[RTTY] RM-11708, the "other side"

[Bill Turner]

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:          (may be snipped)

On Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:30:30 -0800, Chen wrote:

>> Instead of voice? Surely you jest. 
>
>No, seriously.
>
>For two reasons, (1) PSK31 has far better intelligibility than an SSB 
signal in a 2.4 kHz equivalent noise bandwidth (we are talking about 1 watt
vs 200 watt type of difference), and (2) 14071.5 has lots of "eyeballs" on
it.

REPLY:

In an emergency, you don't need to worry about intelligibility. Even the
worst disaster rarely exceeds a hundred mile radius. You are not
communicating with the other side of the earth. A hundred watts on either
75, 60 or 40 meters will do the job nicely and although I can't prove it
(and neither can you) I have no doubt voice will get through firstest with
the mostest. 

Next time you talk to a cop, firefighter or EMT, ask them why they don't
give up their mike and go to PSK31 for their emergency comms. 
I'd love to be there.  :-)

BTW, 20 meters is a lousy band for emergencies. You don't need DX, you need
strong, reliable local communications out to a few hundred miles or so, day
or night. 
75. 60, 40. 

73, Bill W6WRT