A friend in Austin posted this on FB. I’ve had a minor interest in amateur radio all my life but never did much about it. It might be time to do something.

When All Else Fails…
Greetings from Texas, now beginning to thaw out. This is a HAM Radio antenna. When the power was out, our cell phones had no signal, and the Internet was down, I used this antenna attached to a 50-watt radio in my house and a 12v battery to communicate clearly and easily with other HAM radio operators who, like myself, are part of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). We checked on each other, and shared reports about weather, electricity, water service, road conditions, and even which grocery stores were open. If someone needed help finding a warm place, water, food, had an emergency, or knew of neighbors that did, ARES would respond and assist in getting help where it needed to go. This information was also available to first responders, many of whom were also without power like the rest of us.
This is why I got my HAM radio license…to protect my family and serve my community, and I’ve never been more proud to be an amateur radio operator.
Getting an amateur (HAM) radio license is easy (you don’t have to be an electronics nerd) and you can get a setup like my radio and antenna for very little money. If you want to consider getting your license, go to ARRL.org to learn more. That way, next time, you can protect yourself and look out for others, when all else fails.
#ARRL #ARES #TCares #hamradio