Bill Horne wrote:

I think what the emcomm managers _really_ want is a commercially
licensed emergency radio technician and communicator, but there's no
license for that. The problem with requiring a ham license is that
there's so much variability in the training and currency of hams, not to
mention their physical condition, that I don't think that having a ham
license is a reliable indicator of emcomm proficiency.


Bingo! What has happened over the years is that radio communications
skills have been marginalized to such an extent that they overdid it.
The skill set that Hams bring to the emergency used to be shared by
professional radio ops. But the powers that be wanted highly simplified
systems that required no more electrical acumen than turning the radio
on and mashing the PTT button ended up meanining that no one knew much
about radio, and therefore needed someone who did to help.

Ask an Emcomm manager if they would rather have the "unpaid volunteer"
Ham or someone who actually worked for them doing comms, and I would be
surprised if anyone would prefer the Ham.

- 73 d eMike N3LI -