 Alan Thompson is an El Dorado County resident since 1958, and a licensed amateur radio operator. He's the owner and field engineer for El Dorado Networks and provides satellite Internet services for businesses and government.
In 2018, Alan was part of a disaster-recovery team that helped restore cell-phone service after the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed electronic communications in and around Paradise and Magalia. What Alan learned about the colossal emergency communications failures during the Camp Fire and many other disasters, turned him into an "Accidental Advocate" for fire and communications safety. Since 2019, Alan has been giving talks throughout the US to Civic Groups, Homeowners' Associations, Amateur Radio groups and Fire Safe Councils in an effort to alert others to the dangers of an over-reliance on vulnerable cell-phone and Internet services, especially during disasters. Alan and others visited the area devastated by the Camp Fire in 2019 and saw first-hand how cellphone towers had brush and trees too close to them and how they had too little battery backup to really provide adequate service during an emergency. He also found that cellphone towers need both electric power and internet service to function. 70% of people in the US rely only on cellphone service as their primary means of communication, so it is troubling to see how vulnerable those towers are in an emergency or disaster. Alan also outlined a unique Neighborhood Radio Watch program where we can all learn to use simple, low-cost, "non-Ham" radios as a reliable backup communications system to help keep our friends, families and neighbors safer, when all else fails. Alan''s group refurbishes 2-way radios and sells them for far less than their as-new price. They also use GMRS radios which are simpler and cheaper than Ham radios, though they also use some Ham radios. They also have built and rely on 5 repeater radio towers on high points in the county to relay radio transmissions over the hills and ridges. Most recently Alan's group, the El Dorado County Amateur Radio Club, provided emergency radio communications for public agencies and non-profit groups from throughout California to support small- and large-animal rescue efforts during the Caldor Fire. They also formed five teams to transport and deliver food to the stranded animals. To review this fascinating talk, please use this link. |
Our speaker will be Dr. Kermit Jones, a candidate for the 4th Congressional district. He is an internal medicine physician and also a lawyer. He was deployed as a flight surgeon for the Navy in Iraq, and was a FDA regulatory attorney and White House fellow during the Obama administration. He has served on the front line of the COVID pandemic for 18 months and will concentrate his talk on health issues and the pandemic. President Mike has talked to Dr. Jones and finds him a fascinating speaker; you don't want to miss this! 
