[FLARES] ARRL BOD Report on ARES

[Paul Womble]

I have asked the NTS question before...and gotten pretty much the same
answer. I would really like to see some documentation but do not think
it exists.

Local and perhaps regional plans should be a primary focus.  NTS worked
well when telephone and other commercial services struggled to get a
message across the country. But today?  Why would I want to even think
about sending an NTS message, that might make it in a day or so, when I
can pick up my Nextel or use a satellite phone/radio and talk 2-way
across the country? If no other option was available would I use NTS?
You bet...but that is just one tool in the communications tool box.  

It is becoming too easy, and relatively affordable, for served agencies
to get satellite access to high speed data and voice communications.
Service can be had for not much more than an average cell phone bill.

Yes...it takes a few days to deploy that type of infrastructure.  Those
first few days are really where amateur radio needs to focus.   

On the Red Cross 48 hour policy:  Even a large chapter will not have the
paid and volunteer staff needed to properly initiate the Disaster
Welfare Inquiry function.  And, quite honestly, life safety issues
(sheltering, feeding, etc) are much more important for the people in the
impacted area.  Eating and having a place to sleep has to take priority.


73
Paul K4FB



-----Original Message-----
From: flares-admin@mailman.qth.net [mailto:flares-admin@mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of Keith Kotch
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 9:55 PM
To: Florida ARES
Subject: RE: [FLARES] ARRL BOD Report on ARES


Surely the NTS was/has been used to send Health and Welfare traffic
during disasters over the past couple of years.

(My personal HOT BUTTON is the Red Cross moratorium on starting H&W
traffic)

Now, is the NTS formal message traffic format used in the "day-to-day"
business comms sent during an emergency?  Probably not very much.  Using
the format for formal, written messages is one thing, using the NTS
itself to send messages (other than H&W) during an active emergency is
quite another.  NTS nets would need to be on a 24/7 activation
monitoring the frequency during ARES activations to be of any use for
other than H&W traffic.  I'd be hard pressed to use NTS during a
"typical" ARES type activation.  Now, if I were passing important
messages using voice comms that needed to be documented and verified,
then I'd use the NTS formal written message format but I still probably
wouldn't try to be using the NTS to pass them UNLESS they were "Johnny
on the spot" and could get that long-haul message delivered within
seconds or minutes.