Slashdot Mirror

There is an entire body of stealth antennas that have been developed for legally and space-constrained homes, such as flagpole antennas, magnetic loops, folded attic dipoles, and even tuned metal gutters! Yet these are all compromise antennas due to their limited height from the ground , proximity to metal objects and wiring, and size (for the 40m band on HF, you need at least a 10m/33ft vertical plus one or more counterpoises of that length on the ground). Some HOAs are even more draconian and allow nothing outside of a strict approved list of items per the HOA contract. This means that even a 1/4 wavelength vertical wire antenna that is barely visible to the eye is disallowed. Ironically, it's these same antennas that contribute to RFI issues for neighbors, increase RF exposure and worsen problems that would not be present with a properly deployed non-compromise antenna. HOA agreements have a disproportionate impact on hams who tend to be older and often use ham radio to communicate with their friends. Some of these are ex-military and civilian volunteers who are part of the Military Auxiliary Radio System or Civil Air Patrol, or participate in volunteer civil safety services such as Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service and Skywarn that use HF frequencies as well.

The HOAs have been vociferously opposed to this act as an infringement of civil liberties and have written both to the FCC and to congress opposing this. Yet there are already FCC-mandated requirements for such things as satellite antennas on HOA-governed properties that supersede any restrictions that may be contained in HOA contracts on spectrum which is technically regulated by the FCC. The intent is not to replicated a nearly 200' tall antenna tower with stacked Yagis, but to provide reasonable accommodation. A 1/4 wavelength vertical wire antenna barely visible to the eye can literally communicate with the entire world, yet somehow the HOA board fanatics claim that even these should be restricted. Even one of the trapped multiband vertical antennas in a back yard can make a big difference in getting out and participating in radio, but they again want no part of it.

There is bias against what we don't know or don't want to know. Heck, people think that there is an environmental impact to these antennas. I'm hopeful this will get passed and withstand scrutiny in the inevitable court battle that will ensue over it. But in a country turning its back on science for sports, maybe even the discussion with the non-ham folks might actually activate a few brain cells.

I for one would much sooner welcome some old guy sitting on his porch by the river bank than any number of wireless water-sensing overlords.

The best part is that the NOAA has a "sensor net" for that type of 'remote data sensor' already. It's called "SKYWARN" (beware, there is some sort of hideous applet or something on their page, it got my machine's HD thrashing for half a minute while FF froze) and it provides some really good coverage of stuff that might not get picked up by mechanical sensors. It wouldn't be cost effective, for example, to put a sensor network that measures the size of hail, all over the Midwest. Yet hail sizes can be an important part of tornado predictions.

Also, some spotter organizations are affiliated with Ham radio clubs and can operate entirely without infrastructure, meaning that you can retain some remote-sensing capability even in the midst of a weather-related disaster: exactly when you need it most.

Sometimes the "Mark 1 eyeball" and its accessories really are the best tools for the job. I suspect, knowing the government, that SKYWARN doesn't get a hundredth of the funding that various pet fancy-gadget-du-jour projects do.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a SkyWarn class and noticed that the NOAA trainer was using FireFox on their NOAA issued laptop.

Hmm....yes, there are always bad apples but check out:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/06/24/2/

http://www.southgatearc.org/articles/vu2rbi/andama n_nicobar_1.htm

http://www.qsl.net/trarc/floyd2.html

http://www.skywarn.org/

http://www.severe-weather.org/

GOOD ham groups are great volunteers and eyes and ears for law enforcement, American Red Cross and other agencies. Emergecny Communcations provided by hams is NOT just a PR illusion. It's real.

I've got a few karma points to burn, and you need to be beaten with a clue stick. I suggest you start with the ARRL.

To call amateur radio operators simply hobbiests does them a disservice. They're licensed by the FCC. Listen on your local repeater the next time some severe thunderstorms roll through. I bet you'll hear a SKYWARN net, courtesy of your local ARES group. What's ARES? This is. They are volunteers that work closely with the National Weather Service. If you're lucky enough to still have an active RACES group in your area, I suggest you go look at that site. FEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the governing body that provides assistance to the local governing bodies, specifically the civil defence bodies that sponsor RACES groups.

Enough examples? No?

Check out an Army or Navy MARS site and note that you can pass a MARSGRAM to any service member, anywhere, through the network of MARS operators. As an amateur radio operator, it was pretty cool to sit (once) at the MARS gateway in Frankfurt, Germany while I was in the Army. More than a handful of messages that came through were on their way to soldiers in Bosnia.

If your metro area lost traditional communications, your local hams would post themselves at the Red Cross, any hospitals, police and fire stations and keep communications going. In fact, this is what they did in New York after the towers came down.

Guess what else. We're volunteers. We don't get paid. In fact, we CAN'T get paid for our radio services. Go read the rules: 47 CFR 97.113(2)

P.S. It says no radio transmissions for hire.

That means every radio operator is out there during emergencies because they want to be. They take an active interest in the community they're serving. They invest in their own rigs and the generators to run them so that they might one day HELP YOU, as well as give them an outlet for their interests. That's a damn sight more dedicated than your whiny, milktoast ass.

A program that has helped (even in the network age) to speed warnings is SKYWARN. SKYWARN is an adjunct program of the National Weather Service that trains spotters to deliver real time, on the ground, info to the NWS.

Since I am a ham radio operator, I typically use APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting system), in which many hams have their own weather stations attached to, so you not only get the weather data from the nearest airport, etc. But you get it from many, many locations, and it is plotted on a map which can help alot during a fast moving storm.

The station I use is the Peet Bros. Ultimiter 2000. This company is very helpful, and they even publish the format of the RS232 data!

There are several sites on the net that you can get APRS, such as http://www.aprs.net and if you're not a ham, you can still usually get data from the 'net since many fixed stations gate their data to the net. There are versions for DOS, Linux, JAVA, Windows, MAC, and possibly more. Also, those "trained weather spotters" you hear the news talk about? Most are hams. Go to http://www.skywarn.org to find out more.

73's -.. . -. ---.. ...- .. --

Since I am a ham radio operator, I typically use APRS (Automatic Position Reporting system), which many hams have their own weather stations attached to, so you not only get the weather data from the nearest airport, etc. But you get it from many, many locations, and it is plotted on a map which can help alot during a fast moving storm. There are several sites on the net that you can get APRS, such as http://www.aprs.net and if you're not a ham, you can still usually get data from the 'net since many fixed stations gate their data to the net. There are versions for DOS, Linux, JAVA, Windows, MAC, and possibly more. Also, those "trained weather spotters" you hear the news talk about? Most are hams. Go to http://www.skywarn.org to find out more.