[PPRAANet] Hurricane Katrina QST!

[Doug & Cheri]

QST!

This is WØMHP.  As past RACES Officer and ARES AEC with a passion to help
fellow citizens by providing emergency communications I understand and share
the frustration of many amateurs who want to help with Katrina
communications but cannot get connected for whatever reason.

While camping this weekend and having set up portable stations on HF, VHF
and 70 cm I listened to the health and welfare nets on 75 and 40 meters as
well as many QSOs  on HF and area repeaters.

What I heard were two notable things - amateurs in the SE doing a stellar
job with health and welfare traffic and on the other hand many amateurs
frustrated that they were not invited to deploy to Louisiana and Mississippi
and some were even critical of how communications was being handled.

To that end, whether popular or not, I want to make a plea to all amateurs
who want to help in the Katrina disaster.  The victims of Katrina not only
need help from agencies that depend on amateur radio for communications they
also desperately need food, water, shelter, clothing, medicine and more.

If not being able to be on the air with communications leaves you frustrated
consider sending the amount of money you had planned on spending on a
theater movie, case of 807s, microphone that isn't essential, etc. to an
agency that can provide these badly needed essentials.  The agencies that
come to mind are the Red Cross, Salvation Army, your favorite charity or
your church's relief fund, etc.

I live in Colorado Springs and on a known fault line.  Someday there could
be an earthquake leaving me with nothing.  How about you?

73,

WØMHP