Ham Radio YouTuber on the Emcomm Myth

[mmckenna]

this means one should have formidable skills, knowledge and training

More than a 35 question multiple choice test?

and be willing to assist if requested, by an AHJ.

-if-.

-IF-.

-IF-!

 

[AK9R]

The FCC's basis and purpose is pretty clear: ham radio is a non-commercial radio service for experimentation in all things radio, a place to share such information internationally, and third (and least), to provide a trained pool of operators who's skill sets can be called upon if needed to assist.

Did you skip paragraph (a)?

§ 97.1 Basis and purpose.

The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art.
(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.

 

[AK9R]

More than a 35 question multiple choice test?

Absolutely.

At the national level, ARES is requiring more and more training and demonstration of ability. See the ARES Taskbook: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf

 

[mmckenna]

Absolutely.

At the national level, ARES is requiring more and more training and demonstration of ability. See the ARES Taskbook: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf

Nice, thanks for sharing that. Nice to see them using the IS/ICS stuff.

 

[MTS2000des]

Did you skip paragraph (a)?

No, but nowhere does this or any subsection imply emergency response. Nothing. It isn't there.

 

[Falcon9h]

True story: (reference the phone graphic) neighbor had a house fire during the night, I'm a night guy so I was awake and heard the commotion. Ran in the house and got two of their dogs out and everyone was OK. I belly land in the ER for smoke inhalation.
Fire marshal calls me the next day to ask how I'm doing, told me the cause (laser engraver, something caught) and said "by the way, thanks, you were the only one to call 911."
Case in point. People really *are* oblivious.

 

[VA3WEX]

How ham radio fits into to existing First Reponder emergency plans probably varies widely around the world. Here in Ottawa, the Emergency Measures / ARES group packed it in. As their website explains:

In the mid 1990s, the City of Ottawa was made up of multiple Municipalities and cell phones were new and expensive. The communications used by Police, Fire and Public Works consisted of analog base stations, while a few agencies had repeaters. The communications capacity available to most agencies was barely sufficient to support their operations, so in an emergency, alternate communications were needed. This was the same technology used by Amateur radio in Ottawa and with Multiple Amateur radio clubs and a lot of innovation in repeaters, Amateur radio in Ottawa could provide significant communications capability.

Over time, the analog systems used by local agencies have given way to digital trunked systems with significant capacity, and almost everyone has a cell phone. At the same time, Amateurs have gotten older, clubs are folding and access to repeater sites for club repeaters has become more difficult, so some are no longer in operation. The capabilities and capacity that Amateur radio can provide, compared to what organizations normally rely on has reached a point where Amateur radio is no longer a viable emergency communications resource in Ottawa.

When all else fails, there is still Starlink and other satellite systems, commercial radio systems as well as portable cellular and radio sites. It’s also important to realize that if everything else has failed, Amateur radio infrastructure may also have failed. This does not mean that Amateurs can’t still provide emergency communications. There are search and rescue groups, the Red Cross and others, who would welcome members who have radio communications skills. Amateurs are encouraged to look for ways to continue to provide service to their community. Amateur radio remains an innovative and interesting hobby.

From: EMRG - Emergency Measures Radio Group

That being said, ham radio (or for that matter CB radio, FRS/MURS/GMRS, and even marine radio I suppose) could be used quite helpfully by a pre-existing community groups to provide assistance to their own members and "circle" during emergencies. I'm thinking of a church group coordinating visits to seniors in their own congregations during extended power outages, making sure everyone has enough food, etc. and reporting in to a nightly or twice-a-week "net" of some sort. "Ya, Bob, I was out with old Mrs. McGillicutty and her freezer is OK for now but if you could drop around with your gene for an hour tomorrow afternoon that would be good." That kind of stuff. It's not glamourous--but then, that stuff which is not glamourous is sometimes really the most important stuff.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Since today is SkyWarn recognition day, I will contribute my meager contribution to weather safety and comms; in spite of weather satellites, the NOAA, the NWS, the Weather Channel, Fox Weather, Weatherbug, Accuweather, and mPing.

