Rick, WD8KEL wrote: Amateur radio is fun and can make a difference, but it's only ONE of the tools to be used in an emergency, not the only tool.
-------------------- Absolutely. I apologize if I suggested any differently. I referred to the rigs as "public relations" tools, speaking to their perceived value to the community. One of the greatest values to the public that we've served over the years again and again is "health and welfare" messaging. That is, relieving the strain on traditional telephones and other channels that are needed for the emergency work by providing messages about the health and welfare of people in an affected zone to anxious friends and relatives elsewhere. It keeps us in practice and ready to jump in if needed to save lives. But the real value is not in headline-gathering heroics. It's in the work-a-day drudge work of letting Uncle Henry know that the kids in the storm zone are safe and well. There's real satisfaction in doing that. Rather than burn up any more bytes on the Elecraft reflector, I'd suggest anyone interested check with the RACES pages at www.arrl.org or the National Radio Emergency Network pages at http://68.43.101.244:81/nren/. NREN maintains emergency communications capabilities at all times on the 40, 30 and 20 meter CW bands through volunteer monitoring stations. If anyone has other questions, feel free to contact me off the reflector too. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
