[RTTY] ARRL Board Meeting - Approved modified HF band plan changes

[Dale LeDoux]

As southwest Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.

We won’t even talk about the cellular system being unusable due to traffic the day before the storm.  Evacuations were ‘ordered’ and thousands were trying to leave the area.  Most people didn’t know that although the voice part of the cellular system was down, the text part was still usable.

I got back into Sulphur Louisiana the next morning and found NO electricity and no cellular coverage, but our repeater was still up.

Nobody was there to use it, but it was up.

In the aftermath, a lot of the local emergency agencies have parlayed FEMA money into some pretty impressive emergency comm equipment.

dale
W5OHM
> On Jul 25, 2015, at 8:43 AM, Art (K5FNQ) <k5fnq at lusfiber.net> wrote:
> 
> And do not forget the complete failure of the "normal" system during and after the Katrina Hurricane
> https://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/docs/advisory/hkip/GSpeakers060306/ACT1045.pdf
> 
> http://electronicdesign.com/boards/katrinas-wake-ham-radio-triumphs
> 
> and
> 
> http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/appendix-b.html
> 
> Other organizations worked tirelessly to assist emergency responders that, due to the storm, did not have the equipment and means to effectively carry out their duties. Amateur Radio Operators from both the*/Amateur Radio Emergency Service/*and the*/American Radio Relay League,/*monitored distress calls and rerouted emergency requests for assistance throughout the U.S. until messages were received by emergency response personnel. A distress call made from a cell phone on a rooftop in New Orleans to Baton Rouge was relayed, via ham radio, from Louisiana to Oregon, then Utah, and finally back to emergency personnel in Louisiana, who rescued the 15 stranded victims.11<http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/appendix-e.html#b-11>Ham radio operators voluntarily manned the amateur radio stations at sites such as the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Watch Net, Waterway Net, Skywarn and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network.12 <http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/appendix-e.html#b-12>
> 
> Art K5FNQ (fr,om Lafayette, La)
> 
> On 723 PM, W0MU wrote:
>> I have seen those great systems all fail repeatedly in large wildfires where most of the arriving help had no way to communicate.
>> 
>> Maybe in a perfect world all those great systems work but in real life no way.
>> 
>> I thought we were looking for more people to contest and try other parts of the hobby.  The elitism shown below is staggering.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 7/24/2015 2:38 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 2015-07-24 1:31 PM, W0MU wrote:
>>> > Maybe we need to "Market" the fun of HF better to these new hams.
>>> 
>>> Maybe we don't need these Homeland Security wannabes and keystone
>>> kops in their yellow vests any more than we need the free maritime
>>> e-mail crowd.
>>> 
>>> The communications capabilities (and training) of the local PD, FD,
>>> SO, State Police, etc. has already far eclipsed anything in ARES,
>>> RACES, etc. while amateur data or CW links are no longer a serious
>>> back-up for those services - certainly not like in the days where
>>> State Police organizations maintained CW links between their posts
>>> to pass bulletins (BOLO, wants/warrants, assistance requests, etc.)
>>> county to county for relay to/from the local PD and county SO.
>>> 
>>> Red Cross, CAP, Coast Guard Auxiliary, FEMA, etc. all have their own
>>> frequencies/equipment for emergency and daily operations.  None of
>>> those agencies require an amateur license but I'm sure most of them
>>> would be glad to train volunteers with a communications background
>>> in their own operating procedures.  Still, none of that requires
>>> access to amateur spectrum or amateur equipment any more that "blue
>>> water" e-mail requires access to amateur frequencies/equipment in
>>> this era of satellite and commercial HF e-mail services.
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> 
>>>   ... Joe, W4TV
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rtty
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> K5FNQ - Art Mouton k5fnq(at)lusfiber.net (or (at)arrl.net) ARRL, QCWA, CW OPS, Louisiana Contest Club, DXCC Honor Roll (Mixed & CW), Digital/RTTY DXCC, 5BDXCC, DXCC 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 30, 40, 80 Meters
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