HAMs get positive EmComm Coverage

HAMS Get positive news coverage...

http://www.emergencymgmt.com/safety/Amateur-Radio-Operators-Communications.html

 

From the article:

In their dreams!!

Ed

...

 

Right you are. Talk about misrepresentation!

 

Orange shows up well on camera, does it?

 

Careful. The ARRL-Booster moderator(s) will clip out any criticism of Newington...... Be especially wary of the dog faced one.

 

ARRL ARES the CHOICE for Outsourcing EMCOMM

The ARRL will never have a check mark on its magazine subscription form which asks - check here to be counted as a league supporter. Instead they pretend that everyone that purchases the QST magazine subscription is also league member supporter.

Lets face it boys...the ARRL leadership wants to remain employed and to do that they have to create problems that they then can then claim to have resolved for the benefit of us all; just like the most recent non-problem with 97.113. A non-issue till the ARRL made it an issue, then did a 180 on their opinion in their NPRM 10-72 response.

The ARRL must spin the facts in an effort to self-promote the false image that it is the only voice speaking on behalf of amateur radio.

I think the ARRL publishes a great magazine and they should stick to what they do best. Secondarily I think the ARRL is a good lobby organization for ham radio equipment manufacturers, but I don't think the ARRL has any unique skills when it comes to crafting what amateur radio should be ... they'd like to think so however, but they are biased in my view.

The recent attack of the Arlington County, VA OEM response to the NPRM by the ARRL regulatory staff is just one example of the arrogance and ignorance that I think permeates some of the ARRL leadership. These folks actually believe they understand the best course of action...

I trust the FCC's Public Safety Homeland Security Bureau with regard to EMCOMM. I don't think the ARRL has any experience in EMCOMM or emergency management, the ARRL has no experience in administrating regulatory amateur radio privileges, it doesn't make the rules...the ARRL's statements regarding Arlington County's NPRM response is laughable. They sound desperate.

I don't think the ARRL will benefit if more and more local, county, and state governments begin to self-manage their amateur radio volunteer’s resources! The minor changes to the rules will make it easier for governments to become engaged managing ham radio volunteers and adopting the RACES protocol rather than outsourcing to the ARRL. That I think is what drives the silly statements from the ARRL.

Ultimately, it is the FCC that will decide what the US amateur radio privileges will be and government emergency managers will decide how they use ham radio volunteers; for the ARRL to claim otherwise is just more silliness.

The ARRL needs to stop reading its own press clippings. I'm beginning to think the ARRL's opinion is just about totally irrelevant in any serious discussion about the future of amateur radio...eventually even the new comers to the hobby figure it out!

 

True ARRL Numbers

Even the net magazine subscription numbers are below 200,000! If you look at the tiny print near the back of the November issue each year you can see a chart of the gross and net numbers. As a magazine they have to do this every year. At one point it got as low as about 150,000 around 2004-2005.

 

The must have heard your comments because the article now reads, "About 156,000 amateur radio operators are ARRL members." That's a substantially lower figure than 684,000. I'll never again belong to that commercialized amateur radio organization, and most of the folks I know who do belong are members exclusively for the magazine. If you want help from hams go to the local clubs don't rely on the bozos from Connecticut!

 

That was a good, informative article. I wasn't aware of some of the operations they mentioned, but in fact, a lot of what hams do doesn't get reported, or doesn't get reported correctly. They were pretty close to getting this one right.

Oh, yeah, they got the numbers of hams and numbers of ARRL members mixed up. Big deal - most good hams are League members.

Now, you League bashers can go on with your tirade. We haven't heard from the 'hams don't contribute anything' crowd yet, either.

 

156,000 / 684,000 = 22.807% of hams are ARRL members. This does NOT constitute "most".

 

Interesting observation. Now, before one of "the boosters" jumps in to ask "have you discussed this with your Division Director first," I will.

Some of the Directors are really good folk. I don't know any well enough to ask if they truly are stewards of the ship, as it were.

From all outward appearances, they aren't. The paid staff executives are and the paid executives make the key decisions. Even with respect to league election processes.

Trying to market wide bandwidth modes, even internet protocol, on HF bands is probably its greatest error in judgement as of late. Its attempts to jam regulation by bandwidth down our throats still has many of us incensed and will for many years.

And, don't look now, but they're still at it. They're trying to slip Pactor III onto 60m. File your comments on 10-98 before the July 15 deadline. 60M is no place for wide-bandwidth, proprietary mode autobots.

 

Hams and positive media coverage

Hello all,

I think it's important to the survival of our hobby that we continue to get positive coverage and MORE coverage in the media. My understanding is that, recently, Mr. Obama has requested up to 500 MHz of spectrum to accommodate the growing wireless internet and cell/smart phone markets.
We, as amateurs, need to continue to demonstrate the need for our spectrum segments before they are reallocated to services other than amateur radio. The ARRL is our most effective lobbying group in DC... whether we agree with them on everything or not. As amateurs, I feel we should give them our support. While I currently do not have the resources to renew my membership... I still support them in their efforts, in Washington.

And regarding the membership numbers... the article I read quoted a little over 150,000 ARRL members.

73 to all,
Mike

 

Fine. They can start by taking back the 700MHz piece the FCC confiscated from UHF TV to put IP in the police cars. Gawking at computer screens distracts officers anyway.

 

Sharing...

Happy to share a little good news, instead of news about people getting their tickets yanked or some other headline blaring about a HAM doing something stupid.

I didn't realize there was such a large negative sentiment surrounding the ARRL, don't care anyway, not interested. (Post it and Learn) My intent was to share the article from this professional journal which I receive at work.

I believe the journal coverage is fairly broad and may create opportunities for HAMs to promote not only EmComm, but the Hobby in general.

Optimistic perhaps, but coverage of Amateur Radio outside the usual 'conduits' is rare these days, always overshadowed by commercial or government processes...But in the end, as mentioned by many, Amateur Radio can communicate, CW, Packet, PSK31, HF, VHF, APRS, UHF, Echolink take your pick...even *gasp* D-Star!


Cheers!
de K7KHA

 

That's mostly an artifact of Internet web sites. If you look at them, you will soon think that most hams want to lynch the ARRL Board of Directors. You don't meet many people on the air that feel that way, though. A lot of it goes back to the 1960's and Incentive Licensing - people can't get over something that happened 45 years ago. More recently, there has been an unending spate of crackpot conspiracy theories that drives 'hits' on websites, generating lots of ad revenue. It's mostly the same people starting the rumors, so I suspect they're on the payroll.