How useful would amateur radio knowledge be in an extended power outage or natural disaster?
How useful would amateur radio knowledge be in an extended power outage or natural disaster?
I have recently become more aware of and generally interested in electronics and amateur radio, and it got me thinking. What advantage, if any, would there be to having amateur radio experience, over a simple disaster crank radio/flashlight, in the event of a major natural disaster or some other emergency that leads to a longer delay in power being restored? For the sake of argument, let’s assume you have a generator or battery bank to supply your own electricity.
You're viewing a single thread.
Honestly I think it depends. I've got my license and the only people I've really contacted have been old farts in the surrounding communities. Ham radio has a ton of potential but I think a limiting factor people aren't thinking about is who is going to be on the other side that is actually capable of helping you.
That being said it's an option you didn't have before and the barrier to entry is pretty low in terms of effort and cost so I say give it a shot!