Echolink Saves a life

I am frequently connected to this intertie (sic), but I was not during this particular instance; in fact, this is the first I've heard of it. The first thing that I do have to say is you, my friends, have a +1 in my book, and I'm glad to know the lot of you.

I do have one question directed to AI4CB, with all due respect: how many contact methods to hospitals and emergency agencies in other countries--or other states, for that matter--do you have memorized, or even written down? Again, I may not have been around during this, but this hardly seems like a local affair for most of us, and a little bit of coordination may be required to find the correct data--where the person is, how to find help for him/her, et cetera. Besides, I would consider it relatively safe to say that if I heard an emergency call while monitoring a QSO, I would offer every bit of assistance I could, instead of sitting on my thumbs and just hoping someone else would just take care of it.

Again, I am not trying to slag you, or anyone else, off. In the end, everything I say regarding this is moot. The single thing that matters is that that gentleman is around to ragchew another day, despite who helped ensure it, or how many, or how.

James may not have needed the help of five or six people, but he got it. The fact that that many people cared to help him is a testament to them.

 

ai4cb- well sir I am sure some learned from this and next time it could only take one to do the job ,and that would Be good to ,But if it had Been me at the time I would have Been glad if 15 could do it , there is always Room for improvement,and I am sure they learned something from this,73hope you have a good new year Bill

 

You should practice what you preach. Echolink IS a function of Amateur radio whether you personally want to recognise it is or not. If it was not I'm sure the powers that be would have shut it down long ago.

If this sounds negative I am sorry but it just irks me when people want to pose their opinon as fact and have nothing to back it up. Echolink, IRLP and the rest are being used as links for ARES and other systems out there and are doing so in a much more efficient manner than in the past.

Happy new year! May the new year smile on all!

 

Continuing with this theme..

Cell phones are ham radio because we can talk about ham radio on them.
Land line phones are ham radio because we can talk about ham radio on them.
Newspapers are ham radio because we have classified ads in them selling ham radio equipment
CB, FRS, GMRS, marine radio are all ham radio as we can talk about ham radio using them.
Pen and paper are ham radio, as are typewriters, because we can use them to write about ham radio.
So are messenger pigeons, in fact.

Seems to me everyone on the planet is a ham, since he or she can communicate with someone else (even with drums in the jungle, huh?) and could discuss ham radio. Therefore our numbers are not declining at all, but are in the 6 billion plus category, and expanding rapidly. Ham radio is alive and well.

Ed

 

I see them all the time. I also know of a few that still care and embrace new technology. They help me tune an old MASTR II into a repeater and I help them with newer computer work.

This is exactly right for some of these guys. It's a shame to...

 

Echolink when over radio using ham bands is ham radio

Phone patches when over radio using ham bands is ham radio

Message traffic when over the ham bands is ham radio

Ham radio repeaters and RF links are ham radio because parts of the path are RADIO using ham bands

The Dayton Hamvention is NOT ham RADIO. It IS ham RELATED

QRZ Website is NOT ham radio communication. It is ham's communicating, but NOT by radio.

Home brewing a transmitter is not Ham radio, until he makes a contact with it.

I'm not against any of these things. Ham radio is more than the definition of two hams talking. Ham communications can be face to face, RF or any thing in between. Ham radio communication is hams communicating on the radio.

Hope that helps define it. Call some of this communication ham related or ham communication, but if not by Amateur Radio Frequencies, that's all it is. (That's not a bad thing though)

 

Well done to All who Helped save the Life of a Fellow Cornishman!

I am no fan of echolink But that is Not what this thread is about.

People who post Trash to this thread are Not worthy of a licence, A Life has been Saved and the Spirit of Amateur Radio Helped to save it! If you do not have the same spirit in your soul then go elsewhere!

Well done once again and A Happy New Year to All,
73s
Regards,
Andrew M3KCK

 

I didn't know 911 worked for international situations. Thank you for confirming that for us.

 

Okay, so you triggered my sarcasm switch. I was simply pointing out that you were the one that made reporting an emergency on a different continent sound as simple as picking up the landline and dialing 911 from the States. I know it doesn't work like that. They know it doesn't work like that.

There were the people directly involved in the QSO immediately prior, and then there were the people monitoring. To my knowledge, the only person there that was in the UK was the victim. It's not every day that you have to call another continent for an emergency. Besides, what self-respecting person would just sit on his/her hands while an emergency was going on? I'd be more worried about them than how many people came to his aid.

 

I just have to make a comment about the post that states "It takes 6-9 people on Echolink to make an emergency call... now I'll make sure I don't leave home without my cellphone." Of course, that was paraphrased, but I'm sure you all remember the post regardless.

