Amateur Radio Club Drills for Emergency Preparedness

by Jane Courtney

Whether it’s ravaging floods, raging fire or a devastating earthquake, vital information on the incident will be made available to emergency personnel and the public when amateur radio operators power up their communication system.

In Sonoma Valley there is a group of dedicated volunteers who, will stop what they’re doing and immediately gather at a location where there are good radio signals. Within three hours they will be transmitting knowledge of rescue operations; evacuations, damaged roadways; status of food, water and medical supplies; and victims’ welfare, among other data.

The Valley of the Moon Amateur Radio Club (VOMARC) has about 50 local members, all licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to operate high, ultra high and very high frequency radios (including Morse code) to assist in disasters.

On Saturday June 23, about a dozen VOMARC members arrived early in the morning on a hilly location known as Camp Via in Eldridge for a field-day drill.

The men were there to compete in an event known as an emergency communications exercise. It was a contest among amateur radio operators throughout the United States and Canada to see which club could make the most contacts in a 24-hour period.

“This is the amateur radio stations’ event of the year. It’s where we get to go out and play,” said Craig McCormick, club member.

“Play” started with hard work as members set up a 30-foot portable tower for their antenna. The guy wires had to be secured so the wind didn’t knock the tower down, and one man, Darrel Jones, had to fire a line for an antenna over trees towering as high as 100 feet using a hand-made compressed air launcher.

Club members all had their individual tasks and completed them by 11 a.m. -  the official start of the contest.

For the next 24 hours, at their four stations, the men took turns making radio contacts with stations all over the country and in Canada. Each contact was logged in a computer for verification.

“The idea of emergency preparedness is that in a disaster ham radio operators would be your communication,” Jones said. The more prepared they are, the better the chances of providing life-saving information. The yearly contest helps them hone their skills.

By 11 a.m. Sunday morning, the club had made 911 contacts that Jones said, "covered all but three sections of the U.S. and Canada. This was the highest score VOMARC has achieved.”

The field-day drill isn’t the only practice the club gets. Monthly, members provide demonstrations at Skypark Airport on Eighth Street East on the second Sunday when airplane pilots give free rides for youngsters.

Club members stay in touch with each other at their monthly meetings and by newsletters.

Also, in the spring the club sets up operations at the Veterans Memorial Building on First Street West for their annual Hamfest, a public demonstration of their ham radio operation.

For more information contact Eileen@vom.com.