How to communicate when disaster strikes
Networks offer breakthroughs in affordable emergency radio
Posted: November 21, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Joseph Farah
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON - What happens when the television signal goes dark, when the
electrical
grid fails, when regular and cellular phone service won't work and even the
Internet
is not accessible?
Communication is one of the critical components of disaster-planning
scenarios, as
anyone who watches the hit CBS series "Jericho," about the isolation of a
small Kansas
town after a nuclear attack, can tell you.
'Jericho' on CBS depicts how Americans deal with aftermath of nuclear
detonation
Apparently, they never heard of Family Radio Service in the town of Jericho.
Family Radio Service is a very low power, short-range UHF citizens band in
the 460
MHz band that some civil-defense activists believe offers great promise in
worst-case
communications disaster scenarios.
The hand-held two-way radios sell for as little as $20 and a rapidly
developing
National SOS Radio Network
is aiming to plug in approximately 100 million U.S. users with direct
communication
with about 700,000 ham operators.
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It's the brainchild of Eric Knight, a ham radio veteran of 32 years. He says
training
is essential to the success of the program and statewide and nationwide
drills are
being prepared to help bring the network to life.
The
DC Emergency Radio Network
is an example of what could be in place soon for much of the nation. If
there's
a power, telephone, cell-phone or Internet failure, the DC Emergency Radio
Network
can keep Washington-area residents in touch with neighbors, family and
official announcements.
DC Emergency Radio Network uses Family Radio Service and General Mobile
Radio Service,
or GMRS, radios on channel 1, no privacy channel (subchannel 0).
Many people in the Washington area already have FRS and GMRS radios. They
are the
same small handheld walkie-talkie radios that people use to keep in touch at
parks
and on ski slopes. They're sold at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Staples and
elsewhere.
FRS radios are license-free and have a range of 1/4 to 1 mile; GMRS radios
have a
range of 5 to 10 miles.
"If normal modes of communication go down or become unreliable - because of
a terrorist
attack, power outage, cell-phone network congestion, storm or other
problem - the
DC Emergency Radio Network is a pre-planned way of communicating and
relaying vital
information," explains the cooperative.
Earlier this year, the
Midland Radio Corporation,
REACT International,
the DC Emergency Radio Network, and NationalSOS.com jointly announced their
support
for the National SOS Radio Network - a free communications network based on
the estimated
100 million FRS-compatible radios already in the hands of the public, a
number growing
by up to 12 million radios per year.
Born in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, organizers recognized that a
major contributing
factor to the tragic loss of life was the near total breakdown of
communication systems.
Once electricity, telephone, and cell-phone services failed, people were
unable to
let rescuers know of their dire situation - and died as a result.
The National SOS Radio Network doesn't require new laws or any new
legislation, organizers
say. It could be effective immediately. Once the ham and GMRS radio
communities are
made aware to listen for the public's emergency FRS broadcasts, the national
network
will be up and running.
"We are honored to be teaming up with three fantastic organizations in the
field
of communications," Knight said. "Midland Radio is a long-time pioneer in
innovative
radio technology. REACT International, Inc. has been at the forefront of an
all-citizen
emergency communications network for nearly 50 years and introduced FRS
radio as
an important public communications tool in 2000. And the DC Emergency Radio
Network
is a brilliant example of using FRS radios to connect people and
neighborhoods in
an emergency."
Bill Adler, the founder of the DC Emergency Radio Network, DCERN, said he
wants to
see every household in America with an FRS or GMRS radio.
"As we've learned from 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and other disasters, without
communications
nothing else operates effectively," Adler said. "I envision a national
network of
ordinary Americans with FRS and GMRS radios who can relay information in an
emergency.
When a natural or manmade disaster strikes, the only good communications
system is
one that will actually work. The idea behind this new emergency network is
to have
a simple, reliable communications system that doesn't depend on electricity
or standing
cell-phone towers - and that anyone of any age can use."
In addition to these private efforts to equip Americans with the
communications devices
they need for civil defense emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security
also
recently moved to spend $5 million to supply all 97,000 public schools with
hazard-warning
radios activated with a broadcast signal. Originally conceived to deliver
weather
warnings, the system now covers all hazards, including terrorism and
abducted children.
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