wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
Dee Flint wrote:

Movies and novels, etc often take artistic license with the facts in order
to produce more impact. That is true of both dramas and comedies. So any
one who relies on such items for their history is going to be using a far
amount of misinformation. Even the news media takes artistic license by the
selection of what facts and speculation to report since they are going for
ratings.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee, excellent, excellent post.

That must be why some in this group constantly quote british comedy as
if it were somehow relevant to matters at hand. They get their history
from Monty Python. Telling is their admiration for the contribution(s)
that the ARS made in WWII. Quitepuzzling, since the ARS was shut down
by the US government at the time.

Many radio amateurs made their war contributions as radio operators.
Many became electronics and radio instructors. Many were involved in
radio design and manufacture. Many became involved with Civil Defense
and WERS (War Emergency Radio Service). There is a large amount of
documentation of the efforts of radio amateurs during the Second World
War. Have you read any of it?

Whoa! Talk about brilliant minds! Our posts hit at the same
time...But when I re-read mine, I accidentally "deleted" a paragraph
when I had changed a sentence I wrote prior to posting!

What I had said was that Brian's demonization of some of us who
make reference to contributions made during WW2 doesn't stand the
litmus test of objectivity. The "War Department" and other agencies of
the era went on record as praising the ARRL and it's members for the
contributions you cited, Dave...

If I made contributions to dental hygeine during any war, it would not
be as an amateur radio operator. You guys, who constantly rail against
persons having commercial and military radio experience, should know
that whatever those amateurs did during WWII were not doing it as
amateurs.

Unless you are now adopting a wider view of what constitutes radio
knowledge. Is that what you're doing? Hmmmmm?

None of us "rail against" persons with commercial or military
experience BECAUSE of that experience, Brian...

Not true.

Is true. Who else in this forum with "commercial or military"
communications experience rants on-and-on like Lennie?

We DO "rail against"
people who have NO experience in AMATEUR RADIO who then come to an
Amateur Radio forum and presume to tell us how we should be "doing"
things.

He doesn't "presume." He does so.

He doesn't "tell" me anything!

Your buddy on the liberal coast is the ONLY one here who routinely
"rails against" anyone based upon RADIO (ie technical and theoretical)
experience.

Not true.

Is true. Unless we include you.

Period.

Longhand punctuation?

His attacks on me based upon having been an Armed
Forces Avionics Tech and Jim, N2EY, for his various projects are
point-in-case.

And you presume to tell Len how he should be doing things.

Nope. I have not once suggested how he conduct his "professional"
career. You won't find a single posting by me in any "professional
radio" forum", Brian.

Yet Lennie, without one day's bit of experience in practical
Amateur Radio, persumes to know what's good for us.

No one doubts that Lennie knows how a radio works or that he was
an adequate bench technician.

Not true. How many lies will you rack up in this single post?

Is true. I've said it before, and I said it right there.

However he has, to this date, zero-point-zero hours of experience
as a licensed Radio Amateur.

Nor does the Chairman of the FCC.

The Chairman of the FCC is not in this forum, now is he?

He is not now nor ever has been a radio
OPERATOR as it pertains to Amateur Radio practice. He has
zero-point-zero hours of experience in emergency communications. His
list ot "zeros" is lengthy, yet he pretends to be an authority on
Amateur Radio policies and/or practices.

Ditto the Chaiman of the FCC and his numerous staffers. Soon, he's
going to "presume" to tell you how it is, both on policy and practice.

And they are not in this forum, are they?

However the Chairman and his staff DO have Amateurs on the FCC
payroll from whom thye take counsel.

He's nothing of the sort.

Your adaptation of his diversion about how "we" allegedly "diss"
him along some ill-perceived lines of how radios work or RF propagates
is assinine.

Not true. Lie #4.

Is true. And I can see you're back in form.

Myself and others have "called" Lennie based upon NUMEROUS errors
as they pertain to Amateur Radio policy and practice.

You and he are the ONLY ones suggesting that the theory of
electronics or radio wave propagation are issues here.

Lastly, the original argument was about contributions that
Amatuers made during WW2. All of the references I made were to
electronics-related fields for which AMATEURS were SPECIFCIALLY sought
and recruited due to thier already-demonstrated competency or skill in
radiocommunications.

Hmmmm? There's that damned one way valve again. Amateurs can jump in
and fill military and commercial radio roles, but commercial and
military radio Ops can have absolutely NO knowledge of amateur comms!

Hi, hi! Talk about an Iron Curtain! Your brain is on "diode."

Nope.

Where did I say that, Brian?

No one, myself included, ever stated that thier licensure was the
end-all or sole reason for thier employment or service.

Steve, K4YZ

Cronyism and Nepotism are as good reasons as any. You could do worse
by having someone who actually knows something about RF making comments
on the ARS.

What does knowing ANYthing about "RF" have to do with knowing
about the Amateur Radio service?

I worked with many engineers in 2000. About a third of them were
Amateur licensees. The rest weren't. They were excellent in thier
fields. But they knew nothing of Amateur Radio.

Lennie's "knowledge" of "Amateur Radio" comes from having used an
Amateur Radio magazine to get his "writings" into print and from his
flailing's-about in this forum.

Best of Luck.

For what? Pulling the rug out from underneath you and Lennie?

That didn't need luck...You make it all too easy.

Thanks.

Steve, K4YZ

K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
Dee Flint wrote:

Movies and novels, etc often take artistic license with the facts in order
to produce more impact. That is true of both dramas and comedies. So any
one who relies on such items for their history is going to be using a far
amount of misinformation. Even the news media takes artistic license by the
selection of what facts and speculation to report since they are going for
ratings.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee, excellent, excellent post.

That must be why some in this group constantly quote british comedy as
if it were somehow relevant to matters at hand. They get their history
from Monty Python. Telling is their admiration for the contribution(s)
that the ARS made in WWII. Quitepuzzling, since the ARS was shut down
by the US government at the time.

Many radio amateurs made their war contributions as radio operators.
Many became electronics and radio instructors. Many were involved in
radio design and manufacture. Many became involved with Civil Defense
and WERS (War Emergency Radio Service). There is a large amount of
documentation of the efforts of radio amateurs during the Second World
War. Have you read any of it?

Whoa! Talk about brilliant minds! Our posts hit at the same
time...But when I re-read mine, I accidentally "deleted" a paragraph
when I had changed a sentence I wrote prior to posting!

What I had said was that Brian's demonization of some of us who
make reference to contributions made during WW2 doesn't stand the
litmus test of objectivity. The "War Department" and other agencies of
the era went on record as praising the ARRL and it's members for the
contributions you cited, Dave...

If I made contributions to dental hygeine during any war, it would not
be as an amateur radio operator. You guys, who constantly rail against
persons having commercial and military radio experience, should know
that whatever those amateurs did during WWII were not doing it as
amateurs.

Unless you are now adopting a wider view of what constitutes radio
knowledge. Is that what you're doing? Hmmmmm?

None of us "rail against" persons with commercial or military
experience BECAUSE of that experience, Brian...

Not true.

Is true. Who else in this forum with "commercial or military"
communications experience rants on-and-on like Lennie?

We DO "rail against"
people who have NO experience in AMATEUR RADIO who then come to an
Amateur Radio forum and presume to tell us how we should be "doing"
things.

He doesn't "presume." He does so.

He doesn't "tell" me anything!

There you go personalizing everything. You're just itching for a
fight, aren't you?.

Your buddy on the liberal coast is the ONLY one here who routinely
"rails against" anyone based upon RADIO (ie technical and theoretical)
experience.

Not true.

Is true. Unless we include you.

Citation, please.

Period.

Longhand punctuation?

His attacks on me based upon having been an Armed
Forces Avionics Tech and Jim, N2EY, for his various projects are
point-in-case.

And you presume to tell Len how he should be doing things.

Nope. I have not once suggested how he conduct his "professional"
career.

Hi, hi! You deny that he has had a "professional" career.

