[KYHAM] ARES & Local Response

[A. W.]

  I have been a "ham" for a while, and employed in
varied positions that require 24/7 response since
1979. It is human nature for any person to take care
of his/her own family and household to some extent
before "rolling out" to assist others.

 Many times, I have been called to the field in
response to needs of others when I didn't know the
status of my own family or home. It isn't a secret
that one of my first priorities in such a scenario is
to determine the situation at home, and make
arrangements to satisfy any significant needs in some
fashion. I can perform much more effectively after I
know my own crew is (relatively) safe, and I'm sure
this applies to most other people as well.

 Say there is a widespread power outage due to a
storm- my first contact is going to be someone at my
house, to be sure the gen-set got started OK, and the
roof is intact. After I know my sump pump and
refrigerator will run, and the family has heat, light
and communication, then it is time to go to "work".

 No doubt someone will reply to this saying that they
have different priorities, and I say "good for you",
but it doesn't (and will never) work that way for me.

 My "2 cents" on amateur radio infrastructure in
Kentucky - I don't have anything against those who
envision elaborate systems like the one in TN. But the
sad fact is that KY lacks an effective basic
infrastructure in many areas. I have seen repeaters
that work and sound great, then you visit the tower
site and there isn't a standby battery in place, or
the tower itself would do well to remain standing in a
60 mph wind. I recently saw one "repeater" that
consisted of two mobile radios - with the transmitter
running "wide open" at full rated power- that lash up
is fine for shooting the breeze on the morning drive
to work, but wouldn't last 3 hours if it was really
busy. Repeaters are of no value unless they work when
needed, and can keep on working.

AW  


		
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