I may be going to the inauguration after all. Not for the sake of going to the inauguration, but to help with communications. The planners have asked for Amateur Radio operators to provide communications on the Mall and coordinating charter buses and shuttle buses for the event. Since Frederick County's Amateur Radio Emergency Coordinator will be out of town that week, I volunteered to round up volunteers from the county, finally living up to my title as Assistant Emergency Coordinator.
I really haven't been given a lot of details on exactly what they want us to do, but regardless, this is a big event that will create communications gridlock. Ham radio operators are unique in that they understand how their radios work and they are frequency agile, not limited to specific channels. Combine that with message and traffic handling skills that many hams bring with them, and you get a good situation. I think the hard part will be getting folks to volunteer to go to Washington DC on inauguration day!
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2 comments:
Hi Joseph,
I picked up on your blog post while looking for Ham inaugural opportunities and I wonder if you could point me in the right direction. I am more curious about what emergency/coordination system will be in place but I am also more than willing to have my own radio on hand to help out. I have been studying in D.C. for a while now, but have yet to join in with any particular club. Any advice is much appreciated.
-KE7009, Allie
I got the task from Steve Beckman, N3SB, the Maryland & DC ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator, his contact information is on: http://www.arrl.org/sections/MDC.html. He got his request from KB3KKY, but I don't have good contact information for him other than his FCC address, which is in the District.
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