Saved by 2 Metres

Think twice before leaving that HT home! So many of us have mobile phones in our cars or even have an overhead button (in newer cars) that will summon help in case of an accident or if the vehicle gets disabled. But what happens if you are in a rural zone without internet service or any service at all - even the outback of Australia in your utility vehicle? Well, one ham driving in a very rural part of New Jersey found out how his dual band mobile radio could help after he discovered a single-car accident on a rainy road, the airbag deployed on the driver’s side……and no way to get the call for aid through except by local repeater.

David LaMonica, KD2GIY, was driving in southern New Jersey, looking forward to a day of Parks on the Air when he caught sight of a car that had run off the rain-soaked road. Its front-end had been smashed. He could see that the driver's airbag had deployed and he was concerned that the motorist, an older woman, might be in distress. David told Newsline that this part of the state had no cell service so calling for help via mobile phone was not an option. That's where the 2m radio inside his pickup truck came in handy. He had programmed it to hit one of the local repeaters in the area where he was visiting and he also had APRS running in the background. His call was answered by a ham who happened to be a police officer. The officer wasn't in his police car at the time but relayed the call for help and could pinpoint the accident site by looking at APRS beacon online. An ambulance soon arrived.

Dave believes that such experiences need to be shared "videos have always taught me." So the lesson here is in his recorded account of how he made that call for help - and he shares it on YouTube to inspire others to do the same. It can be found on his channel "KD2GIY Ham Radio Fun." Dave told Newsline it's great to have fun on the air - and that day he enjoyed a six-park POTA rove - but the most important contact he logged that day was made on that 2-meter repeater.