Emergency Communications 101
Maker Faire Bay Area 2026
September 25th-27th
In an emergency, radio lets you communicate with your people without cell towers, ISPs, or even running electricity — but only if you know how it works!
Come to this workshop to learn how to make radio part of your emergency preparedness plan. We'll cover three different types of radio technology, specific models that are good for beginners, how you can take advantage of existing radio infrastructure, how (and if!) to get licensed, and much more. This will include Meshtastic and Meshcore.
No radio knowledge is needed or expected. Total beginners are welcome to this workshop.
Schedule
Dan Tennery-Spalding
Dan Tennery-Spalding is a longtime educator and software engineer turned radio fanatic. He has led trainings for hundreds of radio novices on topics around disaster planning and radio skills -- always with a focus on preparing for disasters together with your community. He lives with his family in Oakland, CA.
