Ham radio serves in Katrina's path
Ham radio might be one of the oldest peer-to-peer technologies, but it still is an effective one. With most normal communications channels out of commission in the Gulf Coast, it's proving to be one way for people to keep in touch, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The article reports that the Red Cross has requested about 500 amateur radio operators to serve in 260 shelters it is erecting in the area and that the U.S. Coast Guard is looking for hams to help with its relief efforts.
The ham radios continue to operate while cell phones with 504 and 985 area codes will continue to experience difficulties, even when operated out of the disaster area, because incoming calls, at least, must be routed through central switches in the disaster zone. An article in Slate indicates the difficulties in getting such phones to work properly: first, changing area code would require a time-consuming per-phone code swap, and second, telephone companies are reluctant reroute the entire 504 and 985 area-code exchanges because of the chance of interfering with rescue workers' cell phones that are still working.
Of course, ham radio still isn't getting a lot of respect. The Journal article quotes a Motorola manager saying, "Something is better than nothing…But ham radios are pretty close to nothing."
Are we too reliant on new technologies and too quick to abandon old ones? Post a comment.
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