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Club members assembled the go-bags by securing the radio parts with metal brackets onto a base plate that fits inside a metal tool box.

The portable tool box with a handle and shoulder strap is 18-inches wide, 13-inches high and 6- inches wide, and with all the equipment inside weighs about 30 pounds.

Radio parts include a power supply box, a transceiver, a standing wave radio meter, an antenna and a timer/calculator.

The go-bag ham radios can work on conventional, plug-in electrical power if electricity is available. Or they can work in a car through the car's battery.

"In an emergency where we lose the traditional forms of communication, they will keep us in touch," said Leola Lee, vice president of Heritage Village Master Association, about the go-bags.

Lee had high praise for the radio club members who put the go-bags together. "Here's something that's a hobby. They came through wonderfully."

Members of the radio club are enthusiastic about their hobby.

Huntley Holmes got involved when he was a high school student in Canada. "I've always been interested in electronics," he said.

Holmes is proud he has the highest ham radio license given by the Federal Communications Commission -- "Extra." The first level license is Technician, and the middle license is General.

Many club members became interested in radio communication when they served in the military.

Vincent DeGrosa, 80, and club president, began working with radios during World War II when in the Navy.

During the Korean War, club vice president Bob Greene was in the Air Force, where he worked with radar and other electronic equipment.

After his military service, said Greene about his interest in radio communication,

"I never stopped."

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