La Honda Radio Club gears up for 2016

La Honda’s local radio club has laid its plans for 2016. Now 40 members strong, the club is always welcoming new members, and increasing its ability to serve the community with emergency preparedness and radio communications. Meetings are held the third Saturday of each month at 10am, often at the La Honda Fire Brigade. You can check their website, sc4arc.org for more information.

February 20^th’s technical session will highlight several local emergency groups, and the differences between them. Also demonstrated will be the use of dual band radios, which offer the ability to monitor two frequencies, or stations simultaneously. This ability has shown itself to be extremely useful in emergency situations, where local communications need to be conducted, but remaining in touch with another coastside or bayside station is critical.

Dual Band Radio

In March, the focus will be on Communication Skills: how to effectively and efficiently communicate when in an emergency. In an emergency, it’s easy to let adrenalin take over and cloud your ability to speak clearly and calmly. This class will share ways to collect your thoughts and deliver essential information in a concise way. In a true emergency, many people will have important information to pass along, and clogging the airwaves with unnecessary chatter could have life-threatening implications.

Other activities this year include Field Day, an annual 24 hour event to demonstrate the ability to set up radios with emergency power and contact ham operators far and wide. This event the last weekend of June is often held in La Honda Gardens. Club members also support events like Dream Machines in April, and the Half Moon Bay Marathon in September with radio communications.

Club meetings are open to the public, and begin at 10am with club business, followed by the technical session. Anyone with an interest in emergency preparedness or radio communications is encouraged to attend. You may become the next person in your neighborhood to get your ham license, or become part of the growing number prepared to help in an emergency!