For those of you that could not attend the Duke City Hamfest banquet, here’s the MP3 of the presentation by Dennis Dura, K2DCD, ARRL Emergency Preparedness & Response Manager.

Listen Now – 16MB MP3 34 MIN

By Scott Westerman – W9WSW

“It seems to me…”

I saw an interesting poster at the recent Duke City Hamfest. It was an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper on which was printed the following: “Echolink is a nail in the coffin of amateur radio!” Juxtapose that with Bob Bruninga’s fascinating article in the September, 2008 QST, entitled Maximizing the Mobile Motorist Mission. As he talks about all the things we can do with an APRS enabled radio (Yup, I sold most of my VHF gear and will be buying a Kenwood 710 this week), the aggregation of wired and wireless communications to facilitate amateur communications is breathtaking.

These two divergent opinions exemplify the debate about what our hobby is and should be.

There are self-described purists who still believe that we should withhold operating privileges from those who can’t demonstrate Morse proficiency. They share our precious bandwidth with people who can communicate internationally on a hand held via IRLP.

With Fay bearing down on my kids in Florida, I’m listening to the hurricane net on 14.325 (nothing heard), watching the Ham generated spotting information pop up in real time on my WXSpots application and listening to Amateur manned EOCs talk to the NHC on the WX_TALK conference room on Echolink. Licensed Amateurs are donating their time, talent and treasure via all of these applications. And as the technological arts continue to evolve, Hams will likely be at the forefront, even as the radio-only crowd contends that anything that doesn’t involve an RF carrier isn’t Amateur Radio.

So here’s my definition of a Ham:

We are Communications Solutions Specialists who serve the public good by deploying robust, survivable telecommunications systems in time of need.

What does this mean? It means that when disaster strikes, Amateurs are among the first on the scene to set up emergency FM repeaters, long range low band (and satellite) communications systems and wireless broadband networks to seamlessly interconnect emergency services personnel and impacted citizens with the critical resources they need to ensure health and welfare. We are the common communication mechanism that can interconnect diverse emergency services organizations. We can provide expertise on everything from prorogation to CAT-5 and we have a McGyver can-do spirit that keeps the information flow going, no matter what.

In almost all disaster situations, the traditional communications and utility infrastructure is compromised. Hams have the technology and the expertise to quickly deploy applications that can re-connect effected areas with the telecom grid. It may start with FM and HF, but our HSMM laptops can relay email, pictures, video, data and voice communications even more effectively, using interfaces that are familiar and easy to operate. As WB4APR reminds us, we have our own unique text messaging infrastructure that can mirror the button punching we do on our cell phones. With an IGate, those messages seamlessly move from our spectrum to the light speed fiber optic networks that are the backbone of the Internet.

When Dennis Dura, K2DCD spoke to our hamfest banquet, The ARRL’s emergency preparedness and response manager cautioned us that the frequencies we use are worth billions to a government who likes to sell our resources to the highest bidder. The foundation of our small foothold in this space, he said, is Amateur Radio’s unparalleled record of community service.

This is the story we need to keep telling over and over.

Just as spark evolved to modulated carrier, Amateur Communications in the 21st century must inevitably become an ever expanding suite of wired and wireless applications, aggregated to best serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.

Our hobby has room for everyone and this definition should not stop you from banging the Vibroplex, if that’s your passion. But we should change our mindset of who we are, from Amateur Radio to Amateur Telecom.

Hams have been connected with every technological innovation from CW to the Internet. We will invariably be at the forefront as the paradigms of amateur telecommunications continue to shift.

This is the magic that attracts new blood to the hobby. And it can be the secret sauce preserves and expands the five pillars that are the foundation of the American Radio Relay League: Public service, advocacy, education, fellowship (membership) and technology.

Just as our neighbors call us first for advice on how to set up the security on their Internet routers, they can also depend on us to be there with radios, routers, antennae, solar panels, batteries and brainpower, “when all else fails”.

Comments:

“..we can’t be the guys who show up and only want to play with their old fashioned radios in an emergency.”

“..If it were rewritten to say:So here’s my definition of an Amateur Radio Emergency Communicator: We are Communications Solutions Specialists who serve the public good by deploying robust, survivable telecommunications systems in time of need. then I’d totally agree with it.”

Scott Says: I agree.. Consider it amended

“..we need to remain proficient in the old skills, but unless we’re ready with the new skills, we’re not going to be asked for much emergency help in the future. And without our emergency work, selling our need for spectrum to the government is much harder.”

“Your definition of Ham doesn’t mention radio or licensing. By your definition, anyone with a handheld computer could set up an emergency chat room on the internet and be a Ham. Do you really mean that? ”

Are you a weather geek who thinks that the stuff at weather.com isn’t nearly enough to satisfy you?

Help me add to this list of cool weather resources on the web and on the air:

www.twitter.com – Follow @hurricanes & @weather. There is a growing ham community there, too.

EasternUsWx.com – Is a group of weather forums with a focus on the Eastern US. Good hurricane discussions there.

VOIPWxNet.com – Explains how to hear the weather nets on the web.

EchoLink – Listen in on the WX_Talk channel. The hurricane nets are reflected there.

WeatherTap.com – conducted by the people who publish Trade-a-Plane and directed toward pilots. This pay site has the best weather radar on the web.

weather.unisys.com – When the NHC site gets slammed, these servers have all the latest advisories and imagery.

Weatherbrains.com – An interesting podcast on the subject.

wxspots.com – Features a downloadable application that allows you to file and read storm reports.

SkyWarnOnline.com – Aggregates skywarn information in a single location.

On the bands – monitor The Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325. N5GAR has this comprehensive list of low band hurricane communications frequencies.

Share your additions / corrections via email to w9wsw@arrl.net.