FWIW, *most* states have an agreement with their Dept of Motor Vehicles
allowing Amateurs (Hams) to get their call signs on their vehicle tags;
the premise is that Emergency Services like to have a clue who we are
when we/they show up on a scene to help. in real life, many LEOs don't
have a clue what our plates mean; i've even been pulled over by a
Sheriffs Deputy who insisted my tags must be a forgery because she
couldn't get them to come up on her computer,... she hadn't entered the
correct plate 'type' to be able to match it properly!)
in most states that i've investigated, it doesn't cost anything to
keep a 'Call Tag' like it would cost to keep a personalized plate, or
the only charge is for the printing of the special plate. (in CA for
example, it was $10 to get them printed last time i checked, but no
annual charge to keep it.)
Amateur Radio is clearly poorly understood and resultantly
undervalued; i've used it to assist in bicycle events on good days, and
in times of earthquake, fire, flood, and auto disaster on other days. in
all cases, there's been no Cell Phone coverage, and no chance of making
contact with e-mail or IM,... most of the Internet enthusiasts just
don't realize they're still dependent on a wire, and are just playing
'Amateur Telephone'. ;-)
as for calling CQ on the worldwide bands, i've always likened it to
armchair traveling and fishing; depending on conditions, you just don't
know who/where you're going to catch! having worked the world, i most
relish contacts like those i've made with a Junior High School classroom
on the other side of the country (that i visited later that year), a
gent near Dubrovnik that was nearly beside himself to find that i'd
actually been within a few kilometers of his home, a flight crew on a
military weather plane over the Pacific on its way back to its base in
the Midwest, or the guy i talked to holed up on an offshore oil rig
waiting for the winds to die down enough to be able to go back out on
deck to work,...
cheers/73!
n6zes
Werner Fehlauer wrote:
Besides talking to the ISS, don't forget that Ham Radio does a very
important public service in disaster relief, furnishing communications when
the phones, cell towers, computers, etc. all stop working.
At least one state officially recognizes the value of Amateur Radio
operators - Alaska. After the big earthquake of 1964, they enacted a law
that allows licensed Hams to get vehicle license plates for their vehicles
for a dollar (with their call signs!), as long as there is a radio installed
or can be installed in less than 24 hours.
Everytime there's a tornado outbreak, serious hurricane, flood, fire, or
other emergency, the Amateur Radio ARES system is usually activated. Many
municipalities have pre-arranged networks using Ham Operators for
communications or backup.
So is this system passé? Not in my estimation!
Werner
----- Original Message -----
From: "OK Don" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 12:08 AM
Subject: Re: [MBZ] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
It has - my son doesn't see any magic in it at all, he has IM, doesn't
see any need for a radio. He describes calling CQ as picking up the
phone, dialing a random number, and seeing who answers. I agreed, and
asked what's strange about that?
Amateur radio might get a bit of pick-up, the Morse code requirement
expires Feb. 24th.
It's also the only way you can talk to the International Space Station
as it soars overhead --
On 2/11/07, Bob Rentfro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I had no idea what all those crazy numbers were...then it all made sense
to
me.
I had some friends in school who were ham operators. I always thought it
was
cool.
I bet its popularity has waned big time over the years.....
Bob R.
--
OK Don, KD5NRO
Norman, OK
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just
sit there."
Will Rogers
'90 300D, '87 300SDL, '81 240D, '78 450SLC, '97 Ply Grand Voyager
