Fox News – Ham radio: Old technology gets new respect

Via Fox News… Ham Radio:  Old Technology Gets New Respect

Seeking reliable backup communication in a crisis, emergency managers are finding new solutions in an old technology: ham radio.

“It’s just another avenue, another opportunity for us to be able to communicate,” said Herb Schraufnagel, public safety captain with Emory University Hospital Midtown.

Emory HealthCare is among a growing number of hospital systems to adopt ham radio. Hospital administrators and government officials took a lesson from Hurricane Katrina, which left some Gulf Coast medical centers isolated from the outside world, as landlines and cell towers failed.

When power, phone and Internet services go down, a battery-powered amateur radio and portable antenna can provide that crucial link to the outside world.  Continue reading on FoxNew.com