You won't find a single posting by me in any "professional
radio" forum", Brian.

You are so unprofessional that you wouldn't know where to find one.

Yet Lennie, without one day's bit of experience in practical
Amateur Radio, persumes to know what's good for us.

Funny. That's just what the FCC does.

No one doubts that Lennie knows how a radio works or that he was
an adequate bench technician.

Not true. How many lies will you rack up in this single post?

Is true. I've said it before, and I said it right there.

What you say from one day to the next is inconsistant and suspect.

However he has, to this date, zero-point-zero hours of experience
as a licensed Radio Amateur.

Nor does the Chairman of the FCC.

The Chairman of the FCC is not in this forum, now is he?

Nor is Mr. Haney. And I do mind where some "experienced" amateurs are
trying to point the ARS.

He is not now nor ever has been a radio
OPERATOR as it pertains to Amateur Radio practice. He has
zero-point-zero hours of experience in emergency communications. His
list ot "zeros" is lengthy, yet he pretends to be an authority on
Amateur Radio policies and/or practices.

Ditto the Chaiman of the FCC and his numerous staffers. Soon, he's
going to "presume" to tell you how it is, both on policy and practice.

And they are not in this forum, are they?

However the Chairman and his staff DO have Amateurs on the FCC
payroll from whom thye take counsel.

Conflict of interest.

He's nothing of the sort.

Your adaptation of his diversion about how "we" allegedly "diss"
him along some ill-perceived lines of how radios work or RF propagates
is assinine.

Not true. Lie #4.

Is true. And I can see you're back in form.

Myself and others have "called" Lennie based upon NUMEROUS errors
as they pertain to Amateur Radio policy and practice.

Everyone makes mistakes. Even you as, I have pointed out so many times
before.

You and he are the ONLY ones suggesting that the theory of
electronics or radio wave propagation are issues here.

You are the one suggesting it. Len and I are the ones pointing it out.

Lastly, the original argument was about contributions that
Amatuers made during WW2. All of the references I made were to
electronics-related fields for which AMATEURS were SPECIFCIALLY sought
and recruited due to thier already-demonstrated competency or skill in
radiocommunications.

Hmmmm? There's that damned one way valve again. Amateurs can jump in
and fill military and commercial radio roles, but commercial and
military radio Ops can have absolutely NO knowledge of amateur comms!

Hi, hi! Talk about an Iron Curtain! Your brain is on "diode."

Nope.

Where did I say that, Brian?

Then tell us how it works, again.

No one, myself included, ever stated that thier licensure was the
end-all or sole reason for thier employment or service.

Steve, K4YZ

Cronyism and Nepotism are as good reasons as any. You could do worse
by having someone who actually knows something about RF making comments
on the ARS.

What does knowing ANYthing about "RF" have to do with knowing
about the Amateur Radio service?

The FCC tests us on knowledge of RF for "licensure." Take it up with
them.

I worked with many engineers in 2000. About a third of them were
Amateur licensees. The rest weren't. They were excellent in thier
fields. But they knew nothing of Amateur Radio.

Holy Cow! A third of the engineers were amateur radio operators but
knew nothing of Amateur Radio? Were they RF engineers?

Lennie's "knowledge" of "Amateur Radio" comes from having used an
Amateur Radio magazine to get his "writings" into print and from his
flailing's-about in this forum.

It's too bad that you are allowed to continue to denigrate a fine
amateur radio builders publication merely to discredit Len's articles
that were contained within it's covers.

Best of Luck.

For what? Pulling the rug out from underneath you and Lennie?

That didn't need luck...You make it all too easy.

You are truly delusional.

From: on Oct 15, 8:14 am

K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
Dee Flint wrote:

Movies and novels, etc often take artistic license with the facts in order
to produce more impact. That is true of both dramas and comedies. So any
one who relies on such items for their history is going to be using a far
amount of misinformation. Even the news media takes artistic license by the
selection of what facts and speculation to report since they are going for
ratings.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee, excellent, excellent post.

That must be why some in this group constantly quote british comedy as
if it were somehow relevant to matters at hand. They get their history
from Monty Python. Telling is their admiration for the contribution(s)
that the ARS made in WWII. Quitepuzzling, since the ARS was shut down
by the US government at the time.

Many radio amateurs made their war contributions as radio operators.
Many became electronics and radio instructors. Many were involved in
radio design and manufacture. Many became involved with Civil Defense
and WERS (War Emergency Radio Service). There is a large amount of
documentation of the efforts of radio amateurs during the Second World
War. Have you read any of it?

Whoa! Talk about brilliant minds! Our posts hit at the same
time...But when I re-read mine, I accidentally "deleted" a paragraph
when I had changed a sentence I wrote prior to posting!

What I had said was that Brian's demonization of some of us who
make reference to contributions made during WW2 doesn't stand the
litmus test of objectivity. The "War Department" and other agencies of
the era went on record as praising the ARRL and it's members for the
contributions you cited, Dave...

If I made contributions to dental hygeine during any war, it would not
be as an amateur radio operator. You guys, who constantly rail against
persons having commercial and military radio experience, should know
that whatever those amateurs did during WWII were not doing it as
amateurs.

Unless you are now adopting a wider view of what constitutes radio
knowledge. Is that what you're doing? Hmmmmm?

None of us "rail against" persons with commercial or military
experience BECAUSE of that experience, Brian...

Not true.

Is true. Who else in this forum with "commercial or military"
communications experience rants on-and-on like Lennie?

We DO "rail against"
people who have NO experience in AMATEUR RADIO who then come to an
Amateur Radio forum and presume to tell us how we should be "doing"
things.

He doesn't "presume." He does so.

He doesn't "tell" me anything!

There you go personalizing everything. You're just itching for a
fight, aren't you?.

Dudly the Imposter is a MIGHTY WARRIOR...on-screen. Off-screen
the best he can do is pose in some kind of uniform and pretend
to be a great "hero." :-)


Your buddy on the liberal coast is the ONLY one here who routinely
"rails against" anyone based upon RADIO (ie technical and theoretical)
experience.

Not true.

Is true. Unless we include you.

Citation, please.

Dudly the Imposter issues his own citations. He makes them up on
the spot to suit his personal HATRED of certain others. :-)

Dudly seems to be the usual east-coastie kind of geographical
BIGOT. He wants to call anyone on the west coast of the United
States
as a "liberal." Once in a while as a "leftist." :-)

Tennessee doesn't have a seacoast at all. Dudly must have ENVY
of anyone being on any "coast." :-)


His attacks on me based upon having been an Armed
Forces Avionics Tech and Jim, N2EY, for his various projects are
point-in-case.

And you presume to tell Len how he should be doing things.

Nope. I have not once suggested how he conduct his "professional"
career.

Hi, hi! You deny that he has had a "professional" career.

Going back through virtual volumes of Dudly the Imposter's
postings in this newsgroup, anyone will find that Dudly has
continually hurled personal insults about my working career
and HAS told me what I "should have been doing." Several
others have done so. [par for the course in this din of
inequity]

I'll just sit back and grin while Dudly gets up another head
of steam to hurl more personal insults at me. He is so
obsessed with his HATRED of certain others that he must be
quite unaware of what he is doing.

You won't find a single posting by me in any "professional
radio" forum", Brian.

You are so unprofessional that you wouldn't know where to find one.

He might know where a Purchasing Agent forum is...but didn't
last long in that singular "professional" area...


Yet Lennie, without one day's bit of experience in practical
Amateur Radio, persumes to know what's good for us.

Funny. That's just what the FCC does.

It's the LAW! :-)


No one doubts that Lennie knows how a radio works or that he was
an adequate bench technician.

Not true. How many lies will you rack up in this single post?

Is true. I've said it before, and I said it right there.

What you say from one day to the next is inconsistant and suspect.

It's a Monte Carlo random-HATE situation...whatever the subject is,
Dudly the Imposter has to hurl SOME kind of personal insult at his
HATE object.

