WRQC290

@WRQI583 I'm curious what the demographic is there. Maybe they just don't care? Downing a bottle of whiskey and not doing a damn thing during the next zombie invasion, nuclear attack, or solar implosion is just as valid a plan as any. Arguably not the best, but I'm sure you get my point.

1. I have a coupon 2. Whoever answers 3. Deep-dish pepperoni and a side of garlic knots I've been training for this my whole life.

Come on. All that "training" is voluntary at best. As a kid when the interest was there, I was so excited that I scoured all the books, talked with Gordon West at the fairground, and sat for some classes. Obviously, I was in school so doing all that studying was second nature, but I was going to be top of the class dammit! When I finally took the test, even then, I knew I had wasted my time. I could have passed that test months earlier after flipping through the question pool. Hell, it's multiple choice just like school, I stood a good chance just guessing! Since all the licensing is online now, that "training" could be accomplished with a couple pages of rules, and clicking "I Agree" then "Submit Payment". I know that not everyone is as likeable, friendly, outgoing, or modest as I am, but that sounds like a community outreach problem to me. Do you have a CERT team nearby? I always encourage people to find time to do it even if they don't want to join - the training is comprehensive, hands on, and free. It's especially good because it emphasizes that in a significant enough situation, relying on national guard, police, fire, or EMS (I'll put ham radio in here, just to torment Marc) is not an option, because they aren't coming. I remember during a debrief, the example along the lines of (paraphrasing), 'If the event is large enough, San Diego won't care if Palm Springs is on fire'. Yes, they will send manpower, tankers, ladder trucks, and whatever else, but the fires at home will be put out first. I think it's important for people to realize that while our public safety network is robust and capable the majority of time, it's also fragile and limited in extreme situations. Maybe I'm just getting old and paranoid, but it feels like situations that test the limits are happening with greater frequency these days, as opposed to just a few years ago. Anyway, If I were in your shoes, I would talk to neighbors. Maybe grab a couple bubble pack radios to give away.

I was going to tl;dr that, but since we're on a first name basis now, I'll respond as politely as I can. I don't doubt your experience, qualifications, or that hams own lots of useful stuff. What I have shared with WRQI583, yourself (do you prefer Marc or Spaz?), et. al. Is based on observation, and experience in the same real world you live in. Whether you want to believe it or not my experience is "what is really happening in the world of emergency response". I'm glad your experience is different (better?), but we shouldn't pretend it's all sunshine and rainbows across the board. Does this mean there is room for improvement? I think so, and in many ways that is happening. So that's encouraging. With regard to your view that Amateur radio is better for emergencies rather than GMRS/FRS, My view is the opposite for exactly the same reasons as you. Amateur radio simply can not provide the level of services that cheap, easily accessible radios can. It's a matter of practicality. Many more children receive midland walkie talkies at Christmas than a ham radio. Those radios can be put into service right now, and useful immediately. And, no I'm not suggesting you grab the neighbor's 12 year old and assign him to morgue duty, nor would I encourage or advocate theft - That would be wrong, but lets be real here. Ultimately, the exclusive nature of ham radio and holier than thou attitude that many hams (not you of course) puts it in second place for practical, useful communication in an emergency, and probably makes it unpalatable to those nerdy enough to enjoy it as a hobby. Earlier I suggested that removing the test requirement for the Technician license (is tech+ still a thing or did that go away?) would be helpful overall. What do you think?

I hope I didn't imply that amateur radio wasn't useful at all. I only meant to convey that GMRS and FRS was the better choice for the stated purpose of emergency use, simply because the required equipment is readily available, requires no training, and most importantly cheap. Hams have an important role to play, and are written into almost all response plans. Afterall, someone has to set up the IC tent, get the food and Gatorade delivered, or raise the antenna on the GMRS repeater. My experience during activations is that the hams talk amongst themselves, relay information overheard at incident command, and do the clerical work that is essential for keeping field teams organized. Meanwhile those field teams are doing the heavy lifting using $40 radios that are perfectly capable of talking to each other and relaying requests for more shovels. It is true that hams are often the ones called upon to man the mobile command center (either city, or county Comms truck or their own RV parked next to it) and they report to the radio room at the EOC as well. None of this procedural stuff is of importance or interest to your neighbor who is trying to dig you out of a collapsed building. Hams don't activate superhero powers during emergencies. They use trained skills to perform a job. A job that many non-hams are also trained for. The claim that hams can do something other people can't is a bit of a stretch. Neither can hams. Amateur radio is neat and does cool things not relying on landlines, cell towers, or internet connections. Satellite phones have the same characteristics, but you don't see those people saying "when no one else can communicate, I can call Dominos in Lubbock, Texas". Circling back to my main point though - In a crisis, the emergency is right here, right now. Not 500 miles away. For practical use GMRS or even 'toy' FRS radios get the hard work started without waiting for a mobile ham shack to get set up.

That's okay. I can. Yeah, except I do. I know I didn't come out directly and say it, but I was a ham at 10. Inducted in the scouts, and spent a number of years active in the hobby. When puberty hit, my interests changed to more challenging pursuits as one does. Later on I realized that chicks really dig net control operators so I worked my way up in RACES and eventually became an "officer" (Its not as exciting as it sounds though, everyone gets to be one after a year). Anyway, to make a long story longer, I've been involved with multiple disaster prep organizations associated with police, sheriff, and fire agencies. When CERT became a thing the first class was full, but I was able to reserve a spot in the second one. So, I am fully aware of how operators are integrated within local, state, and federal emergency response plans. My opinion, based on practical experience, still stands.

Ham is touted as the best option for emergency communications or SHTF situations. The problem is that old fogies who run the miscellaneous clubs, and prepper groups, think that reading fox news headlines over the local repeater, or broadcasting which Costco still has pallets of toilet paper in stock during a crisis is going to be the best use of 2 way radio comms after a major emergency. The reality of course is that inexpensive radios that can be looted from the local Walmart and distributed to neighbors will be used for coordinating the digging of latrines, and clearing debris with a little bit of search and rescue thrown in for good measure. In the case of a major disaster, overweight retirees with ham licenses, will be the ones needing rescue, not providing essential communications (or any useful assistance whatsoever). FRS/GMRS fits the bill for easily accessible equipment that can be rapidly deployed where and when its needed. Amateur radio, while an excellent hobby for a 10 year old boy scout to learn about radio communications, radiation, frequency spectrums, and other nerdy stuff, it's not well suited for the stated purpose, precisely because of the specialized, complicated, and overpriced equipment required for basic functionality. Personally, I think the testing requirement for the tech(+) license has outlived its usefulness and only serves as a way to keep lonely old guys busy proctoring exams, and pontificating about the dangers of cheap Chinese radios. Removing the testing requirement (not the operating rules) would do a world of good for improving ham as a hobby, and make it more useful for emergency communications.

Sure ya could. They share some channels, bottlenecks are power output and repeater use. FRS being the red-headed stepchild here. Since midland makes a big show of marketing the 275 as being compatible with all their frs/gmrs radios, I assume the radio in your truck would just be locked at low power for the FRS channels, so you'll have no trouble yelling at the kids making fart noises on channel 1.