It absolutely does not say that. “No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal…”
A Part 97 radio station, as in ham radio, would be working under Part 97. The minute you transmit outside the amateur radio bands, you are no longer covered by Part 97. That's like you walking into my house, lighting up a cigar and flopping down with your muddy boots up on my couch. The rules in your home do not apply in mine.
No part says anything about public safety agencies doing whatever they feel like.
It's a joke, relax Francis.
But I think level of sardonic condescension exceeds what’s required to discuss this topic.
Oh, my sarcasm hasn't even shifted into second gear yet.
Someone trying to remind their spouse to pick up milk on the way home does not constitute essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property.
Hams need to remember they are hams. Confusing passing a 35 question multiple choice test with being a public safety professional is where the disease called whackerism starts.
If hams were really serious about communications, and using it in an emergency, they'd study up more on it. But unfortunately they get to 97.405, the brain shuts off and many go immediately into whacker mode.
If you expect to be in an emergency where ham radio isn't going to do the trick, then you need to be properly equipped. A PLB is about $200 (that's 10 Baofengs) and it'll get you emergency help quickly.
If the FCC wanted hams to have access to frequencies outside of Part 97, then that would be clearly spelled out in the rules,
EXACTLY like they did in 97.401. But they didn't. Because they don't want hams to do that.
I've worked in public safety radio for a long time. I was talking with our PSAP manager once about this very subject. I asked her, hey, what would you do if some ham radio operator suddenly started transmitting on the dispatch channel?
Her reply:
1. We'd call you to find out what the hell was going on.
2. We'd ignore them, since that is what they are trained to do when they get interference like that (it happens enough that they are specifically trained on how to deal with it).
3. If it kept up and they actually provided useful info, we'd dispatch an officer.
4. If it was legit, we'd deal with it, then address the ham operator separately.
What hams fail to understand is how they fit into the system. Ham are not "special" and have access to public safety radio systems where non-hams do not. The PSAPS are designed to work a specific way to be efficient, triage the calls, and dispatch the correct resources based on that triage. Most PSAP's have a 'call taker' position who's job it is to interface with the public. They will ask the correct questions to get the info needed. They'll enter that info into the Computer Aided Dispatching system. That includes what the emergency is, which agencies are responsible for that area, what other calls have come in from that location.
Then the call gets handed off to the dispatchers. The dispatchers are often handling multiple calls at the same time. They are trained to get the right resources to the right place to do the most good.
So, now Mr. Ham pops up on the dispatch channel.
Mr. Ham bypasses the 911 system. Mr. Ham bypasses the call taker. Mr. Ham assumes that their emergency is
the most important one in the world at that second. Now, a dispatcher that may be trying to juggle multiple calls has to deal with some random dude popping up on the dispatch channel without the aid of the call taker. There's zero CAD history. There is zero call information. The triage system has been bypassed. Now the dispatcher has to juggle an untrained individual jumping into the middle of the system with zero knowledge about what else is going on in their jurisdiction. Again, Mr. Ham thinks their call is the most important thing in the world. They have no idea what the dispatchers are dealing with, what calls need to take priority, and what else is going on.
So, sure, tell me again how the 35 question multiple choice puts you suddenly in charge of the processes in the PSAP? Tell me how you know your call takes priority over everything else?
Your argument does not fly when faced with realities. This is why so many of us who work in the industry have such a issue with the whacker attitude. It shows zero respect for first responders and the
REST OF THE PUBLIC. It's more of the "me first, I'm important!" attitude.
