Delta County ham radio group ready for emergencies (Michigan)

An old form of communication is vital in hurricane recovery efforts as amateur radio operators across North Carolina and Florida connect rural areas with needed resources.

A similar safety net operates across Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to keep residents safe.

Bob Petersen, a licensed amateur or ham radio operator, says his “shack in a box” can mobilize emergency radio communications in just 15 minutes.

“It works great for emergency communications because I can quickly and easily go where the communication is needed,” Petersen said.

While Petersen‘s “shack” is portable, the main radio shack is in the Antique Village at the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba. That’s where Petersen and other amateur radio operators in the Delta County Amateur Radio Society coordinate communications on the state-wide emergency radio net.

“We just had an exercise last Saturday to where we had the, supposedly the 911 Center went down, and they needed some auxiliary communications,” licensed amateur radio operator Paul Cavallaro said.

Read more – TV6: https://bit.ly/3YsEPuS