[PPRAANet] RE: PPARES: RE: DROPPING MORSE

[Stuart, Dick]

very well said, thank you

de KD8EQ

-----Original Message-----
From: Wes Wilson [mailto:wlw@prodigy.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 12:57 PM
To: PPARES; PPRAA
Subject: PPARES: RE: DROPPING MORSE


Mike --

> RE: DROPPING MORSE
>
> WHAT'S SO SECURE ABOUT TRANSMITTING SENSITIVE INFO OVER 40 M?
> ARE THERE ONLY TWO 40 M RIGS IN CO/WORLD, CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING
> AND RECEIVING?

Unfortunately, under Part 97 rules & regulations, amateur radio =
operators
are not allowed any type of encryption on any frequency/band -- even for
security purposes.  Certainly, any amateur transmission can be monitored =
by
other hams, depending upon license/training/equipment capability.
Generally, sensitive information is routed via alternative bands/modes =
to
prevent interception by rank-and-file Joe Q. Public or the media.  For
instance, at the Campbell Fire, Red Cross needed to discuss with their =
HQ
possible shelter locations strictly as a contingency for planning =
purposes
SHOULD the fire take a turn for the worse.  The media gets hold of that
information and before you know it, they are broadcasting that not only =
is
there one shelter being opened, but now -- obviously -- the fire is much
worse than anyone is telling them and will require multiple shelters =
with
multitudes forced out of their homes.

The danger of this type of rumor mill getting started comes from the =
media
and others who have scanners monitoring primarily our FM repeater =
systems.
AND the news media does monitor our FM repeater frequencies closely,
particularly during emergencies and SkyWarn operations.

Most scanners can't monitor HF bands, and SSB and CW modes in =
particular.
Add to that -- the fact that most news media personnel probably aren't
proficient in 20-25 wpm CW, this provides a 99.9% likelihood that =
sensitive
messages can be moved discretely (or as discretely as amateur radio is
allowed to do legally) without non-hams eavesdropping.  I'm not =
particularly
concerned with hams racing to the news media with information they've
gathered on alternative bands -- most know better, and any ham that does
anything like this should be shot (or IS LIKELY to be shot).  Also, we =
were
extremely discrete in even coordinating the alternative frequency
arrangements.

> AS FOR PLOPPING DOWN $12 AND GETTING A LICS, ANYONE CAN PLOP DOWN
> $79 AND GET A MORSE DECODER FROM MFJ.

Sure, but they can't use it at a VE session to pass their CW exam, can =
they?
And this device certainly isn't standard equipment in media news rooms.

> ALL US MILITARY SERVICE SCHOOLS AND MAJOR SHIP COMPANIES, HAVE
> DROPPED MORES CODE. WONDER WHAT THEY KNOW THAT WE EXPERT AMATEURS =
DON'T.

Oh, I forgot -- the military and major ship companies must know =
everything!
[BTW, the correct spelling is MORSE not MORES].  The fact is, that we
"expert" amateurs who use CW know something the other
agencies/organizations/services apparently have long since forgotten -- =
that
Morse Code is the first digital mode (developed back in the wired =
telegraph
days of the railroad even before radio) and STILL remains one of the =
most
simple and reliable radio communication modes on the planet.  Morse Code
hasn't remained a viable communications mode for about 150 years just
because some of us incorrigible die-hards refuse to give it up.  For one
thing, pure simplicity -- no sophisticated equipment, satellites, =
repeaters,
computers, TNCs, sound cards -- all that is needed is a simple =
transmitter,
antenna and a keying device (this can even be a hastily prepared two =
pieces
of bare wire in lieu of a telegraph key).  Oh, I almost forgot -- AND, a
radio operator who probably wouldn't have bothered to learn Morse Code =
had
s/he not been required to do so.

AND, while most shipping companies have now gone to other digital modes,
satellite, etc., for the bulk of their communication needs, I think you =
will
find that most maritime communication engineers maintain their CW skills =
at
a high level!  Don't think that just because shipping companies have =
become
reliant on satellite-based digital services, that they threw their HF
equipment, microphones and CW keying devices overboard in bulk.  You can =
bet
that on virtually any commercial maritime vessel (and many private =
ships)
you will still find a good-old-fashioned HF rig, microphone and key in =
the
corner.

Case in point (I know firsthand, because I was involved):  About 3-4 =
years
ago a Cat. 5 hurricane (don't recall the name right offhand) raced =
westward
across the Caribbean and the southern Gulf of Mexico and slammed =
Honduras
and Belize causing extensive widespread death and destruction.
Tens-of-thousands of lives were lost.  As I frequently do during such
storms, I was monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 USB (20 =
meters).

A Texas station broke in and advised he was hearing what he thought was =
a
weak SOS on 20 meter CW and thought it might be storm-related, but that =
he
had extremely poor copy.  Several stations, myself included, advised NCS =
we
would drop down, listen and advise.  Three of us had very marginal copy =
on
the signal.  It was indeed an SOS, and it turned out to be from a =
Honduran
fishing vessel caught in the heart of the storm, taking on water and =
rapidly
sinking.  We were not able to communicate with the ship directly (he
couldn't hear us due to QRN from the storm).  BUT, the operator kept =
sending
his SOS, the ship name, and the lat/lon of the vessel over and over and
over.  Collectively, we were able to copy the information and =
coordinates --
before the signal disappeared.  We compared and pieced together what we =
had
copied and an AZ station relayed that information back to the Hurricane
Watch Net.  The rest of us continued to monitor the CW frequency in case =
the
signal returned -- it never did.  The National Hurricane Center in FL
relayed our information to the US Coast Guard which in turn relayed the =
info
to various naval ships in the area.  I heard in a news report a day or =
two
later that the ship (I recognized the name) had disappeared without a =
trace,
however, a few survivors had been rescued by a Honduran Navy vessel.  =
Based
on the difficult copy of the ship's CW signal, I'm convinced no other =
mode
available to the vessel would have stood a chance.  I've often wondered, =
and
sincerely hoped, that the radio operator was amongst the survivors.

Yes, the military and commercial shipping companies have abandoned Morse
Code -- but they have billions of dollars worth of our tax payer money =
tied
up in sophisticated communication systems (mostly digital =
satellite-based).
While technologically wonderful and amazing, this does not necessary =
make
them fail safe -- fast, convenient, flexible, secure?  Yes -- fail safe?
NO.  As we have discovered, both the Office of Homeland Security and the
military (witness PPARES inclusion in Fort Carson exercises) recognize =
our
skills/capabilities as a vital backup communication resource.

There is an unofficial motto prescribed to amateur radio emergency
communications groups "When All Else Fails" or "When All Normal
Communications Fail."  We're most often asked to help do what our =
agencies
can't or aren't able to do.  We're the designated backup, and one of our
most dependable, time-tested and reliable "When All Else Fails" modes is
Morse Code, which -- as you point out -- virtually everyone else has
abandoned.  It is a key "Ace-in-the-Hole" that amateur radio operators,
until recently, wisely have maintained despite others abandoning it as =
just
"too much trouble to bother with."

There's a small Arctic rodent called the "lemming" which reportedly =
races to
the sea and drowns itself -- should we, as amateur radio operators, =
follow
suit simply because all the other lemmings have elected to drown =
themselves?
I think not.

73  Wes K=D8HBZ
Former EC
Pikes Peak ARES

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