September 17, 2014

Tyler has a new repeater

Dave Baxter, W5KPZ, and the East Texas Amateur Radio Society have graciously donated their 146.96 repeater to the Tyler Amateur Radio Club. The club has moved it to a new site in Southwest Tyler. It’s on the air with a negative offset and 136.5 Hz. CTCSS tone for access. Your repeater committee will come to you with more information at the next club meeting. (Reported on TylerARC.org)

September 10, 2014

Prepare with Amateur Radio

Emergency "Go Kit"
Most of us know how importance ham radio can be when a disaster strikes. In fact, many of us may have become hams thank in part to our interest in being prepared for the worst. But it can always be helpful to think about exactly how prepared we are. September is National Preparedness Month which means its a great time to think about how "ready" we are.

You must make sure your personally prepared for a disaster before you can even consider helping others with Amateur Radio. Here are a few suggestion to be ready for disaster communications:

  • Train regularly with your local club or organization. The best athletes know, "You play like you practice."
  • Think about how you might best be able to help during a disaster. Some of us are good at installing antennas and equipment, others of us are better at operating on the air. Not everyone is suited to doing every job. Sometimes just having helping hands, spare equipment or supplies can be helpful even if you cannot operate the radios yourself. Generators need fuel, operators need coffee, stations need to be set up. Figure out where you best fit in. Decide how you can help out if you stay home. Can you deploy at a shelter or EOC for a few hours? Operate from home? If you must evacuate. Can you deploy from where you have evacuated to, such as a shelter?