Note the "...was an adequate bench technician." Dudly has so
little experience "on the bench" and NONE as a "technician" (in
the electronics industry) that he is supremely UNqualified to
judge anything in the industry.


However he has, to this date, zero-point-zero hours of experience
as a licensed Radio Amateur.

Nor does the Chairman of the FCC.

The Chairman of the FCC is not in this forum, now is he?

Nor is Mr. Haney. And I do mind where some "experienced" amateurs are
trying to point the ARS.

Neither the Commissioners nor anyone on the Staff of the FCC
are required by LAW to hold amateur radio license grants in
order to FULLY REGULATE United States amateur radio.
Somehow Dudly just can't understand that absolute Fact of Law.
Tsk.


He is not now nor ever has been a radio
OPERATOR as it pertains to Amateur Radio practice. He has
zero-point-zero hours of experience in emergency communications. His
list ot "zeros" is lengthy, yet he pretends to be an authority on
Amateur Radio policies and/or practices.

Ditto the Chaiman of the FCC and his numerous staffers. Soon, he's
going to "presume" to tell you how it is, both on policy and practice.

And they are not in this forum, are they?

However the Chairman and his staff DO have Amateurs on the FCC
payroll from whom thye take counsel.

Conflict of interest.

A few things on the above... First of all, the FCC has "counsel"
from LAWYERS since they are a legal regulatory agency of the federal
government. The FCC regulates MANY DIFFERENT radio services,
ALL the civil radio services in the United States.

Secondly, I do have some experience in emergency communications,
but definitely not as an amateur. While that is irrelevant to this
so-
called "discussion," Dudly the Imposter is, as usual, WRONG in his
personal attacks.

Third, by definition of LAW, an amateur radio license grant covers
BOTH operator AND station.

Fourth, "operating" any radio is just operating it. Dudly's
interpretation refers only to the use of on-off keying morse code
as "operation." Such morse code use is found only in the
AMATEUR service and a very few vessels in Maritime Radio Service.

Fifth, expressing an OPINION on radio regulations is NOT any
pretense of being an "authority." It is just expression of an
OPINION. Dudly the Imposter has NO "authority" on radio
regulations. Neither do any of the current communicators in this
newsgroup.

Sixth, Jim Haney, elected president of the ARRL, has been IN this
newsgroup some years ago, but only for a short while. I advised
him in private e-mail that this would lead to trouble within the
newsgroup from others who were not happy with ARRL policies...and
that would create a bad image of the ARRL as a result of flak from
those that (like Dudly) love to personally insult anyone.

Seventh, the full organization of the FCC is explained on their
website, including all of the higher staff positions of Bureaus
and Offices and Working Groups. To reiterate, the FCC is not
concerned solely with amateur radio since their charter by LAW
is to regulate the ENTIRETY of civil radio in the United States.


He's nothing of the sort.

Your adaptation of his diversion about how "we" allegedly "diss"
him along some ill-perceived lines of how radios work or RF propagates
is assinine.

Not true. Lie #4.

Is true. And I can see you're back in form.

Myself and others have "called" Lennie based upon NUMEROUS errors
as they pertain to Amateur Radio policy and practice.

Everyone makes mistakes. Even you as, I have pointed out so many times
before.

The "makes numerous errors" charge is another FALSE one, but often
used in newsgroups (even way back before USENET existed and all
there was was the original ARPANET) to color an opponents' posts.

The "numerous errors" derive from certain individuals using THEIR
personal preferences as THE judgemental point...any deviation from
that personal preference is considered "wrong." A typical one is
some kind of "fact" that morse code is supposed to be "basic to
the knowledge of any radio amateur." In itself that is false
insofar
as operating any radio communication device of any radio service,
grounded in personal preferences. The morsemen try to "legalize"
that by playing barracks lawyer in the newsgroup and showing the
license test requirements as their "proof."

Dudly the Imposter has never "pertained to amateur radio policy
and practice" but only repeated a few morse myths and posted many
news items (which he did not participate in nor did he report
as any kind of journalist). Dudly has not been able to categorize
subjects, cannot properly use all of the words he thinks are
'necessary' (such as "venue" or "licensure" lately, confusing
their application in other fields far removed from radio). Dudly
has NO ("zero-point-zero") experience in ANY radio communication
(other than perhaps CB) before 1970 and thus - by his own
standards - cannot possibly express any sort of qualified opinion
of amateur radio operation before then.


You and he are the ONLY ones suggesting that the theory of
electronics or radio wave propagation are issues here.

You are the one suggesting it. Len and I are the ones pointing it out.

I'm just pointing out the HOLES in Dudly's "reasoning" and the
personal insults he continually hurls at certain individuals he
obsessively HATES. :-)


Lastly, the original argument was about contributions that
Amatuers made during WW2. All of the references I made were to
electronics-related fields for which AMATEURS were SPECIFCIALLY sought
and recruited due to thier already-demonstrated competency or skill in
radiocommunications.

Hmmmm? There's that damned one way valve again. Amateurs can jump in
and fill military and commercial radio roles, but commercial and
military radio Ops can have absolutely NO knowledge of amateur comms!

Hi, hi! Talk about an Iron Curtain! Your brain is on "diode."

Nope.

Where did I say that, Brian?

Then tell us how it works, again.

Brian, do not expect the impossible. :-)

Dudly the Imposter has NO existance prior to 1955. He cannot
possibly
"know" anything of World War 2 by personal experience. All his
input
comes from AMATEUR RADIO literature. Such amateur radio literature
is colored to favor the wish-fulfillment of radio amateurs.
Actually,
the much wider field of electronics has considerable REAL history of
who did what for whom.


No one, myself included, ever stated that thier licensure was the
end-all or sole reason for thier employment or service.

Steve, K4YZ

Cronyism and Nepotism are as good reasons as any. You could do worse
by having someone who actually knows something about RF making comments
on the ARS.

What does knowing ANYthing about "RF" have to do with knowing
about the Amateur Radio service?

The FCC tests us on knowledge of RF for "licensure." Take it up with
them.

Apparently Dudly the Imposter does NOT know anything about "radio"
or the propagation of electromagnetic radiation! :-) Or he has
forgotten anything to do with RF on his amateur radio license test.

The Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' Question Pool Committee
generates the questions and answers for the amateur radio license
test. The FCC either approves or disapproves those questions and
answers. Testing of radio amateurs for their licenses is done
almost entirely by the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator groups (the
FCC can demand certain individuals to be tested by the FCC in
certain dispute cases...that is also the LAW).

The FCC does NOT use the term "licensure" in regards to amateur
radio licenses or the licensing process. That term is used in
some civil governments for licensing in other fields of activity.
Dudly may think he is "highbrow" or an "authority" if he uses
the word "licensure." :-)

I worked with many engineers in 2000. About a third of them were
Amateur licensees. The rest weren't. They were excellent in thier
fields. But they knew nothing of Amateur Radio.

Holy Cow! A third of the engineers were amateur radio operators but
knew nothing of Amateur Radio? Were they RF engineers?

Dudly the Imposter admitted he worked as a PURCHASING AGENT for
a set-top-box manufacturer. Purchasing Agents do NOT do any
sort of "design" work nor do they do any testing of the final
product, whatever that may be. Purchasing Agents are the
equivalent of technical bookkeepers and form-filler-outers and
their "communications knowledge" is limited to using a
telephone.

Dudly has "zero-point-zero" experience in electronics engineering
of any kind, "zero-point-zero" experience as a "bench top
technician" (in the industry). He has NO baseline for judgement
other than continually being obsessed with insulting others from
his obsessive HATRED.


Lennie's "knowledge" of "Amateur Radio" comes from having used an
Amateur Radio magazine to get his "writings" into print and from his
flailing's-about in this forum.

It's too bad that you are allowed to continue to denigrate a fine
amateur radio builders publication merely to discredit Len's articles
that were contained within it's covers.

