Local Amateur Radio Operators Preparing To Take Part In Worldwide Disaster Drill This Weekend
(CBS) --What do you think would happen if cell phones, the Internet and traditional landlines all went out in some kind of disaster?
Amateur radio operators say they would be involved in emergency communications in that event and that's why they're conducting a worldwide drill this weekend.
Bill Farmer of the Amateur Radio group in Palatine says most amateur radio operators have their own equipment and that, setting up an antenna is as easy as stringing up wire between a couple of trees. He says most also have portable generators, some solar panels and extra batteries.
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Last year, Farmer says, the Palatine group made connections with more than a thousand amateur radio operators from around the country.
He says that amateur radio operators can be of assistance to authorities in cases where there are tornadoes or hurricanes. He says that's what happened when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. He says amateur radio operators were called upon to relay messages to families about the locations of their loved ones.
Farmer also says amateur radio operators drill by helping with communications at local triathlons, bike events and street festivals.
The drill runs for 24 hours and begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Reimer Reservoir Sledding Hill. The public is invited to check out the set-up. You may even be given a chance to try to reach someone on an amateur radio from around the world.
