HAMs clued me in when the power was out

[Texas T]

A week or so ago when we lost power to about 100K people in SE Texas I was in the dark along with everyone else. The phone at Entergy was constantly busy so I figured it was a pretty big outage.

I grabbed my old scanner, loaded it up with some batteries, and started hitting the freqs. First stop was the AM stations and no one, even the news/sports channels, were talking about it so I hit the Public Service bands.

Sure enough, I came across some HAMs on a battery powered repeater talking about what was going on. I got more info from 10 min of listening to them than what I had attempted to find out in the previous 30 minutes.

So if you're a HAM, it might not be just other HAMs out there that are listening and learning. Thanks.

[uhlawpup]

We are glad to be of service, Texas T, because service is part of our hobby, and has been since its inception nearly 100 years ago.

Of course, what you hear may not always be completely accurate, so, consider the source, but we do try to only transmit information that we know to be true.

We appreciate your acknowledgement of our efforts.

[Glock Bob]

Scanner? We don't need no stinkin' scanner! :)

Why not get yourself a Ham ticket so you can chew the fat and maybe even help out in an emergency?

[Texas T]

Originally posted by Glock Bob
Why not get yourself a Ham ticket so you can chew the fat and maybe even help out in an emergency? I've considered it; I've done the online testing and passed quite a few questions with the limited knowledge that I have so I don't see it as much of a challenge to get my ticket.

My dad was a HAM and I've had a microphone in my hands since I was about 5 yrs old, and I was fluent in Morse when I was in 2nd grade as I got a practice set for Xmas and my dad and I would xmit back and forth between rooms.

The downside is that I have way more hobbies/interests than I have time/money as it is. Even if I were to win the Lotto I doubt that I could participate in as many activities as I would like.

[00Buck]

If you have Skywarn spotters in your area it is the best place to find severe weather information too. They are the guys out in the field watching and reporting back to the National Weather Service. More info at:

http://www.skywarn.org/