[QCWA] National SOS Radio Network

Sun May 14 22:36:52 EDT 2006

Hi All,

Please permit me to give you some bckground on the National SOS Radio Network, who is supporting it and what its goals appear to be.  we (ARNewsline) and other news services have domw a numv\ber of stories about it in the past year.

First -- and most important, the National SOS Radio Network is not another American Amateur Radio Assn. or other pseudo national ham radio society.  Rather, it is is based on the millions of Family Radio Service (FRS) radios already in use for camping, boating, hiking, etc.,  and the nationwide network of ham radio operators and 70,000 licensed GMRS users -- all working together as a unified 2-way emergency service and information conduit dueing times when such is needed.  

It was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by  by a ham -- Eric Knight, KB1EHE, after it became clear to him that a major contributing factor to the tragic loss of life was the near total breakdown of communication systems.  Knight, who is the CEO of a multi-national orportation -- UP Aerospace (a private space payload launch provider) --  reasoned that once the ham & GMRS radio communities were made aware to listen for the public’s emergency broadcasts on an FRS frequency, a simple, low-cost national network would be up and running.  He used his own mob\ney to launch SOS and over the past few months it has received endorsement and support from such organizations as REACT International, EMCOM, the Neighborhood Emergency Radio Communications Service Inc., the DC Emergency Radio Network" (DCERN), and a number of others.  Just last week SOS garnered both the endorsement from and financial assistance by land-mobile mnufacturer Midland. While not a big-player in land-moble, I cn all but assure you that it will bring similar support from other lmrs equipment provider who will not permit any one company to monopolize what will be seen as an emerging and possibly lucrtive market.  

According to Knight, he has formally approahed the ARRL months ago.  Whether or not the ARRL has responded, neither knight nor thew ARRL has said.  However, thre on-line ham radio blogs have not been kind to either SOR nor Knight.  The basic rationaile -- as it ppeared on QRZ.com and eHam.net is that hams simply do not want to interface wirth any non-ham groups to provide assistanc or parallel lines of communications.  In following the posts, hams stted (praphrased) tht there was no wy for structured e-comms to interface with a non-structured / non-trained group who my also want to assist. In most posts, hams stated that they would not take part in SOS or anything like it -- regardless of the goofd it might provide.  And while "blogs" do not rrepresent the political climate and policy of ham radio, they are an excellent way to prognosticate the sucess of SOS n regard to our service.

I think that SOS has a very good chance of surviving, and if ham radio does not embrace it, SOS could easily grow to replace usbecause it is hrd at work selling itself -- on a state by state, county-by county, city by city basis. Its success in this "self sales" cmpaign is amazing and as such it hs to succeed.  At least thats my take as an obdserver and reporter.
de
Bill P. / WA6ITF

-----Original Message-----
>From: Walter Maxwell <walt at w2du.com>
>Sent: May 14, 2006 4:56 PM
>To: Discussion of QCWA <qcwa at mailman.qth.net>
>Subject: Re: [QCWA] National SOS Radio Network
>
>I don't believe I'm either blind or deaf, but I have never heard of the MRT
>Bulletin, the National SOS Network, or the 'FRS'. And I suspect a lot of other
>hams haven't heard of them either.
>
>Would someone please enlighten us?
>
>Walt, W2DU
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Harvey&Bessie" <w4tg at bellsouth.net>
>To: "Discussion of QCWA" <qcwa at mailman.qth.net>
>Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 3:05 PM
>Subject: Re: [QCWA] National SOS Radio Network
>
>
>> ve6afo at rac.ca wrote:
>>
>> > In reading an MRT Bulletin, there is an editorial by Glenn Bischoff
>> > on the "National SOS Radio Network" in where amateur radio operators
>> > could be put to good use by monitoring FRS Channel 1 for emergency
>> > calls. It goes on to say that editor Glenn Bischoff contacted
>> > Executive Vice President Dave Sumner, K1ZZ at ARRL to see if founder
>> > Eric Knight had run this idea by the ARRL. Dave indicated this was the
>> > first he had heard about this idea.
>> >
>> > For more info see:
>> >
>> > http://www.nationalsos.com/
>> >
>> > Ken Oelke - VE6AFO
>> >
>> > Probably more amateurs would monitor FRS frequencies if we knew what
>> > frequencies they are using. Channel numbers are meaningless to most of us.
>>
>> Harvey/W4TG
>>
>>
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