'You're on standby for Lockerbie' - volunteers recall their role after Pan Am bombing Amateur radio enthusiasts found themselves acting as a link between emergency crews.

An article mentioning the #rsgb #Raynet has popped up on the #BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #hamradio

A view of my "office" this morning. #RAYNET

Original post on digipres.club

Are there any RAYNET-UK folks following? Curious what's involved.
I've been asked if I'd help out with a night-walk type event that's coming up, and.. I dunno, it's feeling like I'd be chucking £200 on trains, food and accom to stand at the side of the road in a hi-vis and not really do anything […]

So, we've arrived on this platform, who else is out there? #RAYNET #EmergencyPlanning

The front of a handheld radio with a digital display showing a frequency for a local repeater in Torbay, Devon. The model of radio is a Yaesu FT5D. Amateur Radio is a technical hobby enjoyed by around 3 million people worldwide. There should be no reason why a person with limited vision could not enjoy the ham radio hobby as many radios have buttons that allow the frequency and other information to be given audibly. Amateur radio has many options such as sending data from a PC over the airwaves which can be read on screens at both ends, so hearing and speech are not essential. While the hand held radio displayed mostly works via line of sight, it can connect via a repeater to the internet and allow a user, say, in Devon, England, to speak (or just listen) to users across the country or around the world, including USA, Australia and New Zealand. HF radios, with larger antennas, can be operated from home, from a stationary vehicle, or in a field somewhere. I have done all of the above. In order to become a licenced radio amateur it is necessary to pass an exam. There are 3 levels and although the first is fairly straight forward, thehigher levels are much more technical. Recently, it has become possible to take these online from home. It is a great hobby with a history going back over 100 years. There are many clubs around the UK and elsewhere and most towns have one. Some enjoy operating 'portable' from national parks. They call it POTA (Parks on the Air). Amateur radio can keep you in touch locally or over a distance. And, as the subject of this post mentions, can be a great last resort in an emergency. In fact there are voluntary organisations that do just that. In UK it is the Radio Amateurs Emergency Network (Raynet). In USA it's ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service). As a licenced amateur you can pass messages for emergency services when required. Or you can just chat about your garden or the weather. See: Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB)

If the phone network and internet goes down.. get me on UHF. #hamradio #resilience #amateurradio #rsgb #raynet #emergencycommunications

@stux Me, camped at Imbil for a horse endurance ride when the alarm on the phone rings at 1:30AM to get me up for a 2AM start… when I only went to bed at 10PM the previous night (and got up early _that_ day too).

(Anyone in #WICEN #AREC #RAYNET or does #EmergencyComms etc will understand…)