A post-hurricane disaster needs assessment published this past fall by the Government of Dominica points up the significance of Amateur Radio’s role in the relief and recovery effort on the tiny Caribbean island nation in the wake of Hurricane Maria last September. It also calls for expanding the pool of radio amateurs on the island who could help in future disasters. The report, Commonwealth of Dominica Post-Disaster Needs Assessment — Hurricane Maria, September 18, 2017, noted that all telecommunication services on Dominica except for Amateur Radio were disabled from September 19 to 21. Some 30 cellular sites were destroyed or severely damaged, and the fiber-optic backbone was severed in several locations, leading to a nationwide loss of connectivity, the report said. In addition to the private telecommunications networks, “an emergency communications network consisting of Amateur Radio operators is supposed to exist within the purview of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC),” the report pointed out.”
The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment concluded that Hurricane Maria caused nearly $931 million in damage, plus losses of more than $380 million — which, according to the report, amounts to 226% of Dominica’s 2016 gross domestic product (GDP).
“The interruption of telecommunication services had a significant negative human impact as Dominica was almost cut off from the outside world for 3 days. Communities within Dominica were isolated from one another,” said the report, which was published last November 15.
The needs assessment said that “a sparse Amateur Radio network” suffering from a lack of trained operators and back-up power, plus “a few satellite phones” delivered information “required for critical relief and rescue activities.”
“The Government should rehabilitate the ECN (Emergency Communications Network) by offering training to persons interested in becoming Amateur Radio operators nationwide, with the goal of having a licensed Amateur Radio operator in every community with an emergency shelter,” the report recommended.
The report also proposed that emergency shelters and the EOC be equipped with Amateur Radio and/or a satellite phone, “so that contact may be quickly established during or after a storm.” The report also recommended that the government of Dominica “develop a plan for the operation and maintenance of the network long term, including replacement of equipment, training of operators and activation procedures for the network in case of an emergency.”
In the short term, the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment advised, rehabilitation of the existing National Emergency Communications Network should include the purchase of Amateur Radio equipment, including repeaters, as well as satellite phones and “other technology required for the network.”
The Yasme Foundation, Yaesu USA, the Foundation for Amateur International Radio Service (FAIRS), and individual GoFundMe donors joined forces last fall to restore country-wide Amateur Radio communication on Dominica in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Private pilots Brian Machesney, K1LI, and Dave Bridgham, N1AHF, transported a planeload of Amateur Radio gear, relief equipment, and supplies as part of an effort to better prepare the small Caribbean island nation for future disasters. — Thanks to Brian Machesney, K1LI
Source:ARRL
VHF
Unbox the Radioddity GD-77
Unboxing the not-yet-released Radioddity GD-77, their “try again” DMR Tier 1/Tier 2 radio. I describe many of the promised features. It… Read more
VGC VR-6600PRO
Product Description Place of Origin Fujian, China (Mainland) Brand Name VGC Model Number VR-6600PRO Type Vehicle Mouted Dimensions 157 X 66 X 33.5mm F… Read more
2017 BaoFeng DMR Upgraded Version! BaoFeng DM-5R PLUS Dual Band DMR Digital Radio 2000mAH
BaoFeng DM-5R PLUS Transceiver Compatible with Motorola VHF/UHF 136-174/400-480Mhz 2000mAH High Capacity Battery High Power/Low power Repeater Mode Ti… Read more
Antenna
A Super J-Pole Antenna for the 4m (70Mhz)
A Super J-Pole Antenna for the 70Mhz (4m) Amateur band. The Vortex ‘Super J-Pole’ Antenna consists of a five eighth wave vertical radiator, a half wav… Read more
C31XR-JK Tribander 10/15/20m – Re-Designed, Optimized & Improved
The C31XR-JK (Tribander) has been re-designed, optimized & Improved from the very popular Force 12 Tribander of all times for contesters and Dx… Read more
500 mW on 7 MHz with the Wadetenna
Testing the Wadetenna on 7 MHz SSB. Only 500 milliwatts was used instead of the usual 5 watts. Contacts up to about 500km, mostly to portable stations… Read more
Equipment
W-SDRX1 High Performance SDR Receiver
The W-SDRX1 is a super wide-band USB SDR Receiver which offers incredible performance across its operating range of 100KHz to 2GHz. It has two antenna… Read more
LDG – AT-1000ProII – Antenna Tuner
LDG – AT-1000ProII – Antenna Tuner Building on the success of the AT-1000Pro, LDG Electronics has refined and expanded its flagship 1KW t… Read more
The Racal RA3712 Professional Receiver
Racal RA3712 “The Racal RA3712 is a relatively hard to come by professional receiver. It was widely used by the Royal Navy, but certainly found… Read more
ELAD SPF-08 HF PRESELECTOR
Switchable Preselector Filter Board for FDM SDRs ELAD SPF-08 is switchable pre-selector board that allows selection between 8 configurable filters. Us… Read more
Review
Debut of the TYT MD-2017 Dual Band DMR HT
Double the fun of digital ragchews with the TYT MD-2017 Dual Band DMR Digital Two Way Radio! The MD-2017 takes the clarity and full quieting of digita… Read more
Unboxing the BITX40 SSB QRP 40-Meter Kig
“I learned about the BitX-40 from Randy, K7AGE’s unboxing video and immediately placed an order. It arrived today a few weeks after I plac… Read more
All WX Solar Powered Amateur Radio Field Station
“In today’s video I’d like to discuss the concept of a solar-powered field station for amateur radio emergency communications… Read more
Home-Brew HF SDR Receiver by G0ETP
Key Features There are a lot of home brew SDR-related projects on the internet at the moment. I believe the key features of this project are: Small bu… Read more
App – Mobile
OpenHPSDR Radio – Android App
Check this new app on Google Play Software Defined Radio. Supports the following hardware: HPSDR Atlas based systems using Metis. HPSDR Hermes… Read more
Satellite Explorer Pro – IOS App
‘Satellite Explorer Pro’ is a tool for tracking satellites in real time. It is not a game. Be sure to visit the support web site http://ww… Read more
Training fast CW on Android (Koch method)
The user starts by recognizing only two letters, M and K, at high speed (at least 20WPM) on a 5 minutes session. When she or he will be able… Read more
US Amateur Radio Band Plan for Android
US Amateur Radio Band Plan A clean native app that’s sole purpose is to provide amateur radio operators a simple and easy to use f… Read more