[TowerTalk] Re: Importance of Amateur Radio Emergency Comms [Was: Chicago Tribune ...]

[Jim Lux]

----- Original Message -----
From: "doc" <kd4e at verizon.net>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 4:03 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Re: Importance of Amateur Radio Emergency Comms [Was:
Chicago Tribune ...]


> > Rob makes an excellent point.  All this talking about emergency
> > communications is fine and well, but, realistically, public safety folks
> > are relying on hams less and less, because the technology available to
>
> As a former ARRL SEC, state office of emergency management employee,
> DMAT member, SKYWARN member, ARES/RACES member, and additionally
> trained emergency communications responder I respectfully disagree.
>
> We have seen zero evidence that these alternatives to Amateur Radio
> based emergency communications are sufficiently reliable to remove
> the need for ARES/RACES, SATERN, the HWN, etc.


Today this is true.. but in twenty years?  The emergency comms landscape
today is a lot different than it was in 1980 (PRB-1 vintage, no?).  I don't
say that TODAY the ham serves no useful purpose, it's just that the
importance of the amateur auxiliary is decreasing, and just for the reason
you say.  The existing solutions are not meeting the need, which HAS been
recognized.  Government grinds slowly, but does grind, and my fear is that
we'll have hung so much importance on the emcomm aspect of amateur radio,
that at some point in the not too distant future (certainly within my
lifetime), people will be able to say that it's not a reason to keep towers
around (all that "greater public good" thing...)

> > The other missing key here is the training and preparation of
> operators and technicians.  Government agencies would be fiscally
> irresponsible to maintain tens of thousands of experienced and equipped
> communicators distributed across the nation just-in-case on the payroll
> -- even though there is no question of occasional need -- Amateur
> Radio provides the trained operators and hardware for free!

I actually did mention this function, which I think is valuable.  However,
as government comms techniques change, how valuable is the amateur radio
operator's DX pileupbusting skill going to be?

Frankly, one of the most useful things about ham operators is their
ingenuity in a compromised situation, not their ability to talk on a radio
or type on a terminal. If I had to rig up an emergency repeater and get an
antenna up in a tree, stringing a wire from a building over there, I'd want
hams to help.


Jim, W6RMK