Dudly the Imposter will insult anyone if he can make "message
points" and partially soothe his obsessive HATRED of some in
this newsgroup. [that is continually on display in here]

I could list the Editors in Chief of Ham Radio magazine and
describe much of its 22-year independent existance as an
amateur radio technical publication. Suffice to say that all
22 years of articles in it are on a three-CD set available
from CQ or the ARRL bookstores for $150 (shipping charges
extra). HR is still considered the "top" of the technical
periodicals for amateur radio worldwide (the RSGB's "Radio
Communication" magazine perhaps a close second). HR, like
CQ and 73, never had the backing of an entire membership
organization to assure it of continued existance (as QST
does) and they managed to exist for 22 years solely on
income from advertising sales. My hat is off and a salute
given to Jim Fisk (SK), Alf Wilson, Rich Rosen, and Terry
Northrup, wherever they are now, for editorial leadership
throughout those 22 years.

Tsk, I've written for other electronics magazines and have
had the pleasure of being acquainted with radio amateurs
since 1947...among them Gene Hubbell (the first H of H&H
Electronics in Rockford, IL, now SK), Captain William P.
Boss, Officer in Charge of ADA Transmitters (1953-1954),
Sergeant First Class Don Ross (NCOIC at ADA Transmitters
1954-1956, holder of an Amateur Extra as well as both
First Telegraph and First Phone Commercial licenses),
Eugene Rosenbaum (retired from the FAA and living in
Long Island, NY), Allan Walston (W6MJN, best man at my
wedding and co-worker in the RCA Cube Farm), James Hall
(KD6JG, retired and on the RCA network from near Grass
Valley, CA, on Saturdays), and a whole bunch of other
good people that I've known and/or worked with over the
last 58 years. It doesn't require personal acquaintenship
to "know about amateur radio" since nothing of it is
either "secret" or "sensitive" or "to be kept within the
confines of a fraternal order." United States amateur
radio is NOT a guild, union, or trade craft that takes
some kind of special learned-over-many-years experience,
nor is it some "national service" organization vital to
the nation. It is a fun hobby, an activity done for
personal pleasure but one that requires federal regulation
due to the nature of EM propagation. Some want it to be
MUCH MORE than what it is in order to fulfill some kind of
daydream they have to show their personal greatness. shrug


Best of Luck.

For what? Pulling the rug out from underneath you and Lennie?

That didn't need luck...You make it all too easy.

You are truly delusional.

Dudly the Imposter is a delusional sociopath with an unfulfilled
ego. That manifests itself as an obssessive hatred of certain
individuals who will not suck up to him and his opinions. Tsk.

He cannot "discuss", only insult others who disagree with him.
This will continue until he gets some professional help for
his mental affliction.

wrote:
It is a fun hobby, an activity done for
personal pleasure but one that requires federal regulation
due to the nature of EM propagation. Some want it to be
MUCH MORE than what it is in order to fulfill some kind of
daydream they have to show their personal greatness. shrug

And often it is MUCH MORE.

As usual, ham radio operators help sustain wide-ranging relief efforts
By Andrea Kelly
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

When all else fails, it's ham radio to the rescue. Across Arizona, ham
radio operators are helping sustain Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by
helping storm-torn communities communicate with rescue workers and
family across the country.

This is not a first. Ham radio operators come out of the woodwork during
disasters around the world, even transmitting in Morse code if language
barriers pop up, said Mike Swiader, president of the amateur
Superstition Radio Club in Mesa.

Ham radio operators have contributed to emergency communication efforts
since World War II, Swiader said, and were crucial in post-9/11
emergency communications, as well as during the Asian tsunami last
holiday season.

Ham radios work when other communication systems are down because
they're powered by solar energy, batteries or generators rather than the
usual power sources.

The messages are passed from radio to radio until they get to the one
they are directed to, so radios don't need to be near each other to
receive signals, like regular AM/FM radio signals.

"We've been involved in passing traffic to and from the Louisiana and
Mississippi area," said Tom Fagan, a leader of the Arizona ham radio
operators organization. "Whatever needs to come in and go out, we're doing."

When Arizona's ham operators - there are about 16,000 of them - get
messages from the hurricane area, they send them along to agencies like
the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army in the Southeastern region
of the country.

"We're the link," Fagan said.

Because communications within a disaster area are often jumbled, Swiader
said, it's frequently easier for someone there to contact an operator in
someplace like Arizona, who can then relay the message back to a
recipient in the disaster area.

"Sometimes it's easier to be heard that way," he said.

More than 30 ham radio operators from Arizona have already headed toward
the disaster area, hoping to assist relief efforts and give emergency
workers a way to communicate with each other, as well as assisting
searches for missing persons.

"They're moving in when they're allowed by American Red Cross and
Salvation Army," said Ned Stearns, a Phoenix ham operator and vice
director of the American Radio Relay League, the national organization
for ham operators.

In fact, the ham operators plan to compile a list of people they can
determine as missing, deceased, alive or unknown, based on information
transmitted over the ham signals.

To find out about people in the area, visit www.satern.org and fill out
the health and welfare information request for the person you are trying
to find. This information will be sent through the Salvation Army
emergency radio network.





More From The Huntsville Times | Subscribe To The Huntsville Times
Ham radio operators are helping from afar
Sunday, September 11, 2005
By DONNA FORK
For the Times

But sometimes, even the airwaves can be shut down

They also serve who listen and wait.

Huntsville amateur radio operator Douglas Hilton and other "hams" in
North Alabama are helping victims of Hurricane Katrina by relaying
messages between families, officials and each other.


Lately, Hilton's been spending most of his spare time in his "ham shack"
listening to calls for assistance. The systems analyst for Intergraph
Corp. is one of thousands of amateur radio operators who help people
during emergencies.

Hilton is unusual in the ham radio world because he wears three hats: He
is an amateur operator; a member of the Alabama State Defense Force,
heading the Communications Platoon for North Alabama; and he's also a
military communicator authorized to use the Military Affiliate Radio System.

His connection to the military (although he is a civilian) gives him
access to additional radio frequencies most amateurs can't access. He
has been a ham radio operator for 42 years; his father had him build a
crystal radio when he was 7 years old, and he got his ham license as a
teenager. But he wasn't all that active until after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"That hit me right between the eyes," he recalled, and he began to get
back into "hamming."

Now Hilton averages about 100 hours a month on the airwaves and takes
countless courses and certifications. He noted that amateur radio
operators are "amateurs only in that we're not paid." In return for
service "the government gives us frequencies."

Hilton said the North Alabama ham community is large.

"The astronauts are all ham radio operators," he said, noting that
astronaut Owen Garriott "was the first ham in space."

Hilton''s "ham shack" is not really a shack at all. It is located in a
formal dining room - complete with crystal chandelier. It includes six
radios and two computers.

"You don't need six, but don't tell my wife, please," Hilton said as his
wife, Diane, laughed. She recently obtained her "technician class"
license, which is the entry-level license for ham radio operators. The
next is "general class." The highest, which Hilton has, is "amateur
extra." Anyone can be an amateur radio operator, Hilton said. There is
no age limit: Hilton knows a local ham who is 18 and another who is 89.

It doesn't cost much to be an operator either, he said. A beginner could
purchase enough equipment to get started for about $300. Courses are
free through one of the local ham radio clubs, of which there are
several, including the Huntsville Amateur Radio Club (the Web address is
www.harc.net).

In addition to six radios, Hilton has two computers: a laptop and a
desktop. "The radios are hooked into the computer." With his setup, the
Hiltons can talk to other hams as far away as Japan.

But for the past two weeks there hasn't been time to chat about matters
such as which antennas they like the best. There are emergency
frequencies to monitor. At the moment, a critical one is the Salvation
Army's emergency frequency, Hilton said.

Hilton never knows if it will be a busy night or a quiet one. Recent
solar flares have added to the uncertainty because they disrupt
communications. Friday, during the late afternoon and early evening, it
was unusually quiet.

"I'm a little surprised," he said Friday. "I can't believe how dead
these bands are."

