Local Ham Radio Operator Helping To Connect Families In Haiti

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Story Published: Jan 15, 2010 at 6:08 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jan 15, 2010 at 8:03 PM EDT

Phil Cox of West Carthage is part of the Jefferson County Amateur Radio Club.
 
Thanks to his ham radio, he's keeping a close ear on transmissions from Haiti, where phone lines are down and typical ways of communicating don't work.

"Everyone wants to make contact with a loved one. Often you're not going to find a satellite phone that's going to handle all that traffic so it will fall upon ham radio operators. We may have five or six channels open," said Phil.

There are operators like Phil around the world and some are already setting up their radios in Haiti.

They form a type of a phone tree - passing messages from one operator to another - until it finally reaches the right person.

Phil has taken the information about Denise Paul's husband, Leptune.

Denise lives in Watertown and has been unable to reach Leptune.

But like those with loved ones in Haiti, Phil also plays a waiting game.

"The important thing is that rather than nobody being there to take the message, somebody will. That would be me and many other hams in our community," said Phil.
 
He doesn't know when he'll be needed, but he knows the black box could be a lifeline for a country with no food, no water and no way of reaching the outside word.
 

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