White House Katrina Report Praises Radio Amateurs

Technocrat

White House Katrina Report Praises Radio Amateurs

Technocrat.net Editor

Tue Feb 28 09:31:01 -0800 2006

Amateur+Radio.

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The Bush Administration's Katrina report has an appendix called what went right, with praise for Amateur Radio:
Other organizations worked tirelessly to assist emergency responders that, due to the storm, did not have the equipment and means to effectively carry out their duties. Amateur Radio Operators from both the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the American Radio Relay League, monitored distress calls and rerouted emergency requests for assistance throughout the U.S. until messages were received by emergency response personnel. A distress call made from a cell phone on a rooftop in New Orleans to Baton Rouge was relayed, via ham radio, from Louisiana to Oregon, then Utah, and finally back to emergency personnel in Louisiana, who rescued the 15 stranded victims. [11] Ham radio operators voluntarily manned the amateur radio stations at sites such as the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Watch Net, Waterway Net, Skywarn and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network. [12]

White House Katrina Report Praises Radio Amateurs

President4242

Tue Feb 28 11:27:15 -0800 2006
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And if the Administration's response to things that go right holds true, the next thing you know they'll be cutting funding for ham radio licenses and the FCC. After seeing what the Administration that likes to run wars with National Guard personell is doing to the National Guard, I have *no confidence left* in the idea of them noticing that something went right and actually encouraging that behavior.

White House Katrina Report Praises Radio Amateurs

AB3A

Tue Feb 28 13:41:25 -0800 2006
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Thankfully, ham radio is almost entirely volunteer, including the tests for the exams themselves, and they have been for decades.

The only function the Federal Government contributes is a regulatory function. Enforcement is almost non-existent, and it isn't really needed anyway as the hobby has social taboos against most rude behavior. It's also true that many clubs have direction finding gear of their own to track down miscreants. The really bad cases are referred to the FCC. I think they have a staff of one guy (Riley Hollingsworth) --and not much else.

The only thing I wish they wouldn't do is promulgate poorly developed standards such as BPL.

that's my big beef...

zogger

Tue Feb 28 20:46:05 -0800 2006
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....against the HAM community. I only have one but it's a biggee as far as I am concerned. They turn in political "pirate radio" guys. You know, the low power guys who setup and broadcast some alternative news and views. We have by default a situation where it is near impossible to get a "legal" very low powered am or fm radio station. It's ridiculous to even try and get a commercial SHORTWAVE license, just the dang monthly extortion to the government is outrageous, and shortwave is slap full of empty space. You literally have to be a multi-millionare to pull off getting any normal AM (medium wave) or FM station. The community licenses area a joke, hard to get,and very limited. Yet HAMS and their complaints are what get these quite needed -IMO- stations "busted". And the deal is, the "pirate" stations are usually quite careful to not infringe on frequency, picking local unused spectrum. In the regular stations, when it comes to "news", you have your choice of establishment propoganda or establishment propoganda as you flick around the dial. sucks..

Maybe with the threat of BPL they will move their political focus and energies elsewhere and leave the pirates -arrrr-alone.

that's my big beef...

AB3A

Wed Mar 01 05:22:51 -0800 2006
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ln my 30 something years experience as a ham I can say that I've never known a time when hams didn't guard the spectrum they use very jealously. Most other shortwave users know better than to stomp on ham radio activities unless they have a legal basis to do so.

The pirate radio bunch bothers me somewhat. On the one hand, I respect the wanting to get on the air and voice one's views. On the other hand, many shortwave stations will sell you time at a modest rate of around $1 per minute. At that price, I'm forced to ask whether you're really dealing with a need here, or an issue of pride at owning one's very own broadcast studio and transmitter.

And if you develop a reasonable listenership, you may even be able to sell advertising and make a profit --all without a single license.

Now as for FM micropower broadcasting, the issue is one of interference. The big stations are in it for the coverage. Micropower broadcasting chips away at that coverage by interfering with larger stations in fringe areas. Yeah, if I were a major broadcaster, I'd be annoyed too.

Again, this is not like owning a printing press where you supply all the ingredients for the media. This is an issue of bandwidth and power management. The current FM broadcast band was not designed with micropower broadcasting in mind.

However, part 15 is a wonderful regulation. Lots of coordinated transmitters might be a legitimate way of getting your word out... Nobody ever said that you couldn't have more than one transmitter if it fits under part 15...

White House Katrina Report Praises Radio Amateurs

AB3A

Tue Feb 28 15:56:15 -0800 2006
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This may actually be somewhat useful. I've been trying to get a station established for an amateur radio club at work. Work, in this case, is a water utility. We happen to own some prime radio sites: They're called water tanks.

If our club could get established, we could "light up" both Baltimore and DC from the headquarters building. We would then be poised for emergency communications capacity. Many of the very same employees who might use this station are also "Tactically Essential" staff. We'd be there anyway. It would be really handy to have a station ready for coordination in disasters.

After the Katrina experience, I have little confidence that all the fancy communications networks that local, state and county police have been relying on will survive a large scale disaster. It's also very hard to coordinate. The skeptics where I work stuck with the good old tried and true low band VHF gear.

The solution? Well, for minor disasters, that digital gear the counties and state use is pretty good. For major messes, however, nothing will replace good old direct station to station communications. Ham radio will always be there...