Dave, First of all, I will be the first to admit that I'm not up on all the latest technology.
BUT, I have felt for a long time (34 years to be exact), that the heyday of amateur radio emergency communications is long past. If we look back to the 1930's and so, radio communications was rare and hams could provide extraordinary communications during an emergency compared to anything else available. Even in the 1950's and 60's, local governments could be easily isolated and would have to depend upon ham radio in an emergency. But during the 1970's and later, police, fire and other government agencies greatly expanded their ability to communicate even during emergencies. Individuals hams with a portable station were able to contribute less and less. A modern fire chief at a disaster isn't going to accept a ham with a hand held trying to get communications through to a certain heavy rescue truck or mutual aid unit. By the time Katrina came along, government agencies were expecting internet bandwidth and cell phone capabilities and that is certainly far beyond the realm of individual hams or even local ham organizations. Modern communications and the government's need for same has gone far beyond the scope and abilities of ham radio. I was very active with AREC and RACES during the late 60's and early 70's, (county EC and RACES Radio Officer) but I realized then that if I wanted to contribute to the community, I could do a million times more as a volunteer firefighter. Ham radio could only make minor contributions while trying to relive the glory days of earlier decades. Those days are long gone, I'm afraid. OTOH, perhaps it's good to see MARS actually doing something productive in this area. I was very active MARS in the 60's but was dismayed that it did nothing to follow fulfill it's charter of providing emergency communications. Ken David Little wrote: > > It is interesting , isn't it? > > MARS doesn't hold contests. > > MARS doesn't allow stations to intentionally interfere with other > stations. > > MARS doesn't promote awards for the number of contacts you can make in a > minute and not say anything. > > MARS doesn't get their panties wadded up when information is exchanged > without being interfered by contesters, QRN or jammers. > > Army MARS offers training during 90% of it's net operations. > > MARS has requirements for membership. > > MARS promotes discipline and efficient operation. > > MARS gets to play on NTIA spectrum and doesn't have to subject itself > to the > bonfire of vanities experienced on ham frequencies. > > Kid of sets a precedent, doesn't it. > > This probably goes as far as any other single example to explain why the > ARRL relegated the Amateur Radio community to the realm of last mile (VHF) > communications in support of emergency communications and abdicated the HF > realm to the Tri Service MARS organizations. Bread and Circuses has worked > since Roman times; why should this be any different. > > The ARRL knew when to throw in the towel, and had a pretty good idea about > the quality of their members; as well as their devotion level to do the > tasks traditionally required of the Amateur Radio Service in exchange for > the spectrum they enjoy. The operation has been a success; the patient is > definitely dying.... > > Pactor III is probably more effective than CW ever was as a 'filter" to > determine the dedication level of emergency communicators. > > But, you have to consider that there is not a HF rig less than $500.00 > new, > and entry level for a HF rig that utilizes the best of 20th century > technology starts around $1200.00 > > With that said, you can begin to appreciate that the $900.00 cost of a > Pactor III controller (taking advantage of the 10% discount for Emergency > Communicators) will deliver the mail, with the cheapest HF rig. A PTC-IIex > controller connected to an Icom IC-718 cost about what an IC-7000 or a > little less than a TS-2000 costs; in a field of choices that can cost > up to > $15,000.00 for a HF rig alone. > > The "Contest Grade" of transceivers that go north of ten grand will > clog up > the airwaves and render them unusable by others far more often than Pactor > III and WL2K. > > Anyone saying that frequency usage during a contest is less adversely > affected than by WL2K transmissions using Pactor III is sadly being less > than truthful with their self and others, and there is simply no room for > discussion to the contrary. A little intellectual honesty will trump knee > jerk reaction every time.... > > Emergency Preparedness in our county in Glynn County, GA currently > includes > 8 SCS Pactor III controllers. At least 4 more are scheduled for purchase > prior to Hurricane season. > > The reason for this is that nothing else will come close to the throughput > and devotion of the WL2K system when other infrastructure is down. > > The county services have now learned the importance of owning their own > amateur radio equipment and promoting operators from within their ranks to > be able to have the additional layer of communications infrastructure > available and in play during time of emergency. > > I would say this is a wake-up call, but, sadly, wake-up calls > concerning the > Amateur Radio Service are a small spot in the rear-view mirror. > > So, it is entirely predictable that the Amateur community would resist > WL2k > and Pactor III. It does what they no longer have the devotion to do. I > continue to refine my ear, and ability to work voice under less than > optimal > conditions. I continue to refine my station(s); fixed, mobile and portable > in an attempt to be prepared to do the job required to retain the Amateur > Radio Spectrum. Pactor III is a tool that I use very sparingly. I am very > fortunate to be able to use it freely on the NTIA spectrum, and, given a > choice, it is a no-brainer which service will handle the most traffic > during > an emergency situation. > > To a "T", the amateur radio community will continue to resist, until they > have no ground under their feet. Spectrum refarming is very lucrative for > funding . The FCC may seem slow, but they do have a little more will to > survive than others under their blanket seem to... > > All in all, it is progress. The direction it is taking isn't pretty, but > the outcome will include Pactor III, I am not too sure it will include > Amateur Radio... Laughing last will be a hollow victory in this case.... > > David > KD4NUE > > -----Original Message----- >
