Catholic Charities Providing help. Creating hope.

Amateur radio network calling
for volunteers for disaster response

A dedicated group of licensed amateur radio operators are working hard to make Southwest Florida a safer place to live and are looking for more to join their cause.

They are members of the Diocese (Venice) Amateur Radio Network, or DARN, a group of UHF/VHF radio stations that assist the Catholic Charities Disaster Response Team. The network has base stations in Venice, Port Charlotte, Naples, Fort Myers and Arcadia. The network, however, can only happen if more operators volunteer to man the radio stations when disaster takes place.

Licensed Amateur Radio Operators are especially needed to operate a fully equipped UHF/VHF Base Station located at Catholic Charities of Collier County in Naples. There are no meetings or dues. An on-air exercise is conducted once a month to ensure reliability of the operator, equipment and repeater frequency. 

“As an organization that responds to disaster, without communications you are nothing,” said Bob Sullenberger, coordinator of the Catholic Charities Disaster Response Program and a member of DARN.  “Amateur radio networks save lives during disasters, even if phone and cell lines remain operational, they get jammed and communication is slow,” he said.

For more information contact Bob Sullenberger KG4VDU at 941-497-5422 or email  bob.sullenberger@verizon.net.