Solar flare

It could be a solar flare, or could be something else. "That's the
problem, you never know," he said. The waiting, the listening, "it wears
you out." But it's worth it when you hear a voice and "you might be the
only person who can hear this guy."

On Thursday night, when Hilton was expecting problems, reception was
fine. He was able to contact two operators in Louisiana. He also heard
one Mississippi ham talking to another ham "so at least one is working
there."

ecause of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, there are thousands of
messages piling up, waiting to be delivered by ham radio operators: What
will happen when all their radios start working again?

People like Hilton will be extremely busy. There are thousands of ham
radio operators in Louisiana and Mississippi. When they all get back to
the airwaves, it will be quite a challenge to sort out all the messages.

But meanwhile, as they waited for the deluge of messages, on Thursday
night the Huntsvillians received a call for help from New Mexico.

Maura Campbell Kingston of Clovis, N.M., was trying to reach her aunt,
76-year-old Sister Joan Campbell, a nun, of Harvey, La. Kingston called
the Salvation Army, which contacted a ham radio operator, who called Hilton.

Hilton tried Thursday to reach a radio operator in Louisiana to check on
Campbell, but almost all of them were off the air. Finally on Friday
night Hilton got through to "KG5YK," who is Robert A. Turner of Elm
Grove, La.

When Turner's message came through, hams from all over the United States
could be heard, eager to talk with him.

Helping 'ham brother'

The outpouring of sympathy could not be contained: Radio operators from
Texas, Indiana and elsewhere all expressed their support for their "ham
brother" in Louisiana.

"I hope this never happens again," said Turner of the Katrina disaster.
"It's been a tough time. ... I'm looking for the right words." He
thanked the other hams for their all their help.

"You'd do the same for us," the ham from Texas said. Others echoed his
sentiments.

Turner gave Hilton information about when to call with his "health and
welfare message" about Kingston's aunt. Hilton vowed to keep trying to
deliver the message "for as long as it takes."

But that proved to be unnecessary.

Friday night, after calling her aunt repeatedly, Kingston finally
reached her by phone. She was still at her home in Harvey.

"She was OK," Kingston said in a telephone interview Saturday. "Harvey
stayed dry." But the area was without power and Campbell "was sitting in
the dark with her flashlight."

Later, Kingston called Hilton to thank him. She said he told her: "I'm
just doing it because I want to help."

Kingston was impressed.

"I believe that thing about Southern hospitality."



Thursday, September 15, 2005

Ham radio proves to be more than a hobby
By Jeannetta Edwards

Daily Times Leader

When Hurricane Katrina hit, telephone and cell phone communication hit
an impasse because of downed lines and towers. But, amateur radio
operators did not miss a beat or a transmission.

"Before and after the hurricane, this has proven to be the most reliable
form of communication," said Randall O'Brien, a retired highway
patrolman who has been involved with ham radio operation for 35 years.

"People thought when they got cell phones, they didn't need us anymore,"
said O'Brien, an advanced licensed operator, who often talks to
missionaries in South and Central America.

According to Denver Baker, Clay County has more than 30 amateur radio
operators, but only a small fraction are active.

"It's a wonderful hobby," said Baker, whose wife recently received her
technician license.

The multi-faceted operation includes digital and satellite communication
and is enjoyed by all age levels.

"This is a good hobby for seniors or for young people," said Baker.

By becoming a ham radio operator, which requires taking a test to obtain
a license, people can communicate with others anywhere in the world.

"The classes for the test are free," said Baker, "and we help you with
everything you need to know."

According to Baker, who has been enjoying this hobby for the last 10
years, the only investment required is the fee for the test and the
purchase of equipment. A handheld transmitter cost around $100.

The self-policing group ensures that everyone adheres to the rules and
regulations.

"We're called amateur radio operators, but there's nothing amateur about
it," said O'Brien, who first became interested in electronic at age 13.

The group, which also belongs to the American Radio Relay League, meets
monthly in West Point.

"We have a good bunch of hams in this area," said Baker. "We bring food
at our meetings and have a good time."

"It's nice, especially for seniors," said Baker.

For information on getting involved in ham radio operation, call O'Brien
at 494-2898 or Baker at 494-9096.


Thursday, September 8, 2005

Ham Radio Operators Offer Help

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans last week, several ears in
the East Mountains and Estancia Valley have been tuned to amateur
short-wave radios.
McIntosh resident Ed Brooks said local Ham radio operators are
willing to relay messages from the Gulf Coast if needed.
"We guys here in the Estancia Valley are just listening," he said.
"We haven't had any need for what we can offer."
Although they may not be needed yet, Brooks said local Ham radio
operators are still listening in to conversations taking place in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
During the interview with Brooks, his Ham radio was tuned to a
conversation involving a Coast Guard helicopter that was rescuing a
family from a rooftop in New Orleans with direction from another Ham
radio operator.
Brooks said similar situations have been broadcast hundreds of
times during the past week.
"It's been really spotty, but what we've been (hearing) is that it
was good fortune that somebody down there had Ham equipment," he said.
Daryl Clutter, an Edgewood Ham operator and member of the Salvation
Army's shortwave network, said he relayed a message from Ontario to U.S.
Coast Guard officials in Washington, D.C., that originated in Louisiana.
"It was just the word 'help' spelled out two times," he said.
Like Brooks, Clutter said he has stayed close to his Ham radio
since Aug. 29.
"There's been so much going on," he said. "Every day, something
happens."
Clutter, a former truck driver who often delivered frozen food to
the Gulf Coast, said radio traffic has slowed since the hurricane
devastated the region.
"You just wonder who all you know, that used to be your customers
down there, that are still alive or had the good sense to get out," he said.
As amateur radio operators, Clutter said, Ham enthusiasts practice
for disasters "every day."
"There's only so many cell phone frequencies," he explained. "If
the phone system goes down, there's no way ... (one company) could
handle all the 60,000 or 70,000 phone calls."
Mountainair resident and Ham operator Bob Scupp said the Salvation
Army network alone has handled more than 128,000 messages since Aug. 29.
Brooks said Ham operators have been relaying messages from
residents to volunteers or emergency personnel. Since a large number of
National Guard and military personnel have arrived in the area, Brooks
said the messages have changed from pleas for help to questions about
well-being.
Shelters for evacuees are beginning to utilize Ham radios to
communicate with other shelters to help families find missing relatives,
Brooks said.
Rescues are still going on.
"There's been instances where they're still finding people, trapped
in houses, trapped in buildings or running out of oxygen," said Clutter.
"It's just terrible what's going on down there."
Clutter and Brooks said they will not offer assistance unless
someone requests contact in the Albuquerque area.
"We don't want to tie up the frequencies," Brooks said.
Clutter and Brooks said they will continue to listen to their Ham
radios for messages or relay requests until communications are restored
in the Gulf Coast.
"We live and breathe this," Clutter said.


Published: September 03, 2005 07:18 pm

Amateur radio operators provide vital communications support
By Teresa Atkerson
MCALESTER NEWS-CAPITAL (MCALESTER, Okla.)
MCALESTER, Okla. -

With more than 10,000 requests for help in finding loved ones, the
amateur radio operators in Louisiana are extremely busy.

In fact, they are so busy, they have asked people to wait with their
requests unless there is an extreme emergency.

Ralph Suter, with the Pittsburg County Amateur Radio Club, said they had
about a half dozen requests for assistance in locating loved ones in the
area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. “The Red Cross funneled the
requests for health and welfare,” he explained. Now, the national
traffic system is backed up with the requests, he said, because there
were so many.

There are extreme problems with communications in New Orleans at the
present time. Suter explained VHF radio has to have line of sight while
amateur radio operators can use lower frequencies that can bounce off or
curve to get the message through. “A benefit of amateur radio is you can
throw a piece of wire in a tree or up a flagpole. With 12 volts of
power, you can operate on a local or even worldwide basis,” he explained.

As an example, Suter said recently an amateur radio operator in
Louisiana had some kind of problem that he couldn’t get help with after
the hurricane. He put out the message, it went through Washington state
to Texas and then into Louisiana where the right people were found to
help him.

