural disaster reportedly has claimed upward of 7000 lives, and the death toll continues to rise. It is the height of the tourist season in that part of the world, and many tourists were believed to have been among the earthquake's victims.
The DXpedition is headquartered in Port Blair on Andaman. News reports earlier today said that at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There was no prior warning of the disaster, and an unknown number of people among the islands' fishing crews at sea were reported missing. Many buildings and the main jetty at Port Blair were said to have been severely damaged. The airport, while damaged, was reopened and operating, and IndiaNews said the Indian Air Force had already sent three transports carrying relief supplies to the remote islands. Flights to evacuate tourists were pending.
Damage to the Port Blair jetty was hampering relief and rescue efforts by sea, according to Indian news media. Additional details were not available.
According to one news account, panic-stricken citizens of Port Blair ran out of their houses as the earthquake rocked the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Residents were being advised to stay outdoors. The tidal wave caused some flooding in the city.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in a part of the world that makes them extremely vulnerable to major earthquakes as well as to tsunamis from large local quakes and from massive distant shocks such as today's. No warning system is presently in place for any of the islands of the chain. A major earthquake in 1941 caused extensive damage in Port Blair, destroying many of its major buildings.
Today's earthquake off Sumatra is being called the fifth largest in history.
Earthquake, Tsunamis Hit Southern Asia; VU4 DXpedition in Emergency Mode
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 26, 2004--A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra just before 0100 UTC today, killing or injuring many thousands and causing widespread damage. The disaster also has shut down the Andaman and Nicobar Islands VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition--perhaps permanently. The team appears to have shifted into emergency mode, since one of the stations was reported on the air earlier today using battery power to maintain communication with India. The earthquake, multiple aftershocks and tidal waves--tsunamis--of 30 feet or higher following the initial quake subsequently jolted the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The US Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center reports aftershocks between 5.7 and 7.3 on the Richter scale in the vicinity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are closer to the earthquake's epicenter than the Indian mainland.
"All of us here in the US are watching the unfolding news of the earthquake and tsunamis with shock and horror," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, messaged Charly Harpole, K4VUD/VU3CHE, who has been visiting the VU4 DXpedition. Sumner asked Harpole to relay word "that all of you, and friends and families affected by the tragedy, are foremost in our thoughts and prayers." It's not known if Sumner's e-mail got through. Harpole has been filing regular e-mail dispatches via The Daily DX.
Unconfirmed DX spots from stations hearing VU4NRO or VU4RBI after the earthquake indicate that the five team members of the National Institute of Amateur Radio-sponsored DXpedition are okay. DX spots further indicated that power in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was knocked out by the earthquake, which occurred at around 6:30 AM local time, and the consequent tsunamis. The VU4RBI/VU4NRO team was reported on the air running 20 W from battery power, working back to India and likely passing emergency traffic--although that has not been confirmed. The DXpedition had been scheduled to conclude operations December 31.
An IndiaNews report called the destruction in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands "unprecedented, with the gigantic tidal waves sinking two civilian ships and destroying dry docks."
Hardest hit were Indonesia, southeastern India and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Estimates vary, but the natural disaster reportedly has claimed upward of 7000 lives, and the death toll continues to rise. It is the height of the tourist season in that part of the world, and many tourists were believed to have been among the earthquake's victims.
The DXpedition is headquartered in Port Blair on Andaman. News reports earlier today said that at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There was no prior warning of the disaster, and an unknown number of people among the islands' fishing crews at sea were reported missing. Many buildings and the main jetty at Port Blair were said to have been severely damaged. The airport, while damaged, was reopened and operating, and IndiaNews said the Indian Air Force had already sent three transports carrying relief supplies to the remote islands. Flights to evacuate tourists were pending.
Damage to the Port Blair jetty was hampering relief and rescue efforts by sea, according to Indian news media. Additional details were not available.
According to one news account, panic-stricken citizens of Port Blair ran out of their houses as the earthquake rocked the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Residents were being advised to stay outdoors. The tidal wave caused some flooding in the city.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in a part of the world that makes them extremely vulnerable to major earthquakes as well as to tsunamis from large local quakes and from massive distant shocks such as today's. No warning system is presently in place for any of the islands of the chain. A major earthquake in 1941 caused extensive damage in Port Blair, destroying many of its major buildings.
Today's earthquake off Sumatra is being called the fifth largest in history.
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Radio Amateurs, DXpedition Team Handle Emergency Traffic in Disaster's Wake
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 27, 2004--Here is an update on the current situation in India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sri Lanka, with thanks to The Daily DX, courtesy of its editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, and from Horey Majumdar, VU2HFR: News agencies now report estimates of more than 21,000 feared dead from the tsunamis (tidal waves) that took place in the Bay of Bengal December 26. The estimated death toll in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ranges from 2000 to 5000. VU2HFR reports that radio amateurs in India are handling hundreds of pieces of health and welfare traffic regarding people missing and from relatives of those living in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are closer to the earthquake's epicenter.
"There is presently no communication from Nicobar Islands," Majumdar reports, noting that Nicobar received more damage than Andaman. McClenny says the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition team continues to pass traffic and occasionally hand out QSOs. C. K. "Ram" Raman, VU3DJQ, reports he was in contact with Sarath, 4S7SW, a physician operating from the vicinity of a hospital in Mathara, Sri Lanka, which also was heavily hit by the tsunamis. "He is requesting food, clothing and medicines for relief," Raman reported. "He will be listening 14.195 and 21.295." Telephones are not working there, he said.
McClenny and Majumdar agree that it was fortuitous that the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition was under way when the disaster struck. "If there is a positive aspect to this disaster, it may very well be that the Indian government--and others--realize the ability of Amateur Radio during these difficult times," McClenny observed.
The initial earthquake off the Indonesian Island of Sumatra just before 0100 UTC on December 26 now has been upgraded to 9.0 on the Richter scale. Since then, the National Earthquake Information Center has reported some 18 aftershocks split between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The most recent, just before 0100 UTC today, registered 6.1 on the Richter scale.
Sandeep Baruah, VU2MUE, reports two emergency frequencies have been established. VU4NRO, the team at Port Blair, will be QRV on or near 14.190 MHz. The club station VU2NRO in Hyderabad on the mainland will relay traffic to and from Port Blair.
Other emergency traffic frequencies being reported include 14.193 and 14.160 MHz in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 7.050 MHz in South India, 7.055 MHz in Indonesia and 7.075 in Thailand, where stations from 4S7, VU2 and 9M2 were reportedly heard.
D.V.R.K. Murthy, VU2DVO,and Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, are now in Port Blair. Reports indicate that some telephone lines are now working, but there still is no water or electricity at the Hotel Sinclair, where the VU4 DXpedition was headquartered.
In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the most devastated area is Car Nicobar, which has been totally cut off. It is possible that Amateur Radio operators may travel to this area after obtaining clearance from local authorities. Club station VU2NCT and VU2MUE in Calcutta all are helping with the efforts to pass emergency traffic to Port Blair.
Baruah is operating club station VU2NCT in coordination with the National Disaster Control, New Delhi. The Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society has set up a control station from Calcutta. Majumdar is operating that station and has been in touch with VU4RBI in the Andamans.
Charly Harpole, K4VUD, who had been visiting the VU4RBI/VU4NRO operation and filing regular reports via The Daily DX now is reported back on the Indian mainland.
Majumdar also tells ARRL that hams from Bangalore and Chennai on the Indian mainland are moving toward Nagapattinam to set up ham radio disaster communication stations at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu--the worst-affected areas on the mainland. The Indian Army is assisting stations on Andaman by providing logistics and backup batteries.
Majumdar says radio amateurs from Bangalore, Chennai and other parts of South India are trying to set up stations in the affected areas of Tamil Nadu.
James Brooks, 9V1YC, provided additional information via The Daily DX. He says Andaman and Nicobar Islands authorities have asked the DXpedition team for relief communications help. They have requested one station at the deputy commissioner's office in Port Blair and another on the remote Nicobar Islands. VU2RSB will be manning the station at the deputy commissioner's office in Port Blair, and VU2RSI will staff the station at the current DXpedition site until further notice.
