A local ham radio group that helped provide communication for emergency response during historic spring flooding will hold free classes during the month of August.
Ham radios can be a crucial part of response and recovery work, but operators must be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
The Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Club of Butler County would like to help those interested in becoming licensed, according to member Robb Bledsoe.
The four-week course teaches participants how radio signals travel, how to operate a radio and which frequencies can legally be used, as well as basics about electronics and electronic components.
The first class will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2414 Katy Lane. It will last about three hours.
Classes will be held each Saturday at the church with the last to be held Aug. 26.
"Amateur radio is back-up communications in case all else fails," explained Bledsoe. "Cellphone towers get overloaded or damaged, landline communications fail, and as we have see in the recent flooding, even 911 systems fail."
Flooding in Ripley and Carter counties in late April destroyed the sheriff's departments in both counties and took down both landline and cellphone communications for long periods of time.
Ham radio operators assisted officials there, as well as when members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency traveled in Butler County to assess flood damages, said Bledsoe.
Ham radio operators also played a part in the response to Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornado, he said.
"Ham radios could still communicate until normal communications were restored," he said.
The local club was also part of a statewide excise last year to test the region's response to a massive natural disaster, working alongside the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other entities.
"There is a need for licensed operators," said Bledsoe.
New regulations require hospitals and other medical providers to have emergency plans in place by November that use amateur radio, he added. The group can also work with individuals and entities to set up other class times, he said.
Classes are free but there is a $15 testing fee, which is set by the FCC. Textbooks can purchased through Amazon or at the class at a cost of $30, but free online resources are also available.
For more information, contact Bledsoe at 573-727-0025.
Pre-registration is preferred, but participants can also show up the day of the class, he said.