It's doubtful that you haven't been affected by the recent hurricanes, no matter where you reside.  Here in the Upstate of South Carolina-we were indeed touched by Irma and in this episode of the Ham Radio 360 Podcast, I share some of my lessons learned.

Following that, I break the news that as of this episode, #87, I will be taking a much needed vacation from the Podcast grind.  The Workbench and Field Radio Podcast will stay on schedule-but HR360 is hanging up the vacation sign and going away for a bit.  3+ years of creating content and full-on engagement has taken a toll on my balance of life so I've decided to step away, with a potential return in January 2018.  A big thanks to all who helped take a 'joke' and turn into 'something'!

The recent storms seemed to reignite the ever-smoldering embers of Ham Radio's place in EMCOMM.  No surprise to see the many hams out in force debating the relevance of Amateur Radio in an Emergency.  Since we've never settled the no-code or Chi-com debates....what's another to continue to divide the community--I guess we really are a reflection of society after all!

Just a few days after Irma brought strong winds and heavy rain to the farm, I took my seat at the front of the room for the local ARES meeting.  I believe that communications is King (especially in today's tech-centric world)!  I also believe that Amateur Radio should have a place in the local communications response to emergent situations or times of duress.  Finally, I believe that Ham Radio will NOT save the world; but it is a great tool to have if and when something goes wrong. period.  A few months ago the local ARES-EC asked me to help get the ball rolling here in Spartanburg County, SC.  We'll see what happens, right now it's trending positive.  The upcoming GridEX Exercise will be a stretch for our group-but I think we'll weather it well.

The last 86+ episodes have offered many solutions to EMCOMM issues as well as introducing many aspects of the Hobby that some of us have never heard mentioned on the local 2m repeater.  If you are a new listener, I invite you to page back through our catalog of shows, pick something you're interested in and give it a spin.  If you've been here a while, thanks for sticking around!

Thanks again for listening!

73 Y'all,

Caleb Nelson/K4CDN

 Show Mentions and Links

HamRadio Spartanburg-ARESGridEX IV-November 15th 2017 (PDF)Spaghetti Models- Mikes Weather PageField Radio Podcast- You Need the Feed!