He reports the Indian Army will be flying VU2MYH and VU2DVO out to the Nicobar Islands with three days' food, a rig, batteries and an inverted V.
The VU4RBI/VU4NOR team was allowed back into the damaged hotel building and Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, "is bravely operating on the fifth floor using the Yagi" despite continued aftershocks. Telephones in the building are also working again.
Commercial power is returning slowly, but the DXpedition team continues to use battery power most of the time.
The DXpedition has been suspended, but VU2RBI still is promising to hand out the contacts once emergency communications work is finished. The team has asked authorities for an extension of the DXpedition, but so far this has not been granted. "This decision may change, due to the relief communications work they are supplying," Brooks said. Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, will be leaving on January 1 regardless, he reports, and if any time extension is granted VU2RSB and VU2MYH will remain for an additional week, possibly longer.
Here in the US, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) has been monitoring HF frequencies for news and information in an attempt to assist with emergency communications as needed.--additional information from K2FF, VA3ORI and WA6KAH
Radio Amateurs, DXpedition Team Handle Emergency Traffic in Disaster's Wake
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 27, 2004--Here is an update on the current situation in India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sri Lanka, with thanks to The Daily DX, courtesy of its editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, and from Horey Majumdar, VU2HFR: News agencies now report estimates of more than 21,000 feared dead from the tsunamis (tidal waves) that took place in the Bay of Bengal December 26. The estimated death toll in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ranges from 2000 to 5000. VU2HFR reports that radio amateurs in India are handling hundreds of pieces of health and welfare traffic regarding people missing and from relatives of those living in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are closer to the earthquake's epicenter.
"There is presently no communication from Nicobar Islands," Majumdar reports, noting that Nicobar received more damage than Andaman. McClenny says the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition team continues to pass traffic and occasionally hand out QSOs. C. K. "Ram" Raman, VU3DJQ, reports he was in contact with Sarath, 4S7SW, a physician operating from the vicinity of a hospital in Mathara, Sri Lanka, which also was heavily hit by the tsunamis. "He is requesting food, clothing and medicines for relief," Raman reported. "He will be listening 14.195 and 21.295." Telephones are not working there, he said.
McClenny and Majumdar agree that it was fortuitous that the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition was under way when the disaster struck. "If there is a positive aspect to this disaster, it may very well be that the Indian government--and others--realize the ability of Amateur Radio during these difficult times," McClenny observed.
The initial earthquake off the Indonesian Island of Sumatra just before 0100 UTC on December 26 now has been upgraded to 9.0 on the Richter scale. Since then, the National Earthquake Information Center has reported some 18 aftershocks split between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The most recent, just before 0100 UTC today, registered 6.1 on the Richter scale.
Sandeep Baruah, VU2MUE, reports two emergency frequencies have been established. VU4NRO, the team at Port Blair, will be QRV on or near 14.190 MHz. The club station VU2NRO in Hyderabad on the mainland will relay traffic to and from Port Blair.
Other emergency traffic frequencies being reported include 14.193 and 14.160 MHz in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 7.050 MHz in South India, 7.055 MHz in Indonesia and 7.075 in Thailand, where stations from 4S7, VU2 and 9M2 were reportedly heard.
D.V.R.K. Murthy, VU2DVO,and Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, are now in Port Blair. Reports indicate that some telephone lines are now working, but there still is no water or electricity at the Hotel Sinclair, where the VU4 DXpedition was headquartered.
In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the most devastated area is Car Nicobar, which has been totally cut off. It is possible that Amateur Radio operators may travel to this area after obtaining clearance from local authorities. Club station VU2NCT and VU2MUE in Calcutta all are helping with the efforts to pass emergency traffic to Port Blair.
Baruah is operating club station VU2NCT in coordination with the National Disaster Control, New Delhi. The Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society has set up a control station from Calcutta. Majumdar is operating that station and has been in touch with VU4RBI in the Andamans.
Charly Harpole, K4VUD, who had been visiting the VU4RBI/VU4NRO operation and filing regular reports via The Daily DX now is reported back on the Indian mainland.
Majumdar also tells ARRL that hams from Bangalore and Chennai on the Indian mainland are moving toward Nagapattinam to set up ham radio disaster communication stations at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu--the worst-affected areas on the mainland. The Indian Army is assisting stations on Andaman by providing logistics and backup batteries.
Majumdar says radio amateurs from Bangalore, Chennai and other parts of South India are trying to set up stations in the affected areas of Tamil Nadu.
James Brooks, 9V1YC, provided additional information via The Daily DX. He says Andaman and Nicobar Islands authorities have asked the DXpedition team for relief communications help. They have requested one station at the deputy commissioner's office in Port Blair and another on the remote Nicobar Islands. VU2RSB will be manning the station at the deputy commissioner's office in Port Blair, and VU2RSI will staff the station at the current DXpedition site until further notice.
He reports the Indian Army will be flying VU2MYH and VU2DVO out to the Nicobar Islands with three days' food, a rig, batteries and an inverted V.
The VU4RBI/VU4NOR team was allowed back into the damaged hotel building and Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, "is bravely operating on the fifth floor using the Yagi" despite continued aftershocks. Telephones in the building are also working again.
Commercial power is returning slowly, but the DXpedition team continues to use battery power most of the time.
The DXpedition has been suspended, but VU2RBI still is promising to hand out the contacts once emergency communications work is finished. The team has asked authorities for an extension of the DXpedition, but so far this has not been granted. "This decision may change, due to the relief communications work they are supplying," Brooks said. Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, will be leaving on January 1 regardless, he reports, and if any time extension is granted VU2RSB and VU2MYH will remain for an additional week, possibly longer.
Here in the US, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) has been monitoring HF frequencies for news and information in an attempt to assist with emergency communications as needed.--additional information from K2FF, VA3ORI and WA6KAH
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BALTIMORE (December 27, 2004) —
Salvation Army radio operators are helping to establish communication in tsunami-hit regions.
The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) is a HAM radio team that can help families and emergency workers find each other when a disaster wipes out all other forms of communication.
According to Major Pat McPherson, national director of SATERN, representatives from the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association (DERA) have requested SATERN's help in listening to certain frequencies for missing Indian HAM radio operators in the tsunami-affected islands between India and Sumatra.
"If we can help effectively, we will," said McPherson. And so far they have. McPherson noted that several SATERN members have reported contact from these missing members of the National Institute for Amateur Radio India (NAIR) from these hard hit regions. This contact is crucial in order to establish communication routes for these areas. Information about the extent of the damage is important as well.
One of the operators recently spoken to is even a SATERN volunteer who was doing work with NAIR on one of the islands when the tsunamis hit.
McPherson added that anyone seeking information about a missing relative in the tsunami-affected areas across south Asia can fill out the request form available on the SATERN Web site. "We will give it our best shot."
The family/friend-finding process goes like this: A family member with an inquiry can call or fill out an online request form with SATERN. That information goes to Quent Nelson in his Atlanta office. Nelson, the health and welfare coordinator for The Salvation Army's SATERN, then logs onto his radio-internet computer, called Echolink.
Through Echolink, Nelson is able to see which HAM radio operators are online in the areas he needs to contact to find the loved one. Nelson said if he can't find an operator in the needed area, he'll find the next closest area. "I may not be able to find any close operators because of power outages," he said.
But he can at least give the inquirers peace of mind if a shelter is nearby where the loved one might be. "Sometimes that's all I can do until I find someone close by - just tell folks that a shelter is open and people are there caring for the disaster families," said Nelson.
A large number of amateur HAM radio operations assist the Salvation Army as part of SATERN. "We've got about 2,500 volunteers," said McPherson. "So many people want to help. It's great to see that spirit of altruism and 'can do.'"
McPherson said they will continue assisting DERA in finding the missing operators, as well as any additional help they can offer.
