Radio Operators at the Ready for Y2K

They offered assistance during the Northridge earthquake and during last week’s fires in Ojai, and local ham radio operators say they are ready to help authorities again on New Year’s Eve.

Part of the county’s emergency response plan includes making use of local radio enthusiasts who usually use their equipment to talk to fellow ham radio operators around the world.

On Friday they will be ready if problems related to the Y2K bug or New Year’s Eve celebrations affect telephone communications.

John Beckers plans to be on call in Simi Valley on Friday. After the Northridge earthquake in 1994, Beckers worked a ham radio at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, helping direct water and food supplies where needed.

“We’re like a secondary phone system or communications system,” said Beckers, president of the Simi Valley Settlers Amateur Radio Club. “We’ve been on several fires where firetrucks couldn’t get out because they didn’t have repeaters, and we did. We can transmit many places they can’t.”

Last week, ham radio operators helped during the fires in Ojai.

That was the first time in four years of practice and preparation that Moorpark resident Richard Tate has been called into service.

A week ago today he was stationed in front of a ham radio in Ventura, relaying messages over the shortwaves as firefighters evacuated residents to emergency shelters and struggled to battle blazes in Ojai.

Tate directed ham radio traffic among fire officials staging at Soule Park in Ventura, a Red Cross shelter set up at a high school and firefighters in the field.

“Parts of the day, they were heavily relying on cell phones and apparently they had some trouble,” Tate said. “They utilized our service to get through.”