How old tech is being used to remotely help in wake of Helene
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- "We started calling family members all across the country for these folks and saying, 'Hey, we talked to your loved one on ham radio, and they want you to know that they are alive and okay.'"
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A Mooresville man is marshaling forces and sending in help - without ever leaving his home.
www.qcnews.com/severe-weather/how-old-tech-is-being-used-to-remotely-help-in-wake-of-helene/
HAM's doing what Ham's do !
Don't let them fool you !
This is incorporating
Cutting Edge technology, and perhaps some old school ways bringing it all together !
And important to know, Amateur Radio Operators do this , voluntarily !
And have no pecuniary interest, by Law !
Truly unsung Heroes !
In an age where most have their heads bowed worshiping their cell phones, Amateurs are looking above and beyond the heads of their fellow Citizens !
Glory be to GOD for these folks !
Too, many likely don't understand the sometimes life long study Amateur Operators put into their Craft !
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 👍😉
HAM Radio Operators Filling The Gap 🙌✝️🙏💪🇺🇲
Ham or ham. Never HAM 😉
But it's what hams do! ARES is a thing as well!
Amateur Radio Emergency Services
Dan, I've been listening to you every day for the past several days...........and all I can say is you are awesome! Your ability to run that net and pass traffic is humbling. You're a true hero in every sense of the word, and the people in NC are lucky to have you.
Proud to be a ham. Thanks, Dan, for showing what we do.
Cell towers, ISP’s, and electric grids can fail. Most hams who are emergency prepared will have battery power and solar cells to operate independent of the grid with long-distance communications.
Consider getting your own license to be ready in cases like this.
I was just thinking, maybe that would be a good idea to get that kind of a set up. Living in Louisiana, we never know when the you know what is gonna hit the fan!
@noneyabizniss1765 go for it 👍 KQ4KUO
@@noneyabizniss1765if you can’t afford equipment you can at least take the test and get a call sign so you can borrow a radio in emergencies.
I'm sure many of the people he's helping, in areas he's helping, or too financially strapped to drop all that money on a rig. However, just an example, MIDLAND has radios that operate on GMRS and Repeaters. GMRS in the mountains isn't going to do you much good, but hitting a repeater would be better then nothing and even a CB with SSB wouldn't hurt . That gear is more affordable. License is cheaper and you do not need to have anything extra to connect to a repeater other then permission of the owner to do so. Right? \JS
@@tc1uscg65 The license fee for GMRS and Amateur Radio licenses are the same. The difference is that a GMRS license covers your entire family. So getting more than one person access would be cheaper with GMRS
By keeping an eye out and talking with local ham groups you can easily find used functional ham equipment for around as much as you would spend on new GMRS gear. Some of the Chinese VHF/UHF radios brand new are easily found for under $50.00
It's not an either or. Get what fits your use case the best. Maybe start with GMRS and expand to amateur (with HF capabilities that require no repeaters, talk to the world with 50W and a wire, some folks do it on 5W).
I'm glad the hams could help. I hope Franklin Graham sees this. Some years ago, some people he was affiliated with wanted the repeater 145.19MHZ removed from Mt Mitchell. I'm glad this didn't happen.
Listening to them now. Have been for 2 days. I am glad I got my HAM license. These guys are doing great work. Dan is doing fantastic. 73's
Old tech? There is some very advanced tech in those radios. It's not like he's using a 1940's tube radio.
Roger that. Hope you and the Family are save there. Happy Humpday from southwest Germany. 73 de Your Friend Uncle Günter 🙋♂
You know how superiorly intelligent all those in news media are. 🤣🤣🤣 Only they can, in a subtle manner, mock such a thing.
KD8EFQ/73
I have 3 HF rigs, one SDR, one SS and 1 with vacuum tubes. To be honest, I like turning a lot of knobs so I use the VT all the time 😊
Just a hunch but I took what was meant was, "using ham radio/airwaves to communicate where all MODERN communications can't". He could be using the latest SDR transceiver and a hand key and it would still be viewed as "old tech". I bet he could be using flashing light running on a LED source and it would still be looked at as "old tech" even though he's using a HI-Tech flashlight. Don't get lost in the media's view. Be glad they even gave the subject the light of day. IMO, they have not given enough credit to all those operators relaying traffic for those who can't. JS.