BALTIMORE (December 27, 2004) —
Salvation Army radio operators are helping to establish communication in tsunami-hit regions.
The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) is a HAM radio team that can help families and emergency workers find each other when a disaster wipes out all other forms of communication.
According to Major Pat McPherson, national director of SATERN, representatives from the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association (DERA) have requested SATERN's help in listening to certain frequencies for missing Indian HAM radio operators in the tsunami-affected islands between India and Sumatra.
"If we can help effectively, we will," said McPherson. And so far they have. McPherson noted that several SATERN members have reported contact from these missing members of the National Institute for Amateur Radio India (NAIR) from these hard hit regions. This contact is crucial in order to establish communication routes for these areas. Information about the extent of the damage is important as well.
One of the operators recently spoken to is even a SATERN volunteer who was doing work with NAIR on one of the islands when the tsunamis hit.
McPherson added that anyone seeking information about a missing relative in the tsunami-affected areas across south Asia can fill out the request form available on the SATERN Web site. "We will give it our best shot."
The family/friend-finding process goes like this: A family member with an inquiry can call or fill out an online request form with SATERN. That information goes to Quent Nelson in his Atlanta office. Nelson, the health and welfare coordinator for The Salvation Army's SATERN, then logs onto his radio-internet computer, called Echolink.
Through Echolink, Nelson is able to see which HAM radio operators are online in the areas he needs to contact to find the loved one. Nelson said if he can't find an operator in the needed area, he'll find the next closest area. "I may not be able to find any close operators because of power outages," he said.
But he can at least give the inquirers peace of mind if a shelter is nearby where the loved one might be. "Sometimes that's all I can do until I find someone close by - just tell folks that a shelter is open and people are there caring for the disaster families," said Nelson.
A large number of amateur HAM radio operations assist the Salvation Army as part of SATERN. "We've got about 2,500 volunteers," said McPherson. "So many people want to help. It's great to see that spirit of altruism and 'can do.'"
McPherson said they will continue assisting DERA in finding the missing operators, as well as any additional help they can offer.
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Well, this is cool. Anyone watch the today show and see it?
------------------------
Email:
I am scheduled to do a live feed from Bangkok to NBC's Today Show describing the earthquake and ham radio's role on Andaman Island.... WOW. It should air nationally, the morning of Dec. 28 (but I get my days mixed up over here vs. NYC time). Cameras roll here at 6PM Thailand time which should be 6AM on Dec. 28 in New York.
How about that!
Charles Harpole
k4vud
------------------------
Email:
I am scheduled to do a live feed from Bangkok to NBC's Today Show describing the earthquake and ham radio's role on Andaman Island.... WOW. It should air nationally, the morning of Dec. 28 (but I get my days mixed up over here vs. NYC time). Cameras roll here at 6PM Thailand time which should be 6AM on Dec. 28 in New York.
How about that!
Charles Harpole
k4vud
linuxgeek
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Asian Radio Amateurs Bridging Communication Gap following Tsunami
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 28, 2004--Amateur Radio organizations and individual amateurs in several of the countries affected by the December 26 earthquake and consequent tsunamis in South Asia have begun emergency communication activities. The death toll from the disaster has been estimated at more than 50,000 lives, and health authorities now worry that thousands more may die from disease, due in part to a lack of potable water. Relief organizations and governments around the world have rallied to assist the victims, many of whom are homeless. DXer Charly Harpole, K4VUD/VU3CHE, was visiting the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition in Port Blair on Andaman Island when the earthquake struck. He said the team suspended DXpedition operation and shifted quickly to emergency mode.
"By that afternoon, the team had set up one rig outside with a mobile whip and tuner, powered by the hotel generator, and Bharathi [Prasad, VU2RBI--the DXpedition team leader] was taking health-and-welfare messages from the people standing around there," Harpole reported to ARRL. He is scheduled to relate his earthquake experience on US national television during an appearance on NBC's Today show Wednesday, December 29.
"Many wanted to tell relatives on the Indian mainland that they were OK," Harpole continued, "and Bharathi established contact with many India ham stations in various cities as needed." He said Bharathi was able to relay a message to his wife via a contact with a station in Thailand that he was all right.
Harpole, who returned to Thailand December 27 as scheduled, speculates the team may resume DXpedition operation since Port Blair escaped the worst damage, and the aftershocks have apparently ceased. Sandeep Baruah, VU2MUE, reports that VU4NRO is active on 20 meters, and two additional hams from the Indian mainland--VU2DVO and VU2JOS--have arrived in Port Blair to assist.
Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society Assistant Secretary Horey Majumdar, VU2HFR, relayed information from VU4RBI today that the situation in the Andamans has improved considerably with power and some telephone service being restored, although some aftershocks were occurring from time to time. He also says that VU4RBI and VU4NRO were having a lot of trouble copying signals from the Indian mainland, in part due to RF interference from local sources.
C. K. "Ram" Raman, VU3DJQ, in New Delhi reports that one member of the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition team, S. Ram Mohan, VU2MYH/VU4MYH, has established a station on Car Nicobar Island, one of the worst hit areas that had been totally cut off. Traffic has been noted on 14.190, 14.195 and 14.200 MHz. Raman has been operating at low power to avoid interfering with a nearby army communication site.
Majumdar says the VU4MYH station marks the very first Amateur Radio operation from Nicobar Island. "Mohan's signals were extremely weak, and he was in the skip zone of the Andaman stations on 20 meters," he said. "Improvisation was the name of the game. Hams had to switch to good old CW and switch frequencies from 14.190 and 14.160 MHz to 7.090 MHz." He said in the afternoon, signals were best on 15 meters (21.240 MHz) between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands stations.
"The Amateur Radio station from Nicobar is perhaps playing the most vital part in what is turning out to be the world's largest disaster operation," Majumdar said. "Hams from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and even Israel are checking into the VU emergency nets and extending their fullest cooperation in the truest spirit of Amateur Radio."
Elsewhere, he reports, upward of three dozen stations on the Indian mainland are participating in an emergency net on 7.050 MHz. He said hams from South India have established stations in Tamil Nadu, the hardest hit area on the mainland where thousands died in fishing villages. Hams were handling both health-and-welfare and emergency and medical communications, he told ARRL.
Fragmented information continues to arrive from other areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. At this point, there have been no specific requests for communication assistance from outside the region.
Musa Suraatmadja, YB0MOS, the secretary-general of the Indonesia Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI) responded gratefully to an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) request to assist. "So far we can still manage," he said. "Our ORARI members are amongst the first to go to the stricken areas doing emergency communication, rescue operations and other things." The 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Tony Waltham, HS0ZDX, vice president of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) called the earthquake and tsunamis "truly a disaster of catastrophic proportions which has never before been experienced by Thailand--or by our neighbouring countries that share an Indian Ocean or Andaman Sea coastline." He said communication needs in Thailand are being met.
"The situation is now under control, with Thai hams helping to relay information between the affected areas along the west coast in the south to government agencies--mostly on VHF and 40 meters as well as by disseminating news and information over VHF frequencies in Bangkok." He said EchoLink also has been playing a role in enabling hams in Thailand to relay information to friends and relatives of those who had been on vacation in the stricken areas.
Waltham says what is needed most is help for the thousands of injured and homeless, and RAST now is accepting donations for that purpose to pass on to the Thai government. He said the best method to donate is by wire transfer.
Contributions are being accepted at Siam City Bank, Ratchawat Branch No 111, Account type: Saving; Account number: 111-2-22688-4; Account name: RAST (Radio Amateur Society of Thailand under the Royal patronage of His Majesty the King).
He requests that donors send details of their support to RAST via e-mail dx@thai.com "for our records and so that we can acknowledge this and give full credit."
The ARRL and IARU have been sharing information with other agencies and organization.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Network (SATERN) National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, reports Salvation Army personnel continue to offer emergency disaster services aid in southeastern Asia and costal India. "Salvation Army personnel are based in many of the devastated areas and have been on the forefront of offering aid and relief to the people struggling after this unexpected tragedy," he said. "Salvation Army volunteers fed more than 1200 people in the Kanyakumari and Muttom areas in India and many Salvation Army facilities are being used as feeding sites and emergency shelters in affected communities."
Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams are also assisting government and other agencies in assessing needs and trying to find ways to meet them. The Salvation Army's International Emergency Disasters Services Office located in London is coordinating the relief operation.
Third Party Traffic Question
Since none of the countries affected by the earthquake and tsunami have third-party traffic agreements with the US, the question has been raised about the legality of such traffic--especially health-and-welfare messages--between those countries and US amateur stations. A staff member in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau points out that the international Radio Regulations as revised at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) provide that amateur stations may be used for transmitting international communications of behalf of third parties only in case of emergencies or disaster relief.
"An administration may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction," the FCC staff member told ARRL. Although the FCC has not formally adopted the changes approved at WRC-03, he continued, "the FCC has no objection to US stations passing disaster-related traffic to and from stations in the affected areas if the administrations responsible for the Amateur Service in those countries do not object to their amateur stations receiving messages from our amateur stations on behalf of third parties."
Asian Radio Amateurs Bridging Communication Gap following Tsunami
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 28, 2004--Amateur Radio organizations and individual amateurs in several of the countries affected by the December 26 earthquake and consequent tsunamis in South Asia have begun emergency communication activities. The death toll from the disaster has been estimated at more than 50,000 lives, and health authorities now worry that thousands more may die from disease, due in part to a lack of potable water. Relief organizations and governments around the world have rallied to assist the victims, many of whom are homeless. DXer Charly Harpole, K4VUD/VU3CHE, was visiting the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition in Port Blair on Andaman Island when the earthquake struck. He said the team suspended DXpedition operation and shifted quickly to emergency mode.
"By that afternoon, the team had set up one rig outside with a mobile whip and tuner, powered by the hotel generator, and Bharathi [Prasad, VU2RBI--the DXpedition team leader] was taking health-and-welfare messages from the people standing around there," Harpole reported to ARRL. He is scheduled to relate his earthquake experience on US national television during an appearance on NBC's Today show Wednesday, December 29.
"Many wanted to tell relatives on the Indian mainland that they were OK," Harpole continued, "and Bharathi established contact with many India ham stations in various cities as needed." He said Bharathi was able to relay a message to his wife via a contact with a station in Thailand that he was all right.
Harpole, who returned to Thailand December 27 as scheduled, speculates the team may resume DXpedition operation since Port Blair escaped the worst damage, and the aftershocks have apparently ceased. Sandeep Baruah, VU2MUE, reports that VU4NRO is active on 20 meters, and two additional hams from the Indian mainland--VU2DVO and VU2JOS--have arrived in Port Blair to assist.
Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society Assistant Secretary Horey Majumdar, VU2HFR, relayed information from VU4RBI today that the situation in the Andamans has improved considerably with power and some telephone service being restored, although some aftershocks were occurring from time to time. He also says that VU4RBI and VU4NRO were having a lot of trouble copying signals from the Indian mainland, in part due to RF interference from local sources.
C. K. "Ram" Raman, VU3DJQ, in New Delhi reports that one member of the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition team, S. Ram Mohan, VU2MYH/VU4MYH, has established a station on Car Nicobar Island, one of the worst hit areas that had been totally cut off. Traffic has been noted on 14.190, 14.195 and 14.200 MHz. Raman has been operating at low power to avoid interfering with a nearby army communication site.
Majumdar says the VU4MYH station marks the very first Amateur Radio operation from Nicobar Island. "Mohan's signals were extremely weak, and he was in the skip zone of the Andaman stations on 20 meters," he said. "Improvisation was the name of the game. Hams had to switch to good old CW and switch frequencies from 14.190 and 14.160 MHz to 7.090 MHz." He said in the afternoon, signals were best on 15 meters (21.240 MHz) between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands stations.
"The Amateur Radio station from Nicobar is perhaps playing the most vital part in what is turning out to be the world's largest disaster operation," Majumdar said. "Hams from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and even Israel are checking into the VU emergency nets and extending their fullest cooperation in the truest spirit of Amateur Radio."
Elsewhere, he reports, upward of three dozen stations on the Indian mainland are participating in an emergency net on 7.050 MHz. He said hams from South India have established stations in Tamil Nadu, the hardest hit area on the mainland where thousands died in fishing villages. Hams were handling both health-and-welfare and emergency and medical communications, he told ARRL.
Fragmented information continues to arrive from other areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. At this point, there have been no specific requests for communication assistance from outside the region.
Musa Suraatmadja, YB0MOS, the secretary-general of the Indonesia Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI) responded gratefully to an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) request to assist. "So far we can still manage," he said. "Our ORARI members are amongst the first to go to the stricken areas doing emergency communication, rescue operations and other things." The 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Tony Waltham, HS0ZDX, vice president of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) called the earthquake and tsunamis "truly a disaster of catastrophic proportions which has never before been experienced by Thailand--or by our neighbouring countries that share an Indian Ocean or Andaman Sea coastline." He said communication needs in Thailand are being met.
"The situation is now under control, with Thai hams helping to relay information between the affected areas along the west coast in the south to government agencies--mostly on VHF and 40 meters as well as by disseminating news and information over VHF frequencies in Bangkok." He said EchoLink also has been playing a role in enabling hams in Thailand to relay information to friends and relatives of those who had been on vacation in the stricken areas.
Waltham says what is needed most is help for the thousands of injured and homeless, and RAST now is accepting donations for that purpose to pass on to the Thai government. He said the best method to donate is by wire transfer.
Contributions are being accepted at Siam City Bank, Ratchawat Branch No 111, Account type: Saving; Account number: 111-2-22688-4; Account name: RAST (Radio Amateur Society of Thailand under the Royal patronage of His Majesty the King).
He requests that donors send details of their support to RAST via e-mail dx@thai.com "for our records and so that we can acknowledge this and give full credit."
The ARRL and IARU have been sharing information with other agencies and organization.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Network (SATERN) National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, reports Salvation Army personnel continue to offer emergency disaster services aid in southeastern Asia and costal India. "Salvation Army personnel are based in many of the devastated areas and have been on the forefront of offering aid and relief to the people struggling after this unexpected tragedy," he said. "Salvation Army volunteers fed more than 1200 people in the Kanyakumari and Muttom areas in India and many Salvation Army facilities are being used as feeding sites and emergency shelters in affected communities."
Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams are also assisting government and other agencies in assessing needs and trying to find ways to meet them. The Salvation Army's International Emergency Disasters Services Office located in London is coordinating the relief operation.
Third Party Traffic Question
Since none of the countries affected by the earthquake and tsunami have third-party traffic agreements with the US, the question has been raised about the legality of such traffic--especially health-and-welfare messages--between those countries and US amateur stations. A staff member in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau points out that the international Radio Regulations as revised at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) provide that amateur stations may be used for transmitting international communications of behalf of third parties only in case of emergencies or disaster relief.
"An administration may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction," the FCC staff member told ARRL. Although the FCC has not formally adopted the changes approved at WRC-03, he continued, "the FCC has no objection to US stations passing disaster-related traffic to and from stations in the affected areas if the administrations responsible for the Amateur Service in those countries do not object to their amateur stations receiving messages from our amateur stations on behalf of third parties."
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Amateur Radio "Saved Lives" in South Asia
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 29, 2004--As governments and relief organizations attempt to gauge the scale of death and devastation from the December 26 South Asia earthquake and tsunami and to aid the victims, Amateur Radio operators throughout the stricken region are offering their services as emergency communicators. The death toll from the disaster now is being estimated at upward of 60,000. Thousand remain unaccounted for, millions have been left homeless and many are without food or water. Victor Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, president of the Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL), reports that "uncomplicated short wave" radio saved lives.
"Ham radio played an important part and will continue to do so," he said in an e-mail relayed to ARRL. Goonetilleke said that even Sri Lanka's prime minister had no contact with the outside world until Amateur Radio operators stepped in. "Our control center was inside the prime minister's official house in his operational room," he recounted. "[This] will show how they valued our services."
