> In ALL cases, we must not lose sight of the fact that you must always > have phone (voice) communications available in emergencies. Digital data > plays a much smaller secondary role. To show you how absurd it can get, > in our Section we have "Digital Communications Coordinator" who actually > believes that having hams "check in" to his Winlink 2000 VHF only PMBO > via RF or even via the internet is somehow an emergency amateur radio net.
This is an important point and one of the reasons that we recommend 2 meters for NBEMS whenever it is feasible, because on 2 meters, you can mix voice and data on the same frequency. In addition, although we are improving NBEMS support on HF with a new static-robust mode (soon to be released), 2 meters is still the band of choice for fastest transfers and dependable point-to-point circuits. 73, Skip KH6TY NBEMS Development Team
