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If you miss it, watch it here Panhandle Amateur Radio Club provides support during severe weather (newschannel10.com)
Published: May. 31, 2024 at 5:31 PM CDT
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – The Amateur Radio Club is a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing support across the Panhandle during severe weather and disasters.
“Those events can take out the infrastructure, communication infrastructure for first responders. We can fit a role and work side by side with first responders, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, local fire department EOC, and we can restore some communications during those events when everything else fails,” said Cory Elliott, public information officer for Panhandle Amateur Radio Club.
The Amateur Radio Club has over 45 radio operators trained in the Panhandle on emergency incident response. For more information on obtaining a ham radio license, click here.
“Cell towers are great don’t get me wrong, but if there’s an emergency event going on and too many people tried to use them, even if the towers are intact they clog the system up and you won’t be able to get a call through,” said Raymond Winter, extra class Amateur Radio Club operator.
Working with local emergency management and the National Weather Service, the club is able to communicate both locally and internationally to provide up-to-date information.
“We’re more agile with being able to communicate without infrastructure, whether that be on a little handheld to a couple of miles, to HF radio which will allow us to talk internationally,” said Elliott.