[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > OK, that will work. Then again, many amateur transceivers have a > "simpleton mode" that only allows volume, squelch & memory channel > adjustment. Might be a cheaper & more flexible solution since the radio > can still be easily reprogrammed by anyone who does know the radio. > > Bob NO6B
I hear there's a channelized service with 40 channels AM (and SSB too) down around the 11 meter portion of the spectrum. Perhaps hams that can't figure out a VFO and a couple of menu options might like one of those rigs in the emergency comm station because they're "so easy to operate". (Sorry... had to poke fun at this silliness.) Here's the reality of it... for emergency comms, just handle it like anything else. If you're not "checked out" on the gear, you don't operate it. Just like anyone else with lives on the line... pilots, commercial drivers, etc. If you were "checked out" and you blow something up, both you AND the guy that signed you off are responsible until the cause of the accident is determined. Sounds a lot like aviation, doesn't it? Guess what... it works. With a radio it takes 5 minutes... someone stands there and says, "Tune to X, standard repeater offset, and set a X Hz CTCSS tone."... and waits to see if the person can do it. Do a few more. If they can't operate the rig, it'll be obvious. And if they're not signed off, they're not authorized to use the community gear, because they'll blow it up. If the emergency station is configured with other tools, like a PC and sound-card HF software or similar, those would have separate "check-rides". Nate WY0X
