09/01/2023 ããVolunteers of ARRLÿ The National Association for Amateur Radio¨[1] were usingãtheir Amateur Radio Service license privileges to serve communities affected byãHurricane Idalia. Idalia made landfall Wednesday, August 30 on Florida's BigãBend region as a Category 3 storm sustaining winds of 125 miles per hour. Theãstorm tracked across Georgia and into South Carolina, and on Thursday morningãit had moved offshore of North Carolina.ããARRL volunteers staffed key positions across the affected region. SectionãEmergency Coordinator of theÿARRL Northern Florida Section[2]ÿArc Thames,ãW4CPD, led the activation ofÿAmateur Radio Emergency Service[3]¨ (ARES¨)ãvolunteers within the Section. Thames said the ARES volunteers would beãstaffing the radio room at the state Emergency Operation Center (EOC) untilã7:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 31 and will provide additional service if needed.ã"So far there does not appear to be a large communications impact that wouldãrequire amateur radio support," he said.ããTheÿFlorida Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet)[4]ÿwas the primaryãemergency communications system used during the storm. The system is a seriesãof linked UHF repeaters that covers the entire state. There were also HF netsãlinking counties to the state EOC.ããListen to this story in ARRL Audio News[5] (.mp3)ããIn a message to ARES leadership in the affected Sections, ARRL Director ofãEmergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, reminded them of gear at ARRLãHeadquarters that can be deployed if necessary. "We have equipment assets inãour Ham Aid program available to you for loan if you have a need to backfill.ãThese can be used during - long term recovery efforts as needed," wroteãJohnston.ããThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC)ÿapproved an ARRL-requestedãemergency waiver to HF symbol rate limits[6], to allow higher speed dataãcommunications in the Amateur Radio Service response to Hurricane Idalia.ÿReadãthe waiver[7]ÿ(PDF)ããMany counties in the ARRL Northern Florida Section were activated. SectionãManager Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, was at the Clay County EOC for 27 hours. "We hadãa good number of our Northern Florida counties activated, as well as otherãplaces in the state. There were four shelters open here in Clay County alone,"ãhe said. As of press time, Roberts said the final information was still beingãtallied, but he knew of activations Duvall, St. Johns, Escambia, Marion, andãLeon Counties.ããIn Ocala, the Marion County Emergency Radio Team (MERT) was activated toãsupport shelter operations on Tuesday, August 29. Marion County ARES was placedãon standby to support the MERT team and other served agencies. The county wasãspared the brunt of the impact. Marion County ARES Emergency Coordinator HaydenãKaufman, N2HAY, said the activation identified some opportunities forãimprovement in the area's disaster response. "We were very fortunate to haveãhad little to do. However, the activation provided us some insight on factorsãthat would impede communications in an emergency," he said.ããHam volunteers worked with the County Sheriff's office to ensure the amateurãradio equipment onboard the Marion County Mobile Command Center was fullyãoperational before it was deployed to Madison County, the area most heavilyãimpacted by the storm.ããKaufman thanked the many local volunteers for their service during theãhurricane. "I am personally proud to be a member of our increasingly tight-knitãEmComm community," he said.ããHurricane Watch Net[8]ÿ(HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the stormãcalled for "all hands on deck". Ahead of impact, the intensity and track of theãstorm greatly concerned him. "I have been watching and plotting hurricanes forãover 35 years. I have witnessed, many times, a Hurricane cross a state lineãinto another as a hurricane...two states were hit by the same hurricane. Neverãhave I seen a storm cross three States as a Hurricane," said Graves.ããTheÿWX4NHC amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center[9]ÿwas alsoãactive during the storm, as was theÿHurricane VoIP Net[10].ããAbout Amateur Radio and ARRLããAmateur Radio Service licensees use their training, skills, and equipment toãpractice radio communications and develop radio technology. Amateur RadioãOperators volunteer their qualifications and equipment for communications dutyãin public service and during emergencies. Amateur Radio also provides a basisãfor hands-on STEM education and pathways to careers.ããARRLÿ The National Association for Amateur Radio[11]¨ was founded in 1914 asãThe American Radio Relay League, and is a noncommercial organization of RadioãAmateurs. ARRL numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active RadioãAmateurs (or "hams") in the US and has a proud history of achievement as theãstandard-bearer in promoting and protecting Amateur Radio. For more informationãabout ARRL and Amateur Radio, visitÿwww.arrl.org[12].ããAbout ARES¨ããAmateur Radio Operators, or "hams," have a long history of serving theirãcommunities when storms or other disasters damage critical communicationãinfrastructure, such as cell phone towers and fiber optic networks. Amateurãradio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, andãa ham radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Amateurs canãquickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio andãpower source, and communicate effectively with others.ããThe ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service¨ (ARES¨ÿwww.arrl.org/ares[13])ãconsists of hams who have voluntarily registered their qualifications andãequipment with their local ARES leadership for communications duty in theãpublic service when disaster strikes. They use their training, skills, andãequipment to prepare for and provide communications during emergencies When AllãElse Fails¨.ããã[1] https://www.arrl.org/ã[2] http://www.arrl.org/groups/view/northern-floridaã[3] https://www.arrl.org/aresã[4] http://www.sarnetfl.com/ã[5] https://media.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/content.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/AAN-2023-09-01.mp3ã[6] https://www.arrl.org/news/hurricane-idalia-fcc-approves-arrl-petition-to-aid-emergency-communicationsã[7] http://arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/Hurricanes/2023/Idalia/FCC20waiver2023-784%2008_30_2023.pdfã[8] https://www.hwn.org/ã[9] https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/ã[10] https://voipwx.net/ã[11] https://www.arrl.org/ã[12] https://www.arrl.org/ã[13] http://www.arrl.org/aresãã---ã þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBSã