Ham Radio Saves Off Roading Family (CA to OHIO!)

Caleb is a great guy and a very valued member. We here are so thankful he was able to be there when he was to help out the stranded operator. Huge shout out to Josh for picking up the story. Great work, Caleb and everyone who was involved.

This is why I am a Ham... Before cell phones during the earthquake in San Francisco. I was on a Navy Ship outside of the Golden Gate Bridge about 12 miles. I had my HT. I went to the Bridge of the ship and plugged into the ships VHF Marine antenna and contacted a Repeater. I asked for a Ham to check on my wife and house. Sure enough he drove over to my house and made contact with her and called back to me and reported that there is damage and she is ok.... Ham radio and Ham radio operators are so important in times like this. Stay trained up and be willing to help always. Never met the gay that gave me peace at sea....

When you've got ham radio knowledgeand equipment, you get the whole country calling and looking for you asap. Love it!

Thank You! This will aid me in talking my wife into getting her license and installing HF in both the vehicles. These operators should feel proud. Great Job!!

Not a life saving situation but I heard a fellow calling for help on a Ham Radio repeater and I answered him. He was working on some remote equipment in a remote area and his truck wouldn't start. I called his company on the telephone and got someone from his company to come rescue him. This was years. Before cell phones.

I live between Las Vegas and Death Valley. This is the exact reason why I have a ham radio. Making contacts is not my thing but having communications when I need it plus there are a lot of dead cell areas here in the desert. Wonderful story -73-

Glad you shared this story, but also glad that someone was listening when that guy was calling!

I hope some day we can hear from the operator who was in distress. I would love to hear if it was a mobile HF rig or a portable rig and why 10 meters? There are probably some good lessons to learn from this incident. Thank you to all involved in the rescue operation! Great job and I am so proud of my HAM community.

Now I need HF in my vehicle.

Josh, thank you for the story.. My family often makes fun of me that I have several radios in my car at all times. I do have a SpotX satellite, a CB Radio a GMRS radio and I also have a ham radio... they often joke that I am trying to communicate with extra-terrestrial because of several antennas. But this story clearly answers that. Awesome story. Glad to hear that the Overlanding guy and his family is doing well... and Caleb, you rock!

Awesome job to all the ham radio operators that responded. I saw the post about an hour it was made and read that police and the park were contacted in the comments. Glad that the operator who got stuck was able to get a message out and get rescued.

That's AWESOME!!! Ham Radio DOES save lives! God bless! KB7TJM 📡♥️🙏

For new hams, at a minimum I recommend getting your General license and a portable HF transceiver. If you're out of range of repeater towers this is what's going to save you. Also getting active with Parks on the Air to keep you're 'bugout' skills in order! I like remote locations, and without fail, have made a lot of contacts. Even in a canyon accessed via a dirt road near Green River, UT (at a never activated park designated site), I made a good number of contacts activating it. It was a canyon with pretty steep sides and it made a believer out of me of the value of HF.

When all else fails.... Ham Radio always works....

One of the guys from my club relayed Caleb’s message in our chat. I was at work but tuned in on WebSDR to no avail. I’m glad they were found and are safe. Strong work Caleb, I’ll send you a roll of Jersey’s very own Taylor Ham as a thank you on behalf of the ham community. Well done!

This story actually brought a tear to my eye.

Went on an offroad trip in Death Valley with my father, a long time ham. Watched him hook up a HF radio to my truck battery, and laid a wire antenna on the ground in a H pattern. He turned it on and talked to his friend in Burbank on 40 or 80m. I became licensed shortly after that.

What a great story thank you for sharing

A few months ago I did a pota on the Appalachian Trail, and my Mom wanted me to call her whenever I parked my car and started hiking. I told her I wasn't sure I would have cell coverage where I was leaving my car but if she hears nothing, that's good. Now if a random guy from Kansas calls her to say that he talked to me on the radio, and I was stuck in a ditch somewhere, that's bad!

Going back a very long way, I was a CB channel 9 monitor, with Cal State Emergency Radio, and took a call via skip. I was someone stuck in the middle of nowhere back in the Midwest. HF and skip can sometimes be a life saver. As to GMRS, this kind of situation is why our radio club is trying to get a repeater on the air, to reach some of the areas that are out of line of sight.