Well, we only need about 150,000 hams with HTs spaced a mile apart over the 3000 mile x 50 mile totality zone to cover all of the emergencies.
Yet another use for the ARRL and the cordless "power" tool called ARES/RACES/PS or whatever else its hidden under. What I mean by this is that ham/PS radio is a tool used to grant unnecessary privileges to people that sit a supposedly hard to pass (35 questions which you can get a whopping 9 wrong!) test. I can quantify this by meaning that most Tech level licenses are people with zero interest in the technical hobby, but simply wanted to be in PS. The distracted driving bill in Oregon and Washington states are good examples of use of the "cordless power tool" as I call it. If there are that many people in remote areas with limited cell pone coverage whether just though lack of coverage or over load of a system not having the capacity to scale to whatever would be required on that week then I'm sure any licensed ham who happened to be in the area would oblige and attempt to call out for help if anyone needed it, thats just common courtesy and common sense! Out there I'm pretty sure there there are a few very capable groups of hams that excel at providing emergency comms when needed, and good on you! However, most em-comm nets I've heard on various repeaters don't demonstrate that quality. Thats a subject which could be discussed at great length in another thread, so sorry to clog this one up with it, but I felt like sharing my views in brief.
It should be interesting in the Nashville-KY corridor. Wish I had the Chik Fil A concession in Bowling Green! When I used to get on with my '1' call, mobile, on those 2M repeaters I would hear insults I hadn't heard since I was a kid. Don't need that. Just takes a few rotten eggs to stink up the whole hen house. Nashville is a different story. Probably truckers on CB will have greatest impact if the traffic gets crazy.
You paint a gloomy picture. Actually Interstate 84 follows the path of totality closer than 101 or I-5. I'm not going to be spooked. I also won't be anywhere near a radio. It will be time to break out the cameras and telescope.
It was posted earlier that hams aren't asked to help with things like marathons and the like. I guess the cover of the September edition of QST is fake? Also - I would hope that no one is advocating that hams "be the hero" or is implying that is what should happen here. What should happen is hams should be willing to lend a hand and attempt to call for help when the need arises where they are...and this goes for any time, not just this eclipse.
It really stinks to have a good memory. Please show me it is faulty-- who said, in that alleged earlier post: "It was posted earlier that hams aren't asked to help with things like marathons and the like." Not me. Please quote, with thread post #. The point is LOCAL JURISDICTION of voluntary ARES efforts misses the big picture on GLOBAL-esque events. In this case, the eclipse.
Remember, the hams are not doing this on their own as some sort of lark, but are being asked to standby by their locally elected government officials.
When is the eclipse anyway? Never mind because I really don't care, it is not anything that is important to me. The disaster, the emergency, the traffic jams what a joke. I don't even want to se the eclipse now, I don't want any part of it. But I am happy that I never tell anyone that I have a radio license because of crap like this. To the world it is just a CB radio, and no one really cares. If it was all taken away today I would just find something else more constructive to do with my time. Every time I start to think, "hey I could get my friend a ham book", then I think why would I embarrass myself by telling my friend that I have a ham license. Ham radio is all self serving especially to the repeater owners of open repeaters that will kick you off, send you a letter or, make you so unwelcome that you don't bother coming around anymore. They are here to make money, and act like god because they own a repeater, you are only welcome if you pay them. These days I say hi to my friends on HF and that is about it, oh and I waist time zeding. I have no reason to listen to any repeater or vhf anymore. Like someone said in another post the local repeater "is a cesspool". I don't want to be there buddy and I don't want to be there friend because I had to pay to use the open repeater. I just want to say hi and talk to my friends. Once again don't forget to post back here after the eclipse and tell us how many were saved with ham radio. Ok well everyone have a great day, I will because I get to go to work again today.
I will be in southern KY running a special event station as N9E. I foresee no issues. Most of this "end of the world" talk is geared and designed to commercialize this eclipse; which is working well if one looks at the price of hotel rooms in the line of totality.
My city is in the path of totality. We are expecting a lot of people. BUT, we have the same situation every time the Clemson Tigers have a home game. 70,000 people decend on the small town of Clemson, there is gridlock, and once the game is over, they leave. We've never had to roll out the National Guard or call in any emergency assistance. Up the road in Charlotte, hundreds of thousands of people descend on the city for race weekend, twice a year. All the rooms are booked a year in advance, so many of them camp in the field next to the track in huge RVs. Gridlock, yes. Emergency, no. And how about the Dayton hamfest? Hams flood the town of Dayton, but we've never overwhelmed emergency services. The only difference with the eclipse is that this phenomenon will occur in multiple locations on the same day, which could possibly help disburse the population a bit. I think traditional emergency services will be able to handle the situation without any assistance. But, that's just one mans opinion.