I went outside and looked up.

Seeing nothing other than a nice day, I transmitted my findings on the Haunted Band [223.4000 MHz] with negative response.

EmComm complete for another month.

 

[KD8DVR]

It seems like everyone is on the same page here. Unfortunately, there are so many others, who do not get this.

 

[BMDaug]

@dickie757 LOL… “can’t tell a ground plane from an airplane”… I’m definitely stealing that, thanks for the laugh!

-B

 

[DeoVindice]

That being said, ham radio (or for that matter CB radio, FRS/MURS/GMRS, and even marine radio I suppose) could be used quite helpfully by a pre-existing community groups to provide assistance to their own members and "circle" during emergencies. I'm thinking of a church group coordinating visits to seniors in their own congregations during extended power outages, making sure everyone has enough food, etc. and reporting in to a nightly or twice-a-week "net" of some sort. "Ya, Bob, I was out with old Mrs. McGillicutty and her freezer is OK for now but if you could drop around with your gene for an hour tomorrow afternoon that would be good." That kind of stuff. It's not glamourous--but then, that stuff which is not glamourous is sometimes really the most important stuff.

That's a viable use case. A couple times a year, ham or GMRS repeaters in this area are used to coordinate assistance with stuck or disabled vehicles outside of reliable cell coverage.

Glamorous? No. Useful? Absolutely. You don't need to save the world to benefit someone. Hi-viz vest and clipped resistor not required.

 

[dickie757]

That's a viable use case. A couple times a year, ham or GMRS repeaters in this area are used to coordinate assistance with stuck or disabled vehicles outside of reliable cell coverage.

Glamorous? No. Useful? Absolutely. You don't need to save the world to benefit someone. Hi-viz vest and clipped resistor not required.

That is exactly how I got into radio.....to be able to call for help. I then realized I could be at home to hear someone else's call for help.

I have been a part of a "stuck vehicle" report because of no cell service. Guess what I did when the call came over the repeater? I sure as hell didnt light up the S.O.'s dispatch frequency. I called 911 and relayed location from the amateur in the field.

 

[k6cpo]

I have been a part of a "stuck vehicle" report because of no cell service. Guess what I did when the call came over the repeater? I sure as hell didnt light up the S.O.'s dispatch frequency. I called 911 and relayed location from the amateur in the field.

That's precisely what our club Secretary did when another club member got their Jeep stuck out in the desert in an area with no cell coverage. He answered the call on the repeater, contacted the SO in the area and the SO sent the Highway Patrol to pick them up.

 

[BMDaug]

That's precisely what our club Secretary did when another club member got their Jeep stuck out in the desert in an area with no cell coverage. He answered the call on the repeater, contacted the SO in the area and the SO sent the Highway Patrol to pick them up.

This is exactly how C.E.R.N. operates here in Colorado (Colorado Emergency REPORTING Net)… you call for help as a licensed amateur operator on coordinated repeaters across the state. Someone monitors this repeater network at all times. While the repeaters aren’t designated solely for the purpose of emergency traffic, saying ‘break’ three times and then stating your emergency will get you priority and the monitoring station calls the SO closest to your location and the SO takes care of the actual rescue effort. It’s a well coordinated effort where everyone knows their place… it’s not the Colorado Emergency Rescue or Responder Net for a reason!

-B

 

[ladn]

While the repeaters aren’t designated solely for the purpose of emergency traffic, saying ‘break’ three times and then stating your emergency will get you priority and the monitoring station calls the SO closest to your location and the SO takes care of the actual rescue effort

Sounds a lot like the way R.E. A.C.T. worked back in the glory days of CB!

 

[n0xvz]

This is exactly how C.E.R.N. operates here in Colorado...

