5-0 Radio for the iPhone

This past weekend I got the chance to help my nephew with his Eagle Scout service project. He is part of an Explorer Post that specializes in HAM radio. So for his project, he helped out with radio support for the Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run. People actually start running at 5:00 am and run all day long until about 11:30 at night. There are 10 aid stations along the way. My job was to help staff one of the stations and record when the runners came in and when they left. I would then relay this information back to the start/finish so they could post the times online.

It was a lot of fun and I was glad to be able to use a skill for something other than just playing around. When the last racer left my station, I jumped in a 4x4 and headed back to the start/finish. I was having so much fun, I decided to help there and stuck around for another couple of hours.

On Sunday evening I was able to participate in a HAM radio emergency practice drill that takes place every week. It only took 10 minutes of my time and was something I could do while packing to leave town.

Yesterday I must have been going through HAM withdrawals because I did an Internet search for the Amateur Radio Disaster Services (ARES) group that is responsible for the area where I keep my boat. I discovered that they do their weekly drill on Monday evenings. Unfortunately I don't have my HAM radio with me and so I couldn't participate. Then I remembered that I have an application on my iPhone called "5-0 Radio." It allows me to listen in on a large number of HAM radio conversations. I did a quick lookup and the Monday evening drill was available to listen to. So I sat down on the couch in my boat, put my earphones on, and listened to the drill. I couldn't talk as the application only allows users to listen. However, I probably wouldn't have talked anyways. I just wanted to get a feel for how the drill was conducted and to make sure my own radio etiquette is as it should be.

When you see the Apple iPhone commercial and listen to them list a bunch of different applications, they aren't lying. If you have a need for any type of information, there probably is an app for that. Now if I can just get my iPhone to do my laundry . . .