[Elecraft] CW in Emergencies? (WAS: Dropping the Code Test)

[Kevin Rock]

Thank you Ron ;)
    My first experience with the Amateur Radio Service was through 
participation in nets.  These were FM repeater nets initially, then SSB HF 
nets, and finally CW NTS nets.  I learned to pass traffic for NTS both 
using voice and via CW.  It takes practice.  Net procedures, phonetics, 
prosigns (both CW and voice) are something which requires repetition.  
When an emergency occurs and one is required to work ECOM the training 
needs to be so ingrained phonetics and procedures are automatic.
    Ms. Patricia and I have trained quite a number of folks in ECOM (ARECC 
levels 1, 2, and 3) for the local ARES/RACES group.  I have been involved 
in ARES and in MARS for a number of years.  One of the reasons I started 
the Elecraft CW Net was to get folks used to the idea of using CW using 
net procedures and getting them interested in contacts other than rag 
chews or contests.  Tom, N0SS, and I have modified and adapted normal net 
procedures and QN codes to our needs.  Working a CW NTS net is different 
but not wildly so.
    Gaining proficiency in CW is one thing but passing accurate traffic is 
another.  When Pat and I train folks we have them pass traffic in groups.  
Carter, N3AO, gave us some tips.  One of them was to have multiple people 
pass traffic simultaneously in the same room to mimic the chaos in a comms 
center.  It worked.  Our trainees have worked comms at the local sheriff's 
office and at the county EOC where the noise level gets pretty high.  They 
valued our training and told us so as soon as the emergency was over.  
Thank you Carter, you gave great advice.  Pat and I developed our hybrid 
classroom material to cover ECOM for the Oregon and Pacific Northwest 
area.  We don't get hurricanes but do have floods, typhoons, earthquakes, 
and forest fires.  Handling traffic is an important part of our training.  
I have not had the chance to teach others CW ECOM work but I would love to 
do so.
    We may have a call out of our local ARES group to assist some evacuees 
 from New Orleans.  I am on the list.  I got to sell amateur radio and 
ECOMs to the local TV station last week for some work I had done for the 
SATERN folks.  I did not get a chance to view the interview since we 
cannot receive television here but was told by an op I had never met that 
the interview portrayed the service in a very good light.  I am thankful 
for that.  I have worked in a newsroom before and know how a story can be 
spun in various directions.  The reporter and camera man were both very 
kind and caring individuals.  Hopefully they will send me a copy of the 
spot.
    Kevin.  KD5ONS  (Still Net Control Operator 5th Class)


On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 14:32:25 -0700, Ron D'Eau Claire 
<rondec at easystreet.com> wrote:

...
> I submit that the reason virtually ALL emergency nets are phone is that 
> CW
> requires a skill few Hams have today: even routine CW ops. Handling a 
> QSO,
> even a rag chew, is a far, far cry from participating in a controlled CW
> net. That's a skill that takes time, more time, and even more time and a 
> lot
> of patience and dedication to master. Just ask Kevin Rock who runs the
> Elecraft CW net!
>
> Getting enough Hams current with the skills to do that efficiently has
> always been a huge problem, even when every Ham had to be proficient at 
> CW
> to get a license. That's the real reason for all those routine traffic 
> nets
> we used to have across the bands every night. Even back then, how many of
> those experienced ops would be in the middle of the disaster, ready to
> handle traffic? Not many, not often.
...
>
> Ron AC7AC