ARDC Grant Funds Life-Saving Communications
New Grant Provides Non-Profit EPIC-FSC Funds to Support Life-Saving Communications for
Calabasas Residents Before, During, and After a Natural Disaster
Non-Profit is a Perfect Example of Neighbor Helping Neighbor
EPIC-FSC members David Goldenberg and Mike Schrage testing a portable amateur radio microwave data network.
October 15, 2022, Calabasas, CA — Emergency Preparedness in Calabasas (EPIC-FSC), a local non-profit, will soon be receiving a grant from the Amateur Radio Digital Communications foundation (ARDC) to build and deploy amateur radio equipment to send and receive email messages without a direct connection to the Internet. Amateur radio operators will be able to communicate by relaying messages outside of the affected area to other stations that still have an Internet connection.
“This grant will allow us to move forward on several projects that were waiting on funds,” explains EPIC-FSC member Norm Goodkin. “We are grateful to the ARDC and EPIC-FSC for extending this digital technology to the amateur radio operators who provide our community with emergency communications.”
Mike Schrage surveys a hilltop in Calabasas for possible placement of a new radio system.
Besides volunteering his time and expertise for the EPIC-FSC ECHO team, Goodkin along with fellow volunteers David Goldenberg and Mike Schrage are also members of the LA County Disaster Communications Service (DCS), a volunteer group of amateur radio operators that works with the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Dept as well as the LAX chapter of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), an NGO sponsored by the American Radio Relay League.
During emergencies where the Internet connection is broken, amateur radio operators will use this equipment to communicate, sending out welfare messages and receiving replies.
David Goldenberg and Mike Schrage evaluating amateur radio microwave coverage from a hilltop above Topanga Canyon.
EPIC-FSC will also conduct training on digital communications, an efficient way of sending and receiving information during emergencies. While traditional voice communications will also be used, adding digital allows much more information to be exchanged with improved accuracy.
EPIC-FSC addresses emergency communications in Calabasas and the surrounding cities with a comprehensive communications plan called Emergency Communications for Home Owners (ECHO).
For more information on EPIC-FSC, visit their website, https://epic-fsc.com
ARDC’S Mission
The mission of Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote Amateur Radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology.
About ARDC
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. The organization got its start by managing allocations of the AMPRnet address space, which is designated to licensed amateur radio operators worldwide. Additionally, ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radio’s practice and tradition of technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has led to broad advances for the benefit of the general public – such as the mobile phone and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all such technology is available through open-source hardware and software, and where anyone has the ability to innovate upon it.
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Media Contact:
Susan Hartzler
818-585-8641