Audio clip
John Heard
DALTON, Ga. — For Dalton Amateur Radio Club members, ham radio is a passion — one that could prove valuable in a catastrophe.
John Heard, radio club member and an employee of Whitfield County Juvenile Court, said club members have ranged from elementary students to folks pushing 80. And they are lawyers, insurance salesmen, engineers, sheriff’s deputies — people from varied walks of life bound by an FCC amateur radio license.
The club has more than 40 members and gathers at least once a month to discuss the technology involved, which is extensive, such as bouncing signals off the moon or man-made satellites to communicate around the country or the world.
Mr. Heard said there also is bond between these tech savvy masters of radiowaves.
“I enjoy the fellowship you get from the local community and statewide,” he said. “You get to know these folks. It’s a lifestyle for some, kind of a subculture.”
Of course, it’s not all fun and fellowship. If a tornado rips power poles and cell towers up like toothpicks in mushy Georgia clay, operators still can use ham radios to communicate on battery power and generators.
Whitfield County Emergency Management Director Jeffrey Putnam has a ham radio license, and he said six emergency management workers also are licensed ham radio operators.
“Amateur radio operators are a vital part of our disaster response system locally, nationwide and worldwide,” Mr. Putnam said. “They would provide us a link to other parts of the community and state when, and if, we lose wireline, cellular or radio operability.”
Mr. Putnam said the three primary agencies that ham operators would contact in an emergency are the American Red Cross, Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
During bad weather, ham radio operators also participate in the Skywarn network in conjunction with the National Weather Service.
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