Hamateur Hour: Radio operators prepare for total solar eclipse what-ifs
WARRICK CO., Ind. (WFIE) - With millions of eyes set to view the Great American Eclipse in just three weeks’ time, everyone in the path of totality is getting prepared.
From businesses to first responders, hands are full leading up to the big day. With all the eyes to the skies, phones almost certainly come attached.
Leaders say this can put extra strain on cell towers, and possibly cause them to collapse under the activity. But one organization in Warrick County is prepared if that happens.
“Hopefully the cell phone towers don’t have problems, but in the event, they do, they lag, they actually shut down, we’ll be able to communicate back to the EOC,” R.A.C.E.S. operator Chris Owen said.
Warrick County R.A.C.E.S., or the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, are a group of volunteer ham radio operators who are certified to be a vital line of defense in case of emergencies.
On April 8, Owen says they’ll be stationed in four different locations around the county.
“Anything we can take a picture of we can put into the computer, and we can use the computers along with the radios to transmit that information,” Owen said.
Warrick County Emergency Management Agency Director Matt Goebel says R.A.C.E.S. members are a vital part of the county’s emergency response.
If the grid were to go down, and cell towers with it, they’d likely be called upon to help communicate emergencies and work with first responders.
“We’ll be able to take the information, use ham radio, amateur radio, to communicate the system back,” Owen said. “We can cover all of Warrick County without any problem, and once again, if we need to go farther than that, we’ve got the capability of going outside of Warrick County.”
Owen says he’s talked with people from Australia to even Ukraine just a couple of weeks ago. A man who lives in the warzone got on the radio just to find out what was going on in the world.
“Hurricanes, wildfires in California, AT&T shutting down a couple of weeks ago, our ham radios still worked.” Owen said.
In addition to their reach, the trailer is also self-sufficient.
Solar panels, electric plug-ins, and if all else fails, they can pull car batteries out of cars and use it to power the trailer.
For more information about the R.A.C.E.S. organization, check out the Warrick County website.
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