Mike Pugh wrote:
>
> mch wrote:
>
> > I know lots of hams who have EmCom vehicles under their own authority.
> > You don't need permission to put one together. You only need permission
> > of a PS agency to put transmit in an authorized radio, but the radios
> > never came into play here - just the antennas.
>
> I know some of the same crowd. The question remains though.... Why? Who
> benefits?? The agencies?
Well, if you want to get technical about it, it's nearly an FCC mandate.
Quoting Part 97 (PLEASE forgive me, Kevin) "(a) Recognition and
enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a
voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect
to providing emergency communications."
That's really the first line in Part 97. Note the part 'particularly
with respect to providing emergency communications'. Preparedness for
any emergency is part of that federal mandate for the existance of the
service! Having a mobile unit that has as much versitility as possible
is as valuable as gold in an emergency.
Who benefits? The "public" (again, quoted). Whomever relies upon hams
for passing traffic. It takes a burden off of the emergency services, so
they benefit indirectly, too, and YES, sometimes directly. Hams have
been used when other means of communciations are down.
To bring this on topic, even having a portable repeater is useful in an
EnCom vehicle. You never know what function you may be called upon to
perform, or where.
> Can you truly imagine a scenario where an
> incident commander turns to an assistant, and says, "Better call Joe
> Schmo, he and his 1978 Crown Vic have the only remaining police radio
> left in the county, We'll all die unless he can get here and transmit
> for us?"
You want that scenario? OK, here it is. Many areas are going to trunked
radio systems. That means hitting the right target can effectively take
out an ENTIRE COUNTY. We all know cells will overload in an instant.
When all the PDs have useless radios installed, and they can get a
message to the command center via Joe Schmo, you had better believe they
will take that option. I would if it means the ability to communicate.
Look ay NYC. Who expected their communications system to literally
disappear in the rubble? There are many cases where hams have been
called the 'only means of communcations' in emergency situations.
There have been many cases where a ham EmCom vehicle sat right beside a
county EnCom Vehicle. The county deals with their comms, and the hams
suppliment them and relieve them of some of the Health & Welfare
traffic.
It sound like you may have never been involved in an emergency.
These are the reasons for the existence of ARES and RACES, too. BUT,
those organizations are not necessary for any ham to equip his own EmCom
ham vehicle.
Volunteers are becoming harder to find these days, so the role hams will
play is becoming more important every day. (literally)
> The only person who benefits is the guy that gets to drive
> around with 27 antennas on his vehicle thinking he looks cool to someone
> who doesn't know any better... Kinda like our guy with the Chevy that
> started all of this..
And a single HF spider antenna doesn't 'look cool' to the uninformed?
And to me, 27 antennas looks like a home-brew intermod alley, but that
we can save for another thread. :-)
> Now we're talking.... You actually are who you are representing to be...
> The guy with the Chevy apparently is not. That's why he got the
> ticket... This is not an apples to apples comparison...
True. But, take away the emergency lights and the badge, and it's
awfully close. Are hams impersonating cops when they stand there with
their HTs and pass comms at an event? In some cases they may even be
using the same brand radios! (I do, but only for legal reasons, as you
can't legally use a ham radio in the commercial band, so I use
commercial radios with select ham frequencies in them.)
> > I wouldn't mind getting a Crown Vic, though, as I don't care to let my
> > present vehicle idle at a scene for hours on end. It's not built for it
> > - Crown Vics are (at least the P71s are).
>
> Why would you need to? Aren't there any "real" cop cars that can sit and
> idle for hours on end where you live? At $2.25 or so per gallon of gas,
> I would not care to let my car sit and idle for hours on end, especially
> if I was driving a Vic as my POV.
Well, most of the emergency services in my area are volunteer only
except the PD (and some of those have volunteer reserves), IF there is
even a PD in the area. Many areas are only patroled by the state. When
will they get there? Who knows. Until then, I could very well be the
only police presence on scene. When my butt is the only one out there,
you had better believe I want as much communications as possible. But
again, that's for another thread.
So, aren't there any 'real cop cars' that can sit? In most cases, no.
Most cars are tied up on other calls (again, if there are any in the
municipality). In the case of an emergency, don't expect to find any
free. Even the doughnut shop is going to have a slow night!
But still, I would rather have a car designed for idling for hours as
opposed to using one that is not. Yes, gas is expensive. So is Ham Radio
for the most part. Your point? ;-> It's still community service.
Joe M.
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