Come on, Vic. Where is a CW operator going to set up? Are they going to set up some place like the Superdome with all that pandemonium? Are they going to walk around operating HF with 10' poles sticking out of their back pocket like W0RW/PM? It just doesn't make sense when a ham on foot with a pocket sized HT on VHF communicating through a repeater or an on site dual band VHF/UHF mobile rig acting as a repeater can move fast, stay safe and get the message through using clear, clean FM. It's done all the time all over the country.
Hams were not allowed in early-on because the situation on the ground was just not safe even for rescue personnel. Angry people, violence, shoot-outs. How's an HF CW guy going to deal with that? They weren't jumping out of helicopters with HF CW rigs. They are going in with VHF/UHF HTs to communicate with local emergency services and getting some H&W traffic out via VHF/UHF. It is then put on HF by guys sitting at home with big antennas and lots of power or the Internet. I live a few miles from the San Andreas Fault. I have a K1, K2 and KX1 all able to work on battery power for extended periods. But when the Big One hits and I need help, I'm grabbing my FT-470 HT first. Eric KE6US www.ke6us.com -----Original Message----- From: Vic K2VCO [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > I would be > willing to bet during the worst moments of the current crisis in the > Gulf states that nobody was heard to utter the words, "If only we > could get some CW ops in there with battery power rigs." It just doesn't happen. I've heard over and over in news reports that 'there's no communications', people can't find out if their relatives and friends are OK, etc. This is EXACTLY the kind of situation in which CW operators with battery powered rigs would excel. _______________________________________________ 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
