Amateur Radio Club

The LW Amateur Radio Club meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. in Clubhouse 3, Room 9. Ham, also known as amateur radio, Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios play a vital role in emergency communications. They work without relying on existing infrastructure, making them ideal in disasters like earthquakes and wildfires.

Beyond protecting themselves and their families, people who learn how to use radios to communicate can help others during a communication outage.

Volunteers are needed for every Mutual. Anyone interested in ham, FRS or GMRS is welcome to attend a club meeting and meet the club’s helpful, diverse and talented members. For more information, call 562-431-6586, ext. 2409, or visit www.lwsb. com/amateur-radio-service-club.

Both Marty Williams and Frank Van Dornis are members of the Leisure World Emergency Information Council (EIC, www. eiclwsb.org). Dr. Steve Sherman is a member of Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES for Seal Beach/Los Alamitos as well as a member of the Disaster Amateur Radio Network (DARN, www.darn.org). Marty and Bob Spence are members of Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES, www.races41.com) for Seal Beach/Los Alamitos.

The Radio Club provides a GMRS and FRS practice drill every Wednesday morning. Anyone who has a GMRS or FRS radio is invited to participate. The call-in time is from 9:30-9:45 a.m. on Channel 18/0. FRS radios are license-free, while GMRS radios require a license because they transmit with much more power and can communicate for much longer distances.

GMRS licenses from the FCC cost $35 and it covers a resident and their immediate family for 10 years.

The Amateur Radio Club is eager to teach new users how to use these radios and be ready for an emergency.