Amateur radio enthusiasts in Princeton and Caldwell County will share their knowledge with those interested in the pursuit this Saturday, with a day-long workshop concluding with a test to allow basic certification as an operator.

The workshop is part of an effort to foster more interest in ham radio operation, as its role in the county’s communication infrastructure continues to gain importance.

The Princeton Ham Radio Club (formerly the Princeton Amateur Radio Society) is now taking steps to establish that role, as a means of communication when all other communication fails.

“We are working like crazy to put this emergency preparedness thing together,” said Harvey Lawrence, club vice president.

The project involves converting a former county ambulance into a mobile communications station to serve as a command center in the event of natural disasters or other crises.

The idea was sparked a little over a year ago, when a tornado struck Madisonville and other areas of Hopkins County.

All cell phones, land lines and radios were knocked out of commission, stopping all communication from City Hall and county government to emergency responders.

Luckily, the county had an amateur radio program ready to respond.

“The amateur radio was probably set up and rolling two hours after it took place,” said Lawrence, “providing communications for all of these people.

“That’s really what gave us the impetus to go ahead and do this.”

In the event such a situation occurs here, once the communications vehicle is complete, operators inside can communicate via ham radio with other operators assigned to key officials, like the mayor and judge/executive, fire chief, police chief and emergency management administrator.

If operators were lacking in number, more could be called in from other counties, Lawrence said.

The county will continue to own the communications vehicle, but the ham radio club will stock it with an array of communications gear for such emergencies.

The equipment expected to go in the vehicle includes: very high frequency and high frequency radio equipment, computers (which will also serve as tools for communication), EchoLink — a software package that allows licensed amateur radio stations to communicate over the Internet, and another system, packet, which sends coded messages instantaneously.

The communication service will be available at the county’s discretion.

“We serve their needs,” Lawrence said. “We don’t get called out unless they feel we’re necessary.”

Lawrence serves as the local amateur radio coordinator and can put other operators on standby status in case of emergency.

Operators can also be sent to other counties to provide mutual aid if needed.

The club is raising funds and collecting equipment to furnish the mobile communications center.

A booth set up at the Black Patch Festival helped generate some funds, and some equipment has already been donated, Lawrence said, like a complete setup for the packet system, furnished by C.A. Woodall.

“I think once we get the word out on it, we’ll probably get some more donations and be able to make it,” Lawrence said. “It’ll be slow, but as it stands, for local work, we could probably equip it and roll next week if we had to.”

In addition to seeking donations and grant funds for the mobile system, the club is also looking for new members interested in amateur radio.

The club will be giving its first amateur radio test to interested persons Saturday.

Training begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Caldwell County EMS building on Northfield Drive. The test will be given at 3 p.m.

Participants can either try for certification as a general class operator or no-code technician.

No previous experience is necessary, Lawrence said.

“They can walk in cold,” he said. Those who want to study in advance and take sample tests, though, can do so at several Internet locations, including www.eham.com, arrl.com or qrz.com, he said.

For more information, e-mail wa5nud@pepb.net or call Lawrence at 365-9453.