> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "mikea" <mi...@mikea.ath.cx>
> I diffidently suggest that amateur radio licensing, together with some > battery-operated gear (think 2-meter or 70-cm handy-talkies at a minimum > for short-haul comms, HF gear for longer-haul) may be Very Good Indeed > in a disaster that takes down POTS service or government emergency > communications. Folks interested in this might want to investigate > ARES and/or RACES in the US, or similar activities in other countries. Diffident, hell. When did we get diffident? :-) We use "When All Else Fails" as a slogan for Amateur Radio Emergency Communications for a reason... The *real* problem is getting petty politics out of local ARES/RACES orgs. Cheers, -- jra