@@tc1uscg65 I hear ya. I was deliberately insulting the lacking intellect of the news media just with the phrase "old technology", as they imply. By my obsevation and experioence, people in mainstream news media are simple minded low intellect flesh bots that say things like that because they're actually so ignorant that it could be a defective disorder! They're the epitome of vanity that lacks intellect. They've never had respect for people /like/ Amateur Radio operators because we were never marketed like rock stars.🤣🤣
I've been listening to Dan since the start of this disaster, him and the other hams on the ground are doing incredible work! keep it up! 73
Absolute legends, these hams. But also it’s not just old tech. Our radios are improving all the time. And we can use them to pass digital data just like your iPhone does with the internet.
Just an old ICOM 7610 & ICOM 7300. Dusty old stuff. Haha. Nothing to see here!
Don't forget, iPHones in emergency mode can communicate with satellites. I understand that TMO has been trying to work it out with Starlink to do the same thing but they are dragging their feet. Maybe this will move them along. Gear has come a long way and I don't thing the media was taking a poke at the hardware, just when all normally everyday methods have failed, people are back to using the airwaves. Now, if whipped out a hand key, regardless what deck of cards sized xmitter he had in his pocket plugged into a blender sized fusion reactor for power, it would STILL be considered "old ways". \JS.. I don't think they were trying to put the high tech gear down, just pointing our HAM ops know something that all the non-ham op peeps don't. Regards.
Yes, and no. A lot of this digital Ham stuff has been around for several decades, and the quality of modern radios has basically been the same for the last 10 years or so, or at the very least the noticeable gains in accuracy and other features has been over for a while now. Sure, we have improvements, we have easy programs like WinLink, but sending data and e-mail by amateur radio is actually not new, either.
Then again, smart phones are now old technology.
@@tc1uscg65 don’t forget Appalachia has had a large impoverished population for generations that isn’t exactly the target audience for the latest iPhone models.
A great advantage the hams have is having/owning the equipment ready at home and their cars, emergency service resources typically have to get to the office to grab them. Watching this reminds me a bit of Ghost Buster 2, forgotten heroes that saved the city, becoming popular again when needed! Thank you for your forever help and readiness.
A TRUE HERO! THANK YOU FROM US WHO HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS IN THIS HORRENDOUS SITUATION!!!
This is where the hams shine. We come through when stuff happens. All my prayrers go out to all the victims and all my praise goes out to my fellow hams. 73 and keep up the great work. K7ZFI
Thank God ham radio is still alive. Kb2nzo
Thank God for older technology! We still need it. This should be a lesson to all of us. We can’t get rid of all the old stuff. Just like there are mules carrying supplies into areas unreachable!
Ham radio isnt that old 😂 but I get your point
The technology you use for your cell phone is just as old as ham radio. Sure, the electronic gadgets are smaller, but both transmit and receive radio waves the same way. Some ham radios use repeaters the same way cell phones do (two way communication via a repeater transmitter/receiver on a tower). In addition, ham radios can transmit and receive point to point like CB radios. And we use HF frequencies (much like AM radio stations) to reflect radio signals that bounce off the ionosphere for long distances between states and other countries. I do an activity called "Parks on the Air" where members communicate with each other between state parks, national parks, wildlife areas, etc. I can set up my portable radio and antenna, and within 15 minutes, it's ready. Within an hour, most times I routinely make an average of 50 contacts with people across the country and a few outside the United States.
@@miket7184 thank you for the information.
excellent reporting thank you
Your awesome Dan. 73, Jim N8NHB
If he was using vacuum tube radios you could say he is using old tech. From what I saw in your footage he is using modern ham radio equipment that is currently on the market today. Sure amateur radio has been around for 100 years, but the radios being used today consist of circuit boards and use a combination of firmware and software to function.
You can get a Baofeng handy talkie for 23 dollars. It can be programmed to listen to local repeaters. There are many video’s on youtube of how to program them. It is perfectly legal to listen. Hopefully it will pique the interest of many to get their license so they can transmit. The true learning process begins after you get your tech license. We need more Ham’s !!
They do make a couple that has the FCC's blessing. I used CHIRP to set up a few that I put in my "go bags". Even set the kids who live outside the home with one and a comms plan. They do understand they can't go willy nilly on the transmit side but during an emergency, all bets are off, the FCC can pack sand and they know to use the radio when all else fails. Oh, and they all have a license for GMRS use. I agree that maybe this will gain some attention and get people to look into taking up another hobby.
