The Importance of Amateur Radio

We've come to rely on commercial telephone companies and, most of the time, our ability to communicate isn't hindered. But when a catastrophic event occurs that affects an entire community, police and fire communications may also go down. A community-wide communication failure may result in loss of life because calls to rescuers are not possible. Fortunately, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods and terrorist attacks like 9/11 are not common but, when such events happen and all other communication modes fail, there is one communication mode that always works . . . amateur radio.

Why does amateur radio work when commercial and government systems don't?

Amateur radio systems do not rely on commercial communications systems. Each amateur has their radio, antenna and power supply and is able to communicate with other amateurs within seconds of a community-wide communications failure.

How do I join the Bloomington Communcations Group?

If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and are interested in joining the Bloomington Communications Group, please complete the form on the contact page; include your call sign in the comment field. All BCG members undergo a background check by the Bloomington Police Department.

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Bloomington Communications Group
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Links

These links are of interest to Bloomington Communications Group members, many of whom are trained and certified Skywarn Weather Spotters.

Weather Links

• Metro Skywarn
  
  
• National Skywarn
  
  
• Current Weather Conditions at the Chanhassen NWS office.
  
  
• NWS Severe Weather Summary
  
  
• NWS Storm Prediction Center
  
  
• Intellicast
  
  

Amateur Radio Links

• Amateur Radio Association of Bloomington
  
  
• Minnesota Amateur Radio Emergency Services
  
  
• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD)
  
  
• Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL)
  
  
• ARRL Public Service Comms Manual Section 1 - ARES
  
  
• ARRL Public Service Comms Manual Section 4 - NTS
  
  
• QRZ - Callsign Database
  
  

Homeland Security Emergency Training

• Emergency Management Institute
  
  
• IS-100a - Introduction to Incident Command System
  
  
• IS-200a - ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
  
  
• IS-700a - NIMS: An Introduction
  
  
• IS-800.B National Response Framework, An Introduction

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