True - but we don't have near the lobbying power that the electric power industry has, and they smell $$$ and the opportunity to horn in on the braodband to the home market.
If they had BPL in Baton Rouge, this would have been a lot more difficult - "Field teams were continuing to use HF to maintain communication with the EOC in Baton Rouge." From: ==>AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS FILLING COMMUNICATION GAPS IN GULF REGION Hundreds of Amateur Radio operators from the Gulf Coast and elsewhere in the US continue to volunteer their skills and expertise as the Hurricane Katrina relief effort heads into its third week. ARRL Section Managers (SMs) and Section Emergency Coordinators (SECs) across and around the affected region have been teleconferencing daily to keep their efforts on the same page. In the field, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and other volunteers are assisting as needed to support communication for relief agencies as well as for state and local government and even the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Louisiana SEC Gary Stratton, K5GLS, says Amateur Radio was the only means for state officials at the state emergency operations center (EOC) in Baton Rouge to communicate earlier this week with the so-called "Florida parishes" above Lake Pontchartrain. "We have had praise from one end of Louisiana to the other about Amateur Radio operators," Stratton said. "There was a communication to the EOC in Baton Rouge from FEMA that said, 'Ham radio is our prime communications with you, and they should get anything they need,' so FEMA recognizes the importance of ham radio." He also recounted how state officials arriving at the EOC were using ham radio to get through to their hard-hit parishes. A marshaling center has been established in Covington, Louisiana. ARES has been continuing to support Red Cross shelter and Southern Baptist Convention debris-clearing in St Tammany parish, as well as Baptist Men's Kitchen canteen operations. In Washington Parish, ARES volunteers--including more than a dozen from South Texas--have been providing critical communication among hospitals and the parish EOC, among other functions. Field teams were continuing to use HF to maintain communication with the EOC in Baton Rouge. Stratton, who's temporarily handed over his SEC duties to former Louisiana SM Al Oubre, K5SDG, said that while things are going along okay right now, he foresees a need for additional operators down the road, once closed areas are reopened. "One of the biggest problems we're going to have is relief for the operators who have been down there [in the affected parishes]," he said. "New Orleans is, of course, our next thrust, and we're going to have to have to staff recovery efforts down there, but it'll be a different kind of recovery effort," Stratton predicted. "We'll be supporting the EOC in Baton Rouge with temporary communications until the National Guard can get in." Stratton said Amateur Radio has even had to loan some government agencies their communication gear because their own didn't function. "It's been an eye-opener to me operating in the EOC down there how terribly their equipment operates," he said. In Mississippi, ARES operators have been helping to maintain communication among hospitals, EOCs and shelters. ARES District Emergency Coordinator Tom Hammack, W4WLF, reported operators were sleeping on the floor when off duty. State RACES Officer and ARES DEC Ron Brown, AB5WF, was setting up a staging area for Amateur Radio volunteers near the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in Jackson. SECs in the US Gulf advise volunteers signing up for duty in the hurricane-stricken zones to coordinate with their home SECs and, once given the go-ahead, arrive as self-sufficient as possible. "If you need it, you bring it," advised Alabama SEC Jay Isbell, KA4KUN. Volunteers have come from all over the US. Isbell said each Red Cross feeding unit was turning out 25,000 to 30,000 meals a day. "They still need communication," he said. Local amateurs in the affected areas were handling some of the tactical communication on VHF. A staging area in Montgomery, Alabama, continues to process and orient Amateur Radio volunteers for American Red Cross and other duty in Louisiana and Mississippi. Some volunteers will help support communication at Red Cross shelters set up for evacuees, while others will provide tactical communication for feeding stations or for emergency management. Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, has been coordinating ham radio volunteers at the Montgomery site. Norm North Jr, WA1DBR, of Arkansas, was deployed to a Red Cross shelter in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he managed to squeeze in some health-and-welfare messages among the emergency traffic. North says typical requests included pleas from mothers trying to find missing children, youngsters looking for parents and other trying to get word to families and loved ones that they'd survived the storm and were at the shelter. "Many messages got through," North said, "and I received many thanks and hugs." As conventional telecommunications starts coming back to life, traffic has been slowing on the major regional HF emergency net--the West Gulf ARES Emergency Net on 7.285 MHz days and 3.873 MHz nights. As a result, the net announced September 9 that it would secure routine operation at 0600 UTC September 10. An open net will be maintained on 3.862 MHz after that. West Gulf ARES Emergency Net Manager Lee Franks, N5FP (ex-AD5IS), says the net passed traffic as recently as September 7 about a man trapped in an attic in Arabi [Louisiana]. "We're still getting a trickle of messages like this," he said earlier this week. "As communications are reestablished via landline and VHF-UHF links in that area, there has been less demand on our net--but I'd call it an absolute, tremendous success what we have done." There's more information on Amateur Radio's Hurricane Katrina response on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org>. On 9/10/05, Kaleb C. Striplin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I dont see how they could get away with that. There are lots of hams > out there that would fight such a thing I would think. > > OK Don wrote: > > > Every bit of radio spectrum space is allocated to licensed services, > > with the exception of that used by the wireless phones, WiFi radio > > network gear, etc. They are in narrow slices of spectrum. Un-licensed > > devices are allowed to operate on frequencies allocated to licensed > > services if they meet certain limitations of radiated power, and do > > not cause interference to the licensed services. They must accept > > interference from licensed services. > > > > These licensed services include the military, emergency services, > > hams, navigation services, braodcast stations, etc. BPL uses radio > > frequency signals. It sends them over miles of power lines strong up > > in the air. Those power lines look and act like great big antennas. > > THe BPL frequencies cover most of the "shortwave" spectrum. Even at > > low power, the size of the antenna results in a lot of radiated radio > > noise. It causes significant interference to licensed radio use. > > > > As a ham, that means that I won't be able to hear that battery > > operated low power station in NOLA calling for help or asking where > > the kids are because all weak signals are drowned out by the BPL > > noise. Poor connection in the power lines arc and generate enough > > noise to be a serious problem right now. If I go the the trouble of > > locating the source of the noise, the power company has to repair the > > junction to stop interfering with my licensed service. > > > > BPL is being pushing to have the interference limits raised enough to > > all but eliminate world wide shortwave radio communication from the > > US. By the time a signal bounces many time from Australia to here, or > > passes through the magnetic/ionic soup at the North Pole from > > Siberia,it's rather weak. The BPL folks say that they've "notched" out > > the ham frequencies from their signals so that they won't cause > > interference. Testing has shown that they haven't. They have conducted > > their tests away from military sites, emergency management services, > > etc., leaving the hams to fight this electromagnetic pollution. Once > > approved however, they'll go where ever the money is, and that means > > it won't go to the rural areas as Luther pointed out. > > > > On 9/10/05, Kaleb C. Striplin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >>yea, I wanted to hear the rant > >> > > > > > > Ask, and you shall receive -- -- > > > > -- > Kaleb C. Striplin/Claremore, OK > 89 560SEL, 87 300SDL, 87 300SDL, 85 380SE, > 85 300D, 83 300TD, 81 300TD, 81 240D, 81 240D, > 76 450SEL, 76 240D, 76 300D, 74 240D, 69 250 > Okie Benz Auto parts-email for used parts > > _______________________________________ > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net > -- OK Don, KD5NRO Norman, OK '87 300SDL '81 240D '78 450SLC The FSM created the Diesel Benz http://www.venganza.org/
