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ARES "HANDY POCKET SPEAKER’S GUIDE" by D. W. Thorne, K6SOJ NOTE: This is only intended to be a GUIDE, or OUTLINE,
to assist ARES leaders when speaking to radio clubs and other groups. Feel free
to omit or shorten portions and add other material depending upon the situation. HISTORY - "A Look Back" - Few hams understand the reason for the amateur. service...even fewer know it’s historical significance. - From the beginning of time man has needed to communicate beyond the" line of sight". - "Runners", drums, signal fires, lights, flares, flags, semaphores, heliographs, Telegraph, Telephone - All of these were slow, unreliable, or required landlines. - Ships had no communications beyond the horizon. - First trans-Atlantic radio signal Marconni (1901). - SOS from S.S. Titanic saved over 700 lives (1912). - Need for skilled and disciplined Morse operators. - ARRL founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim and others. - 1921 Maxim and a few other operators sent a message. (CW) from East Coast to West Coast and back in just under seven minutes! -Communications Act of 1934; created the FCC. - AREC (now ARES) formed as public safety arm of ARRL in 1935. NTS formed in 1949.
WHAT IS AN AMATEUR? - Amateur... ("amour", "amor`e")..one who does something for "the love of it". - NOT (necessarily) an incompetent! - Become a proficient operator! - Compare to Olympic Athletes...AMATEURS! The BEST! - Can be as good (or better) than a "professional". WHY EMCOMM TODAY? PREPAREDNESS + COMMUNICATIONS = SAVING LIVES AND PROPERTY! - Review FCC part 97.1, "a" through "e". - Emergency communications is the first "purpose". - Provide for the advancement of the "art". - Encouragement and improvement through rules...! - Expansion of the "pool of trained operators, technicians". - International goodwill. - Hams may be the only Morse operators in the future. - Today amateur radio operators still making very significant contributions in the world of science, engineering, and space technology. - Cell phones and public service radio (especially newer computer controlled) systems are the first to "crash" or become overloaded in major events. - Effective, accurate, and timely communications during disasters and other emergencies will make a difference between additional loss of life, injury, loss of property. - WELFARE traffic helps to mitigate suffering. - Amateur radio is the ONLY communication "system" that utilizes multi-band, multi-mode, wide-area networks that are INDEPENDENT of the "infrastructure" or commercial power sources. - A prepared EMCOMM operator can be on the air in minutes with range of 50-300 miles using only a 12 volt battery and a wire NVIS HF antenna a few feet off the ground. UHF/VHF of course is much quicker. - BUT...it takes training, skill, coordination and discipline to effectively do this. In a word: TEAMWORK! - Can you imagine a symphony orchestra, a ship’s crew, or a sports team that has never trained, practiced, or drilled as a TEAM?
ROLE OF AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE: - A private, non-government, non-profit national resource. - Does not fight fires, find or rescue lost people, direct traffic or perform any other law enforcement service. - ARES members MAY do some of these things, and occasionally use amateur radio in the process, but they do it as employees or volunteers under other agency/supervision. - ARES primary mission is: TRAINING, PREPAREDNESS, and COORDINATION of the amateur resource. - ARES is the primary provider of emergency and auxiliary communications to non-government disaster relief organizations. (e.g. - American Red Cross, etc.) - Many ARES members are also registered with a RACES unit...skills learned and practiced under ARES are most applicable. - The ARES is not a club, and is not part of, or subject to, any club(s). Leaders are appointed by ARRL officials. (Review ARRL Field Organization.) - Clubs exist to support the ARES by making repeaters available to the ARES, and often other "hardware" such as comm vans, radios, space for training classes, and a forum for recruitment of serious and public service minded operators. - As a licensed ham, how can you help? Join! Take the basic ARES orientation and training in your area. Participate in local and regional nets. Get your emergency station and field gear ready to respond when needed. Be willing to work as a "team player". Once you are trained and have some experience, volunteer to be an AEC or other leader when the opportunity is presented. - Review, remind or recite "The Amateur’s Code". - Call for questions, discussion. (rev. Aug. 2002) |
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