[Lowfer] Western Updates

K2ORS k2ors at verizon.net
Mon Aug 27 10:51:35 EDT 2012 

Hi Paul,
       I agree 100% with your comments. Unfortunately the focus on disaster 
relief is misplaced, when there is a natural disaster the wireless companies 
have mobile cell phone units complete with generators and telescoping towers 
that they bring in so everyone can keep using their phones. The days when 
hams could sit in their basements and relay distress messages from ships at 
sea have long passed and everyone except the hams seems to realize this.
Nobody is interested in your cw speed, the disaster relief people want to 
know how many cell calls and megabytes throughput you can process. I 
listened with interest to a report on NPR about emergency coomunication in 
Haiti a couple of years ago. It was all about satellite phones and portable 
cellular sites brought in by the wireless companies, not one mention of ham 
radio.  There are exceptions, my late friend N2SHG was a member of the Lower 
Adirondack Search and Rescue group and they found lost hikers in places 
where there was no cell phone coverage, that effort depended in equal parts 
on mountaineering skills and radio.

There is good technical stuff going on though, for example I'm inolved with 
the high performance software defined radio group (HPSDR) and other groups 
working with high power MOSFET amps up through the vhf/uhf range. These 
groups consist of hams scattered around the world but they are served by 
various internet lists/web sites/etc.

73 Warren K2ORS




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Daulton" <k5wms at centurytel.net>
To: "Discussion of the Lowfer (US, European, &amp, UK) and MedFer bands" 
<lowfer at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 1:41 AM
Subject: Re: [Lowfer] Western Updates


> Charlie I was honored to make a presentation on Lowfer activty at
> Ozarkcon a couple of years ago
>
> My opening remark was I asked the crowd( about 150 qrp enthusiasts) for
> a show of hands as to who owned an ARRL hand book. The crowd looked at
> each other and everyone in the room raised their hand.
> I remarked that when two of my friends made talks at two different
> radio clubs in Little Rock I asked them to poll the audience with the
> same question. They both were astounded. In one club it was 6 out of 27
> and the other it was 5 out of 24. I have had hams who heard my speech
> come up to me later even at Dayton and remark how their local clubs had
> gotten completely out of radio theory and gone to storm spotting. I
> quit 75 meter roundtables a couple of years ago because you cant talk
> about building or technology any more. All the newcomers want to talk
> about is Russ Limbaugh or the local football team. the president of the
> largest club in Little Rock has repeatedly argued with me that amateur
> radio exists only for public service and disaster relief. A local OES
> director told me in the event of a tornado he doesnt need a bunch of
> loose cannons with walkytalkeys he needs men with 4wheel drive pick up
> with winches and chainsaws who are willing to work under the
> supervision of utility crews and road crews to clear debris.
>
> I dont blame the lack of skills on the elimination of the code
> requirement but on the lack of emphasis on theory. Local ham classes
> stress that no one uses technology any more, just memorize the Q&A pool
> and get on the air. At an event for our local volunteer fire dept I met
> several who had gone through the classes and had general licenses but
> didnt own one piece of gear. We need to speak  and write to our ARRL
> reps and stress the need for more articles in QST about basic entry
> level projects.
>
> It doesnt just apply to activities like LW. 15 years ago a  local group
> put up an ATV repeater. At 25 miles away I could copy it on a hand held
> Casio TV. I could hit the repeater with 8 watts. I estimate there were
> 2000+ hams in the county. We had 7 stations operating at one time. Only
> one ham bothered to hook a 440 outside antenna to a cable ready set and
> copy the ham ATV repeater. the rest simply werent interested.
>
> Public service is just good citizenship but should not be the focus of
> hamradio.
>
> Paul
>
> Quoting cvest at cox.net:
>> Sure would be nice to get a large number of lowfer and medfer beacons
>> from all
>> over North America on the air for this season .
>> It would be a good learning experience and tuneup of getting familiar 
>> with MF
>> and LF bands in advance of us getting our 470 kHz.
>> allocation .
>>
>> I have been inactive on part 15 for a while now , but am working right 
>> now to
>> get multi mode DDS/ GPS locked beacons ready to
>> put on the air very shortly . Still trying to finalize the best
>> possible Medfer
>> antenna .
>>
>> If all of the North American members of these groups would put a
>> beacon on both
>> bands , perhaps we could get some much
>> needed publicity .
>>
>> It still amazes me the number of people that don't realize these
>> bands exist and
>> that they can use them as well as them learning
>> that there are people already using them . Good stable inexpensive
>> designs are
>> out there which about anyone can afford and
>> there is certainly enough room for everyone to put a beacon on .
>>
>> There is just far too little publicity about what is possible . Even if 
>> they
>> can't manage a beacon loading coil , they can at least listen
>> as long as there is enough activity to keep them interested . Sure
>> would be nice
>> to see a record number of beacons on this
>> season !!
>>
>> Charlie , W5COV
>>
>>
>> ---- STEVE MCDONALD <VE7SL at shaw.ca> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > Thanks for the link Warren...that really brings back some memories
>> of the days
>> when the westcoast was a Lowfer hotbed. I wonder what happened to all of 
>> the
>> interest from W6 land?
>> >
>> > Steve / 73
>> >
>> >
>> > > Jerry,
>> > >    Haven't seen the full Western Updates online but
>> > > there is some fun stuff
>> > > on Mike Mideke's site:
>> > >
>> > > http://www.auroralchorus.com/lowfers.htm
>> > >
>> > > 73 Warren K2ORS
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ----- Original Message -----
>> > > From: "Jerry Parker" <wa6owr at gmail.com>
>> > > To: <lowfer at mailman.qth.net>
>> > > Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2012 8:18 PM
>> > > Subject: [Lowfer] Western Updates
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > > Is there a place online where I can see the Western Updates.
>> > > >
>> > > > If not would someone be so kind as to loan them to me so I can
>> > > >
>> > > > make copies.
>> > > >
>> > > > Thanks,
>> > > >
>> > > > Jerry Parker
>> > > > ______________________________________________________________
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>
> Paul Daulton K5WMS
> beacon WMS 185.302 khz qrss30/slow 24/7
> Jacksonville,Ar 72076
> em34wu
>
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