Amateur radio operators can also communicate via Morse Code, upload
through television or computer or radio to satellite, Suter said. That
gives them even more advantages in communication.

Jim Russell, president of the PCARC, said amateur radio has been around
as long as there has been radio. Even in World War I, amateur radio
operators helped with messages in Morse Code, which is something
operators today still must learn as part of their licensing process.

“We look at it as a hobby,” Suter said. “It’s a resource of individuals
because they have an interest to develop the skills to operate radios in
various modes.

“It’s a resource for trained communicators.”

There are forms that must be used when transmitting messages. “When it
goes into the system at one point and comes out at the destination, it
is exactly the same information, even with the misspelled words,” Suter
said. “It’s our responsibility when handling traffic that it comes out
exactly as it comes in.”

Suter said many of the operators use their radios on a daily basis while
others check weekly. When it comes to disasters, there is the Amateur
Radio Emergency Service. “It’s not really an organization but it is
organized on a national basis for community programs.

John Wright, another PCARC member, checks with the Oklahoma Sooner Net
and with the Salvation Army’s network, SATERN.

After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and 9/11, Russell said amateur
radio was used extensively. It is also used during and after tornadoes
and other natural disasters. Now, the group can work with the Automatic
Position Reporting System to help more accurately report severe weather.

The group has an annual field day, which is a combination of a exercise
and a contest. “We go out and set up radios under adverse conditions to
simulate disaster response,” Suter said. “In the past, we’ve started
with solar power, using a battery in a car or even a portable generator.

“The last time I kept count, we were able to make contacts in 47 states,
the Philippines, some in South America and Puerto Rico in a 24-hour period.”

Suter pointed out that the word “amateur” is not what people interpret
it as. “People interpret it to be an unprofessional group. But while
it’s made up of a lot of people for a hobby, it’s not unorganized or
unprofessional when dealing with disaster. We have capabilities that
public agencies just don’t have,” he said.

Members also have to be licensed. The license testing can be done in
McAlester now so those wishing to be licensed don’t have to go to Dallas
or Oklahoma City as in the past.

Teresa Atkerson writes for the McAlester (Okla.) News-Capital.


Old Technology Still Needed
(Page 1 of 2)

Sept. 8, 2005

Overwhelming Charity

Joe Carcia, station manager of the American Radio Relay League in
Newington, Conn. helps with the disaster relief effort for Hurricane
Katrina's victims along the Gulf Coast. (AP)

If anything, Katrina has taught us the value of redundancy. The best way
to make sure that messages get through is to have standby systems that
can take over when others fail.

(CBS) There is a store in London dedicated to "appropriate technology."
It mostly carries products designed to be used in developing countries
where there is a weak communications infrastructure.

Sadly, that’s now the case for a large swath of the United States where
Hurricane Katrina and its flood waters have wiped out cell phone towers,
telephone switching stations, Internet routers and other ground-based
communications systems. Even wireless Internet depends on nearby
transmitters and receivers on the ground.

But amateur radio is working and, according to Allen Pitts of the
Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), "ham" radio operators from throughout
the country are answering the call to provide vital communications
links. Satellite phones, a much newer technology, are also coming to the
rescue.

Pitts acknowledges that cell phones and other technologies "work
wonderfully when everything is going right," but "they are very
vulnerable when everything is going wrong."

Just as with past hurricanes, earthquakes and on September 11th, the
ground-based infrastructure, in many cases failed because vital parts of
the system were damaged or overwhelmed during the emergency.

In other words, when you need them most, those cell phones are of no value.

Amateur radio, says Pitts, is not vulnerable to these problems "because
each of the radio operators is a complete transmit and reception center
unto themselves able to continue going and continue with nothing more
than an electrical source, such as a battery or a generator, a radio and
piece of wire for an antenna."

Listen to audio of Larry Magid's interview with ARRL's Allen Pitts.

While base-station radios are larger and require an electrical power
source, there are also portable ham radios slightly larger than a pack
of cigarettes with a range of about 20 miles, according to Pitts. Pitts
says that the next sized radio, about the size of a paperback book, can
communicate up to about 50 miles without a repeater while larger
systems, "about the size of a desktop computer" can communicate globally.

Amateur radio operators are in demand. When I checked the ARRL’s Web
site there was a call from the Salvation Army for "10, two-operator
Amateur Radio teams for deployment in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Operators
must hold at least a General class license. Teams should be fully self
sufficient in terms of food, water and lodging and plan to remain in the
disaster area for from one to two weeks."

Pitts said there was a "lady in Connecticut," who was listening on her
amateur radio and happened to hear that there was a woman "who was
trapped for four days without food and water." She was able to relay
that message, by ham radio, into an operations center that dispatched
the fire department. A day later she got a call from the trapped woman’s
mother, thanking her for her role in the rescue.

Ironically, this comes at a time when amateur radio is struggling for
respect and, to some extent, survival. What was once a popular hobby has
fallen into somewhat hard times for a variety of reasons, including the
fact that the Internet, cheap long distance calling, cell phones and
other technologies make the ability to use these two-way radios not
quite as compelling as it once was.

Also, there is a bit of a rift between some members of the amateur radio
community and some parts of the Internet industry over the use of power
lines to transmit Internet signals. This technology, which could put
power companies into competition with cable and phone companies for
broadband service, has been criticized by some ham operators because of
possible interference problems.

Despite the fact that their origins go back to the early 20th century,
hams are hardly low-tech. There are now bridges between ham operators
and other technologies including the Internet, cellular phone systems
and Internet phones. In fact, long before the Internet became popular,
ham operators were using their radio gear to transmit data along with
voice and morse code.

Also coming to the rescue are satellite phones. These phones - which are
much more expensive to buy and use than cell phones - rely on satellites
rather than ground equipment to communicate with the phone network.

Because satellites are in space, they’re not vulnerable to conditions
here on earth. Also, as long as you have a view of the sky, you’re able
to communicate. Iridium, which operates "66 low-earth orbiting (LEO),
cross-linked satellites and 11 in-orbit spares," says it provides
"complete coverage of the earth (including oceans, airways and Polar
Regions)."

I carried an Iridium phone with me when I traveled to Peru a few years
ago. It worked great when I was in the clear such as on a boat in the
middle of the Amazon River but, because it requires a line of site view
of the sky, it had problems in dense jungle and in cities with tall
buildings.

Iridium spokesperson Liz DeCastro estimates that there are currently
about 10,000 of Iridium's phones being used in the region with orders
for about 6,000 more. The company sells through resellers so it doesn’t
have exact numbers. DeCastro says that "traffic in the region increased
by 3,000 percent" since the storm hit and that the number of subscribers
increased by 500 percent.

Satellite phones are a lot cheaper to use then when I went to Peru, but
they still cost between $1 and $1.25 per minute to use, according to
DeCastro. That’s a lot more than domestic cell use, though often cheaper
than using U.S. phones when roaming overseas. The phones themselves cost
between $1,000 and $1,500 she says.

In addition to handling voice calls, satellite phones can also be used
for messaging or data, albeit at modem rather than broadband speed.

If anything, Katrina has taught us the value of redundancy. The best way
to make sure that messages get through is to have standby systems that
can take over when others fail.

That’s why some news organizations keep manual typewriters around. You
never know when that old technology may suddenly become the "appropriate
technology."


NYNewsday.com
Amateur radio operators head to Gulf Coast

September 6, 2005, 1:00 AM EDT

NEWINGTON, Conn. -- Oscar Fuller only became an amateur radio operator
about a year ago, but he knows how valuable his equipment can be in an
emergency.

So even though he has never responded to a crisis, the American Relay
Radio League member is planning to head to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf
Coast and see if he can help establish an emergency communication network.

"This is a tragic set of circumstances," said Fuller, who recently
retired from IBM. "If I can lend a hand, I want to."

