When Hams don't think they may add value to emergency communications, its all over!
Steve, k4cjx --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Gregg Hendry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Buddy, > > Great points you make there. You are absolutely correct about technology! I mean, they now have cellphones that don't need towers or electricity to function properly. Cellphones always work perfect. And telephone service, why the phone systems never fail! > > 1. 9/11/2001 - When the WTC collapsed, it took with it a majority of cellphone, public service, and broadcast transmitters with it. In the ensuing chaos, the remaining cellphone circuits jammed within SECONDS rendering cellphone service virtually useless within 10 miles of ground zero. > > 2. The date I do not recall, but when a US Air Boeing 737 crashed while on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport the crash site was remote-enough that many of the responding fire/rescue/police units were out of range from their 800mhz trunked systems. In addition, when they reverted to cellphone use, they found the circuits almost immediately swamped because of a lack of coverage and everyone trying to use their phones. Commercial broadcast media urged people to avoid using cellphones - or even landlines in the area of the accident so that emergency personnel could communicate. The crash occurred a few miles outside a fairly good sized city and only 20 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh. > > 3. Within the last 2 years, again the exact date I do not recall, a contractor accidentally cut a fiberoptic cable in a rural area between Huntington and Charleston, WV. This cut randomly crippled local and long-distance telephone circuits in both cities for almost 8 hours. > > Now, do I advocate a system that sometimes blocks large chunks of spectrum - absolutely not! But if you truly believe that ham radio is useless, then please surrender your license to the FCC - you are needlessly taking-up a callsign assignment that would be used by someone else. > > Gregg Hendry > W8DUQ > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 11:34 PM > Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Re: Win Link > > > Great overall post, Dean! Especially this part: > > > > > 1. Ham radio is dying, because modern communications technology has > > passed it, and the amateur community, even if totally united (ha > > ha), doesn't have the resources to combat it in any meaningful way. > > 2. The attempt to justify amateur radio by its role in providing > > emergency and public service communications is rapidly becoming a > > joke. > > Can someone tell me the last time there was an emergency that wiped out > "normal" communications, and a bunch of hams got on Winlink and saved the > day? When a severe emergency happens, like a tornado, hurricane, or > nuclear war, I think most people are mainly concerned with saving their > bacon, and not getting on the air. > > 73 Buddy WB4M The K3UK DIGITAL MODES SPOTTING CLUSTER AT telnet://208.15.25.196/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
