Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?  (Read 492 times)

WA2ISE

  • Member
  • Posts: 1488
No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« on: January 18, 2022, 02:05:51 PM »

Seems the volcano event cut the internet submarine cable going out of Tonga.  And no communications.  No ham radio there? 

From the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/world/australia/tonga-volcano-covid.html
SYDNEY, Australia — A cleanup and evacuation operation has begun in Tonga, where the island nation’s government, after days of silence, said Tuesday night that an epic volcanic eruption and the tsunami and ash clouds that followed were an “unprecedented disaster.”

International efforts to deliver aid have been complicated not just by the ash and by damaged communication lines,

For three days after the eruption of the volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, about 40 miles off Tonga, little was heard from the nation of about 100,000. The eruption caused “a volcanic mushroom plume” and tsunami waves of up to 15 meters that hit the west coasts of several islands. The internet remained down, and communications, which were severed because of the eruption, were limited on the islands.

Mr. Tu’ihalangingie, the Tongan diplomat in Australia, said it would be weeks before phone or internet connections to the outside world were fully restored.

“We still have limited access to Tonga,” he told ABC Radio in Australia. “We still don’t have a direct communication with our government.”


Did ham radio provide the above "little was heard from the nation"?



Logged

WA3SKN

  • Member
  • Posts: 8126
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2022, 02:20:59 PM »

My understanding is that the undersea fiber cable was down because of lack of power at the Tonga end... not that the cable was cut.  I assume that generators and fuel are the big problems.  Many roads and general transportation are a problem.  I am not sure how much traffic is being passed via ham radio.

-Mike.
Logged

WB6BYU

  • Member
  • Posts: 20896
    • Practical Antennas
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2022, 02:35:00 PM »

If you have volcanic ash everywhere, trying to run
any sort of engine or generator is problematic.  They
don’t last very long before the air filters clog, or
with the filter removed, either.

The city of Portland had that problem after Mt. St. Helens
erupted some years ago and covered everything with a
layer of ash.  Pumice dust does bad things to engines.

If you are counting on emergency generators, they may
not work very well.  Solar panels require that someone sweep
them off - how many inches of ash were there?

Your best bet may be collecting batteries from vehicles
that aren’t going to be going anywhere for a while,  at
least for ham radio at the 100 watt level.

W1ITT

  • Member
  • Posts: 257
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2022, 02:43:38 PM »

News reports indicate that there is limited portable satcom communication.  They were communicating with New Zealand regarding aid shipments into Tonga airport.  We have come to the point in our technological development where "if all else fails" doesn't happen any more.  Sat-phones are more expensive than I would want to pay per month, but they are by no means unavailable.  The picture of a fellow sitting in his ham station pounding brass and relaying life and death messages via amateur radio is a lovely memory from our past, but that time has come and gone.
I did , however, see one report that the initial ash cloud was so thick that it attenuated the satphone signals, but they were able to get through once the thickest ash dissipated.   
73 de Norm W1ITT
Logged

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2022, 03:25:11 PM »

We sent an aid flight up that was unable to land due to the ash on the runway, they are trying to clear the runway by hand with brooms, they had a hundred peole on the job yesterday from our news.

NZ has sent a ship up there with 250,000 L of fresh water and a desalination plant.

Two of the outer islands are being evacuated, on one very house is gone on the other 2 are left standing.

They are hoping to get a flight in asap and have had another one up doing aerial surveillance of the damage.
Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2022, 03:45:07 PM »

Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

KA1CNK

  • Member
  • Posts: 132
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2022, 08:13:49 PM »

How many native ham operators are there in Tonga?    I think anyone coming to the area to help is having a difficult time getting there.
Logged

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2022, 11:28:01 PM »

How many native ham operators are there in Tonga?    I think anyone coming to the area to help is having a difficult time getting there.

Well as we understand NIL would be the first answer, the NZ Navy ships should be there in a couple of days, its abt 1200 miles from North NZ to the main island.

I think its not going to be very pretty when they get there from the pics on our news.

They were talking about needing a MediVac flight for injured people, so hopefully once our Hercules can get into the airport they can bring people back to NZ.

Reports are 3 dead.
Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

XW0LP

  • Member
  • Posts: 442
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2022, 02:54:17 AM »

How many native ham operators are there in Tonga?    I think anyone coming to the area to help is having a difficult time getting there.

As commented on already, the answer is probably zero.  Sometimes there are visiting hams, and those are the only signals that I heard before and had QSOs with.

I just relocated to live in 3B8 (Mauritius).  Although there is little risk of volcanoes or earthquakes here, there is a significant risk of cyclones.  As I install my ham station, I'm making sure that is it powered by car battery/solar power etc, and not reliant on mains power etc.
Logged

WB8VLC

  • Member
  • Posts: 1155
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2022, 11:42:09 AM »


I wouldn't hold my breath while waiting for any ham radio help.

Here is an article that just came out from LYNK Global which pretty much describes why HAM radio will be or is now irrelevant to helping out in emergencies.

This article was originally written by Charles Miller, CEO and co-founder of LYNK Global on Jan 18 2022.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/want-to-keep-cellphones-working-throughout-the-next-tsunami-send-cell-towers-to-space/ar-AASUMHp?ocid=uxbndlbing

While most ham organizations are still concentrating on 60 year old satellite technology  with limited footprints, antiquated technology that requires large antenna arrays and high power at least someone who is non ham related is proposing a more practical solution.
Logged

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2022, 11:49:07 AM »


I wouldn't hold my breath while waiting for any ham radio help.

Here is an article that just came out from LYNK Global which pretty much describes why HAM radio will be or is now irrelevant to helping out in emergencies.

This article was originally written by Charles Miller, CEO and co-founder of LYNK Global on Jan 18 2022.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/want-to-keep-cellphones-working-throughout-the-next-tsunami-send-cell-towers-to-space/ar-AASUMHp?ocid=uxbndlbing

While most ham organizations are still concentrating on 60 year old satellite technology  with limited footprints, antiquated technology that requires large antenna arrays and high power at least someone who is non ham related is proposing a more practical solution.

No warnings were sounded in NZ as there was little risk to life here, so that is incorrect.

Sat Tech is fine when it all works and if you can afford the bills that come with it, some of these pacific islands are very limited in their budgetary situation.

I read this morning that they now have limited 2G cell coverage back on air in Tonga main island.
Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

WA2ISE

  • Member
  • Posts: 1488
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2022, 12:27:11 PM »

Seeing a few pictures of the damage, most houses were flattened, and if there were any ham shacks, would also be destroyed.    But a house resistant to Mother Nature maybe hard to find. 

Sure, ham radio can be expensive (the radios and emergency power systems), but once set up, costs almost nothing month to month.
Logged

WB8VLC

  • Member
  • Posts: 1155
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2022, 12:29:05 PM »

Ok I agree on the cost issue but it doesn't have to be this way especially during emergencies where billions will eventually be spent and wasted in the upcoming weeks and months only to have days and days of speculation as to what is occurring on the ground just because communications cannot be established with the sorry ARSED antiquated systems that we use today.

During this emergency we already had satellites that were paid for which were parked overhead taking pictures so how about improving on these existing sats and upgrading them to have cellular emergency equipment that can be turned on in emergencies such as the system that LYNK Global is proposing and how about some smart Govt or UN agencies doing it the right way and getting on board. 

The technology is present now to where all the major cell bands can be built into equipment so that  people in effected areas can talk to emergency agencies during emergencies without having to worry about a dang 5 dollar a minute phone bill only when it is needed. 

In the end when this is over I'd bet that countless billions of dollars in aid will be blindly spent with a large portion being wasted just so that some countries can get photo ops showing their aid packages displayed with their countries names on it on the nightly news. 

It seems some of this money would be better spent on planning ahead and on being pro active and being ready for the next global emergency with all of the advanced technology available.

Logged

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Re: No ham radio emcom from Tonga?
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2022, 01:08:57 PM »

Ok I agree on the cost issue but it doesn't have to be this way especially during emergencies where billions will eventually be spent and wasted in the upcoming weeks and months only to have days and days of speculation as to what is occurring on the ground just because communications cannot be established with the sorry ARSED antiquated systems that we use today.

During this emergency we already had satellites that were paid for which were parked overhead taking pictures so how about improving on these existing sats and upgrading them to have cellular emergency equipment that can be turned on in emergencies such as the system that LYNK Global is proposing and how about some smart Govt or UN agencies doing it the right way and getting on board. 

The technology is present now to where all the major cell bands can be built into equipment so that  people in effected areas can talk to emergency agencies during emergencies without having to worry about a dang 5 dollar a minute phone bill only when it is needed. 

In the end when this is over I'd bet that countless billions of dollars in aid will be blindly spent with a large portion being wasted just so that some countries can get photo ops showing their aid packages displayed with their countries names on it on the nightly news. 

It seems some of this money would be better spent on planning ahead and on being pro active and being ready for the next global emergency with all of the advanced technology available.

The first thing we could do is go back to have a cable repair ship stationed in Fiji, there always ued to be a Cable & Wireless ship anchored off there ready when it wasnt out on duty.

We went to W Samoa a couple of years ago, that was like a step back in time, nice place, but you could see how a disaster would wreck the whole place.  I understand that Tonga is very similar.

Anyway the cavalry should arrive there today we sent a ship as have the auzzies and I think they are hoping to get a flight into the place today.

It should also be noted that we cannot even get reliable cell coverage at our house in NZ.
Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

ZL1BBW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1914
Logged
ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.
Pages: [1]   Go Up