Fuller and about 14 other members of the Newington-based amateur radio
operator network have signed up to join the relief efforts for Hurricane
Katrina. The amateur operators _ known as hams _ can often use their
equipment to communicate in difficult circumstances.

Because the radio equipment operates on many frequencies, is
self-contained and portable, it can often work when other communication
networks, such as telephones, aren't working. It can never be blocked,
which is why operators say it is good in disasters.

"When all else fails, ham radios work," said Betsy Doane of Shelton, who
oversees the 2,500 members of the league in Connecticut.

David Patton, an official with the radio group, said as many as 750
volunteers may be needed. The Connecticut volunteers are going to help
provide communication support for more than 200 American Red Cross
Shelters in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

"There are limited resources to an overwhelming disaster," said Allen
Pitts, public relations manager for the radio league. "So there is not a
ham on every corner. The hams are put where they are needed most of all,
in emergency traffic or for saving lives."

Dennis Motschenbacher of Colchester was among the first volunteers to
say he would go. He spent Sunday shopping for supplies and getting ready
for the 18-hour, 1,100 mile drive to Montgomery, Ala., where he will be
dispatched to a shelter.

"Everything I need, I'm bringing," he said. "There won't be any Radio
Shack to go to."

The 57-year-old has been a ham for more than 40 years. He has operated
his radio from places as far as East Timor and the Balkans.

The hardest part will be "seeing people in this troubled state _ smelly,
sick, depressed, angry. And no matter what any of us do, it won't be
enough for all of them."


NBC
Headline News - Top Stories
Ham Radio Operators Pitch In To Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort General
Interest
09/07/2005
With communications out all over New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the
professionals are turning to amateurs to be their ears to what's going
on in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Local operators say they've been in touch with people in and around New
Orleans since the beginning of the ordeal.

Ed McLaughlin, of Kennewick, says in the days that followed the
disaster, he was able to help a family in Medford, Ore., get an update
on how their relatives were. He's provided similar contact for a family
in Chicago.

The reason-- ham radio, which is able to get in places that have no
other means for communication when land-based infrastructure fails.

Ham radio has been such a success during these recent days that FEMA and
the Red Cross are now using it as their primary mode for communication
until other modes of communication are restored.


News-Leader.com Springfield Mo.
Ham radio helps close communication gap

Nixa man relayed message from president to New Orleans' mayor.

Joe Hargis works on his amateur radio in his home in Nixa. Hargis helped
rescue an elderly woman by notifying someone who could contact rescue
workers via radio.

By Sarah Overstreet
News-Leader

If you've been unsuccessfully trying to get information about someone
living in Hurricane Katrina's region of havoc, here's an avenue you may
not have considered: local ham radio operators.

While cell phones rely on towers and traditional telephones rely on
intact land lines, ham radios transmit from radio to radio, bouncing
waves off the ionosphere in the upper atmosphere far above the Earth's
tantrums. They can run off batteries, generators and sometimes even the sun.

Two Ozarks amateur ham radio groups - the Nixa Amateur Radio Club and
the Christian County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) - have been
relaying messages from people all over the world to those whose
communication has been cut off by Katrina.

David Beckler, a ham radio operator from Nixa, even relayed a message
Tuesday from the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
Texas to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

"He had a message from President Bush to the mayor of the city of New
Orleans," says Beckler, a New Orleans native who moved to Nixa six years
ago.

Since the message was an emergency communication, the dispatch needed to
go through the net control station on an emergency frequency, Beckler
said. He knew it was important, because the ham operator had said,
"break, break, break," which requires all other communications to yield
and give that one priority.

"The net control station or other stations on this frequency could not
hear this message," Beckler says. Beckler contacted the net control
station, and people there asked him to contact the sending ham operator
and relay the message back to that operator. "That's when he told me it
was from President Bush."

Joe Hargis, another Nixa ham club member, also helped with an urgent
message. "I was monitoring the SATERN network (Salvation Army Team
Emergency Radio Network)," said Hargis, a retired elementary schoolteacher.

"A person called in with a piece of emergency traffic and the
(receiving) person could not hear him. He said, 'Is there anyone on the
frequency who can copy this?' I broke in and told him I could hear it fine."

Hargis relayed the message back to SATERN, and the operator there could
hear Hargis well. "It was a 90-year-old woman and her elderly neighbors.
They were afraid to leave their home because of the unrest in the
neighborhood, things that were going on, and they needed assistance to
be evacuated. They were running low on medicine, and one was running out
of her oxygen supply."

Nixa ham club member Rod Kittleman says their members helped save the
lives of a couple in New Orleans.

"A weak, disabled elderly couple were trapped in their attic. Their
phone worked, but they couldn't get through to local authorities," the
KADI radio program manager explains.

Too weak to break through their roof so emergency personnel could find
them, the couple called their daughter in this area. She contacted the
Nixa club, which relayed the message to a local ham operator who is
licensed to operate on emergency frequencies.

"He got through to authorities in New Orleans over the radio, and they
were rescued. (The ham operator) relayed the message back to their daughter.

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:
wrote:
It is a fun hobby, an activity done for
personal pleasure but one that requires federal regulation
due to the nature of EM propagation. Some want it to be
MUCH MORE than what it is in order to fulfill some kind of
daydream they have to show their personal greatness. shrug

And often it is MUCH MORE.

Yep. Often it is higher class hams dissing lower class hams.

As usual, ham radio operators help sustain wide-ranging relief efforts

True enough. But those efforts must obey the same laws of physics that
the other radio services obey. Amateur radio isn't magical. Morse
code isn't magical, mystical, nor mythical.

wrote

Amateur radio isn't magical.

I think belief in magic IS a necessary requirement to really enjoy Amateur
Radio. Of course, you won't see a question concerning magic or metaphysics on
the test you take to obtain your license, but in your heart you will come to
believe in that powerful, intangible force.

All of us in the hobby have felt its influence at one time or another. Some
night when the band is dead as a doornail you'll be tuning aimlessly, not
expecting to hear a single signal because NOTHING could be coming through at
that hour. But then, rising out of the noise like a ghost, there will be a faint
call from another stalwart explorer thousands of miles distant. You pounce,
establish contact and both of you marvel at the fact that the conversation is
taking place at all. A few minutes later, however, the signal vanishes as
quickly as it came. Your rational mind will shrug it off as a quirk of
propagation, but that little tingle in your gut will tell you otherwise.

If you could travel back in time to, say 500 years to 1505 AD, you'd probably be
burned at the nearest stake for even suggesting that two human beings could
communicate with each other over great distances without a physical connection.
No doubt they would accuse you of dabbling in magic -- and they'd be right!

As Amateur Radio operators, we work feats of magic every day. Many of us have
become jaded about our powers and we tend to dismiss them as commonplace. We
hardly think twice when we use our equipment to sommon the elemental forces of
the universe. But every so often we need to pause and remind ourselves of what
we are really doing. We need to remember the essence of what drew us to our
unusual avocation in the first place: the wonderful magic of wireless
communications.

(With thanks to WB8IMY)

73, de Hans, K0HB
--
"Hark! I Have Hurled My Words To The Far Corners Of The Earth! What King Of Old
Could Do Thus?"
--AC6V

KØHB wrote:
wrote


Amateur radio isn't magical.


I think belief in magic IS a necessary requirement to really enjoy Amateur
Radio. Of course, you won't see a question concerning magic or metaphysics on
the test you take to obtain your license, but in your heart you will come to
believe in that powerful, intangible force.

rest of an awesome post snipped

Excellent, Hans, simply excellent!

- Mike KB3EIA -

AKA Brian Q. Burp wrote:
Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:


As usual, ham radio operators help sustain wide-ranging relief efforts


True enough. But those efforts must obey the same laws of physics that
the other radio services obey. Amateur radio isn't magical. Morse
code isn't magical, mystical, nor mythical.


But ham radio often gets the job done when others can't.

wrote:
K4YZ wrote:
wrote:
K4YZ wrote:

None of us "rail against" persons with commercial or military
experience BECAUSE of that experience, Brian...

