[HCRA] KB6NU's August Column: Is Amateur Radio Too Focused on EmComm?

[Larry Krainson]

Something to read:

73 and stay cool today,

Larry, WB1DBY

Hi, all--

The KB6NU column is back from its summer vacation. I hope you all had a good 
vacation. I certainly did.

73!

Dan KB6NU


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Is Amateur Radio Too Focused on EmComm?

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

On the HamRadioHelpGroup, a Yahoo Group mailing list for anyone looking for 
help with anything related to amateur radio, one ham asked "Over lunch today 
I read the September issue of QST, which is heavily EmComm oriented. The 
articles were interesting, but the op-ed piece on page 98 seemed a little 
over the top to me...Has this focus of this intensity always been a part of 
ham radio and I just wasn’t expecting it?  How has it evolved over the 
years?"

To answer the question, another replied by posting Section 97.1, namely the 
principles behind the amateur radio service:

Sec. 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.

He went on to say, "I think that 97.1(a) addresses your question."

I like that reply a lot. First, it shows that providing emergency and 
public-service communications has been a part of amateur radio since its 
beginnings. Some hams are extremely focused on this, and I applaud them. In 
my opinion, the piece referred to in the latest QST was not over the top.

I think, however, that some hams do sometimes go overboard on emcomm, and 
act as if it’s the only reason that ham radio exists. It’s not. As you can 
see, the rules describe five different “purposes” for amateur radio. Emcomm 
might be the first, but it’s only one of five. We need to keep in mind the 
other four as well. I personally like (e), and would like to see amateur 
radio actually do more to promote international good will.

What do you think?

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When he's not pondering the place of emergency communications in amateur 
radio, Dan, KB6NU, writes books about ham radio. He is currently feverishly 
trying to finish the No-Nonsense Extra Class License Guide. You can read 
excerpts from this upcoming book on his website, http://www.kb6nu.com/. You 
can e-mail him with comments, questions, compliments, or brickbats at 
cwgeek at kb6nu.com.

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