The Philip B. Peterson Collection Broadcast October 8, 1988

     The world of amateur radio.  I'm Phil Petersen.  My call letters are W2DME and I'm from Middletown, New Jersey.
     Today we'll speak about amateur radio communications as regards to emergency operations.  The hurricane Gilbert made a devastating strike on the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean.  Various relief organizations were trying to find out the needs of the people on the island.  It turned out that amateur radio was practically the only means of communication within the island and with the outside world.
     "Any word that we might have on the conditions and you have a formal inquiry about a Red Cross station.  We happen to be a Red Cross station here in Kansas City.  The call of the station at the Red Cross in Jamaica is VP5RA if you happen to hear that station on.  This is WØRR."
     The stations you just heard were operating on the 20-meter amateur radio band during the week.  They were handling thousands of messages in and out of Jamaica, largely all relief; coordinating traffic information, relief supplies from various organizations such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Kiwanis Club and many other groups who were trying to respond to the need to relieve suffering in Jamaica.
     There are a lot of local emergency situations that occur in this area.  We have our hurricanes usually at this time of the year and we're always organized to do those types of things.  For instance, in Monmouth County here we have what we call the Monmouth County RACES organization operated by the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management.  Most of the little boroughs and little cities or towns in the county have their own emergency groups and Office of Emergency Management.  I'm from Middletown, New Jersey and we have a group of about 20 active radio amateurs who drill at least once a week every Monday night, handling messages and trying to respond for emergency communications.
     I don't want to forget the regular traffic nets that originally started from the American Radio Relay League to have a group who are handling traffic, mostly health and welfare type information and good wishes and things.  They do this daily on various nets on different frequencies throughout all the United States and its possessions.

 October 8, 1988

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

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