Here is some horn tooting: I worked in the Martin County High School long-term Red Cross shelter for ARES. When I arrived I asked the director what methods of communication they were using and he pointed to his "Nextel" - which was of course NOT working - and said "they (the Red Cross) gave us these".
At that point in time there was no power, no telephones, no generators, and no cooking facilities with over a thousand pounds of food spoiling. As far as I know: Only the county deputy and myself had any communications working at all - and we were the *only* way to contact the other county shelter and out of area shelters which were mostly in the same condition. In our area we have only two local stations (both same owners and AM). A group of hams went to the stations and fixed the Studio -Transmitter link on one, and the generator at the other. For a day after the storm, very little and often inaccurate news was afforded by the West Palm stations regarding Martin or St Lucie counties; which was where Frances eye came ashore. Thanks to *HAMS* the local community had a local radio station and Emergency Communications. All the FM stations in this area appear to be owned by Clear Channel BTW- all they can do is re-broadcast audio from the TV stations that are all 50 miles away. What a community service they are. No local programming on FM. I wish I could remember all the calls, but I just moved to Stuart, FL. Some of the participants whose calls I remember: N4BG, W4LOU, KG4TEW, WB9SHT. W4LOU, Lou, did the most work to get WSTU and WPSL back on the air again. Bruce, WB9SHT even drove fuel to the generator for WSTU and started it back up in the mornings. I know I am grateful. I am sure none of these guys do anything for the recognition- but it should be recognized lest the FCC remove our ability to perform these services in the future. At this point in time *only* the stations that received the help have been giving the hams any credit or recognition. 73 Bill Laakkonen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Benjamin Naber" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <repeater-builder@yahoogroups.com>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 2:13 PM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Hurricanes and news centers > > Hello All, > > I am sure that by now you know Ivan The terrible is > on it's way to our coast line, following suit to it's > precessors; Charlie and Frances. > > Have you all been watching the news? > > Have you noticed anything missing? > > -How about the fact that the communication force > behind the emergency scenes has been ham radio, but > the news media has failed to make even the smallest > mention? > > Let's put ourselfish pride aside and start making > this hobby/passion what it should be and let the world > know how people in areas of distress are communicating > when the commerical systems have failed. > > Let's be bold and toot our own horn and make > ourselves known to the general public. People out > there want to know and learn. Let's show them what > amatuer radio is about - A service to the community > and a great hobby and passion. > > Doesn't hurt to have fun and spread the news like I > did. I sent emails to every news center out there. Now > do your part and let get some new people into ham > radio! > > 73 de Benjamin, KB9LFZ > > > > _______________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! > http://vote.yahoo.com > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
