> I submit that the reason virtually ALL emergency nets are phone is that > CW requires a skill few Hams have today: even routine CW ops.
> In the Ham world, using phone means that more operators are available > everywhere, so there are likely more operators available any time and > in any place they are needed. It seems to me that the most likely use of ham radio in an emergency is to quickly establish local communications in areas where all communication is out. That's likely to be VHF, perhaps aided by a quickly deployed repeater or two. I think the more interesting philosophical question long-term revolves around the ubiquitous Internet. Back 30 years ago when I was more involved in handling traffic during natural disasters, it seems like most of what we did was health/welfare inquiries. Now, if survivor lists can get to a location with Internet access, these lists can be placed on the Web and anyone in the world can access it directly. Combine this with 24-hour cable news networks and you eliminate most of the need for long-range communication. CNN, Fox, and MSNBC had *cameras* and live reports deliberately placed in areas that were *about* to be hit, and reported live while Katrina was hitting them. They then were *there* at the Superdome and convention center in N.O. before the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or local ham radio club. If DHS Secy Chertoff and FEMA Director Brown had watched Fox News instead of listening to state and local government officials, they would have had a much better idea what was going on in the hours immediately after Katrina passed through, and supplies and transportation could have gotten to hard-hit areas much earlier. But since they depended on "official" channels and didn't turn on a TV, they didn't know what was going on. I suspect that both ham radio and the federal government are living in the past. The Internet has eliminated much of the traditional ham radio activity surrounding disasters (with the exception of course of local VHF activity), and 24-hour news networks have become better eyes and ears than the "official" government communication channels. Craig _______________________________________________ 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
