Hams step into communication void

By Rod Jones

(Created: Thursday, December 13, 2007)

If there was ever an example of the importance of Ham radios, the storms last week were it.

When all other forms of two-way communication crashed for more than a day, Ham operators stepped in to fill a vital role in emergency response. Seaside and most parts of the county not only lost landline phone service, but also cell phone service. Even the 9-1-1 service was out for about a day, a service considered so important that a few minutes of its absence sends chills up the spines of emergency responders.

Dozens of Ham radio operators took to the airwaves to fill the communications void during the strongest part of the storm, helping to keep some order to an otherwise chaotic situation.


One local Ham has been preaching the Ham gospel for the past couple years. Jeff Holwege, one of the founders of a new local amateur radio club called WA7VE, credited the local Ham radio operators for their quick and critical response.

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