Well, Guys and Gals (Actually I did hear some gals out there),
On the original intent - prepared for emergencies - it has become a
production, and I do not intend to pontificate :>) Just my emergency
experience has been more like just carefully listening and some calling but
just slowly going about the chore of finding the right station on the air or
being found and helping out, e,g,
#1 I'm dialing around on a quiet weekend in the interior of Honduras; a
station whose Op does not seem to know the calling ritual is asking for
"help from anyone" on an odd frequency on 15 meters. I respond and he
explains that he and some youth from the US on some sort of a mission have
been abandoned, no transportation but they managed to turn on the radio.
Can I help them get back to the US? Sure no problem - they describe the
equipment the best they can, then follow the coax outside and describe the
antenna - its a beam - then I explain how to aim it north. Then help them
(without loosing them) move the dial to 15 meter missionary net, tell them
to listen and wait there. I give some calls but it is not the hour, so I
search for a decent signal, break in, explain the need for a phone patch,
bingo, we move to the net frequency and introduce folks. They patch in and
the emergency ends.
#2 I had a research team in , Peru. The mega niño of 1997 hit. Some phone
traffic has reported that the city is flooded and then communication is lost
(and this was already cell phone era but the towers were kaput) . The
families of the team members call; I worry about them, go home, turn on the
radio, look for the emergency frequencies of the Ministry of health and
start listening. Dialing with the radio (Great to have a Ten-Tec Delta II
that can xmit off the ham bands.) around the band I hear a Min. of Health
person calling his heart out from exactly where I need information, but he
is desperate b/c he can't find anyone on the Min of Health Freqs. "Not a
problem," I say. "Don't move." I call the Min of Health in Lima and get
them on the air and frequency. In the meanwhile I find that in the city
where the hotel and team is was "just" with water to the first front step -
all are well.
#3 and #4 earthquakes in El Salvador and Mexico, folks in Ecuador and also
Peru want to know about their realatives. Off to the shack or radio club -
listen, find the contact station, calmly take lists of names, call the
relatives. Relatives call me or the club, make lists - names neighborhood,
addresses, compare with contacts in Mexico or El Salvador - many hours but
finally it is over.
Well, that those are emergency contexts - the rigs at my end were just
sitting there as usual, no time to change antennas or haul up new ones - do
with what you have at hand, calmly hunt and peck, forget the dups - everyone
needs TLC.
I like field days, great to sit around - the food is great, using a casting
rod to put up an antenna is also fun, looking over solar powered battery
banks is also fun, and some guys love to run one cointact after another for
hours - something for everyone. Some guys even get the gist for complaints
about neophytes (Hey that was a neat kit a few years ago). Each to his
own - humor us.
Kris KM2KM
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