[KYHAM] ARES & Local Response

[Fred Flowers]

You're right.  In my case, I would rush home & check on my cats. :-)

As a lot of you know, I'm single.  That being said, one's family comes 
first.  It doesn't matter what kind of first responder one is.  Are you 
going to let your wife (pardon me I'm not politically correct) & kids drown 
in a flood or die in a collapsed house after a earthquake?  Make sure they 
are safe, then go do your duty.

Speaking of hardened ham repeaters, I know of 4 that are linked in the BG, 
E-town, Horsecave, Morgantown, & Leitchfield area.  They are hardened as 
much as any ham repeater is.  They have battery back-up, they're on strong 
towers & powerful forces will move heaven & earth to make sure the sites 
stay online.  Yes I know they are 440.  There are more ham bands than HF & 2 
meters.

Fred N4GER

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "A. W." <ky4sp at yahoo.com>
To: <kyham at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 6:40 PM
Subject: RE: [KYHAM] ARES & Local Response


>  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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