Groups of hams get on the air and sign into what are called nets. In a net, the net controller in charge of this emergency net will say something like:
"All station check in, and do you have any priority traffic?"
and say during the hurricane, your daughter had been swept under by the water and needed medical treatment, you would say:
"PRIORITY! this is (your callsign) my daughter needs help, we live at (your address)"
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ham radio, satellite, television, radio
satellites, ham radio, television,radio etc....
If a town were to lose power or a disaster strikes, there are assigned groups of people who are trained in these situations. In my hometown we have what is called 'A.R.E.S.' which is Amatuer Radio Emergency Service. It is all voluntary, and in order to be with an A.R.E.S. group, you need to have your ham radio license. I have included a link below to the ARRL Website which will explain in a lot more detail about A.R.E.S. and Ham Radio.
Some alternative communication systems during a disaster include two-way radios, satellite phones, and hand signals. These allow rescuers to quickly coordinate their efforts and find victims.
Ham radio is used daily woldwide. Emergency communications during hurricane Katrina is a good recent example. We were able to pass information into and out of New Orleans without any need for cell towers, phone lines, commercial power, internet etc. Ham radio works when nothing else does.
The government may utilize ham radio (technically defined as "Amateur Radio") during times of disaster, natural or man-made, to provide inter-agency emergency communications. Amateur Radio operators by law are not allowed to accept payment for their services, and as such, they are not government employees. There are several volunteer organizations that various government agencies may enlist to provide emergency communications, such as ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. For more information on how Ham Radio can help during disasters, visit http://www.emergencyradio.org/.
You may have a Ham radio antenna anywhere in the US, unless there are restrictions as to its placement, such as in a condo or apartment. If you meant a Ham radio transmitter, then you must have a Ham license to operate it.
Communication to other hams via amateur radio to get weather reports is very critical. Using APRS, data from weather stations connected to amateur radios can be broadcasted.
Ham radios are vehicles for communication. They provide a platform for the exchange of information or data in emergency situations or in disasters. The amateur radio service is founded on a pledge that includes public service, and radio amateurs, the "hams" who use the equipment, are sometimes the only links between zones of destruction and the "outside" world. The ham radio is also a bridge connecting people and making them friends. Signals from even the smallest equipments can cross national boundaries, and hams are resistant "staying in their own back yards" when the atmospheric conditions are right (and when they aren't!). The radio amateur mans his ham radio and literally has the world at his fingertips. A ham radio is an increasingly sophisticated piece of technology, but it calls the user, the ham operator, to learn and improve on his technical knowledge and skill. Ham radio operators are asked to learn about the science behind their hobby, and to study to increase their understanding of the principles on which the humble ham radio works. The ham radio is a tool that a technically equipped individual can use to warn of or report on bad situations, bring people closer together, and open the eyes to a larger world.
Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called "hams," use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training. But we still don't know the origin of the word HAM.
Bad ham radio. Bad !