Anyone with some level of technical knowledge might wonder why a
billion dollar (boondoggle) "radar system" can't discriminate between
a fixed, known "target" (like a repeater)and one that is moving, comes
from over the horizon which might be something nasty?

Sounds like some real shoddy engineering took place at taxpayer
expense. I can think of 3 or 4 ways to remove false targets w/o
loosing any system level accuracy or sensitivity. In fact, didn't
they perfect that during the cold war?

Gee... Thinking about it some. All Abdulah (or Ivan or whoever)
needs to do is buy a 440 rig, an amp and a yagi and go out as a
"rover"; 3 or 4 kW ERP down the bear's craw for a while then move.

Sigh....


On Sat, 3 May 2008 23:16:09 EDT, Bill Horne wrote:

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
If I recall properly we're secondary to the military in
that [70cm] band as well. Indeed, 70cm repeater operators are learning that the
hard way... as many repeaters are having to reduce power or even go QRT
at the request of our military, to protect a radar system.

But the motorsports folks have no regular authority in that band at all.

I'm not sure I understand why they thought they needed amateur spectrum
for that project.



The Pave/Paws system that is pushing some repeaters off 70cm predates
the complaints by several decades, and I take the military's new
attitude to be another nail in the coffin of ham radio's former
"favorite son" status at the Pentagon.

It used to be that we hams were a corps of operators who could be
pressed into service quickly during a war or other crisis. Now, with
Morse as deeply buried as its creators and military electronics too
secret to be entrusted to soldiers and sailors who haven't been vetted
for security clearances, we're yesterday's news in the E ring.

We'll have to find another reason to justify the allocations we enjoy.
It's going to be hard work, and not nearly as easy as learning Morse
(not that that would help now). We're going to have to get better - in
fact, much better - at public relations: the Red Cross and other
disaster relief agencies have known the importance of image all along,
but now hams have got to get in the game and advertise ourselves as an
anlternative to traditional communications during hurricanes, floods,
earthquakes, etc.

Of course we've had this debate before. Older hams such as I feel that
we followed the program and did what was expected of us, and now I
resend being pushed aside in favor of a Federal Emergency Management
Agency which is, to my jaundiced eye, proficient only at promising what
others will have to deliver and claiming credit for what others have
done. It's a cold, cruel world, and we must get better at telling the
public and the their elected officials how much we do.

Bill