Goonetilleke reports that even satellite phones failed, and only the Amateur Radio HF link remained open. One problem: Batteries were running out, and there are no generators to recharge them.
Charly Harpole, K4VUD/HS0ZCW, now in Bangkok, Thailand, reports he's been helping to handle emergency traffic to India on 20 meters. Harpole's scheduled appearance this week on NBC's Today show apparently was scratched, although he has told ARRL that CNN has contacted him about an interview.
Harpole had been visiting the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands when the earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck.
The DXpedition's sponsor, the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) in India, told ARRL that the DXpedition team is continuing its communication efforts at the government's request on behalf of rescue and relief operations in that region. "Ham radio is the main link from the people of Andaman Island to people all over," said S. Suri, VU2MY, the NIAR's chairman and director.
Many radio amateurs on the Indian mainland are said to be pitching in to handle emergency and health-and-welfare traffic. Some communication has been on CW and PSK31 to overcome poor conditions and interference.
Wyn Purwinto, AB2QV, relayed information he received via the Indonesia Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI). He notes that the government of Indonesia's Aceh province has banned Amateur Radio since the rebel uprising in that region, and he's asked the Aceh government to lift the ban so Indonesian amateurs can handle emergency traffic. Aceh was among the most severely affected regions in Indonesia.
Some emergency communication between amateurs in the North Sumatra capital of Medan has been established with the Aceh provincial capital of Banda Aceh on 80 meters and with the east coast city of Lhokseumawe through a linked VHF repeater.
Purwinto says YB6ZZ or YB6ZES are serving as net control stations of a national emergency net using 7.055 and 21.300 MHz as well as several linked VHF repeaters throughout northern Sumatra and along the west coast of Malaysia. He reports Anto, YD6AT, is standing by on 3.815 MHz in Banda Aceh. He reports several cities in coastal areas of Sumatra experienced power, telecommunication and water outages.
The Wireless Institute of Australia has asked its members to monitor HF frequencies and report any requests for assistance.
AMSAT-NA has offered to put its Echo (AO-51) satellite into 9k6 bps store and forward mode if it will assist in emergency communication. "We can put the satellite in that mode for however long it would be needed," said Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, of the Echo Command Team.
Boat Watch Net Seeking Missing Vessel Reports and Information
Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, reports that the Boat Watch Net is seeking and coordination reports on vessels that have not been heard from since the earthquake and tsunami. Pilgrim has begun a listing in the "Current Watch Full Text" link of the International Boat Watch Web site. Pilgrim emphasizes that the Boat Watch Net service is strictly limited to mariners in the affected area and is not intended nor prepared to handle general health-and-welfare inquiries.
Third Party Traffic
Although the US does not have third-party traffic agreements with any of the countries affected by the disaster, international emergency and disaster relief communications are permitted unless otherwise provided. The international Radio Regulations as revised at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) provide that amateur stations may be used for transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties only in case of emergencies or disaster relief.
While FCC Part 97 has not yet been updated to reflect this change, ARRL understands from FCC staff that if the government agencies responsible for the Amateur Service in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and other affected countries do not object to their amateur stations receiving messages from our amateur stations on behalf of third parties, the US has no objection to its amateur stations transmitting international communications in support of the disaster.
A government may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction. This could include either permitting a broader range of international third-party communications, or prohibiting even emergency and disaster relief communications.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, says The Salvation Army is providing food, clothing, shelter and fresh water to victims in Sri Lanka and India.
The Salvation Army also has issued an urgent appeal for funds. Donations earmarked "South Asia Disaster Fund," may be sent to local Salvation Army chapters, made online via The Salvation Army Web site or by calling toll free 800-SAL-ARMY (800-725-2769).
Amateur Radio "Saved Lives" in South Asia
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 29, 2004--As governments and relief organizations attempt to gauge the scale of death and devastation from the December 26 South Asia earthquake and tsunami and to aid the victims, Amateur Radio operators throughout the stricken region are offering their services as emergency communicators. The death toll from the disaster now is being estimated at upward of 60,000. Thousand remain unaccounted for, millions have been left homeless and many are without food or water. Victor Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, president of the Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL), reports that "uncomplicated short wave" radio saved lives.
"Ham radio played an important part and will continue to do so," he said in an e-mail relayed to ARRL. Goonetilleke said that even Sri Lanka's prime minister had no contact with the outside world until Amateur Radio operators stepped in. "Our control center was inside the prime minister's official house in his operational room," he recounted. "[This] will show how they valued our services."
Goonetilleke reports that even satellite phones failed, and only the Amateur Radio HF link remained open. One problem: Batteries were running out, and there are no generators to recharge them.
Charly Harpole, K4VUD/HS0ZCW, now in Bangkok, Thailand, reports he's been helping to handle emergency traffic to India on 20 meters. Harpole's scheduled appearance this week on NBC's Today show apparently was scratched, although he has told ARRL that CNN has contacted him about an interview.
Harpole had been visiting the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands when the earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck.
The DXpedition's sponsor, the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) in India, told ARRL that the DXpedition team is continuing its communication efforts at the government's request on behalf of rescue and relief operations in that region. "Ham radio is the main link from the people of Andaman Island to people all over," said S. Suri, VU2MY, the NIAR's chairman and director.
Many radio amateurs on the Indian mainland are said to be pitching in to handle emergency and health-and-welfare traffic. Some communication has been on CW and PSK31 to overcome poor conditions and interference.
Wyn Purwinto, AB2QV, relayed information he received via the Indonesia Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI). He notes that the government of Indonesia's Aceh province has banned Amateur Radio since the rebel uprising in that region, and he's asked the Aceh government to lift the ban so Indonesian amateurs can handle emergency traffic. Aceh was among the most severely affected regions in Indonesia.
Some emergency communication between amateurs in the North Sumatra capital of Medan has been established with the Aceh provincial capital of Banda Aceh on 80 meters and with the east coast city of Lhokseumawe through a linked VHF repeater.
Purwinto says YB6ZZ or YB6ZES are serving as net control stations of a national emergency net using 7.055 and 21.300 MHz as well as several linked VHF repeaters throughout northern Sumatra and along the west coast of Malaysia. He reports Anto, YD6AT, is standing by on 3.815 MHz in Banda Aceh. He reports several cities in coastal areas of Sumatra experienced power, telecommunication and water outages.
The Wireless Institute of Australia has asked its members to monitor HF frequencies and report any requests for assistance.
AMSAT-NA has offered to put its Echo (AO-51) satellite into 9k6 bps store and forward mode if it will assist in emergency communication. "We can put the satellite in that mode for however long it would be needed," said Mike Kingery, KE4AZN, of the Echo Command Team.
Boat Watch Net Seeking Missing Vessel Reports and Information
Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, reports that the Boat Watch Net is seeking and coordination reports on vessels that have not been heard from since the earthquake and tsunami. Pilgrim has begun a listing in the "Current Watch Full Text" link of the International Boat Watch Web site. Pilgrim emphasizes that the Boat Watch Net service is strictly limited to mariners in the affected area and is not intended nor prepared to handle general health-and-welfare inquiries.
Third Party Traffic
Although the US does not have third-party traffic agreements with any of the countries affected by the disaster, international emergency and disaster relief communications are permitted unless otherwise provided. The international Radio Regulations as revised at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) provide that amateur stations may be used for transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties only in case of emergencies or disaster relief.
While FCC Part 97 has not yet been updated to reflect this change, ARRL understands from FCC staff that if the government agencies responsible for the Amateur Service in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and other affected countries do not object to their amateur stations receiving messages from our amateur stations on behalf of third parties, the US has no objection to its amateur stations transmitting international communications in support of the disaster.
A government may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction. This could include either permitting a broader range of international third-party communications, or prohibiting even emergency and disaster relief communications.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, says The Salvation Army is providing food, clothing, shelter and fresh water to victims in Sri Lanka and India.
