We’re beginning to see ways in which amateur radio operators are stepping up to help their communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Many more stories will follow as traditional news outlets learn of what’s happening, but in the meantime, here’s a summary of what’s been surfaced online and on the air.
Ham Publisher Directly Affected
One of the most high-profile stories comes from Tom (K4SWL), publisher of QRPer and The SWLing Post, two popular websites in the online worlds of ham radio and shortwave listening. Tom has been very transparent with Helene’s impact on his family and community, posting updates to the QRPer blog. He and his neighbors are cut off from accessing the local network of roads by car, requiring him to instead rely on bikes to check on the local community and gather supplies such as medicine.
Hams will be very interested in his use of HTs, spread across licensed, and non-licensed family members and neighbors to stay in contact with one another.
I set up a simplex frequency and schedule so we could communicate. I also wrote down instructions in case someone accidentally bumped a button and needed to re-tune to the correct frequency. No, most of these people don’t have licenses, but this is 100% a real emergency. Hams in the region have even been giving volunteers their radios to share wellness checks via our repeater systems and the emergency response network.
Repeaters Serve as Lifeline for Many
The Broadcastify link to the W4HTP repeater livestream has been making the rounds on social media. While this feed normally features the W4HTP repeater out of Dallas, NC, the livestream is currently relaying the Mt. Mitchell repeater (N2GE) at 145.190. Listening in, hams in the area are providing many forms of assistance to the community from helping to conduct welfare checks on isolated residents, to relaying messages related to supplies.
The K4ITL Repeater Facebook Page has become an off-air communications channel to gather information and ask for help. This case is particularly interesting in that it shows how ham radio can provide assistance both through RF and non-RF channels.
HF nets have been active on 7.232 MHz and 3.923 MHz.
In many of these cases, there’s no one organization leading the charge, just a group of hams that felt compelled to help.
Traditional Media Report Hams Helping
Traditional media reports are beginning to pop up, highlighting the ability for amateur radio to help during natural disasters.
WBTV out of Charlotte highlights K2DMG, one of the net control operators passing traffic on the Mt. Mitchell repeater.
Queen City News has also featured K2DMG.
WNCT out of Greenville highlights ham radio and KM4TC.
The Larger Ham Orgs
ARRL has been in touch with key volunteers and HamAid kits (PDF) are ready to deploy. Contact an ARRL Section Manager to request deployment.
Hopefully we’ll see case studies coming from local ARES groups in the coming weeks and months.
Source: Amateur Radio Daily
