SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio —When an emergency happens, communication can be key.

Summit County's Emergency Management team has a new partner to help them respond to anything from severe weather to a disaster: amateur radio operators.

What You Need To Know

  • Amateur radio operators have teamed up with Summit County EMA to provide communications during emergencies

  •  These amateur radio operators are part of Summit County Armature Radio Emergency Service

  • Amateur radio operators have varying setups. Some keeps their radios in their cars and homes

“I have my radio programmed with a lot of different frequencies,” said Ken Dorsey, the Emergency Coordinator for Summit County Amateur Radio Emergency Service.

He says cell phones don’t always work during wide-scale emergencies, so he keeps a radio in his car just in case.

“We do emergency communications if there is a large-scale disaster or event,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey says they partner with the Summit County EMA to provide radio communications.

“We would probably staff the new communications center in Tallmadge because we have equipment there now. If we needed to we could set up in remote locations," he said. "This would be a prefect example. Maybe the Red Cross does open shelters, and they may want communication between shelters or with the main Red Cross."

Ted Urbach has a radio base set up in his home. His dad and father-in-law got him started in being an amateur radio operator.

“My father-in-law gifted me with a handheld radio, and it got stored for several years," he said. "We dug it out and I thought, 'let me just see if I can get it working.' It worked." 

It has since morphed into a setup that allows Urbach to talk to people on the other side of the world if necessary.

“These are mostly used for long range communications: Europe, Africa, basically all around the world,” Urbach said, pointing out a particular radio. 

As for Dorsey, he also has a portable radio go-box that allows him to go anywhere with his radio.

“All of the radio gear is right here. All you need to do is connect it to a battery," he said. "This is one of our battery packs. Then connect it to an antenna and you’re ready to go."