The Salvation Army also has issued an urgent appeal for funds. Donations earmarked "South Asia Disaster Fund," may be sent to local Salvation Army chapters, made online via The Salvation Army Web site or by calling toll free 800-SAL-ARMY (800-725-2769).
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linuxgeek
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Inquiries Jam Tsunami-Related Heath & Welfare Traffic
(Dec 30, 2004) -- NEWINGTON, CT, -- Charly Harpole, K4VUD, reports from Bangkok, Thailand that incoming health and welfare queries to the huge affected area is presenting a huge problem. All channels, including ham radio, are or will be totally overwhelmed by potential incoming H&W traffic. He urges that no incoming H&W traffic be handled. For something this size, he says, it is best for those in the area to send messages out only. But even getting messages out is rather unlikely inside the areas that have been devastated, and there are many such areas. Requests for information about relatives and friends in the affected areas are jamming up the already overloaded hams. Harpole says: "This widespread disaster would require hundreds if not thousands of hams deployed over the whole Indian Ocean rim to meet the H&W need." Hams who already live in the affected areas are on the air and doing their best to help."
(Dec 30, 2004) -- NEWINGTON, CT, -- Charly Harpole, K4VUD, reports from Bangkok, Thailand that incoming health and welfare queries to the huge affected area is presenting a huge problem. All channels, including ham radio, are or will be totally overwhelmed by potential incoming H&W traffic. He urges that no incoming H&W traffic be handled. For something this size, he says, it is best for those in the area to send messages out only. But even getting messages out is rather unlikely inside the areas that have been devastated, and there are many such areas. Requests for information about relatives and friends in the affected areas are jamming up the already overloaded hams. Harpole says: "This widespread disaster would require hundreds if not thousands of hams deployed over the whole Indian Ocean rim to meet the H&W need." Hams who already live in the affected areas are on the air and doing their best to help."
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Winlink 2000 Helping with Southern Asia Disaster Communications
December 30, 2004 -- NEWINGTON, CT -- In the wake of the earthquake and tsunamis that hit the region December 26, Amateur Radio operators who have Winlink 2000 capability, many of them maritime, have found Winlink 2000 to be especially helpful to stay in touch with friends and family by e-mail, and to help handle emergency communications. "Since it interfaces with Internet e-mail, the Worldwide Winlink 2000 ongoing digital radio messaging network does not have to ramp up for such disaster events. It simply handles messages with a different content," Steve Waterman, K4CJX, explained. Waterman, of Nashville, Tennessee, is the Winlink 2000 network administrator, a member of the Winlink 2000 Development Team and a member of the ARRL Ad-Hoc Committee on ARES Communications. He has been monitoring the activity on Winlink 2000 in the aftermath of the tsunamis.
"The messaging process does not change, even in an emergency. People will e-mail their families and friends, as well as handle EmComm communications and health and welfare directly, just like they e-mail on a daily basis," Waterman said. "The advantage of the direct communications is amplified because they are sending and receiving when propagation is optimal rather than having to wait for any pre-scheduled time." The Winlink 2000 team is presently assessing the status and location of its users in and around the Indian Ocean (including South Africa) in order to better assist those who need it. Winlink 2000 is one method that is being used to collect data on vessels in the southeastern Asia region on behalf of the International Boatwatch Network.
Winlink 2000 Helping with Southern Asia Disaster Communications
December 30, 2004 -- NEWINGTON, CT -- In the wake of the earthquake and tsunamis that hit the region December 26, Amateur Radio operators who have Winlink 2000 capability, many of them maritime, have found Winlink 2000 to be especially helpful to stay in touch with friends and family by e-mail, and to help handle emergency communications. "Since it interfaces with Internet e-mail, the Worldwide Winlink 2000 ongoing digital radio messaging network does not have to ramp up for such disaster events. It simply handles messages with a different content," Steve Waterman, K4CJX, explained. Waterman, of Nashville, Tennessee, is the Winlink 2000 network administrator, a member of the Winlink 2000 Development Team and a member of the ARRL Ad-Hoc Committee on ARES Communications. He has been monitoring the activity on Winlink 2000 in the aftermath of the tsunamis.
"The messaging process does not change, even in an emergency. People will e-mail their families and friends, as well as handle EmComm communications and health and welfare directly, just like they e-mail on a daily basis," Waterman said. "The advantage of the direct communications is amplified because they are sending and receiving when propagation is optimal rather than having to wait for any pre-scheduled time." The Winlink 2000 team is presently assessing the status and location of its users in and around the Indian Ocean (including South Africa) in order to better assist those who need it. Winlink 2000 is one method that is being used to collect data on vessels in the southeastern Asia region on behalf of the International Boatwatch Network.
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Sri Lanka Tsunami – Amateur Call
29 December 2004 19:25 hours
Sri Lanka's amateur radio operators are offering their services to any area that needs communications services.
Until yesterday The Radio Society of Sri Lanka operated a short wave radio link between Hambantota and the Prime Minister's disaster management office at Temple trees, and government offices in the stricken area.
"We closed the link after the police got a communications link up in Hambantota," Victor Goonetilleke, President of the Radio Society of Sri Lanka said.
"We went in because the District Secretaries office only had a satellite phone and communications was difficult."
Amateur radio operators, popularly known as 'Ham' operators are hobbyists who are licensed to operate two-way communications equipment.
The Hambantota station was operated by Asantha Illesinghe (4S7AK), Dimuthu Wickremesinghe (4S7DZ), Kusal Epa (4S7KE).
Mobile signals also began to come up later. As landlines went down, Sri Lanka's mobile networks provided vital links to many tsunami-hit areas.
Amateurs used to be the only line of communication to disaster struck areas in the past, playing a vital role in disaster recovery and mitigation, though resilient mobiles in Sri Lanka kept many areas covered in the current disaster.
The Radio Society is standing by to relay messages from any area that need their services, subject to the availability of manpower and resources.
At the moment a team is being deployed to Tangalle to help relay messages from the members of the public to their loved ones.
"We are preparing to operate a mobile unit between Matara and Galle," Goonetilleke said.
"We can establish links especially government offices do not have proper communications facilities."
A few years ago, a disaster mitigation plan proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka listed the integration amateurs in a national disaster recovery action plan.
But the amateur community in Sri Lanka is not getting enough young blood to keep it going partly because getting an amateur radio license is a tedious process, requiring defence clearances, in addition to an examinations and licensing by the telecommunications regulatory authorities.
Often Hams residing in disaster struck areas are the only link to the outside world.
An amateur who gets on air can be virtually guaranteed to talk to a counterpart as soon as get on to a crowded 'ham' band, where others of his ilk are chatting away.
Short waves, which propagate by bouncing off the ionosphere and the earth's surface, can cover large distances.
A small desktop transceiver with an output of a few hundred watts can even establish communication between two countries, thousands of miles apart.
Sri Lanka Tsunami – Amateur Call
29 December 2004 19:25 hours
Sri Lanka's amateur radio operators are offering their services to any area that needs communications services.
Until yesterday The Radio Society of Sri Lanka operated a short wave radio link between Hambantota and the Prime Minister's disaster management office at Temple trees, and government offices in the stricken area.
"We closed the link after the police got a communications link up in Hambantota," Victor Goonetilleke, President of the Radio Society of Sri Lanka said.
"We went in because the District Secretaries office only had a satellite phone and communications was difficult."
Amateur radio operators, popularly known as 'Ham' operators are hobbyists who are licensed to operate two-way communications equipment.
The Hambantota station was operated by Asantha Illesinghe (4S7AK), Dimuthu Wickremesinghe (4S7DZ), Kusal Epa (4S7KE).
Mobile signals also began to come up later. As landlines went down, Sri Lanka's mobile networks provided vital links to many tsunami-hit areas.
Amateurs used to be the only line of communication to disaster struck areas in the past, playing a vital role in disaster recovery and mitigation, though resilient mobiles in Sri Lanka kept many areas covered in the current disaster.
The Radio Society is standing by to relay messages from any area that need their services, subject to the availability of manpower and resources.
