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On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 01:45:05 -0500, Don Quixote
We have the same problem in the UK, but steps are in hand to correct things. How they propose to do that I'm not sure atm. We have channels in the VHF Marine Band set aside for search and rescue operations allowing ships, helicopters and aircraft etc. to co-ordinate their activities. Frequently needed around the British coast!
area You aren't thinking long term consequences :-). I am talking outside the immediate disaster area. It only stays up if...
Morse is no longer a requirement for hams in the UK and much of Europe.
Same over here.
We in the UK have had interlinked ham repeaters and it would be easy to extend the idea to digital modes, the problem is the power to these is often the first casualty of a major disaster. Experiments are going on the buttess 5MHz HF for wide-area emergency communication, which would allow inter-operation with the military who use that band a lot.
Our Radio Amateur Emergency Network (RAYNET) provides extra emergency communications for the police and emergency services, usually using the 144MHz and 430MHz bands* often with mobile cross-band repeaters. They are called out quite frequently, sometimes for long periods - for Lockerbie they were in operation for about 3 weeks.
* Sometimes other bands too, they use 136KHz for cave rescue because it travels for quite some distance through rock. -- Cheers, Stan Barr stanb .at. dial .dot. pipex .dot. com (Remove any digits from the addresses when mailing me.)
The future was never like this!
Stan Barr might have said: Much pruning has occurred There is a move afoot to eliminate the requirement here in the U.S. There's one every so...
I mean outside the immediate disaster area. There the comm infrastructure should stay up long enough for that - at least...
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