That’s how I got into it a few years ago. I’m a pretty young one. Now I’ve got a general license, part 90 private carrier license, and a small radio business.
Thank you sir!!!
This is NOT old Tech. Ham radio operators have been doing this for a long time.
Just be aware, off and on the FCC wants to refarm some HAM frequencies over to the cell people like they did all the good TV frequencies.
National weather service still uses ham operators for their skywarn system and many towns or counties have a club, Often times its even part of a local emergency management plan.
Good one
I listened to the net on that repeater for hours the first day after the storm blew through; thought I recognized that voice...
Not "old tech" by any stretch of the imagination!! We do things bigger and better!
Net and community r amazing prayers and thanks to all
We did not use old tech. Our low power communication networks are the most advanced in the world. We can work the world on power that can light a nite light.
It always annoys me when people-sometimes even hams-refer to amateur radio as old technology. It's radio, and cell phones use radio, our personal computers use radio, all wireless devices use radio. The main difference is that hams don't need the infrastructure that other systems do. And current ham radio equipment employs state-of-the-art digital technology.
Great work! 73 KO4KHB
Amateur Radio remains a valuable resource and aid in times of diaster.
Like everyone said: this isn't old tech with the old tubes. We've got radios that are computer-controlled, have internet linking capabilities, we have radios that will transmit and receive digital voice, we have radio setups that can transmit digital packet data, we even have high-speed mesh networks. Don't think of us as having nothing but a microphone or a morse code keyer because we have moved along with times and the technology. Pretty sure AI will find a place in ham radio as well.
It already has. FreeDV has a new neural digital voice modem that can pack high intelligibility into a standard phone bandwidth. That's tech that would not have existed mere years ago. Plus, RTL-SDR is relatively new. SDRs used to cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, now they're so cheap that you can buy like 4 of them and use it to track down signals in a DF array, for less than $100.
Yeah you can send photos over DSTAR or 20m with an Icom 705, for example. Folks can get emails out with the right setup too, or send text messages using js8call. Not just scratchy voice, which is what many folks think!
Digital packets, SSTV, sending e-mail via amateur radio, ect., are hardly new. Decades old, in fact.
@@kingduckford it's new in the sense that it's newer than what the average person would assume ham radio to be. When the average person thinks of ham radio, they would picture a vintage 1930s radio set up. If it's not that, then at the very least, they aren't thinking about relevant technology that goes into ham radio. It's like getting people to picture what a train engine would be: the average person would picture first a steam locomotive, when in reality, we have modern diesel-electric.
This radio is the same old technology that everyone's mobile phones depend on today. And most of his gear is modern.
I believe they are missing the point... this success and utility has to do with a privately owned and decentralized application of radio communications that is capable of operating without internet connectivity, etc. This has a more resilient distributed human connection and doesn't require an entire online connected infrastructure to operate.
That's what makes it a winner
just to re-emphasize. Ham, can be very very high tech. Ever heard of "Amsat"? Ham Radio, communication satellites. Yeah, as in, up in space. There are many digital modes. The highest tech used, is that computer between the operators ears. Don't focus on tech, focus on what works.
Thank you, Dan de WB2SMK
HAM radio is still very reliable.
I bet his ham equipment is newer tech than the new rooms systems. lol
Way to go Dan!! de N9HF Dave Ormond Beach, Fl.
Several years back, the owners of that Mt Mitchell transmitter tower site, a well-known Christian Broadcast Radio Station, wanted the Ham repeater off their site and equipment. Ham operators told them if a disaster occurred, it would be the only form of communication for the area. I'm glad the station changed their stance, and the Ham Repeater was allowed to stay.
I like how the headline says "old tech". It's no different than cell phone service, You're transmitting and receiving RF over the air on UHF frequencies, same is ham radio does with VHF/UHF repeaters.
Yep. So many stories of hams filling the gap when everything else is down.
When the major earthquake hit Mexico City years ago, and normal communications were down, one ham in that city was able to get on the air, and field the many requests from folks in the Americas who were inquiring about their loved ones and business associates who were in that city. When Hurricane Michael destroyed Panama City, Mexico City Beach, and other areas in the Florida Panhandle, all communications were down. No TV, Radio, Cell, police, even most hams were off the air. A few hams along the coast were able to get their equipment on the air and antennas up, and for days provided emergency comms in the area and across the USA for families who inquired about friends and families in the affected area. Yep. Neighbors and HOA's hate the Ham antennas, until something like that happens.
