The San Francisco Chronicle reports old-time ham radio operators are the go-to communicators in earthquake prep drill
The newspaper says:
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Skip Fedanzo was expecting an 8.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Assuming his Corte Madera home doesn’t go sliding down Ring Mountain, Fedanzo was set to make his way past his cell phone, laptop and landline, heading to his garage for the only communication method he can count on to be still working — a ham radio.
Setting up in his rocking chair, at a window with a view stretching from Mount Tamalpais to the bay, Fedanzo’s plan has him pushing the power button to announce: "This is Skip, KJ6ARL; is anybody out there?” That brings a response from any or all of 15 ham operators spread from Novato to Point Reyes Station — and Operation Golden Eagle, an orchestrated region-wide emergency response exercise, will be on the air.
The simulation involves five Bay Area counties, where emergency service professionals exchange requests for information and resources after the presumed disaster. But only Marin among the five counties are operating without internet or cell phone capabilities. Instead, Marin is employing a network of amateur radio hobbyists who call themselves Radio Communications Volunteers. Acting under supervision of the Marin County Department of Public Works, RCV is providing vital communications between the emergency operations center and community-based organizations that serve the most vulnerable residents.
The goal is to have the county Board of Supervisors certify RCV as part of its official emergency response. The idea is that early 20th century technology — antenna to antenna, without reliance on cell towers, satellite dishes or cables — will be a vital tool when 21st century technology stops working, which Fedanzo expects to happen the moment the real disaster hits.
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