On a recent morning, when I picked up the phone to check for messages, I heard nothing, not even a click. The phone company's connection had died. This incident served as a reminder about the fragility of communications we take for granted.

Our community has active volunteers who help prepare for emergencies and we run through a drill every six months. Emergencies rely on many types of communications, from "runners," or people on bicycles, up to two-way radio communications. We assume telephone and Internet communications will get knocked out quickly and that cell-phone systems will "die" after about four hours. Heavy use during an emergency will "jam" cell-phone communications.

So we use amateur-radio operators and their equipment for primary communications. Local hospitals here all have "radio rooms" with amateur-radio equipment, and even first responders have access to ham-radio communications via licensed operators.

People might think of radio as an obsolete way to communicate, and they often think of amateur-radio operators--or hams--as relics from a bygone day.  Not so.  Since the FCC dropped the requirement for Morse-code proficiency, the ranks of amateur-radio enthusiasts has grown considerable. Although some hams still communicate via Morse code, many others work with digital communications that have names such as packet radio, radio-teletype, PACTOR, PSK31, and others.

Because most amateur-radio equipment can operate from 12-V vehicle batteries, in an emergency they can operate almost continuously when main power dies. And, radio equipment travels well, either as handheld transceivers, portable or vehicle-mounted equipment, or equipment in a command-post trailer. After the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center buildings, hams took their own equipment to New York City and established communication centers under the auspices of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other groups that otherwise had limited communication capabilities.

So, although we think of "wireless" communications as WiFi hot spots, cell phones, text messages and tweets, in an emergency, when all else fails, two-way radio communications usually can get through.

For information about radio communications in public service, visit the American Radio Relay League Web site at: www.arrl.org/public-service.  The ARRL has more information on all aspects of amateur-radio communications and how to obtain a license. Many radio clubs conduct classes and run test sessions. --Jon Titus, KZ1G