An emergency management officer came to speak at our ham club, I challenged him as to why ham radio is their plan B.
The county I live in in Georgia has 2 emergency coordinators. I’ve emailed both of them to ask what backup plan is in place in the event the cell towers aren’t working. Neither one of them has bothered to reply. I guess it infringes on their little fiefdom that is funded wholly by the taxpayers
Look into getting your Amateur Radio License, it’s not hard to do.
How much does it cost to get a real basic set up and get a license, ballpark?
@@noneyabizniss1765$35 for the FCC filing fee (if an exam is completed with a passing score) and a minimum score of 80% on a Technician Class license exam gets you a call sign! Some clubs might charge an extra exam fee but it's mostly to cover the cost of bringing people to proctor the exams and even with those extra fees, the cost is usually no more than $10-15 on top.
@@noneyabizniss1765 for getting licensed it is no more than $15 to the volunteer examiner team to cover the cost of testing materials then a $35 fee to the FCC once you get an email from them stating an application has been submitted on your behalf. For study guides there are books available on Amazon and the ARRL website as well as free study guides on TH-cam and various websites such as HamStudy and Ham Radio Prep. Some of the websites study guides you have to pay for and others are free. As far as the cost of equipment it really depends on what you want to get. Just starting out most will take the Technician exam and not take the exam for the next level, which is General. As a Tech you will have full privileges on the VHF, UHF, and higher frequencies, with some limited privileges in the HF bands. Most people get a handheld (think walkie-talkie) as their first radio, however they have very limited range so if you are 10 miles from the nearest repeater you might not be able to talk in it from inside your home with a handheld. You would be better off getting a 25 or 50 watt dual band mobile radio, a DC power supply for the radio, and a base station antenna as your first radio. If you buy inexpensive equipment off Amazon you can have a 25 watt radio, power supply, coax, antenna, and a mounting bracket for the antenna for around $350 as a rough guesstimate. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. If you just want to talk to people in your local area VHF and UHF is perfect for that, but if you want to talk to someone three counties over or on the other side of the country you will want HF which means you need at least the General class license. For HF you can get a 20 watt portable radio, a 49:1 transformer, and a 200 foot spool of wire to build an 133-ish foot End Fed Half Wave antenna for around $550, but that does not include a way to get the antenna in the air.
You might want to look up a ham radio club in your area and talk to the members to get a better idea of the type of equipment you would need.
@@noneyabizniss1765Study first, try to get competent enough to the General class exam (Element 3) so you can do it all in one session, which saves money. The license costs $35 and lasts effectively for life (you have to renew for free every 10 years).
VHF/UHF radios are cheap. You can get a Quansheng UV-K5 for $30, and it has a firmware hack letting you transmit on bands besides the common 2m/70cm bands. You can contact local repeaters easily using a cheap handheld. Some local repeaters host NTS nets, letting you send messages around the country through a structured message passing system, mainly to relay information in and out of disaster areas.
HF radios let you go completely off the grid with no external assistance from intermediate stations. They are far more expensive if you want a normal 100W one. A used rig will costs more than $500, occasionally less if you find a good deal. Most new hams will spend around $1000 for the IC-7300, which is an entry-level, newer solid state transceiver that packs a lot of value. That's your best bet if you don't want to fiddle around too much learning how to deal with common radio problems.
If you live in a rural area, you can get away with a QRP (low power) rig for much cheaper, on the order of $100-200, as you can afford to put up a long, non-compromise antenna. The cheaper QRP radios have less features, and often require additional setup, but are more lightweight and portable. Look for ones such as the uBitx, or its more expensive cousin, the sBitx.
Antennas for VHF/UHF are small and low profile. You can either use one directly attached to your handheld, attach one to your vehicle, or homebrew one for a base station. You can also make directional Yagi-Uda antennas from PVC pipe and tape measures, letting you reach many miles out with a handheld.
HF antennas tend to be large. If you have the space, you can homebrew a simple dipole for
Look into 2 meter licensing , and a Baofeng radio.
Old or new technology stop getting butt hurt and help someone thats what counts
SDR isnt old tech!
