ARRL rapporterar i sitt senaste nyhetsbrev om hur en radioamatör lyckades hjälpa räddningspersonal när man kommit utanför mobiltelefonernas räckvidd och när satellittelefonerna inte fungerade. Vi klipper notisen:

”According to a Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) report, Amateur Radio bridged the gap recently for members of a search-and-rescue team attempting to locate a missing teenager in Canada’s Yukon Territory. SAR team member Terry Hauff, VY1MAP, was unable to contact the team’s headquarters in Whitehorse during the September 21 activation. He was out of cell phone range, and the satellite phone the team had was not working. VY1MAP was, however, able to reach a 2 meter repeater from his mobile station.

Hauff reached out to Ray Fugard, VY1RF, and Ron McFadyen, VY1RM, on the 146.88 MHz repeater in Whitehorse, and they were able to relay a report on the search status from the SAR command center some 35 km north of Whitehorse at Lake Laberge. The missing teen was eventually located unharmed. According to the RAC report, this marked the second time in as many months that Amateur Radio and Yukon Amateur Radio Association members and repeater infrastructure had proved invaluable in an emergency.

Vincent Charron, VE3XU, RAC’s Director of Communications, commented, ”Whether it’s a natural disaster, major weather event, planned community event, or a missing person search, we at RAC receive numerous reports of Amateur Radio interventions when traditional communication systems fail. Ham radio is most certainly still relevant and provides a crucial communications back-up option, often in challenging/dire situations.” — Thanks to Radio Amateurs of Canada via Mark Bowers, VY1MAB”