"Larry W4CSC" wrote
"Jack Painter" wrote in
newsbFGd.17550$B95.16031@lakeread02:

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.


You missed the point of the net, entirely. The net is a SERVICE net.
Traffic is passed or phone patches can be connected between ham boaters
and
home. Ham radio is a HOBBY. No bandwidth has ever been "wasted".
Stations check into the net with no traffic TO LET NET CONTROL KNOW THEY
ARE THERE, ON FREQ, AND AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE TRAFFIC.....unlike you
Coasties who noone ever knows whether they are listening, HAVE PROPAGATION
TO LISTEN, or not!

No I didn't miss the point. I did mean to be more specific (and I was later)
that I meant checking in from the dock. That's not service, that's just
enjoying the use of a radio for enjoyment's sake. Fine but don't confuse it
with hailing and distress frequencies. Each has their purpose.

You boys have some fun with CG's wonderful communicators where you live.
Call 'em by their official call letters some day. See if they recognize
the call. Ours have no idea what CG Group Charleston's callsign is on HF
or VHF. Don't seem to be any RADIOMEN left.

That would be fun for you maybe, I just see it as lack of use = lack of
existence. Nobody calls them by those callsigns through a watchstanders
whole enlistment, and then you want to "test" him on it? I think I 've made
it clear that at least in Eastern US waters, which is what I observe, USCG
Groups answer distress calls on 2182 on a regular basis. The most tragic
marine diaster is recent US history (Bow Mariner) passed an alert via only
2187.5 khz DSC-GMDSS and 2182 khz, to which three USCG Groups immediately
responded and rescue aircraft and surface vessels were launched immediately,
and lives saved as a result of excellent watchstanding on 2182 khz. I backed
up a young operator on that case from the first message passed. I attended
the Church service for the deceased, and was thanked by the survivors. I
don't need your approval of procedures and policies, but I will try to help
you understand them, since you are a customer and may one day be a consumer
of USCG rescue services.


Now, let me polish this ax off a little more....

You mean grind, which is obviously the only reason for you being here.


I'm sure you've gotten a little flack from the Charleston "Morning Dew"
debacle. Remember the complete idiot with 3 boys aboard crashing into the
UNLIGHTED Charleston Jetties? Need I post the tape of the boys screaming
for help? Oh, I forgot, his "Radio Procedures" weren't "correct".

IF THOSE BOYS HAD SCREAMED FOR HELP ON ANY CHARLESTON SC HAM RADIO
REPEATER
FREQUENCY.....THEY'D STILL BE ALIVE TODAY!! If I had heard them, I'd have
got the Goddamned BASE COMMANDER out of his rack!

You know I can't comment on that, and why.

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia