[ILQSO] propesed NY4N / M route - suggestion

[Ny4n at aol.com]

Here is the my proposed route for the ILQP. I do have a suggestion that only 
one of you in Illinois can do. 

Find someone there that works or that knows someone that is with the State 
Police or a local agency. Ask them to originate a teletype ( administrative 
message ) Statewide, the morning of the contest. Any police dept, sheriff's dept 
or a call to a State District police station can get this done. 

Advise them to put in the teletype about the ILQP, stating that it is a 
"type" of emergency communications drill for eight hours. All counties in the State 
will have some type of activity. Officers should not be alarmed to see 
vehicles with several antennas passing through their jurisdiction, some with 
out-of-state plates, officers should also expect county lines operations from 
stationary vehicles. 

Advise in the AM message that if the officer needs to stop and identify one 
of the operators, it is OK. I think it would be  a courtesy to all departments 
that we give them a "heads up" about what we are doing. They will get calls 
from the public and they will have to investigate those calls. 

Last year alone, while mobile in the ILQP, we were stationary at a railroad 
crossing, a teenage female got out of her car, two cars back, walked to the 
van, and asked if we were storm chasers and if bad weather was coming. Then, the 
next county, we were sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot, an officer drove by 
and copied down my tag. His dispatch then calls my local police dept to see if I 
was legit. Lucky for me, I work there and they vouched for me. Did not see 
the officer again. 

I am not faulting the officers on the road, they have to investigate 
complaints. I feel if they had advanced knowledge of what we were doing, it would take 
some of the initial pressure off the officer and dispatch center. Just 
ramblings from an old 911 operator. Thanks for the bandwidth.
 
 
 
Union-Alexander
Pulaski
Johnson
Massac
Pope
Hardin
Saline
Gallatin-White
Hamilton
Jefferson
Franklin
Perry
Jackson
Williamson