Hi all,
I just thought I’d introduce myself. I’ll keep future posting shorter.
I’ve been involved with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team since the mid
seventies. I used to be very involved (lots of training & field experience,
Mass Care Chairman for Santa Clara County chapter for a few years, etc) but I
consider myself semi-retired from that now. I do jump in when the need is
great (i.e. 89 Loma Prieta Quake, Hurricane Katrina). I also have had first
aid training through EMT – nothing current.
Other experience includes: Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU), San Lorenzo
Valley CERT and work based ERT teams.
On the radio side: I used LMR radios a fair amount with the Red Cross and
BAMBU but I’m just getting started in amateur radio. Once-upon-a-time in a
previous work life, I was an electrical engineer so I do know a fair amount
about the technical end. I hold an Extra class but my experience is still
quite limited due in large part to my higher priority – my young son.
A ham radio would have made a huge difference when I was working on Katrina. I
managed to fix our satellite phone eventually but we spent two weeks without
direct outside communication. That made feeding 500 – 1000 people a day
without established supply lines very tricky for a mass feeding center that the
Red Cross didn’t want to recognize. Our daily reports on the shelter and the
feeding center were hand tabulated and carried by truck to the shelter
coordination HQ 30 – 60 minutes away depending on road conditions.
My Katrina experience in that remote town made me finally get off my duff and
get my ham license. I would do things a lot differently now if I have a ham
rig with digital capabilities with me. Anyway, as I said I have a lot to learn
still. I’m taking the EmComm ARRL classes on-line now and am trying to fit in
some field time with my local ARES group. Digital radio operation is also on
my agenda but, as always, my family time comes first.
KI6PDJ
Soon to be W6TWO – I wanted to be Whiskey 4 Two but I’m in the wrong district
and it’s taken. Whiskey 62 has its own meaning to me anyway.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
