Hamming it up, just in case

Andrew Glazer

You may live near one of them.

You’d know because they might occasionally pop onto your television or

into your cordless phone conversation. Or maybe you’ve seen the 20-foot

antennae spiking off their homes.

Or you should, because approximately 40 of the city’s ham radio operators

-- once thought by their neighbors as strange or perhaps a bit nerdy --

are poised to become heroes on New Year’s Eve.

“We take great pride that we can pass information over radios independent

of cell phones and police and fire radio systems,” said Gordon West,

co-founder of Mesa Emergency Service Amateur Communication.

Two members of the volunteer group will monitor the world from the city’s

emergency operations center, via portable hand-held radios, to see if

millennium-related computer bugs trigger chaos. Almost 20 others will be

on call at their homes, with both video and audio bands, said group

spokesman Ron Eggers.

“We’ll be listening in on Australia with our ham sets to see if anyone is

saying ‘Omigosh! Traffic signals are out,”’ West said.

Since the radios spit information into the air and not through telephone

networks, they are able to continue broadcasting even if an emergency

were to shut down the phone system. The radios can be powered by

batteries if electricity goes out.

The group formed 20 years ago to help the city’s emergency workers

communicate if fires, riots or earthquakes happened to knock down the

city’s phone lines. They train with the city’s police and fire

departments, which hold regular meetings, seminars and mock emergency

drills.

Most of the ham radio operators started using the devices as a hobby.

“There’s nothing like talking to someone in Auckland, New Zealand while

you’re cruising down the 405,” West said.

But inexperienced tinkerers, they are not.

To be a part of the team, they were required to first pass a federal

amateur radio test. People preparing for the test must take 50 to 100

hours of classes. Each member of the emergency radio team is also

required to spend at least 30 hours a month on the air and must attend

the city’s weekly training program.Now the well-trained unit must wait

for the mysterious clock to strike 12.

“New Year’s Eve is a good opportunity for us to help the city out when

they need it,” Eggers said. “I think people are finally beginning to

realize auxiliary communication can be quite helpful.”

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

COSTA MESA

City Hall: (714) 754-5223

Police, fire, medical emergency: 911

Sanitary District 24-hour hotline: (714) 754-5252

Mesa Consolidated Water District: (949) 631-1200

NEWPORT BEACH

City Hall: (949) 644-3309

Police, fire, medical emergency: 911

Water, sewer and street lighting maintenance: (949) 644-3717