OFFICIAL FCC UPDATE REGARDING 97.113 (status = resolution)

To quote a very wise attorney I know: It's cheaper to mitigate the risk then litigate it afterward. The Hospital I work at chose to duplicate the commercial radio equipment, while replacing older non-supportable gear with current production equipment. Same for the telephone switch, the UPS systems, and the Life Safety equipment. The potential risk far exceeds the short term financial benefits of using outdated or improper equipment.

If it's a situation of inadequate channel space, be creative. One new Jersey municipality petitioned the FCC to use TV spectrum, saving the taxpayers millions. If you can't do that go trunked and listen to the engineers, not the bean counters. Use eminent domain to acquire tower sites, harden the system and configure the controllers to give the fire department and police priority over the DPW and dog warden.

 

WOW, it keeps getting clearer and clearer...I like this...Part 90 radios to all EMCOMMERS !

 

Ever see the kids game, "what is wrong with this picture"?

 

Where did my edit button go...oh well, here I thought this National Emergency site http://emcomus.org/index.html was something big until I got to the Contact Us page, OMG!

NOTE: The EMCOM project was shut down due to lack of funding (i.e. more important to fund pig odors in Iowa, tattoo removal in California, etc.)

 

One minor typo: Change the blue part in the center to read "PSAP/911 Call Center", it would be fine.

Seriously, what working group put forth that document?

 

I agree! It was on this site. It was fascinating reading until the last page. I think this site should be taken down as it just confuses a very serious matter.

National Emergency Alert Notification System site http://emcomus.org/index.html

NOTE: The EMCOM project was shut down due to lack of funding (i.e. more important to fund pig odors in Iowa, tattoo removal in California, etc.)

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Note: The Internet domain names involved are owned/managed by KC0LWV.

 

Sadly, no.

I dropped out of our local RACES group several years ago, because the manager of the RACES group (a full-time employee of a non-profit emergency communications organization) said that, in an emergency, he "would use any amateur available, whether a RACES member or not" for communication services. A brief check with other local RACES organizations indicated they all felt the same way.

So, I checked with the FCC (Bill Cross & Riley Hollingsworth), and I was advised (as expected) that RACES communications with non-RACES members is a violation of §97.407, even in emergency operations. This includes RACES nets, including RACES practice nets.

I understand that the almost universal recommendation is to operate as a RACES operation/net only when necessary.

I was further advised by the FCC that resignation from such groups was recommended, and I did so. Further, when I decided to donate a complete D-Star repeater setup (about $10K worth) to a worthy amateur group, I disqualified all the local RACES organizations, and I donated the equipment to an ARES group. I didn't even know anyone in the ARES group, but it met my requirement of not being a scofflaw group.

Years ago, many people got into amateur radio because often it was the only way to have fun, affordable communications (particularly in rural or remote areas). Now, we have cell phones and the Internet, and many amateurs are now looking for a new reason to justify their expenses in the hobby. EmComm is one of those ways. However, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, and many amateurs feel that their EmComm participation is a mission from God (especially after 9/11). It isn't.

I have an emergency setup (including a generator), but I freely acknowledge that I (and most amateurs) will probably go to their graves without ever working anything more "important" than a brief power outage.

 

Why are we picking open this scab of a thread?

Anyone? Anyone?