> how many HAM radio operators will be up and running today?
Do you mean here, or in the impacted area?
Down on the Coast, I expect most are off-air right now ("QRT," hams would say), but a few are still on.
I have been listening on and off to the Hurricane Watch Network on 14.325 MHz (USB). Some of the Gulf Coast guys are on, but it's a bit tough to hear them all the time. That area is a bit short on 14 MHz; the signals are often over our heads. A couple hundred miles north, and they would be much easier to hear (odd, sometimes, to think of being too close to hear someone). I did copy an operator in Santa Rosa Beach pretty well just a minute ago. The operator in Pensacola, KQ4HV, was a bit tougher to hear.
The PD of WYCL in Pensacola is a ham (WA4CB), and has 2 meters up and running in his office -- a mag mount on a file cabinet. Of course, I won't hear that here.
I would imagine once the storm passes, ham activity will reach a peak -- 2 meters (144 to 148 MHz) especially.
The local hams are standing by if we get any adverse effects here, although it appears unlikely it will be needed. BTW: When weather is bad here, listen to 146.820 MHz FM, or if that machine is down, 146.880.
DE