Not true.

Is true. Who else in this forum with "commercial or military"
communications experience rants on-and-on like Lennie?

We DO "rail against"
people who have NO experience in AMATEUR RADIO who then come to an
Amateur Radio forum and presume to tell us how we should be "doing"
things.

He doesn't "presume." He does so.

He doesn't "tell" me anything!

There you go personalizing everything. You're just itching for a
fight, aren't you?.

With you or Lennie? Sheesh. Not much of a challenge there.

Your buddy on the liberal coast is the ONLY one here who routinely
"rails against" anyone based upon RADIO (ie technical and theoretical)
experience.

Not true.

Is true. Unless we include you.

Citation, please.

Wade through about a ton of LennieRant's from the last seven
years, Brain. They are prolific.

Period.

Longhand punctuation?

His attacks on me based upon having been an Armed
Forces Avionics Tech and Jim, N2EY, for his various projects are
point-in-case.

And you presume to tell Len how he should be doing things.

Nope. I have not once suggested how he conduct his "professional"
career.

Hi, hi! You deny that he has had a "professional" career.

No, I've not.

I've stated that I doubt that his career is all that his stories
make him out to be.

Kinda like your "There I was in Somalia..." stuff.

You won't find a single posting by me in any "professional
radio" forum", Brian.

You are so unprofessional that you wouldn't know where to find one.

Uh huh...WHO is "personalizing" this, Brain?

Yet Lennie, without one day's bit of experience in practical
Amateur Radio, persumes to know what's good for us.

Funny. That's just what the FCC does.

Nope.

Comparing Lennie to the FCC is like comparing a mob hitman to a
Sheriff's Deputy.

No one doubts that Lennie knows how a radio works or that he was
an adequate bench technician.

Not true. How many lies will you rack up in this single post?

Is true. I've said it before, and I said it right there.

What you say from one day to the next is inconsistant and suspect.

Nope.

But it obviously makes you warm and fuzzy to promulgate such lies.


Of course lying is easy for you.

However he has, to this date, zero-point-zero hours of experience
as a licensed Radio Amateur.

Nor does the Chairman of the FCC.

The Chairman of the FCC is not in this forum, now is he?

Nor is Mr. Haney. And I do mind where some "experienced" amateurs are
trying to point the ARS.

Mr Haney DOES have tons of experience in Amateur Radio.

Weak diversion, Brain. Try again?

He is not now nor ever has been a radio
OPERATOR as it pertains to Amateur Radio practice. He has
zero-point-zero hours of experience in emergency communications. His
list ot "zeros" is lengthy, yet he pretends to be an authority on
Amateur Radio policies and/or practices.

Ditto the Chaiman of the FCC and his numerous staffers. Soon, he's
going to "presume" to tell you how it is, both on policy and practice.

And they are not in this forum, are they?

However the Chairman and his staff DO have Amateurs on the FCC
payroll from whom they take counsel.

Conflict of interest.

WHAT conflict of interest?

It's no more a "conflict of interest" to have Amateurs on the FCC
payroll and providing counsel about Amatuer issues than it is to have
any OTHER service represented.

He's nothing of the sort.

Your adaptation of his diversion about how "we" allegedly "diss"
him along some ill-perceived lines of how radios work or RF propagates
is assinine.

Not true. Lie #4.

Is true. And I can see you're back in form.

Myself and others have "called" Lennie based upon NUMEROUS errors
as they pertain to Amateur Radio policy and practice.

Everyone makes mistakes. Even you as, I have pointed out so many times
before.

But I admit mine. Lennie's several years behind.

You're a close second.

You and he are the ONLY ones suggesting that the theory of
electronics or radio wave propagation are issues here.

You are the one suggesting it...(SNIP)

No, I am not.

(UNSNIP).....Len and I are the ones pointing it out.

Then we have you in yet another mistruth, Brain.

I have N E V E R suggested that there is one iota of difference
in theory, technology OR propagation.

If you insist on suggesting otherwise, you are wantonly lying.

Lastly, the original argument was about contributions that
Amatuers made during WW2. All of the references I made were to
electronics-related fields for which AMATEURS were SPECIFCIALLY sought
and recruited due to thier already-demonstrated competency or skill in
radiocommunications.

Hmmmm? There's that damned one way valve again. Amateurs can jump in
and fill military and commercial radio roles, but commercial and
military radio Ops can have absolutely NO knowledge of amateur comms!

Hi, hi! Talk about an Iron Curtain! Your brain is on "diode."

Nope.

Where did I say that, Brian?

Then tell us how it works, again.

How "what" works, Brain?

No one, myself included, ever stated that thier licensure was the
end-all or sole reason for thier employment or service.

Steve, K4YZ

Cronyism and Nepotism are as good reasons as any. You could do worse
by having someone who actually knows something about RF making comments
on the ARS.

What does knowing ANYthing about "RF" have to do with knowing
about the Amateur Radio service?

The FCC tests us on knowledge of RF for "licensure." Take it up with
them.

And, just as Lennie the Liar, blindly skip over the OTHER parts of
the exam and weakly try to slip in yet another diversion.

lame...really lame.

I worked with many engineers in 2000. About a third of them were
Amateur licensees. The rest weren't. They were excellent in thier
fields. But they knew nothing of Amateur Radio.

Holy Cow! A third of the engineers were amateur radio operators but
knew nothing of Amateur Radio? Were they RF engineers?

Yep.

Lennie's "knowledge" of "Amateur Radio" comes from having used an
Amateur Radio magazine to get his "writings" into print and from his
flailing's-about in this forum.

It's too bad that you are allowed to continue to denigrate a fine
amateur radio builders publication merely to discredit Len's articles
that were contained within it's covers.

Where, Brain, was ONE WORD of "denigration" of the MAGAZINE...?!?!

Best of Luck.

For what? Pulling the rug out from underneath you and Lennie?

That didn't need luck...You make it all too easy.

You are truly delusional.

There you go calling the pot black again, Oh Parroting One. Kinda
like your accusations of me "denigrating" a "fine amateur radio buildrs
publication.

Brian P Burke ("hot-ham-and-cheese", "billybeeper") is a known
pathological liar.

Beware.

Steve, K4YZ

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

wrote

Amateur radio isn't magical.

I think belief in magic IS a necessary requirement to really enjoy
Amateur Radio. Of course, you won't see a question concerning magic or
metaphysics on the test you take to obtain your license, but in your heart
you will come to believe in that powerful, intangible force.

All of us in the hobby have felt its influence at one time or another.
Some night when the band is dead as a doornail you'll be tuning
aimlessly, not expecting to hear a single signal because NOTHING could be
coming through at that hour. But then, rising out of the noise like a
ghost, there will be a faint call from another stalwart explorer thousands
of miles distant. You pounce, establish contact and both of you marvel at
the fact that the conversation is taking place at all. A few minutes
later, however, the signal vanishes as quickly as it came. Your rational
mind will shrug it off as a quirk of propagation, but that little tingle
in your gut will tell you otherwise.

If you could travel back in time to, say 500 years to 1505 AD, you'd
probably be burned at the nearest stake for even suggesting that two human
beings could communicate with each other over great distances without a
physical connection. No doubt they would accuse you of dabbling in
magic -- and they'd be right!

As Amateur Radio operators, we work feats of magic every day. Many of us
have become jaded about our powers and we tend to dismiss them as
commonplace. We hardly think twice when we use our equipment to sommon
the elemental forces of the universe. But every so often we need to pause
and remind ourselves of what we are really doing. We need to remember the
essence of what drew us to our unusual avocation in the first place: the
wonderful magic of wireless communications.

(With thanks to WB8IMY)

73, de Hans, K0HB
--
"Hark! I Have Hurled My Words To The Far Corners Of The Earth! What King
Of Old Could Do Thus?"
--AC6V


Yes it is the "magic" of wireless that is endlessly fascinating. The part
about "summon elemental forces of the universe" is awesome.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE