Jeff Renkin wrote in message
In emergencies hams are NOT broadcasting to the public.

In an emergency anyone is broadcasting to ANYONE that is listening. If you
think a ham or anyone else in an emergency is not going to want a non-ham to
help, or will refuse to deal with a non-ham you are crazy.

If I'm on a ham band calling for help, I don't expect non hams to be
listening.
If there are, well, so much the better, but I would never *expect* any
to be listening. If I get on a ham band, I'm transmitting to other
hams, and other hams only. If I want a non ham, I would get on my cell
phone or yell real loud.


In an emergency you can even use frequencies and radios at your access that you
would not normally be licensed to operate on. We are talking about
EMERGENCIES here. No time to waste playing morse code or taking the time to
pound out a cry for help one letter at a time in a mode that only ends up
sounding like silly beeps to most of the people listening on the other end that
would otherwise be hearing your cry for help.

B.S. Most hams on the HF bands know code well enough to get a simple
message through.
I've actually dealt with a marine emergency on the radio. Have you?
Wanna know how the boat got our attention though all the noise on 40m?
CW. They were too weak to get through on fone until we actually knew
they were there. After they got our attention, yes, we went to phone.
Mainly because the coast guard station in Miami was on phone.


Next time you are stranded in your car and need a tow, why don't you call on
your cell phone and punch our your problem in morse code with the touch tone pad
and see how fast you are able to get any assistance. Your call for assistance
will be taken as a prank phone call and they will hang up on you and you will
remain stranded until you decide to talk into the microphone so that someone can
hear and understand your message.

Yea right....Any other goofy "no one in their right mind" scenarios
you want to dream up?

Common sense folks. You can pretend to say otherwise here on this newsgroup,
but when the real emergency arises, the last thing on your mind will be playing
with morse code! Then see how fast you can use a microphone and your voice!

Speed is not usually an issue. Solid copy is more important. Sure, I
would try to use phone if possible. But if not, I can get the job done
on CW. Can you? I guess they would die. Too bad....Another day ,
another $2.34 ...


They are using
their skills to pass messages from the public and emergency services to the
public and emergency services via the ham network. No has to be able to
understand the message while it is in transit except the hams.

This is true.

MOST hams don't understand morse code either! The no-code tech class has
outnumbered the other license classes for years, and those that did learn the
code only did so to pass the test and many never used it after the test. (like
myself and all my ham friends)

"Most" hams on HF do though. At least well enough to tell someone is
trying to call them. Myself, I know code fast enough to keep up with
just about anyone. They can send 50 wpm, and I'll still copy just
fine. I can send or receive a message using CW just about as fast as
voice. To me, CW is almost voice. Just really monotone...

Send code to us and it will be nothing more than beep beep beep beep. I
remember SOS and the letter R for some reason (probably since most repeaters end
with R on their id) but that won't tell me where you are or what the problem
is.

That is a personal problem that shouldn't be confused this with "us".
I wouldn't be so fast to speak for all of hamdom. All of us semi-old
farts ain't dead yet.

Unless you talk to us, you can consider yourself dead in an
emergency.

Not me. I'd fix his ass up right fast. He can use any freaking mode he
wants.
I'm not particular. CW, RTTY, PSK, SSB, AM, FM, hell, I don't
care...Whatever works on their end.

Thus hams
can and will use any means at their disposal appropriate to the situation,
that includes voice,

It sure does.

It sure does. BTW, I could care less about the code or no-code debate.
This is just addressing overall sillyness in thinking. MK