charlesb wrote:

Some snippage

In this day and age, amateurs are more, not less conscious of security
issues. EchoLink is a big hole in our security, and most especially
should
never be utilized for anything even remotely related to emergency
communications. As hams, what we have to bring to the table here is
independent radio communications. The department of homeland security did
not affiliate with the ARRL because of our ability to use the Internet.

Someone a while back had noted that Echolink would be great in an
emergency. I wonder how many people in the areas hit by the recent
blackout had an internet connection?

Add that to the hundreds, perhaps thousands of hams who instantly gave
up on learning more about ham radio in order to upgrade upon discovering
EchoLink, and you begin to understand whether EchoLink has had a positive or
negative influence upon the hobby.

An excellent point, Charles! Oh brave new world........

- Mike KB3EIA -