I almost dread answering this because my response is neither understood nor popular. If this article were true, why are disaster coordinators turning to cellular? Sure, we can say they are in the wrong, but they make the decisions. Of course, convenience is a big part of it; a disaster worker would have difficulty carrying a ham around in his or her hip pocket. J But, there's also a legitimate need to move around large amounts of information reasonably quickly. That's one hallmark of modern disasters whether we like it or not. Saying that ham radio (and CW) will never die may make for a great rally cry, but there's the disturbing question of relevancy. That's the whole crux of my earlier point about being able to justify our spectrum allocations. I'm unconvinced that our own opinion of ham radio will mean much If disaster managers don't remain on our side.
It was easy to tell the article was the type of "fluff piece" the media pulls from storage as filler on slow news days. Very little substance there. What I have noticed starting with Katrina was a marked decrease in how much disaster-related communications have been on ham bands. Please remember that I've been a SWL since 1968 so listening is something I know a bit about. Yes, it's great to be a CW loyalist. There's nothing wrong with that. I do wonder, though, about the 5,000 name causality list, or the picture a disaster worker snaps of a critical situation to help his bosses make important decisions miles away. Those are just two of many disaster-related communications that would overwhelm the best CW op. Incidentally, how often is it possible to copy CW that's inaudible? I've done it a few times with Olivia and got 100% copy even with nothing showing on the waterfall. Options, guys. That's my point. We need more modes, including far faster ones. From: BVARC [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of K5HM via BVARC Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 15:12 To: 'BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB' Subject: [BVARC] Cross posted from Tidelands Featured on Fox news TV channel today and also on their website..... http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/05/19/ham-radio-old-technology-gets-new-res pect/?intcmp=features 73, Ron, K5HM <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.qrz.com/db/k5hm> www.qrz.com/db/k5hm ARRL Logologo (2)
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