On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:45 AM, Chris Knadle <[email protected]>wrote:
> On 2011-05-03 09:13, Joseph Apuzzo wrote: > >> full circle... What made the "Geek Trifecta" So powerful back in the day >> was the three elements: Independent communication "the radio", Building >> the modem, "the soldering iron", and that new device "the home >> computer". I clearly recall watching the packet network for hours on my >> DOS XT system. >> >> But now, we have Android and hand held "hot spots"... so why bother? >> Like almost all that posted to this thread, it was fun while it lasted. >> It seems it's day is gone. Sure there are people creating cool stuff, >> but who wants to be Gram Bell with no Watson? >> > > Because in a DISASTER, the cellular network might be taken out, as well as > typically becoming overloaded. And keep in mind that your fancy smart > phones typically have an 8-hour battery life, and that you don't have a > solar charger for it. The cell phones won't communicate between each other > directly without the base stations being up and running. > > This is the reason why ham radio is still often used during disasters. It's > still cool to be able to talk from the car over the radio, and it works over > a much longer range than cell phones do. > > Being a ham today is still fun, and it still has a purpose -- it's just > that if your purpose is to send data at a high speed, the internet is faster > and will always be faster -- first because the internet uses wires and > optical, secondly because it uses unlicensed spectrum rather than licensed > spectrum with strict rules. > > So again -- it goes back to what your specific goals are. > > Another angle is the social angle. You can meet some very interesting and > bright people over ham radio that you may not meet otherwise. For instance, > why do you go to MHVLUG meetings? I know I mainly go for the social angle > -- it's an opportunity to discuss Linux-related technologies with people > that have similar interests. Same goes for ham radio -- it's another kind > of social group. > > > > So now that you've leaped from one end of the spectrum to the other, try to > think about this as a whole so you can at least get some kind of reasonable > overall perspective. ;-) > > > -- > -- Chris > > -- > Chris Knadle > [email protected] > Back in recent history -- 2001 I was in a situation where there was no cell service. When a couple planes hit the World Trade Center, the cell service in lower Manhattan was knocked out. I wasn't in the Trade Center, I was in a subway under Broadway heading for Goldman Sachs. When we were escorted out of the subway onto the Wall St. platform by the motorman, we came up into an ankle deep mess of papers and ash. I tried my cell numerous times while walking up to Grand Central. I even stood in line at a pay phone trying to call my wife to tell her that I was fine (call wouldn't go through). There was absolutely no cell service until I was on a train heading back up to Beacon (about 1:30 or so). At that time, even regular phone lines were so overloaded that I was unable to reach my wife at work to tell her I was all right -- I had to phone my sister in Tampa from the train and ask her to keep trying my wife (her call eventually made it through). I don't know if it would have been any easier with a pocket HAM radio, but it might have been. At least with the declining number of HAM Operators, I might have found it less congested than the NY phone lines. Wes > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium > May 4 - Inkscape > Jun 1 - Zimbra > Jul 6 - Jul 2011 >
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Jun 1 - Zimbra Jul 6 - Jul 2011 Aug 3 - Scala - 100th MHVLUG meeting
