"Doug" wrote in message
news

"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote in message
...
I suspect that military and USCG nets are formal nets. Ham nets
are typically volunteer and are "open" nets. There is no roster of
participants. If you listen to the Coast Guard net which is on just
prior to MMSN on Saturday (or Sunday?) it is operated pretty
much the same way. The same thing with InterCon. Since amateur
radio is a volunteer organization, the nets have to be run differently
than "closed" membership-based nets.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Jack Painter" wrote in message
news:GLOGd.18100$B95.15692@lakeread02...

"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote

You clearly have no concept of how a net is operated or maintained.

Sure Doug, that's right. It's hard to figure out play-time if I confuse
it
with the military and USCG Nets.

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia


"Jack Painter" wrote in message
newsbFGd.17550$B95.16031@lakeread02...

"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote

Jack, you sound like a company guy towing the company line.

It certainly doesn't
beg the advice of Doug, that some sleepy (or worse) night-owl in
Missouri
is
much more likely to answer than the USCG, that's just pure BS.

Doug,

I accept that as a compliment, considering the very honorable
organizations
that I represent. The principles of safe boating and emergency
communications that I speak of were first learned as a very young
boater,
and they have not changed in almost forty years. New and better
equipment,
and millions of more boats on the water is all that has changed.


It would seem that you are not a ham or at least don;t listen to
the
ham bands much. When an emergency is declared on the ham bands
the speed at which action is taken is staggering. That sleepy guy
in
Missouri (not sure why Missouri is your example) wakes up pretty
quick.


No offense to Missouri~ just a place to name.

I am not a Ham. When I can spare a receiver, it is often on 14.300
MMSN.
I followed various amateur hurricane emergency nets in Florida
during
the
hurricanes this summer. 100% of the traffic was a waste of bandwidth
with
stations checking in from their homes with no traffic (This is still
not
quite as ridiculous as someone checking in to the MMSN with no
traffic
from
their BOAT). Then there were the unfounded rumours passed about
damage
(all
the while telephone service remained). Of course the only place they
were
ever needed in Florida was as backups at the EOC's and various
shelters
for
local repeater work. But few hams roll up their sleeves and actually
go
to
work in this intended fashion, instead opting to let everyone in the
HF-hemishpere know that "I'm here at home if you need me". "Oh yea
thanks
for telling us", the real workers think.

I do agree that CG channels should be tried first in an
emergency
but
not to rely on them 100%.
Regards
Gary

Even when a CG operator tells you not to bother.

Most likely you raised a Station, and they do not have HF
capability.
In
that case, what he told you was correct, and the operator is trained
to
work
the vessel if at all possible, not let a vessel pick some other form
of
communication before vitals are passed. Groups monitor 2182, and if
one
doesn't answer a Mayday at night, your equipment is broke. The whole
story
is just so rife with near impossibilities for Groups on both sides
to
miss
you on VHF, and for you never to even try 2182, it just chalks up to
a
bad
night for you. I think you have somehow convinced yourself that your
emergency and lack of good comms and procedures for raising the CG
that
night are all the CG's fault. It's clear in any case you're still
mad
about
it. But I don't see that as helpful to educating boaters about the
procedures and capabilities of USCG safety and distress
communications.

I had some bad experiences with USCG assistance on the Great Lakes
some
twenty five years ago. I had friends who did too. But Station Erie
was
100
miles between Groups Cleveland or Buffalo, and all permission had to
come
from Groups before they could make coffee. Friends thought we could
help
each other faster than the CG could get back to us with a decision
on
what
they might or might not do for us. But that is not the USCG of
today,
on

the
Great Lakes, or any other place that I am aware of. Yet saving lives
and
educating boaters still remain the primary purpose of the service,
in
spite
of scores of other duties now additionally imposed on this smallest
of
services.

Best regards,

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia








Although it has been a few years since I was on the 14.300 MMSN, the
Pacific
maritime nets, the Southeast Asia marine nets, the Pacific Weather Net, as
VQ9DM from Diego Garcia Island, Chagos Islands, British Indian Ocean
Territory, I know that the "no traffic" calls are valuable when a blue
water
vessel is overdue and radio logs are searched for last known contact.
Weather, piracy, etc., are a fact of life in the western Pacific and
Indian
Oceans.
I found a regular checkin being a "no show" quite often to be the first
sign
of a problem, sometimes as simple as they overslept, but quite often much
more serious. Also weather reports from blue water hams were valuable to
many third world weather services and the US Navy as well. By the way,
the
ham net controls often have no boating connection at all, such as 9N1MM
(now
a silent key) being a regular control station from a mission in Nepal.
They
do the job because they are geographically located where most ships can
hear
them and out a sense of public service.
I know of hams who are also military members, passing on the word for a
"no
show on net" vessel to local maritime patrol aircraft to check out last
known positions and route of travel on a not to interfere basis with the
military flight mission.. The ham fraternity sticks together on these HF
nets and the practice goes beyond message traffic.
73
Doug K7ABX

Well said Doug. Jack, inasmuch as he is not a ham, doesn't really have
a dog in this fight. He clearly lacks knowledge of how the ham community
works
and very clearly has some sort of bias against the MMSN and other related
nets.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista