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The nonprofit Angwin DART (Disaster Airlift Response Team), a coalition of more than 20 volunteer pilots based at Angwin-Parrett Airfield, has upgraded its radio system to allow for statewide communication during emergencies.
The new 50-watt, dual-band, mobile HAM radio base station links the Angwin airport to each of California's other DART-operated airports.
If Internet and cell phone systems go down during a serious disaster, HAM radios could be the only way to communicate disaster relief needs, said Marielle Coeytaux-Britton, director of the Angwin DART.
DART's mission is to fly goods or people in or out of devastated areas when ground transportation cannot do the job — for example, when roads are blocked by flooding, fire or earthquake damage.
Coeytaux-Britton and Marian Harris, her counterpart at the Half Moon Bay DART, had planned to check their respective radios on Saturday.
"But then an idea came to us: what if we were to open this event up and invite all the other DART Operators to join us in checking their radio communication status?," Coeytaux-Britton said. "And so it was."
From 10 to 10:27 a.m. Saturday, DART held its first statewide HAM "radio check" with 11 airports throughout California — as far south as Carlsbad near San Diego — plus one in Nevada.
"Amazingly enough, every transmission came through loud and clear, at least for us in Angwin," Coeytaux-Britton said.
She thanked St. Helena accountant Mel Varrelman for working pro bono to secure Angwin DART's nonprofit status, and the St. Helena Kiwanis Club for donating the necessary filing fees to set up the 501c3 organization. The nonprofit status allowed Angwin DART to receive tax-deductible donations — starting with a $1,500 donation from pilot Bob Edwards — to buy the radio equipment under the expert advice of local HAM expert Kevin Vogt.
"Kevin not only chose the right equipment for us, but also helped install it, crafting the necessary parts to connect all the pieces," Coeytaux-Britton said. "This HAM radio base station is the result of amazing teamwork."
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