[RTTY] One more thought on emergency comm

[Peter Laws]

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 11:01 PM, Bill Turner <dezrat1242 at wildblue.net> wrote:
> If you really want to use radio to send massive amounts of health and
> welfare data, how about getting a portable satellite internet setup? I live
> out in the boonies where I use a system on my roof which could be made
> portable very quickly and which could handle THOUSANDS of times more traffic
> than amateur radio. And cheaper too.

Interestingly, about 10 years ago, the ARC lovely Suburban-type
vehicles with every imaginable radio, plus generators and appropriate
antennas including satellite  Saw one up in Illinois.  Would *love* to
have one ... and could probably find one because the ARC gave up on
this model.  No idea what the problem was but when they started to get
"old" they didn't replace them.

That said, yes, I think there is too much ... not sure which word is
right ... romanticism(?) about amateur radio's role in disaster
situations.  There are MANY
well-equipped/well-trained/well-disciplined groups out there, but for
every one of those there are at *least* 10 groups of guys with hi-viz
vests, hats, and HTs running around looking for someone to "save".  I
do note that many of the better groups seem to be directly affiliated
with law enforcement or fire protection services and use amateur radio
to extend their capabilities ... as opposed to ham groups that do
emergency work.

None of it makes PacTOR IV imperative below 30 MHz.  None.