One of the satisfying things about being a ham operator was

after the hurricane that clouted Puerto Rico a small group of hams flew in there and set up a few message centers and set up field operations.

Basically some of them worked about 20+hours a day, lived in ditches, smelled like goats and ate what they could scrape up. They were not paid a dime for doing this. 

I intercepted a couple of these and called the person's home to tell them that their loved ones were OK. What is interesting to note is that a couple of these were relayed to me from France and Cuba. I got three directly from Puerto Rico. Fortunately all five had good news. The loved ones were alive, uninjured and safe. I was also given their telephone contact information which was sent 'in the clear' which is pretty risky.

Two of the people were leery when I called them and probably rightfully so in this day and age. Scammers abound and they prey on people that are emotional basket cases as were most people that had loved ones in PR during the hurricane. A simple shortwave receiver would have been all it took to get the phone number of a concerned relative.

Actually the Frenchman was pretty sharp. He said he'd go to my QRZ page, get my email and send me the entire message. Just because the infrastructure of Puerto Rico was down didn't mean the rest of the planet was down. In a few minutes I had the message on my email. It was a lot more secure that way. 

Both of these were easily dealt with. I gave them my FCC call sign and told them to Google it. One wanted to know what the cost was and I explained it was free because that's what ham radio operators do in time of emergency. There was no charge. I also explained that anything they sent me would be returned. 

They were elated to get the good news. They wondered when they were going to be able to come home. I didn't know and said so. I also told them I had heard rumors that people were being allowed to fly back to the states in empty C-130s but I could not confirm it. I told them it may be some time before they could return. 

Of course every one I spoke with asked me if I was in direct contact with their loved ones and I explained I wasn't. Four of them accepted that when I explained how the system worked. A couple of them were amazed.

Two took me at face value when I called and were immediately overjoyed. One commented that he had heard of  people getting messages from ham radio operators in the movies but didn't think it happened in real life.


Of course there is always one.

The first thing she wanted to know is if she could talk to her daughter. I said it was impossible and suggested she listen to my explanation because it would save time. I could tell by her voice I was going to have to deal with an idiot.

"The minute the trees stopped falling some plumber from Milwaukee, Wisconsin loaded his portable ham radio gear into his truck and drove at his own cost to Dover, Delaware and somehow got the Air Force to stuff him into a C-130 full of relief supplies and take him to Puerto Rico. Upon arrival he got out of San Juan and God only knows how he managed to get to Arecibo and set up a small message center under a surviving tree. He probably hasn't eaten in two days, works 20+ hours a day, sleeps in a ditch next to his radio and is forwarding messages to the States," I started. Of course I had no clue as to who the operator in Puerto Rico was. All I really knew is he was some guy on the air in Arecibo. I said the plumber from Milwaukee business to make a point. 

"I didn't get to speak to him directly. Another ham in Cuba did and forwarded the message Stateside and I got it. I am forwarding the message to you. Your loved ones are safe and will be coming home as soon as they can."

Of course she said she didn't understand why she couldn't speak directly to her daughter and wanted me to get word back to her. I told her it was impossible. 

Even if I could make contact with the poor overloaded ham in Arecibo there was no way in hell I was going to ask him to drop what he was doing and run all over hell to find someone's kid. He had better things to do.

Needless to say it wasn't good enough for her. She started asking too many questions I could not answer and got angry when answers were not forthcoming. Why don't you know? Why are you telling me this? You're not from the government. What kind of a shoddy organization was I running?


It was about then my luck changed. I heard a male voice in the background.

"Is the girl all right? What's going on? Give me that damned thing!"

A second or two a male came on the phone. His voice sounded calm and grateful. "Would you please tell me who you are and what is going on?

"Oh, thank God. An adult," I said. "First things first. I got word your daughter is safe and will be coming home on the first available transportation."

"And you are?" he asked. His voice was a sound of a relieved man.

"Let me explain things. It will save a lot of time that way and I'll answer questions afterwards. Is that OK?" He said it was.

"I am a ham radio operator. My call sign is KB3XXX. If you want you can look it up on Google. The minute the last tree fell in Puerto Rico the Air Force flew a group of hams into PR to aid in communications. One guy lit out for Arecibo the minute the plane hit the tarmac and set up a small communications center there where he most likely hasn't eaten in two days, works 20+ hours a day and sleeps in a ditch next to his radio," I said.

"My guess is your daughter found him and had him send word she was OK. I did not speak directly to the guy in Arecibo. His message was picked up by a Cuban ham who relayed it to me and I then called you," I finished.

"Cuba?!" He sounded astonished.

"Yes, Cuba. A well kept secret is that a lot of Cuban hams do a lot of relief work in the Caribbean. Look up one Arnie Coro, CO2KK. He is a very active ham there. Our governments may not get along but hams are hams and we do what we do. There is no reason to think the message is bogus. You can reasonably assume your daughter is fine and being taken care of."

I heard something in the background "Why couldn't he just..."

I imagine she got a damned serious stare from her husband.

"Things in PR are pretty primitive," I said. "The operator is likely swamped. Do not look at this as some magic bustling commo center run by the government. It is anything but. Think of it as somewhat of a jungle telegraph. As for return flights I have no idea. Rumor Control has it that the Air Force is letting people fly back on empty C-130s but that is unconfirmed. She'll probably have to get to San Juan or wherever to do this if she even can catch a C-130. Again, it's an unconfirmed rumor. Incidentally there's no telling where she is going to land when she gets Stateside. She may very well arrive with only the clothes on her back. If she has no ID or credit cards it's going to be rough for her. You may very well have to make arrangements to get her home. I do know you can send her money via Western Union and or Moneygram. Maybe they can release it on something like a password. That's all I can help you with. All I can say is she's safe for now. That's as good as it gets."

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Do nothing. If you send me anything it will cost me return postage because I will return it. If you feel you have to do anything then send a donation to your local Amateur radio club."

"Thank you," he said. The voice carried a lot of gratitude.

I was glad the husband had stepped up to the plate because I was just getting ready to go off on the woman. I was fully expecting her to tell me she wanted to speak to the manager or something like that. I was really ready to go off like a skyrocket and tell her I was the boss and it would not have been very pretty but I imagine it would have been funny when I told her I was the manager and OWNER of station KB3XXX.

Still, it does make me feel pretty good that I got on the air and was able to help a few people out.

I suppose four out of five ain't bad.













To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY