Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency held an open house for aspiring ham radio operators on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Communications Center in Wiscasset.

More than two dozen people attended the event, which featured demonstrations and discussions with experienced amateur radio enthusiasts.

Amateur radio is also known as hobby radio, or ham radio, and certain sections of the radio bandwidth are set aside for amateur radio use. There are rules: The radio use cannot be commercial, and radio operators have to have a license and operate within the bandwidth assigned to them. The radio signals emitted bounce off the ionosphere, part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, which contains high concentrations of ions and free electrons. This makes it an ideal place for radio signals, which are relatively large, to bounce back to Earth. Sometimes, ham radio operators are able to communicate with people on the other side of the Earth because of this phenomenon.

For the purposes of emergency management, however, ham radio operators are essential, because they are able to communicate when other types of communication fail. “If cell towers go down, and the regular phone and internet systems don’t work in an emergency, ham radio operators can often still talk to one another,” said Randy Lewis, a radio operator in Kennebec County attached to the emergency management agency. “We have a phrase we use ... ‘When all else fails.’”

Tod Hartung said Lincoln County is trying to rebuild its ham radio teams. During the ice storm of 1999, it was one of the only means of communication for weeks. During Hurricane Katrina, when all other communication was out in New Orleans, ham radio operators helped to direct rescue and recovery teams.

Hartung said there will be meetings every month to aid new radio operators with licensing. There are three levels of licensing: general, technicians and extra. A technicians class is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Ham radio operators can get into the game for less than $100 at a ham radio show and sale, although many hobbyists ultimately buy more expensive sets. “It’s like any other hobby,” Lewis said. “You can spend thousands.”