Subj : Hurricane Idalia: ARRL Amateur Radio Volunteers Serve
To   : QST
From : ARRL de WD1CKS
Date : Fri Sep 01 2023 10:12 pm

09/01/2023

Volunteers of ARRL� The National Association for Amateur Radio�[1] were using
their Amateur Radio Service license privileges to serve communities affected by
Hurricane Idalia. Idalia made landfall Wednesday, August 30 on Florida's Big
Bend region as a Category 3 storm sustaining winds of 125 miles per hour. The
storm tracked across Georgia and into South Carolina, and on Thursday morning
it had moved offshore of North Carolina.

ARRL volunteers staffed key positions across the affected region. Section
Emergency Coordinator of the�ARRL Northern Florida Section[2]�Arc Thames,
W4CPD, led the activation of�Amateur Radio Emergency Service[3]� (ARES�)
volunteers within the Section. Thames said the ARES volunteers would be
staffing the radio room at the state Emergency Operation Center (EOC) until
7:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 31 and will provide additional service if needed.
"So far there does not appear to be a large communications impact that would
require amateur radio support," he said.

The�Florida Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet)[4]�was the primary
emergency communications system used during the storm. The system is a series
of linked UHF repeaters that covers the entire state. There were also HF nets
linking counties to the state EOC.

Listen to this story in ARRL Audio News[5] (.mp3)

In a message to ARES leadership in the affected Sections, ARRL Director of
Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, reminded them of gear at ARRL
Headquarters that can be deployed if necessary. "We have equipment assets in
our Ham Aid program available to you for loan if you have a need to backfill.
These can be used during - long term recovery efforts as needed," wrote
Johnston.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)�approved an ARRL-requested
emergency waiver to HF symbol rate limits[6], to allow higher speed data
communications in the Amateur Radio Service response to Hurricane Idalia.�Read
the waiver[7]�(PDF)

Many counties in the ARRL Northern Florida Section were activated. Section
Manager Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, was at the Clay County EOC for 27 hours. "We had
a good number of our Northern Florida counties activated, as well as other
places in the state. There were four shelters open here in Clay County alone,"
he said. As of press time, Roberts said the final information was still being
tallied, but he knew of activations Duvall, St. Johns, Escambia, Marion, and
Leon Counties.

In Ocala, the Marion County Emergency Radio Team (MERT) was activated to
support shelter operations on Tuesday, August 29. Marion County ARES was placed
on standby to support the MERT team and other served agencies. The county was
spared the brunt of the impact. Marion County ARES Emergency Coordinator Hayden
Kaufman, N2HAY, said the activation identified some opportunities for
improvement in the area's disaster response. "We were very fortunate to have
had little to do. However, the activation provided us some insight on factors
that would impede communications in an emergency," he said.

Ham volunteers worked with the County Sheriff's office to ensure the amateur
radio equipment onboard the Marion County Mobile Command Center was fully
operational before it was deployed to Madison County, the area most heavily
impacted by the storm.

Kaufman thanked the many local volunteers for their service during the
hurricane. "I am personally proud to be a member of our increasingly tight-knit
EmComm community," he said.

Hurricane Watch Net[8]�(HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the storm
called for "all hands on deck". Ahead of impact, the intensity and track of the
storm greatly concerned him. "I have been watching and plotting hurricanes for
over 35 years. I have witnessed, many times, a Hurricane cross a state line
into another as a hurricane...two states were hit by the same hurricane. Never
have I seen a storm cross three States as a Hurricane," said Graves.

The�WX4NHC amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center[9]�was also
active during the storm, as was the�Hurricane VoIP Net[10].

About Amateur Radio and ARRL

Amateur Radio Service licensees use their training, skills, and equipment to
practice radio communications and develop radio technology. Amateur Radio
Operators volunteer their qualifications and equipment for communications duty
in public service and during emergencies. Amateur Radio also provides a basis
for hands-on STEM education and pathways to careers.

ARRL� The National Association for Amateur Radio[11]� was founded in 1914 as
The American Radio Relay League, and is a noncommercial organization of Radio
Amateurs. ARRL numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active Radio
Amateurs (or "hams") in the US and has a proud history of achievement as the
standard-bearer in promoting and protecting Amateur Radio. For more information
about ARRL and Amateur Radio, visit�www.arrl.org[12].

About ARES�

Amateur Radio Operators, or "hams," have a long history of serving their
communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication
infrastructure, such as cell phone towers and fiber optic networks. Amateur
radio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, and
a ham radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Amateurs can
quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and
power source, and communicate effectively with others.

The ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service� (ARES��www.arrl.org/ares[13])
consists of hams who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and
equipment with their local ARES leadership for communications duty in the
public service when disaster strikes. They use their training, skills, and
equipment to prepare for and provide communications during emergencies When All
Else Fails�.


[1] https://www.arrl.org/
[2] http://www.arrl.org/groups/view/northern-florida
[3] https://www.arrl.org/ares
[4] http://www.sarnetfl.com/
[5] https://media.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/content.blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/AAN-2023-09-01.mp3
[6] https://www.arrl.org/news/hurricane-idalia-fcc-approves-arrl-petition-to-aid-emergency-communications
[7] http://arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/Hurricanes/2023/Idalia/FCC20waiver2023-784%2008_30_2023.pdf
[8] https://www.hwn.org/
[9] https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/
[10] https://voipwx.net/
[11] https://www.arrl.org/
[12] https://www.arrl.org/
[13] http://www.arrl.org/ares

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