In article ,
(somebody anonymous) writes:

"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
"JEP" wrote:

(snip) Amateur Radio as a service is
gone. It is only self serving now. Not
a service but a high priced hobby.
After all, it is called the Amateur
Radio Service.


First, you're obviously confused about the word "service." In FCC
terminology, "service" refers to a group of frequencies meant to serve a
particular purpose for the users of those frequencies, not anything done by
the users of those frequencies. As a result, we have the Amateur Radio
Service, Radio Broadcast Services, Cable TV Relay Service, Maritime
Service,
Personal Radio Services, Citizens Band Radio Service, Fixed Microwave
Services, and so on through a long list of other radio services. In other
words, the word "service" in Amateur Radio Service does not refer to any
"service" we might provide to others.

Second, you're completely wrong about "service" being gone within the
Amateur Radio community. Based on what I've seen, I'd estimate as much as
75% of the current operators are involved in some form of public service
related activity in any given year. Of course, the need for our help is
high, meaning even more should become involved, but that hardly suggests
the
idea of service is gone today.

The newsgroups "rec.radio.shortwave" and "rec.radio.cb" were deleted from
this reply (off-topic in those newsgroups).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

Service means just that.

No. All throughout Title 47 C.F.R., the word "service" is a regulatory
term denoting a type and kind of radio activity.

Broadcasters have to do public service to
keep broadcastings.

It's the law.

Why do you think they do PSA's. No money involved,
they do it free.

Yes, in the wee small hours when their air rates are absolutely lowest.

Amateur operators operate uder the same subset of
rules.

Incorrect. Contact the FCC and have them explain the different
radio services and which Parts are applicable to their radio
service. Copies of all Parts are available free for download from
the US Government Printing Office website (through a link at the
FCC webpage).

If they don't provide a public service when called they have no
reason for being.

Look up the Radio Control Radio Service in Part 95, Title 47 C.F.R.

Absolutely NO "public service" required there...yet the R-Cers
lobbied for and got a whole band of frequencies just for them.

You also would have to prove that 75% of the
amareurs provide a public service.

They do by maintaining a national pool of trained radio operators, aka
Morsemen. This is a vital, necessary public service to save the
world when aliens invade from outer space, disasters incapacitate
all the emergency service infrastructure (only CW can work under
such conditions), and when time machines are invented to transport
all morsemen back to 1917 or 1943 and win foreign wars.

LHA