Who Are We?
Hawaii Emergency Radio Operators, Inc. (HERO), is a group of like-minded radio operators and patriotic "prepers" who train for Emergency Radio Communications, also known as EmComms, that can be used in emergencies and disaster response when traditional forms of communications are no longer working, to protect our families and communities.
Hawaii Emergency Radio Operators, Inc. is incorporated in the State of Hawaii as a nonprofit corporation.
What Is A "Preper"?
A preper is someone who is prepared for a potential situation that may affect their stability of home, life, or financial situation. Your grandparents were "prepers", although the term wasn't used back then. They knew that difficult situations could happen and they canned food that would last through the winter, or get them through a bad harvest.
Every year we see reports of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, etc. Accidents and illnesses occur when you least expect them which can cause someone to miss a considerable amount of time from work thereby lowering the income the family relies on. Businesses close causing their employees to worry about how they will replace their income. A preper is one who prepares for these situations as well as other possible dangers such as natural disasters, social unrest, severe storms, house fires, medical emergencies, etc.
Having the necessary supplies on hand, and the skills necessary to deal with those situations to limit their affect on your life is what being a "preper" is. It is simply being prepared, just like the Boy Scouts, FEMA, Red Cross, and even your church, and countless other organizations teach.
We are not a paramilitary organization or a militia, and those extremist views will not be tolerated among our members.
What Is A "Patriot"?
A patriot is one who loves and supports his or her country, and to the ideas and beliefs that the country was founded upon. A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.
True American patriots support individual freedom, equal justice for all, equality instead of equity, the US Constitution, and the constitutionally protect rights of others. Their loyalty is to the country, not a government or political party.
What Makes HERO Different?
While there are many groups of EmComms radio operators, and radio clubs on Oahu including ARES and RACES, we train differently than those involved in traditional emergency communications because they have different mission parameters in an emergency situation or disaster response.
While others in traditional EmComms groups serve governmental entities or other organizations in disaster response by transmitting messages for their "served agency", our priority is our family, and our community and serving their communications needs and safety. Learn more about how we handle EmComms.
While those in traditional EmComms groups use only amateur radio operators, or "hams", those in the prepper community know that all radio services can be valuable for emergency communications. For this reason we accept members from any radio service, such as CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, Marine, etc. In a disaster or emergency situation, they are all valuable and can play an important role in EmComms. We even use SatComm capabilities for our communications needs.
We serve our community, not agencies
D-Star Repeater
HERO has recently installed the only D-Star digital repeater which is open for public use in the state of Hawaii which covers the south side of Oahu from Kapolei to Waikiki. Feel free to link to your favorite reflector to talk around the world, but unlink when you are finished.
Mesh Network
HERO members are also in the process of building a wireless Radio Mesh Network on Oahu to link our computers together which does not require the internet infrastructure. This system will also allow our members to have VOIP phones connected to the network to contact each other without the need for traditional phone lines or cell towers which may be down after a disaster.
Mentoring
New radio operators can always benefit from the experience of a mentor that can guide them as they learn more about radio communications. Our experienced radio operators can guide you in becoming a better radio operator, and we can all help each other become better prepared.
We Offer Training
We offer training classes to help you become better radio operators and be more prepared for disasters and emergencies. If you are interested in getting your amateur radio operators license, we can help with that too with our free license exam classes taught by ARRL Registered License Instructors. When you are ready to take your exam our own accredited Volunteer Examiners will administer the examination for you.
Unlike other clubs in Hawaii, we have Completely Paperless In-Person Exam Sessions scheduled every month as well as online/remote exam sessions.
We also offer training in other topics helpful to those with a preparedness-oriented mindset like gardening, food preservation, knot tying, wilderness survival, first aid & CPR, the proper way to store food and water long-term as well as safe water purification techniques, and many more.
