Amateur radio enthusiasts bring communication security to big events | News

When it comes to major events – good or bad – communication is key.
Take, for example, this past weekend’s Alton Blakley 5K Run/Walk to Beat Breast Cancer. How do people along a route that long know that everything is okay at all times?
Enter the Lake Cumberland Amateur Radio Association, a group of ham radio operators that kept in contact with each other throughout the event.
There were several stations along the course, as well as someone in the vehicle that was following the final walkers. A main communications station sat near the start/finish line, manned by Mike McRoberts and other members of the association.
McRoberts would periodically check in with each station along the route to make sure all was going well.
“If a runner trips and falls and gets injured, if they’re requesting help, one of our checkpoints should see it and be able to call it in. We would let somebody from the race know.”
That would mean getting word out to medical personnel quickly, explained association member Don Munsey. Calling into the mobile command station means McRoberts or someone could get in touch with the ambulance that is on hand in case of such emergencies.
“It saves time. It’s almost instantaneous,” Munsey said.
This was the second year for the Lake Cumberland Amateur Radio Association to assist at the Alton Blakley event, and the group has provided communications for other events such as races or last month’s Lake Cumberland Air Show.
But their reach is not limited to Pulaski County, they explain.
“I have literally bounced a radio signal off of the moon and communicated with a radio station in Europe,” radio operator Ron Simpson said. “It wasn’t my station (here). I was a guest at somebody else’s, but I got to do it. And that was a blast.”
Munsey said such signals are called EME communication – Earth-Moon-Earth.
“With a radio like this,” Simpson said, holding up said radio device, “we can talk to a satellite orbiting the planet and talk to somebody in another state.”
It’s even possible to talk with someone on the International Space Station, the group said, although that takes a little more luck and, as McRoberts said, a little more “oomph.”
Talking to people out of this world may seem alluring, but it’s the communications that can happen on the ground that makes amateur radio a potential lifesaver.
“Amateur radio operators supply emergency communications in the event of disasters,” Munsey said. “This (the 5K race) is theoretically a training process for us radio operators and the new operators on how to operate equipment in the event of an emergency or something like that.”
Simpson added, “If it hits the fan, a big natural event – hurricane, tornado, tsunami – infrastructure will be gone, as far as AC power. Police and fire communications may be impaired. But the way we operate, we operate on handhelds and batteries.”
Such communication comes in handy during events like Hurricane Helene from a couple of weeks ago, and amateur radio operators in the south are already gearing up to help for the upcoming Hurricane Milton, expected to make landfall Wednesday night.
One Florida media outlet even highlighted ham radio operators in the shadow of the approaching storm, putting out an article headlined “Amateur radio operators vital as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton.”
“Last week, 70% of all the communications in and out of that was by way of ham radio,” Simpson said of the wake of Hurricane Helene. “They had no electricity, no cell phones, no police radio … they were dead in the water.”
And what is the power of providing communication out of a disaster zone? Simpson said that amateur radio operators can take the information from someone within the zone, getting their name, their relative’s contact info and a message from them, then send it on to a ham radio operator in their family’s hometown. That way, people can let their family know they are safe.
“They’ll call the mother, or they’ll go to the house saying ‘Your family is okay,’” Simpson said.
But it’s not just during emergencies that they communicate with each other, Munsey said. They will also talk to each other throughout the week, and even have scheduled check in times throughout a week where everyone will talk with each other.
While other members of the Lake Cumberland association were explaining their roles, McRoberts was on the radio, announcing that the last of the 5K participants had returned to the finish line and that the mobile unit was “breaking down” for the day.
“Thanks to anybody’s who’s out there helping,” McRoberts told the airwaves, “and those who weren’t for standing by and not trying to get through.”
“This is the greatest hobby in the world because it’s virtually unlimited,” Simpson said. “People have fancy cars for hobbies. This hobby can get as expensive as a fancy car. But can also be as cheap as a $25 radio you can buy on Amazon.”
The Lake Cumberland Amateur Radio Association holds meetings every fourth Monday of the month around 7 p.m. at the First Christian Church on Ky. 39. Anyone interested in learning more about this hobby is welcome to join.
The group also has a Facebook page with more information.
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