Amateur radio operators go beyond call of duty

Neil McDonald, a trained Amateur Radio Emergency Core member at the Kapiti Coast District Council Civil Defence radio controls. Photo / Dick Collins

Radio amateurs, nicknamed hams, are a vital component of public safety, writes Dick Collins.

Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Land Search and Rescue and medical personnel immediately come to mind when people think of emergency responders, and for good reason.

They are highly trained, highly skilled professionals who put their lives on the line in times of natural or human-caused disasters.

For government agencies, an essential link consists of dispatch crews that garner information and quickly get the word out about trouble spots.

That critical function gets a huge assist from a dedicated group of specialists who perform a key role on the airwaves.

They are members of the amateur radio organisation [New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters Inc] skilled in radio operation procedures and knowledgeable on the deployment of radio communications and whose members form the Amateur Radio Emergency Core or AREC.

The AREC was born out of the amateur radio fraternity in 1932 after the Napier earthquake. Its mission was to train radio operators in providing reliable message handling over the length of New Zealand for any type of emergency.

Their members come from all active clubs throughout New Zealand and answer callouts as and when required no matter the time or day.

Kāpiti is well represented by such dedicated people drawn from the very active Kapiti Amateur Radio Society, which is now a charity.

These people not only provide communications for Land SAR but they are also operate the Civil Defence radio network on behalf of the Kāpiti Coast District Council on a regular basis ensuring communications are operational when needed.

Another function they serve is to operate the WandaTrak beacon location radio available to Kāpiti residents. This is a voice for those who can't call out in response to searchers.

WandaTrak is an electronic beacon carried by people with disabilities such as autism, dementia, and Alzheimer's. These people might wander away from their place of residence, be it a private home or a retirement home.

When they are reported missing local dedicated amateurs get called out by the police to assist police in locating the missing person so they can be returned to their place of residence.

Amateurs are a trained pool of experience radio operators vital to communications in troubled times.

A question that regularly arises is why are amateur radio people called hams?

I refer you to the origin on the following website as the interesting story is too long to tell here.

Briefly it was the surname initials of the people who set up the first ham radio station at Harvard. They were Albert S Hyman, Bob Almy, Poogie Murray.

The term ham was the term used in the congressional committee hearing about licensing to differentiate it from commercial radio licensees.

https://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/origin-of-ham.htm