[WARC] Power Pole Transition - Supported Agencies

[Walt Kelly]

Len and group,

I have been of the opinion that we provide communications among groups that
do not normally communicate (by radio) with each other. We do not operate
their equipment, nor do they operate ours. We don't take crimpers and
soldering irons to their equipment or vice versa.

Public service agencies buy equipment and maintenance services from radio
professionals who know their systems and have the equipment to maintain
them. I don't think they would be responsive to suggestions that they modify
their power plugs to match ours instead of Motorola's. How many times do
they need to hook up to our stuff compared to the number of times they hook
up to Motorola stuff?

Our mission is to be able to assist them in talking to each other - using
our own equipment. We have to be sure we can do that. If among us we want
compatibility, that is one thing, making their equipment compatible with
ours is a way different issue.

The 800 MHz business is close to being a done-deal - a multi-million dollar
deal. Supposedly it will give them "interoperability" and might reduce their
need for our services. My bet is that we will still be needed to be there
with a working communications system separate from theirs. They will have a
computer-controlled, digital, fully "integrated" system on a band that needs
lots of mega-buck repeaters with a full time system administrator to keep it
running.

On the other hand, we are an ad-hoc group that can set up and go on a very
informal basis. That would make "seamless integration with at least the one
or two key agencies served" very tough to accomplish.


Walt

-----Original Message-----
From: warc-bounces at lists.w0ne.org [mailto:warc-bounces at lists.w0ne.org] On
Behalf Of Len Litvan
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 8:18 AM
To: jarvis at jarviscomputer.com; W0NE Listserv
Subject: Re: [WARC] Power Pole Transition - Supported Agencies

Hi Clare,

You are absolutely correct about the power cables and adapters we all 
should have in our "go bags".  I added the specific items below to the 
Wiki in the section about emergency communications.  Good subject for a 
Sunday night net also.

Incidentally, these specific items are included in the cable set which 
is part of the club Power Pole transition project.  The project is a 
good deal (price) for hams wanting to be prepared to help when the chips 
are down.

Somehow, however, I still believe we are not helping make an integrated 
system for emergency communications--integrated with the service 
agencies we support at the most fundamental level.  It seems that 
amateurs do our thing--the agencies served do their thing--and we take 
lots of diagonal cutting pliers, crimpers/solder, and lots of adapters & 
wires (and time) to make things work when the balloon goes up.  It seems 
that we ought to be able to have a more seamless integration with at 
least the one or two key agencies served.

What do others think?

Len

PS.  In the meanwhile, since I can't control the agencies served--and 
maybe not influence the amateur community all that much--the best thing 
I can do is to personally have the power cables and adapters in my own 
go bag....