Amateur Radio Operators and Emergency Measures Operations

Hams are an Indispensable Element of any Disaster Team

Hams, or Radio Amateurs, as they like to be called, are people - both men and women – from every walk of life with one thing in common – they have a passion radio communication.

There are over 45,000 Hams in Canada, and over 4000 of them reside right here in the Maritimes.

Hams are often associated with communication that uses Morse code – a system of dots and dashes. You may have heard that Morse code is no longer being used as a method of communication aboard commercial ships or our Canadian Navy vessels, and with the sophistication of modern radio communications – cell and satellite phones – one might justifiably ask the question: "What can Hams do that the average person on the street of Halifax can’t do when it comes to radio communication?" After all, Hams just use Morse code to communicate, don’t they? If that is what you think, then perhaps you should read on.

To read the full story click on:  Amateur Radio and EMO (PDF format)