To preface my comment, I am not bashing any mode here. I am simply making an observation. OK, that said... here it goes:

1) One ham had a heart attack.
2) The station he was speaking with could not call internationally on his cell phone.
3) Ham #3 made the call

The other three or so operators standing by were there making sure everything was ok. If ham #3 could not get through, they could try. The others were also there to relay info if necessary because when ham #3 was on the phone he couldn't pay close attention to the radio. Jeez, if I was having a heart attack at the mic, I wouldn't care how many people were trying to help me as long as I got help.

If the emergency call had come over a VHF repeater or on HF, how many operators do you think would have been monitoring? More than 6? Probably. Would they have made their willingness to help known? Who knows.

The point: The emergency was heard by a number of operators who responded. Sure, they could've sat there and not responded, but they did. Good for them...

 

Quoting myself here just to remind everyone of what I said.

Read back through these posts, all 6 pages of them. You find every facet of humanity represented here. The posts have ranged from the congratulatory to complaints about how it was done, a debate about how many people were needed, even a challenge to whether the guy was really sick or not, right down to the absurdity of whether or not ham radio was even involved.

There are many facets to ham radio. CW, voice, RTTY, remote control, TV, repeaters, space communications, weak signal work, and experimentation to name a few. We seem to have added a few more...beating dead horses, getting bogged down in minutia, proving that one is right and the other is wrong, and automatically disputing anything anyone says that's not part of our little group.

What is the matter with you people? Can't you just be pleased that someone who needed help got it and leave it at that? What difference does it make if radio was "really" involved or not, or if there was someone's idea of an efficient number of people involved? If you don't like echolink, don't use it. If you don't like SSB, CW, or PACTOR, don't use them. Who cares? But don't b**ch because someone else does.

For cryin' out loud.

 

Super!

 

[edit]...okay, I don't know when to leave things alone. As the original post was quoted, I noted something: the quotes containing the offending parts were just that--quotes from e-mails. They were likely written in the heat of the moment, as well as shortly thereafter.

With that, [/edit] I'm going to stop adding to the confusion, as much as I tried to clarify it. I was not there, and HZJ was. He seems to have described the situation rather succintly. Besides, YIW is right; this is not the kind of thing we should be arguing over. Like I said in my initial post, anything I say is moot. The OM's better off than he would be otherwise, and that, my friends, is what matters.

I shall now recede to the shadows, to post again in another few months' time. Clear.

 

guys if it was amateur radio ops that were using cell phones and they saved your life would you be upset about the type of technology that was used ?

while I was in New Orleans at Bell Chase Naval Air Station, (I was invited there at the request of the US Coast Guard) to help with in bound traffic
from civilians

most of the traffic if not almost all came to me via HF, however it originated in many ways to the HF ARES nets.

much of what I got was from 911 operators outside of the effected area, that traffic was then placed on HF nets, 2 meter nets and yes VOIP and Echo link

the bottom line is we (Ham Radio OPS) were in the loop, some of the ops that passed the traffic to the HF nets did so without strict use of Ham Radio tools

But the bottom line is our knowledge and skills
of communicating saved lives

Some people were so hung up of precedence and originating station callsigns that they encouraged those seeking help to find other routes, to me that is to single minded.

As an Op on the front lines right there with the US Coast Guard, I wanted only a few things before I handed a request for rescue to the US Coast Guard Helicopter dispatch desk.......

a reason for the emphasis on needing help
above all the others that were waiting for help
(iow medical condidtion ect)

a Lat Long coordinate or a Good solid land mark visible from the Air

I did not need a telephone call back number a prcedence or callsign of the originating station

Nor did I need s simple request for help, they were rescueing them as fast as they could.
give me justification for making your rescue a priority.

Ham Radio was an asset during this Katrina crisis
were you a part of the solution or sitting on your hands complaining because we were too close to your daily rag chew freq !

Steve
KG5VK

 

Now wait just a minute, I was not trying to plug anyone or make it known that THE MISSING LYNK SYSTEM (shameless plug) or TIPS NET (shameless plug) is the two greatest sytems in the entire world. I was only stating that a life was saved can't you just except that and call it good. As one of the Co-founders of The Missing Lynk System I take great pride in my accomplishment. But to state a fact it WAS echolink that helped and it WAS a ham radio operator or two that helped out and it WAS a humans life that was saved. So whatever you are into I hope you injoy it, no matter what band, freguency, mode, or person you talk to. May your new year be happy and fullfilling