McKean County Department of Emergency Services EMCOMM team will offer a community amateur radio technician class, a six-day course, and amateur radio general class, a seven-day course.

These courses are being offered free to anyone interested in getting involved in amateur radio.

EMCOMM is offering a six-day class to assist in providing interested parties the opportunity to gain their entry into the hobby of amateur radio.

At the conclusion of the technician class, the group will offer the general class course. This course will be seven days long, as there is much more involved in the higher level license. The general class license will open participants to a world of high frequency communications, where they can talk to other amateurs around the world.

All are welcome to attend. The course is free.

Technician classes will be held on Saturdays from Jan. 5 through Feb. 9. The review and test will be Feb. 9.

General classes will be held on Saturdays from Feb. 23 through April 6. The review and test will be April 6.

All classes will be held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour off for lunch. Participants are asked to bring their own lunches. The classes will meet in the McKean County EMA/911 Building, 17175 Route 6, Smethport.

To register, contact Bruce A. Manning at bmanning@zitomedia.net. Class is limited to 25, so RSVP is required.

This course will use the W5YI Ham Radio License Course. Registration is required so organizers can have the books on time. Registration deadline is Dec. 22.

The test will be conducted by Laurel VEC and there is no fee.

Amateur radio is not only a hobby: amateur radio operators also provide direct public service to the community by serving the community’s Emergency Management Agency, public safety communities as well as hospitals and the National Weather Service, to name a few. They also provide direct support of state government and non-government agencies as well as federal agencies like the Department of Defense and Homeland Security.

Perhaps the biggest draw for class participants is being there for neighbors when the power goes out or when disaster strikes.

How will people communicate if the power goes out, cell towers fail or the internet stops working? Amateur radio is the best form of communication “when all else fails” because it doesn’t rely on commercial infrastructure to make it work.

Anyone who wants to learn how to help the community or learn how to communicate off the grid can come to the course and learn how.