So, I went to my first HAM radio club meeting tonight. I didn't/don't know a whole lot about HAM, but I've kind of been interested in learning for a while. I know a couple of people have mentioned it, but I know, atleast for me, HAM seems a bit daunting if you don't know anything about it. But after tonight, I highly recommend cheking out HAM for people looking at alternative communications. First, HAM radio is already deeply integrated into emergency responce and preparedness with the local level authorities. The people at the club I went to talked about working with the sheriff's department, local hospital and red cross. They practice with them and are part of the contingency plans. Here they stay in practice by working bike and horse races in the summer so they know their network will work. Many radios are already battery operated and repeaters have battery back-up in case of power outage. Second, because HAM is so decentralized, it is a very stable system. During both the Sept. 11 attacks and hurricane Katrina, HAM radio operators were able to operate when the cellular telephone, 911 call centers and police radio systems were overwhelmed. One of the operators here in Laramie was able to field a call from someone in Louisianna during the hurricane, showing that even in wide spread devastation you still have the possibility of contacting someone outside of the disaster. Finally, while you do have to pass a test and get a liscence, a basic liscence is easy to get and doesn't have a morse code requirement just basic knowledge of radio protocal and frequencies. And if you do work up to an advanced license and learn morse code, you can build a kit radio which in the venerable tradition of PSKs fits in an Altoids tin: http://www.smallwonderlabs.com/

Just a few thoughts since I know comms are a concern in major and minor emergencies, and I was excited after going to the club's meeting.

yea and thet have simpled down alot of the lisence requirments.

check
Ham radio info

HAM really is a good thing for independent communication. Some modern transceivers are small enough to be EDC.
As I understand it the RockMite is a CW transceiver which means you´ll have to learn Morse to use it. IIRC you also need some periphery (e. g. antenna) which would not fit into the Altoids tin. The concept seems appealing anyway. I´m considering to build one as a DIY project in the wintertime.
On this side of the pond government people seem to be interested in having HAM operators around (they can be recruited to help in disasters). I made my license this year for 2m and 70cm. A recent change of regulation brought more options. They increased the permitted transmitted power and permited limited access to short wave.
I recommend to participate in contests and special activities. It helps to build experience and shows the limits of your equippment.

RE Small enough to EDC

I don't EDC any HF (aka LONG range gear), but I DO EDC three (yes THREE) HTs -

1 tribander - nice, small, a ok scanner, but sensitive to intermod
1 VHF "Commercial" style rig
1 UHF "Commercial" style rig
(and a spare battery for the 2 commecial rigs - 3 battery packs)

Me? Carry to much "stuff"? Nahhhhh

I added a commercial VHF/UHF dual band transceiver to my EDC. It can be connected to a GPSr via TinyTrac. The APRS tests are not suficient for a report yet. I usually use it with a pack of AA rechargeable batteries. This configuration yields about 0.5 W PEP. I had QSOs at a distance of about 20km with it and got 57 to 59 rapports. With the original rechargeable battery it has about 5W PEP. I got 59 rapports at a distance of about 40km with that.
The rig is about the size of a pack of cigarettes plus the antenna. It is protected against vibration and light rain.

APRS is quite cool - Look up KG2V (KC2IXE is my old call) - have a nice tracker box built into a 50 cal ammo can built around a tinytrack and an old Radioshack 2m rig I got for $10

As a section hiker on the Appalachian Trail I carry a
Yeasu VX-2R and a j-pole ant. as supplement...its not a lot of weight for backup communications and the spare batteries for this radio are super cheap and lightweight....I've had several contacts at suprising distances using the j-pole....better than nothing and its got weather alert.

With the signing of the 21st Century Emergency Communications Act" on October 4, 2006 one of the FCC's oldest services is now officially recognized as a member of the Emergency Communications community. Amateur Radio will be included in Regional Emergency Communications Working Groups that coordinate activities among all emergency communication entities.