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.