At the moment a team is being deployed to Tangalle to help relay messages from the members of the public to their loved ones.
"We are preparing to operate a mobile unit between Matara and Galle," Goonetilleke said.
"We can establish links especially government offices do not have proper communications facilities."
A few years ago, a disaster mitigation plan proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka listed the integration amateurs in a national disaster recovery action plan.
But the amateur community in Sri Lanka is not getting enough young blood to keep it going partly because getting an amateur radio license is a tedious process, requiring defence clearances, in addition to an examinations and licensing by the telecommunications regulatory authorities.
Often Hams residing in disaster struck areas are the only link to the outside world.
An amateur who gets on air can be virtually guaranteed to talk to a counterpart as soon as get on to a crowded 'ham' band, where others of his ilk are chatting away.
Short waves, which propagate by bouncing off the ionosphere and the earth's surface, can cover large distances.
A small desktop transceiver with an output of a few hundred watts can even establish communication between two countries, thousands of miles apart.
linuxgeek
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Woo Hoo... amateur radio making main stream, front page news. Guess this means I now know someone who is a bit famous.
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UCF professor survives, relays messages to world
By Rich McKay | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted January 1, 2005
The earthquake hit with the popping of concrete, screeching of twisting metal and the thudding sounds of bottles, books and bits of plaster falling from the shelves and walls of Charles Harpole's hotel room.
"I knew that I'd either be dead in a few seconds because the building would crash down or I'd get out and be fine," the vacationing University of Central Florida professor said early Friday. "There was that sense of finality."
Harpole and other members of a ham-radio club were just north of the quake's epicenter on the picturesque Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal between India and Thailand.
It was 6:30 a.m. Sunday, when Harpole was shaken from his bed to discover the walls of his room shaking and the floor turned to jelly.
"I was on the fifth floor, and it was difficult to walk because the floor was shifting. It was either too high or too low," he said in a telephone interview from the home of his wife's family in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.
Harpole said he knew the safest place to be was beneath a doorway, so he made his way to the bathroom doorway and held on for what seemed like six or seven minutes of shaking in the 9.0-magnitude earthquake.
When things finally settled, Harpole got dressed and fled the building, discovering to his joy that everyone in his party has escaped uninjured.
Because their hotel was on a high mountain ridge, Harpole said, it wasn't affected by the tsunami. But as he and his team realized the scope of the disaster, they set up their radio equipment and started relaying messages.
For about 20 hours, the ham operators -- sometimes using car batteries to run their radios -- were the main link between the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the outside world, relaying information about survivors to anxious relatives and friends.
And with most telephone lines down and cell phones scarce, the ham-radio club's efforts proved invaluable as the scope of the disaster increased day after day.
The first messages were to let people on the Indian mainland know that those on the island were safe and unharmed.
A young waiter at Harpole's hotel asked them to get word to his mother in Hyderabad, India, that he was alive and well.
"We found a ham-radio operator on the mainland, gave the mother's telephone number," Harpole said. Within five minutes a ham operator in Hyderabad called the waiter's mother and relayed the message.
"He told us the mother was crying with joy," he said.
Harpole's group cheered and clapped. Word spread quickly across the island, and their work went on for hours and hours.
When Indian government officials learned of the hamradio operators, they relayed messages for official requests for medicines, water and blankets. Several of the radio operators headed south to Nicobar.
Harpole decided it was time for him to head to Thailand for a reunion with his wife and her family who were safely inland.
"I was concerned, that this being an Indian operation and here I was this American, I should step aside," he said.
At his in-laws' house, he had his own radio equipment and has been relaying messages throughout Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.
"People are asking, 'Can you find so-and-so,' and so forth," he said.
Harpole, an amateur-radio enthusiast since he was 14, had been working for years with fellow enthusiasts in India to get permission to set up a station on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which consist of 572 islands, big and small, inhabited and uninhabited.
Amateur-radio buffs collect calls from geographic zones, trying to reach remote parts of the world and put pins in maps to mark the locations. But because of the Indian government's concern for security, a swath of the globe had been off-limits until Harpole and his friends persuaded the leaders to lift the ban.
About two weeks ago, Harpole and his friends arrived in the harbor town of Port Blair to set up the first ham-radio station and lounge on the tropical, white, sandy beaches.
It was an idyllic holiday until the quake hit.
Harpole, who founded the film program at UCF, expects to be back in Orlando soon. He said that the devastation throughout the Indian Ocean rim is hard to comprehend. The full toll may never be known. That's because many rural island and coastal villages never had a census, and "for some of those places, there isn't anyone left alive to say how many people had lived there," he said.
"Many islands were washed completely over from one side to the other. I've seen horrible, horrible destruction," Harpole said. "It's shocking beyond the telling. Piles of cars, broken buildings and boats where there used to be towns and people. The stories from people being hit by the wave -- so unexpected. People having coffee, and then they're gone."
Christopher Sherman of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Rich McKay can be reached at 407-420-5470 or rmckay@orlandosentinel.com.
---------------------------------------------------------
src
UCF professor survives, relays messages to world
By Rich McKay | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted January 1, 2005
The earthquake hit with the popping of concrete, screeching of twisting metal and the thudding sounds of bottles, books and bits of plaster falling from the shelves and walls of Charles Harpole's hotel room.
"I knew that I'd either be dead in a few seconds because the building would crash down or I'd get out and be fine," the vacationing University of Central Florida professor said early Friday. "There was that sense of finality."
Harpole and other members of a ham-radio club were just north of the quake's epicenter on the picturesque Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal between India and Thailand.
It was 6:30 a.m. Sunday, when Harpole was shaken from his bed to discover the walls of his room shaking and the floor turned to jelly.
"I was on the fifth floor, and it was difficult to walk because the floor was shifting. It was either too high or too low," he said in a telephone interview from the home of his wife's family in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.
Harpole said he knew the safest place to be was beneath a doorway, so he made his way to the bathroom doorway and held on for what seemed like six or seven minutes of shaking in the 9.0-magnitude earthquake.
When things finally settled, Harpole got dressed and fled the building, discovering to his joy that everyone in his party has escaped uninjured.
Because their hotel was on a high mountain ridge, Harpole said, it wasn't affected by the tsunami. But as he and his team realized the scope of the disaster, they set up their radio equipment and started relaying messages.
For about 20 hours, the ham operators -- sometimes using car batteries to run their radios -- were the main link between the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the outside world, relaying information about survivors to anxious relatives and friends.
And with most telephone lines down and cell phones scarce, the ham-radio club's efforts proved invaluable as the scope of the disaster increased day after day.
The first messages were to let people on the Indian mainland know that those on the island were safe and unharmed.
A young waiter at Harpole's hotel asked them to get word to his mother in Hyderabad, India, that he was alive and well.
"We found a ham-radio operator on the mainland, gave the mother's telephone number," Harpole said. Within five minutes a ham operator in Hyderabad called the waiter's mother and relayed the message.
"He told us the mother was crying with joy," he said.
Harpole's group cheered and clapped. Word spread quickly across the island, and their work went on for hours and hours.
When Indian government officials learned of the hamradio operators, they relayed messages for official requests for medicines, water and blankets. Several of the radio operators headed south to Nicobar.
Harpole decided it was time for him to head to Thailand for a reunion with his wife and her family who were safely inland.
"I was concerned, that this being an Indian operation and here I was this American, I should step aside," he said.
At his in-laws' house, he had his own radio equipment and has been relaying messages throughout Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.
"People are asking, 'Can you find so-and-so,' and so forth," he said.
Harpole, an amateur-radio enthusiast since he was 14, had been working for years with fellow enthusiasts in India to get permission to set up a station on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which consist of 572 islands, big and small, inhabited and uninhabited.
Amateur-radio buffs collect calls from geographic zones, trying to reach remote parts of the world and put pins in maps to mark the locations. But because of the Indian government's concern for security, a swath of the globe had been off-limits until Harpole and his friends persuaded the leaders to lift the ban.
