We need an effective emergency communications system that does not depend on AMATEUR RADIO operators, who are in fact Amateurs, not tasked with the job of emergency communication, not formally equipped to operate without power, water, or food, and not required by law to provide emergency communications.
I don’t think that’s “dissing” them, although its clear his remarks were impolitic.
We need to have government-equipped, professionally manned, effective and compatable emergency communications equipment. The answer is not that “ham radio operators” can save the day. Sure they can, and they do, but we can’t have a system that counts on it.
Charles, you’re right to an extent. But, you just “dissed” the hams too. Saying that the GOVERNMENT can “professionally man” those systems is what I’m talking about.
First off, I AM a professional communicator, did it for 26 years with the government. I’m also a ham. Hams are for the most part more professional than those the government will hire.
What you’re failing to understand and realize is that systems FAIL in disasters. You can put up the best, and most expensive systems, that can do whatever you want. But when floods, fires and hurricanes take out the antennas and the systems, there’s nothing you can do about that, and you need help.
Hams aren’t the first line guys. They are BACK UP.
They always will be BACK UP. We have a saying... “When all else fails, Amateur Radio is there”.
That’s what I’m trying to get you folks to see, and acknowledge.
Anyone who sits there and says “we shouldn’t count on the hams” simply is misunderstanding the problem. I expect, and KNOW that local and regional EOCs DO depend on Hams. The INCORPORATE them into the training for the region.
Want to know why?>
Because we are a resource that has our own equipment that tends to show up when needed, and the training and exercises keep the hams ready to go.
Almost all emergency operations centers around the country employ hams at some level of operations and planning. Many of the “government operators” ARE hams.
You guys can sit there and say “We need this or that”, but without the funding applied to those systems, you’re not going to get it.
When you chose one and only one type of intercommunications, you do not NOT have diversity of communications, thus you have weak links and single-points-of-failure.
Right now, for a fact, the government has put in 800-900 mhz digital trunking systems throughout this SW region. People are supposed to be able to inter-communicate between fire, police agencies, federal agencies and the military.
Guess what? It isn’t working. It looks fantastic on paper. In real life, things like that fail because the systems are now overloaded, they aren’t being used as they were intended, and they get “busy” now, just like a cell phone system.
When 9-11 happened, the cell phones mostly went out. Too many people calling. Jammed the phone lines and the cell towers. Hams came in and brought external communications systems that were NOT dependent on city systems. They got messages out.
Hams helped save thousands of lives when Katrina hit, because government infrastructure FAILED.
This PAST WEEK Ham radio operators again came to the rescue when GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS FAILED>
Learn from mistakes, learn from history and understand that Mitt made a mistake. Better yet, tell MITT he made a mistake and he needs to rethink his “the government can do it all” — because that’s MONEY out of OUR pockets.
I’m willing to bring my radio systems, and operate PROFESSIONALLY (as an amateur who is NOT getting paid) and provide whatever I have as a resource when the emergency/disaster hits. What I’m NOT willing to do is have my taxes raises to support a government run, government funded radio communications or internet system that will fail when it is needed the most.