Dave,
First of all, I will be the first to admit that I'm not up on all the
latest technology.
BUT, I have felt for a long time (34 years to be exact), that the heyday
of amateur radio emergency communications is long past.
If we look back to the 1930's and so, radio communications was rare and
hams could provide extraordinary communications during an emergency
compared to anything else available. Even in the 1950's and 60's, local
governments could be easily isolated and would have to depend upon ham
radio in an emergency.
But during the 1970's and later, police, fire and other government
agencies greatly expanded their ability to communicate even during
emergencies. Individuals hams with a portable station were able to
contribute less and less. A modern fire chief at a disaster isn't going
to accept a ham with a hand held trying to get communications through to
a certain heavy rescue truck or mutual aid unit. By the time Katrina
came along, government agencies were expecting internet bandwidth and
cell phone capabilities and that is certainly far beyond the realm of
individual hams or even local ham organizations.
Modern communications and the government's need for same has gone far
beyond the scope and abilities of ham radio.
I was very active with AREC and RACES during the late 60's and early
70's, (county EC and RACES Radio Officer) but I realized then that if I
wanted to contribute to the community, I could do a million times more
as a volunteer firefighter. Ham radio could only make minor
contributions while trying to relive the glory days of earlier decades.
Those days are long gone, I'm afraid.
OTOH, perhaps it's good to see MARS actually doing something productive
in this area. I was very active MARS in the 60's but was dismayed that
it did nothing to follow fulfill it's charter of providing emergency
communications.
Ken
David Little wrote:
It is interesting , isn't it?
MARS doesn't hold contests.
MARS doesn't allow stations to intentionally interfere with other
stations.
MARS doesn't promote awards for the number of contacts you can make in a
minute and not say anything.
MARS doesn't get their panties wadded up when information is exchanged
without being interfered by contesters, QRN or jammers.
Army MARS offers training during 90% of it's net operations.
MARS has requirements for membership.
MARS promotes discipline and efficient operation.
MARS gets to play on NTIA spectrum and doesn't have to subject itself
to the
bonfire of vanities experienced on ham frequencies.
Kid of sets a precedent, doesn't it.
This probably goes as far as any other single example to explain why the
ARRL relegated the Amateur Radio community to the realm of last mile (VHF)
communications in support of emergency communications and abdicated the HF
realm to the Tri Service MARS organizations. Bread and Circuses has worked
since Roman times; why should this be any different.
The ARRL knew when to throw in the towel, and had a pretty good idea about
the quality of their members; as well as their devotion level to do the
tasks traditionally required of the Amateur Radio Service in exchange for
the spectrum they enjoy. The operation has been a success; the patient is
definitely dying
Pactor III is probably more effective than CW ever was as a 'filter to
determine the dedication level of emergency communicators.
But, you have to consider that there is not a HF rig less than $500.00
new,
and entry level for a HF rig that utilizes the best of 20th century
technology starts around $1200.00
With that said, you can begin to appreciate that the $900.00 cost of a
Pactor III controller (taking advantage of the 10% discount for Emergency
Communicators) will deliver the mail, with the cheapest HF rig. A PTC-IIex
controller connected to an Icom IC-718 cost about what an IC-7000 or a
little less than a TS-2000 costs; in a field of choices that can cost
up to
$15,000.00 for a HF rig alone.
The Contest Grade of transceivers that go north of ten grand will
clog up
the airwaves and render them unusable by others far more often than Pactor
III and WL2K.
Anyone saying that frequency usage during a contest is less adversely
affected than by WL2K transmissions using Pactor III is sadly being less
than truthful with their self and others, and there is simply no room for
discussion to the contrary. A little intellectual honesty will trump knee
jerk reaction every time
Emergency Preparedness in our county in Glynn County, GA currently
includes
8 SCS Pactor III controllers. At least 4 more are scheduled for purchase
prior to Hurricane season.
The reason for this is that nothing else will come close to the throughput
and devotion of the WL2K system when other infrastructure is down.
The county services have now learned the importance of owning their own
amateur radio equipment and promoting operators from within their
