HAMS IN CALIFORNIA

BARSTOW  CA.
When hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, amateur radio operators rushed in to take over the crippled communication system left in the storms wake.
Sgt. Tim Lotspeich of the Barstow sheriff station, a licensed radio operator himself, watched and decided to adopt the old technology, HAM radios, into a new emergency-communication program in the High Desert.
Amateur radio, at least for the first couple of days, was the only reliable communication, Sgt. Lotspeich said of the Katrina disaster. And in the event of an emergency, we're really going to rely on volunteers with the proper license.
Lotspeich is recruiting Barstow residents, licensed to operate a short wave radio, to volunteer as part of an emergency-communication system. He said if the sheriff's regular radio system, dependent on mountain top repeater sites across the desert, were to go down, short wave, UHF and VHF radios would be the only way to communicate between the Trona, Baker and Barstow stations. Volunteers are needed to operate the radios, relaying and receiving communications sent through the ionosphere, while the sheriff's deputies assist with the emergency on the ground.
About a couple hundred people in Barstow have the proper license to operate a radio, Lotspeich said. He is hoping to get about 10 volunteers. During fires in the San Bernardino Mountains, amateur radio operators helped fire officials transmit communications.
This is new to us, but its been used and worked all over the country for decades, Lotspeich said.

Aaron Aupperlee

On July 11, the FCC released their Order regarding the recommendations of the independent panel reviewing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on communications networks (the Katrina Panel). It contained their conclusions following a review of the comments filed in response to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The Commission asked for comments a week after the release of the report and recommendations of the Katrina Panel and directed the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) to implement several of the recommendations. The FCC also adopted rules requiring some communications providers to have emergency/back-up power and to conduct analyses and submit reports on the redundancy and resiliency of their 911 and E911 networks. The FCC's
actions are to go into effect August 10.
The Commission noted that "the amateur radio community played an important role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters," and instructed the PSHSB to "include the amateur radio community in its outreach efforts."