I was in The Springs in February and heard the CERN nets for the first time. I was amazed at the quality and professionalism I heard. Makes me miss having a good net in my area. Of course, it helped that the NCS didn't stumble over my callsign like they do here in "5-land".

 

[jbhunt04]

When I was a volunteer firefighter back in mid 2000s, we had a bad storm come through our county in western Kentucky and it knocked out nearly all the power in our county for a few days. Our county fire repeater was down, but we could still communicate radio to radio(w/t and mobile in our trucks). Just couldn’t communicate with our 911 dispatch. We were out to some down power lines about 3 or 4 miles from the station and ended up having a structure fire close by the station. My assistant chief used the mobile in our tanker truck to call us to the structure fire(45 watts). We had no problem hearing that. So in that case, ham radio wouldn’t have really mattered.

 

[BMDaug]

When I was a volunteer firefighter back in mid 2000s, we had a bad storm come through our county in western Kentucky and it knocked out nearly all the power in our county for a few days. Our county fire repeater was down, but we could still communicate radio to radio(w/t and mobile in our trucks). Just couldn’t communicate with our 911 dispatch. We were out to some down power lines about 3 or 4 miles from the station and ended up having a structure fire close by the station. My assistant chief used the mobile in our tanker truck to call us to the structure fire(45 watts). We had no problem hearing that. So in that case, ham radio wouldn’t have really mattered.

Ya, and now, public safety systems are so good (here in Colorado, the entire state is covered by a trunking system with private, redundant backhaul with generator backup power), you generally wouldn’t need to use ham radio for 1st responder activities. Most hams do t have radios that work on 7/800mhz in P25C either, which is how most of the 1st responder radios are going to work if the trunking controllers were to fail. Some agencies have multiband radios, but not many.

Hams are more a civil to 911 relay. They pick up traffic on known ham repeater networks and relay the emergency via phone to 911 dispatch.

That said, our SAR groups do use ham radio repeaters in certain remote areas where the trunking system doesn’t quite reach. In that case, there’s still someone at the trailhead, or other area where coverage overlaps, who relays necessary info to/from dispatch.

HF can be useful for larger situations requiring regional logistics (so, rarely), or in really remote areas (hence why Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, and others, use HF radios abroad). Still, these comms are generally relays, not using the same channels allocated to public safety… and that’s how it should be… Separate!

-B

 

[jbhunt04]

Ya, and now, public safety systems are so good (here in Colorado, the entire state is covered by a trunking system with private, redundant backhaul with generator backup power), you generally wouldn’t need to use ham radio for 1st responder activities. Most hams do t have radios that work on 7/800mhz in P25C either, which is how most of the 1st responder radios are going to work if the trunking controllers were to fail. Some agencies have multiband radios, but not many.

Hams are more a civil to 911 relay. They pick up traffic on known ham repeater networks and relay the emergency via phone to 911 dispatch.

That said, our SAR groups do use ham radio repeaters in certain remote areas where the trunking system doesn’t quite reach. In that case, there’s still someone at the trailhead, or other area where coverage overlaps, who relays necessary info to/from dispatch.

HF can be useful for larger situations requiring regional logistics (so, rarely), or in really remote areas (hence why Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, and others, use HF radios abroad). Still, these comms are generally relays, not using the same channels allocated to public safety… and that’s how it should be… Separate!

-B

I’ve been wanting to get my ham ticket for the longest time, but keep getting sidetracked with the things of life. I started studying to take the test three years ago, but just never did. As far as equipment goes, I really couldn’t afford it right now, and I don’t know how to build an antenna. But, I want it as just a hobby and nothing more. The scenario I named earlier in this thread was when my county was on analog. They’ve since switched to digital.

 

[KD8DVR]

Absolutely.

At the national level, ARES is requiring more and more training and demonstration of ability. See the ARES Taskbook: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf

I still think most of them are useless Whackers.... but I am aware lots of groups are cleaning up their acts...