In article , JJ
writes:

Since the beginning of the use of phone in ham radio, I would be
interested to know of any disaster where ham radio was used for
communications and CW was the only means of communications that
could get through. I don't mean CW was used just because someone
wanted to or because they only had CW capabilities, but because
it was the ONLY mode that could get through.

Well, that kinda slants the playing field, but here goes.

Back in '98 there were some pretty bad and widespread ice storms in the
Northeast, particularly upper central New York State. CW was used by hams for
communications because 'phone just wouldn't get through reliably.

The ice storms had hit a wide area, bringing down electric power and
communications wires and blocking roads with falen trees and tree limbs. And
antennas. The affected area was so large, and sustained so much damage, that
power was off in some areas for many days, stretching into weeks. Folks with
generators found themselves running short of fuel, and electric power was off
over such a wide area that finding an open gas station where you could buy more
was a real problem. If you had any money, that is, because the ATMs didn't
work, and most businesses were closed anyway.

End result was that a lot of stations were on the air with battery power and
QRP, using makeshift antennas. Even those with 100+ watts of SSB had a hard
time because the auroral distortion was often very bad. SSB was the preferred
mode that did a lot of the work, but there were times when stations had to
shift to CW in order to get through.

Data modes? Some stations had 'em, many didn't. Those who did often didn't have
power to run the computer. And in a net operation, everybody needs a common
mode.

VHF/UHF? The terrain and repeater density did not permit reliable coverage of
the entire affected area. And some of the repeaters were off the air due to
storm damage or power failure.

Solar power? Check out how many hours a day the sun shines in Syracuse during
January. Wind power? Great - if the mill survives the ice storm.

FEMA and other agencies? Sure, they moved in and did a lot, but they were
stretched thin due to the wide area of the emergency, the many blocked roads,
and the terrible weather conditions.

Now it can be argued that those involved should have been more prepared, by
having more supplies on hand, more people involved, more generating capacity,
data modes, etc. While true, there's always a limit to what can be stored, and
how much of each problem to expect.

Emergencies take all forms, and conditions that constitute a major emergency in
one area (say, a foot of snow and 10 degree F temperatures in Atlanta, GA) are
barely noticed by people somewhere else (same conditions in Rochester, NY). If
everyone is adequately prepared, it really isn't an emergency, is it?

All this brought up some interesting questions, llike: which data mode should
be the standard? Baudot RTTY? ASCII? PSK-31? Some might have worked through the
auroral conditions, while others would be useless due to the distortion.

And that's just one incident. Plenty of others since hams began using 'phone.

Does all of this somehow prove that EVERY ham MUST pass a code test because
someday they MIGHT be in an emergency situation where code skill is needed? Of
course not! Were that the case, we'd not only need code testing, but also
retesting, to be sure that all hams could still do it.

But to say that CW isn't used by hams in emergencies just isn't factual.

73 de Jim, N2EY