That's correct but to be honest I prefer the 1980's - 1990's Transceivers way before the nowadays Knickknack Toys. And one Thing the HAM Radio World does not really need is FT-8
Everyone should get an amateur radio license (ham radio license)! Even if you never buy the equipment you can borrow a radio. And go ahead and get a GMRS license first to learn a bit while you study to take the ham radio test.
This is not old tech.
it is old tech. ham raio is out dated. but it is still very reliable and has modern day needs
@@bouchee2007 not outdated........very much high tech....do some research,,,,,,,,
@@bouchee2007 it is not outdated at all. The radios on the market today are high tech and you can do more than just hit the PTT on the microphone and talk to people. We have ways to send messages to standard email addresses over the air waves. Sure there is some internet infrastructure required for it, but message originates from a program called Winlink on computer hooked up to a radio that sends it over the air waves. We can also send an SMS message to someone's cellphone number through the use of the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). If I had an APRS capable handheld and was in range of an APRS I-gate or digi-peater, which are basically modems that receive a signal from a ham radio and sends it over the internet, I could send a SMS message to a cellphone number. The messages are not one way either. If I was in an area without cellular service, but I have the capability to send either a Winlink or APRS message to friends and family they can also reply back to me. Sure it won't be as instantaneous as sending a text or social media message with my cellphone, but I will get messages out and I will receive incoming messages.
Iron Man! 👍🏻
Old tech ? Really? Better than the internet ......can you hear me now.....
Bravo Dan de N5JYQ
"Old" tech is an insult. It's current tech.
This IS ham/amateur radio!
👍🇬🇧
Old tech? Come now. That brand new iPhone 16 in your pocket uses radio waves to communicate with cell towers. Amateur radio uses radio waves too, just different frequencies. Most of the ham radio transceivers shown in this piece are computer controlled. Stop with the “old tech” nonsense!
Anyone still use CB radios aside from truckers?
Very few truckers use them.
Go listen to the frequencies, they are jam packed. A lot of idiots, but CB is nowhere near quiet or dead on a national level, and there are many local communities throughout the country. Some of the worst operators, but some of the most powerful stations in the US.
Old tech... that brand new old tech likely costs more than your car
LOL, I don't think so. But that's beside the point.
@@sammas7440 Couple grand for a radio. A good tower and beam setup 10k+. And everything else to get it done add another few thousand. A nice shack is easily north of 20k. Just a 7300 and a wire, about 2500. Anywho.
Old tech my A$&!
I don't understand "old tech" , perhaps clickbait? Those radios are high tech, you guys are on TV also right...is that old tech also?
Ham radio is not old Tech
Ham radio getting in the way for 50 years.
Aw cmon man
@@SteverRob The truth will set you free.
@@Capecodham I am the truth
@Capecodham
Show us on the doll where the mean ol' ham hurt your fefes.
@@SteverRob Not if you think hams are NOT getting in the way.
Yeah, they now charge $35.00 for an Amateur Radio License. To people who volunteer to provide assistance to the community in these disasters. Government should be ashamed of themselves.
I can’t disagree more. The pandemic and youtube surges got tons of news hams added that are very used to skipping over EULAs and they took that same mindset to the rules and common courtesy. $35 is nothing but a reminder that this is important and maybe you should consider reading about the new toys you bought.
@@echo-hotel Anyone who has to ask government permission to do something is NOT free. Secondly paying to volunteer to assist disaster stricken people is shameful any way you attempt to justify it. The license and the license plates were free to licensed amateur radio operators. Government is the disease masquerading as the cure.
@@echo-hotel Anyone who has to ask government permission to do something is NOT free. Secondly paying to volunteer to assist disaster stricken people is shameful any way you attempt to justify it. The license and the license plates were free to licensed amateur radio operators. Government is the disease masquerading as the cure.
Old tech my ass
What these news people fail to realize, is every time they pick up a cell phone and call someone, their tech is just as old as ham radio! The electronics have become smaller with more features, but transmitting RF through the air is as old as when Marconi invented it!
Don't mention the "free airtime" aspect, or the ability to facilitate such equipment, set it up, put a simple antenna and get on the air and not be concerned with a "plan" for a monthly fee. Outside of the one time purchase of equipment, the "air time" is free!
KD8EFQ/73
P.S. - Amateur Radio ALWAYS works.
Ham radio operators train for this.
It's a part of being a Ham.
KI0EO
that's the spirit of being Amateur! 73! de DW3VTL