About two weeks ago, Harpole and his friends arrived in the harbor town of Port Blair to set up the first ham-radio station and lounge on the tropical, white, sandy beaches.
It was an idyllic holiday until the quake hit.
Harpole, who founded the film program at UCF, expects to be back in Orlando soon. He said that the devastation throughout the Indian Ocean rim is hard to comprehend. The full toll may never be known. That's because many rural island and coastal villages never had a census, and "for some of those places, there isn't anyone left alive to say how many people had lived there," he said.
"Many islands were washed completely over from one side to the other. I've seen horrible, horrible destruction," Harpole said. "It's shocking beyond the telling. Piles of cars, broken buildings and boats where there used to be towns and people. The stories from people being hit by the wave -- so unexpected. People having coffee, and then they're gone."
Christopher Sherman of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Rich McKay can be reached at 407-420-5470 or rmckay@orlandosentinel.com.
Lady Christabel
Editzilla™/ThesauruSnark
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For any of the Central Florida folks or anyone with access to Fox 35 news Orlando, linuxgeek will probably be on the 10p EST news tonight as part of the above story.
gypsywitch
sappy n' sassy
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And a fine good day to ya me hearties.
linuxgeek
Rogue Scholar
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- Feb 1, 2004
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- 32,719
Well, that was fun. 2 kids, 4 contacts a piece. Mostly the NE part of the US. Heard someone from CA, but he apparently didn't hear us.
For the June Kid's Day, going to have to see about setting up at the local mall with some other ppl from the ARES group.
For the June Kid's Day, going to have to see about setting up at the local mall with some other ppl from the ARES group.
linuxgeek
Rogue Scholar
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Holy cow, they are set to be slashdoted!
http://slashdot.org/articles/05/01/02/2343256.shtml?tid=215
http://slashdot.org/articles/05/01/02/2343256.shtml?tid=215
linuxgeek
Rogue Scholar
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src
Kerala ham radio comforts tsunami-hit kin
IANS[ MONDAY, JANUARY 03, 2005 02:41:04 PM ]
THRISSUR (Kerala): The Space Rays Amateur Radio Club of Kerala provided information and comfort to anxious relatives of those trapped in Andaman and Nicobar islands and Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster.
"When tsunami struck, we began to provide solace to panic-stricken relatives asking us to locate their near and dear ones. We got calls from several parts of Kerala," said Sree Murugan, a member of the Thrissur-based radio club.
"We could trace almost 60 per cent of the missing reported to us since we opened our service to the public on December 26. We mostly searched for people trapped in Andaman island and in Colombo," said M G Biju, also with the radio club.
Appreciative of the services, state run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) here provided the radio club with two free telephone lines and district authorities gave administrative help.
Kerala ham radio comforts tsunami-hit kin
IANS[ MONDAY, JANUARY 03, 2005 02:41:04 PM ]
THRISSUR (Kerala): The Space Rays Amateur Radio Club of Kerala provided information and comfort to anxious relatives of those trapped in Andaman and Nicobar islands and Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster.
"When tsunami struck, we began to provide solace to panic-stricken relatives asking us to locate their near and dear ones. We got calls from several parts of Kerala," said Sree Murugan, a member of the Thrissur-based radio club.
"We could trace almost 60 per cent of the missing reported to us since we opened our service to the public on December 26. We mostly searched for people trapped in Andaman island and in Colombo," said M G Biju, also with the radio club.
Appreciative of the services, state run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) here provided the radio club with two free telephone lines and district authorities gave administrative help.
linuxgeek
Rogue Scholar
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src
Civilian radios in relief role
NISHA LAHIRI
Name: Nilanjan Majumdar
Call sign: VU2HFR (hotel foxtrot Romeo)
Handle (radio nickname): Horey
Majumdar is part of the search and relief operation that is in progress in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He is doing his bit, right here from Calcutta, high frequency radio (for long distances) in hand. His home in Ballygunge is one of only about two HAM (amateur radio) stations in Calcutta, being used by licensed amateur radio operators keen to help.
The other is by VU2GMT, a Dr Ashish Biswas from Joka. Majumdar and five others, including octogenarian and disaster veteran after the Orissa cyclone Deepak Mitra, Arya Ghosh, Sunil Das and secretary of the Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society Nikhilesh Sinha, have been manning the station from December 27, relaying information to and fro, even helping locate the missing.
“Most of the traffic has been about emergency relief information, to the stations in Andamans and also to the Red Cross. But we have been able to relay a few personal messages,” says Majumdar.
The only two civilian radio stations in Port Blair were set up by a HAM team from the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Bangalore, on an expedition to the island from December 3.
“It’s the first time since 1987 that civilians have been allowed to have radio communications from Andamans. When the disaster struck, they immediately turned to emergency operations, the only ones apart from the defence people,” adds Majumdar.
After special government permission, two from the seven-member team set up operations in Car Nicobar, too. On Sunday, a team of 14 — nine from Gujarat, five from Bangalore — arrived in Port Blair and will make their way to some of the more remote islands that remain isolated, after delivering supplies to the other team, like batteries for radios.
Back in Calcutta, the team is under pressure. There is a lack of manpower and the calls have been flooding in. While K. Nanu, armyman Rajesh Kumar and Banabir Chakraborty have been found safe and their relatives informed, the Pyne family is missing, as is a group of 13 holidaymakers. Plus, there is a lack of funding to actually travel to the affected areas to help out.
But the effort is a well-coordinated one, spanning the region, several countries and hundreds of amateur radio operators. There are people from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and even Australia lending their support by relaying information across the frequencies.
“Sometimes, the signal to a station fails because it depends on weather. But, for instance, if we can’t contact Car Nicobar to ask about relief supplies and a radio operator from Sri Lanka can, then he relays the message to them and then back to us,” adds Arya Ghosh.
Civilian radios in relief role
NISHA LAHIRI
Name: Nilanjan Majumdar
Call sign: VU2HFR (hotel foxtrot Romeo)
Handle (radio nickname): Horey
Majumdar is part of the search and relief operation that is in progress in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He is doing his bit, right here from Calcutta, high frequency radio (for long distances) in hand. His home in Ballygunge is one of only about two HAM (amateur radio) stations in Calcutta, being used by licensed amateur radio operators keen to help.
The other is by VU2GMT, a Dr Ashish Biswas from Joka. Majumdar and five others, including octogenarian and disaster veteran after the Orissa cyclone Deepak Mitra, Arya Ghosh, Sunil Das and secretary of the Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society Nikhilesh Sinha, have been manning the station from December 27, relaying information to and fro, even helping locate the missing.
“Most of the traffic has been about emergency relief information, to the stations in Andamans and also to the Red Cross. But we have been able to relay a few personal messages,” says Majumdar.
The only two civilian radio stations in Port Blair were set up by a HAM team from the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Bangalore, on an expedition to the island from December 3.
“It’s the first time since 1987 that civilians have been allowed to have radio communications from Andamans. When the disaster struck, they immediately turned to emergency operations, the only ones apart from the defence people,” adds Majumdar.
After special government permission, two from the seven-member team set up operations in Car Nicobar, too. On Sunday, a team of 14 — nine from Gujarat, five from Bangalore — arrived in Port Blair and will make their way to some of the more remote islands that remain isolated, after delivering supplies to the other team, like batteries for radios.
Back in Calcutta, the team is under pressure. There is a lack of manpower and the calls have been flooding in. While K. Nanu, armyman Rajesh Kumar and Banabir Chakraborty have been found safe and their relatives informed, the Pyne family is missing, as is a group of 13 holidaymakers. Plus, there is a lack of funding to actually travel to the affected areas to help out.
But the effort is a well-coordinated one, spanning the region, several countries and hundreds of amateur radio operators. There are people from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and even Australia lending their support by relaying information across the frequencies.
“Sometimes, the signal to a station fails because it depends on weather. But, for instance, if we can’t contact Car Nicobar to ask about relief supplies and a radio operator from Sri Lanka can, then he relays the message to them and then back to us,” adds Arya Ghosh.