April 2012 QST article: "FCC Staffer Talks on Emcomm at ARRL/TAPR Conference"

[AB2T]

I have to agree.

Jordan, I am not finding any basis for your jump from the "relevance" of our radio hobby "at the federal level," to your connection with some kind of loss of allocations to the Amateur Service if that relevance were called into question.

Again, maybe I didn't read the article thoroughly enough.

Rick Palm writes in his article,

"Bartholomew stated his opinion that 'Emcomm is what saves Amateur Radio from losing spectrum', and 'maybe even gaining some,' but the public needs to continue to gain benefit."

(82)

So yes, I did read the article wrongly. The public, and not the preservation of bandwidth, is most important in Bartholomew's eyes. Emcomm does, however, "save Amateur Radio" from losing spectrum. I had interpreted this to mean that emcomm somehow justified amateur use of parts of the spectrum.

Clearly, the FCC staffer has envisioned the active, concerned licensee as part of an emergency resource. This indeed is what we can be prepared to do. The non-emergency aspect of being a licensed radio hobbyist, pursuing all manner of communications, is what keeps us in the hobby and potentially ready to raise our hands with the infrastructure we have crafted among ourselves.

Being connected to the hobby is NOT, for most of us, the allure of being an emcomm whacker.

I look at it this way: I've been a ham for almost twenty years now. I wonder if it is time for me to give something back to the hobby. I never was a VE (I was younger than 18 when I earned the Extra, and never pursued that idea after I turned 18.) Maybe volunteer work such as VE testing would be more my style. Still, I do wonder if I should give something back. I'm not asking anyone else to do so. That's their decision.

As I've said, most hams interested in emcomm aren't whackers. Unfortunately, this is a stereotype that has been perpetuated, consciously or not, by some hams. That's all it is. Still, I labor under the misconception that emcomm is whacker sometimes. I suspect I'm not the only ham who thinks this way. It's not up to emcomm participants to change what they're doing but for hams not in emcomm to stop and think about their prejudices.

And with a nod to the CW operator, the staffer you have cited has actually invited you into the system, affirming that you have a place, potentially, just as I do in my part of the hobby. I've actually prepared for the day when my station can issue emergency notices on shortwave, under emergency circumstances, that can be received by people threatened by hurricanes, who are perhaps equipped with "world band" radios capable of receiving signals on AM that provide guidance and planning to respond to a disaster scenario.

It is this kind of versatility among us that helps warrant our full time use of the spectrum allocated to us as hobbyists.

Okay, I don't think anymore that the article is negative. That said, I should diversify my ham radio skills somewhat. It's not enough to sit around and expect someone to knock on my door and all of a sudden need a CW op.

As you say, emcomm isn't about proving that ham radio is "worth something", but rather using the bandwidth for its maximum potential. That's a better way to look at it, but I don't think that emcomm should be considered more important than the hobby aspect. I don't get that from what you or Rick Palm write, but I sometimes fear that emcomm will be considered more important than everyday hamming just because it has the potential to be of benefit in emergency situations.