Les Jones

News > Ham Radio Operators Needed

A local ham radio group is helping its members learn what they need to know to help with disaster relief and emergencies.

Knox County's ham radio community gathered Tuesday to talk about expansion, both in its number of members and duties.

When power supplies go down, ham radio becomes the primary form of communication. Because of recent homeland security efforts, the hurricanes, and other natural disasters, the demand for ham amateur radio operators exceeds the supply at times.

Here's something I wrote about ham radio in the wake of Katrina. If you're like me and are interested in learning the basics of ham radio, visit Ham Test Online. I sat down and took the entry-level Technician quiz and did pretty well just because I have a basic understanding of electronics and circuits. The test intersperes lessons with the questions and shows you the correct answers if you get them wrong, so you can learn by taking the test. The Technician level qualification doesn't require any Morse code.