[Elecraft] Old Skills

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Kevin, VK3DAP/ZL2DAP wrote:

I believe the following is true (I got it third or fourth hand).  Some 
years ago, the authorities indicated that hams would not be so heavily 
relied upon for emergency communications, "Because all of our officers 
now have cell phones."  Then came the devastating New South Wales bush 
fires.  Guess what!  The dense smoke rendered the cell phone system 
practically inoperable in some vital areas.

-------------------------------

That sort of thing has happened here in the USA several times that I know of
over the past several decades. Not just with cell phones, but with wired
phones as well. 

The underlying problem is simple and obvious: no communications system that
is in business to make money can have infinite capacity. Indeed, they design
around a "typical" maximum capacity. When that's exceeded, the system stops
working; Your cell call is dropped or your wired phone doesn't give you a
dial tone when you pick it up. The phone companies have worked hard to
ensure that seldom happens in *normal* use, but just let an emergency occur
in which everyone picks up the phone at the same time and you'll find the
system isn't working!

To have reliable emergency communications, one needs a dedicated emergency
communications system that is not accessed for "normal" use. I understand
cellular technology has this capability to a certain extent. They can give
certain coded calls priority that will cause calls from other phones to be
dropped as needed so they get a channel on demand, unless too many other
"priority" calls are already in progress and if the cellular system itself
is working.

Historically, us Hams have been the backbone of an ad-hoc emergency
communications service that has potential operators scattered all over the
world using systems independent of the power or normal communications
infrastructure, so it's unlikely one disaster will destroy our ability to
communicate. We're ready to stop chewing the rag and get to work handling
emergency traffic when and where needed. And, when telephones are out, we
are infinitely the fastest option available.

Here in the USA, the Department of Homeland Security has recently been
instructed to insure the Amateur Service is well-integrated into the
emergency communications system. We are no longer the first choice. If the
cell phones are working, they are faster and easier since every policeman,
fireman, paramedic, etc., is a "communications operator" with a cell phone
in his/her hands. Over the years, police, fire and other communications
systems have become better able to withstand a disaster and keep working.
But when they don't work, services like Amateur Radio mean the difference
between life and death. 

Amateur Radio isn't the only alternative they have, but we have the
potential of being the most flexible and readily-available. We have the
potential of being invaluable, but we Hams aren't always ready. I was in the
San Francisco area during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, and while
there were some Hams providing emergency communications, there weren't
nearly enough.

How handy would it have been to have had someone with a KX1 at the arena in
New Orleans after Katrina, for example?  

Even so, most such communications will be by voice or computer keyboard
using one of many digital modes. But that only means CW has a smaller role,
not that it no longer has a role to play. Anyone who has had a loved one in
a disaster area and gotten a "health and welfare" message saying they were
okay knows the value of even those simple missives, which are often sent by
Amateur radio and often sent by CW, at least part of the way. 

Our skills and our Elecraft rigs can play a very significant role as a
safety system for our communities using CW, SSB and digital modes, but we
have to be ready. We have to be trained in emergency communications, most
especially if you want to use CW. Nothing is worse than having the
inexperienced and unskilled stumbling around during an emergency. 

Kevin, KD5ONS, who leads the Elecraft CW net (ECN), is very active in
emergency work. Here in the USA, organizations like the National Radio
Emergency Network (NREN) provide training to CW operators interested in
being ready for emergencies (see http://71.238.18.70:81/nren/). Your local
clubs and national Amateur Radio organizations have information about Ham
groups eager for your help to become a part of the emergency network in
countries all over the world.

You won't likely get your picture in the papers for the work. You may be a
Ham for your lifetime and never pass a real emergency message. Hopefully,
you'll never do anything but train and train and then train some more.
You're like a fireman: you train hard and hope you'll never be needed. Your
satisfaction needs to come from knowing that it's still a valuable,
important role for us Hams and our Elecraft rigs to play. 

Ron AC7AC