Noise killing AM radio

"And then you can attend meetings, where grey hared white guys can argue about what color the group embroidered polo shirts will be. Important, life saving stuff like that.. "

I am pretty sure I am being trolled. I can only assume the poster has never operated in an EOC during an emergency.

Nope, not trolling, making an accurate statement. The facts are that amateur radio hobbyists that are part of these groups, typically are only interested in forming what amounts to an exclusive club and their uniforms therein, than actually being useful when needed. And believe it or not, I'm a ham too.

The facts are that here in the U.S., I've discovered that neither groups have a document-able track record of participating in events like the terrible flooding in Texas or the Midwest this past year. 99% are nothing but a lot of talk and bluster.

Most of the individual radio amateurs that actually step into help when needed, are not ones involved in these organizations.

Radio-X said:

with a decent ham radio and my tried and true black powder rifle than an AM/FM radio and a cache of weapons.
Radio-X

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For the average citizen, however, getting a halfway decent AM radio (even a used Sony Walkman) is a much better SHTF-event emergency information medium, especially at night when regional reception comes in. After that, it would be whichever local broadcasters remain on the air.

Kelly A said:

The facts are that here in the U.S., I've discovered that neither groups have a document-able track record of participating in events like the terrible flooding in Texas or the Midwest this past year. 99% are nothing but a lot of talk and bluster.

Most of the individual radio amateurs that actually step into help when needed, are not ones involved in these organizations.

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I'm going to follow up to punctuate my previous statement: With the flooding and evacuations around the failing dam near Oroville, CA. this week, none, and I mean zero of the ARES or RACES groups did squat. In fact, none of the regional EAS and CAP systems were activated as part of the warnings or evacuation process via local stations.

You'd think with all the bluster, meetings, and supposed preparation that ARES and RACES groups do, that this would be a perfect time to jump in and make a difference. True to form though, it's all nothing more than reasons to have meetings, make hot air, talk about health problems, and generally BS. Clearly none of the local EM's or law enforcement services in the Northern California areas affected, saw any value in services broadcast or amateur radio groups provide.

Kelly A said:

I'm going to follow up to punctuate my previous statement: With the flooding and evacuations around the failing dam near Oroville, CA. this week, none, and I mean zero of the ARES or RACES groups did squat.

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Partly because up until a day ago, the officials connected with the dam denied there was a problem. It's like one minute, they're saying everything is under control, the next minute, they're evacuating 100K people. This is not a drill. Obviously someone was asleep at the switch.

I don't know what the exact status of RACES/ARES is in the area, but if it is RACES it cannot self-activate. Since one the missions is 'observe and report' then I suspect that in the excitement, the authorities forgot what a resource they had. BTW, I asked under what conditions we in Southern California might self-activate, I was told 'You'll know' This meant that our RACES group was on the air immediately after every shake. It depends on the group and the expectations.

Previous poster asked about activation during the Oroville Dam incident. Just got the ARRL newsletter. ARES in three counties activated to provide support.

That's great, what did they do? "Activated", could be running to the door with the uniform on and wait for further instructions.

Sorry for the late reply. My recollection from the article was supporting the shelters and reporting shelter status to EOC. Communications at the EOC, and reporting on the traffic conditions during the evacuation. The full details should still be at ARRL.org.

Kelly A said:

That's great, what did they do? "Activated", could be running to the door with the uniform on and wait for further instructions.

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I can appreciate your cynicism because 95 percent of the time our CERT team is NOT needed. We're considered "second responders" that only get called in when first responders are stretched too thin. However we are certainly appreciated by the local community when we can give folks a warm meal, a place to sleep and information about the outside world.

Three types of 'Activate'.
1. Standby awaiting further instructions. Tsunami warning is in this category.
2. Observe and report. Go to a specific location or look around the neighborhood and tell us what you see - damage injuries, etc. Last activation like that was a flash flood. Question was (like the song) 'How high's the water ...' In a couple of cases the answer was 'somewhere between 10 and 20 feet'.
3. Full on activation. I once asked under what conditions in Southern California that might occur. The answer was 'You'll know'.

While not an official 'activation' we have been asked if we could support communications at a Red Cross shelter, a fire camp, and at the county EOC.

And I don't think I ever got an official T-Shirt in any color

BTW, I recommend that everyone who can take CERT !!!!