July - Mike And Key Amateur Radio Club

July 2010Why Public Service?By Gene Budbill N7QLTThis is a wonderful hobby that we are all engagedin; using our equipment for chasing DX, rag chewing,contesting. We are afforded these privileges by ourGovernment Agencies and therefore are obligated toadhere to the regulations which provide them. Part 97which governs Amateur Radio starts with:Subpart A—General Provisions§ 97.1 Basis and purpose.The rules and regulations in this part are designedto provide an amateur radio service having afundamental purpose as expressed in the followingprinciples:(a) Recognition and enhancement of the valueof the amateur service to the public as a voluntary,non-commercial communication service,particularly with respect to providing emergencycommunications.Paraphrasing the above, one of the purposes forwhich we are granted frequencies is to perform publicservice, especially emergency communication.Fortunately disasters do not happen every day, butthen how do we prepare? Opportunities for PublicService happen much more frequently, but why botherparticipating?Public Service = Public RelationsBeing in the public eye and explaining what we aredoing can generate interest in the hobby. How manyof us just woke up one day and thought ―I want to playon the radio!‖ Something is drawing in lots of newblood. From the ARRL 2009 Annual Report:2009 was a banner year for new Amateur Radiolicensees. A high level of exam session activity hasproduced an elevated influx of new applications, faroutpacing recent years. In 2009, a total of 30,144 newlicenses were granted, an increase of almost 7.5percent from 2008. In 2005, 16,368 new hams joinedAmateur Radio’s ranks; just five years later, thatnumber had increased by almost 14,000 —a whopping84 percent!Public Service = ExperienceWith regards to Emergency Communications,Amateur Radio provides both long range and localcommunications via HF and VHF/UHF frequencies.Field Day is one opportunity to practice. The objectiveof Field Day is to work as many stations as possible onany and all Amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17,and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate inabnormal situations in less than optimal conditions.Public service events provide an opportunity to practicethe VHF/UHF techniques that we would employ forlocal communications during an emergency.8K7LED RelayPublic Service = FunWorking an event is a chance to renew oldacquaintances and make new ones, both within ourhobby and with the event participants. It is a chance totry new experiences.Amateur Radio used to support many more eventsin the greater Seattle area than it does today. TheShore Run, Beat the Bridge, Jingle Bell Run, Tour dePeaks, the Tri-Island Trek and others are all eventsthat used to utilize Hams for Checkpoints and Safetyteams but because of lack of interest from the Hamcommunity (not enough volunteers to support theevents) they now make do with the communityvolunteers they can gather.So, check out the Mike & Key Website’s PublicService page and consider helping with an event ortwo. This is the season for SEAFAIR parades andbicycle rides. The big SEAFAIR event is theTorchlight Parade on July 31 st .If you are aware of an event that is using Hams forsupport that isn't listed on the page, contact theWebmaster and get it listed. If you're helping with anevent that could possibly use Ham support but aren'tsure what "we" could provide, contact the Club's PublicService committee.―America's quiet warriors are the legion of HamRadio operators, 700,000 of them, who are always atready for backup duty in emergencies – amateur, unpaid,uncelebrated, civilian radio operators, during and afterfloods and fires and tornadoes. After the 9/11 attacks,hams were indispensable in reuniting friends andfamilies. Most recently it was they who expedited thesearch for debris after the disaster to the space shuttleColumbia, and right now, at this moment, they areinvolved in Homeland Security to a greater degree thanyou would want me to make public.‖ — Paul HarveyNews and Comment, ABC Radio, March 19, 2003._____________________________________________________________From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:Torchlight Parade - The Torchlight Parade isthe finale in a long series of parades around the greaterSeattle area under the auspices of Seafair, a Seattlesummertime celebration. The parade is one of the originalSeafair events dating to the 1951 centennial celebration. Thefirst parade was actually held on August 12, 1950, in theafternoon, as the Seafair Grande Parade.The Torchlight Parade is usually on either the firstSaturday in August or the last Saturday in July. The paradestarts in the evening, close to dusk which gives it the name.Because of the dark, participants are encouraged to includecreative uses of light and luminescient devices in theirdisplay. The parade draws an estimated crowd of over300,000 people each year. Some of those wanting a primeviewing location arrive the night before with couches, rugs,and portable refrigerators.The parade has had several route changes in its history.The first year it was held in a loop on 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Itwas later changed to start at 4th and Madison and make itsway to Memorial Stadium. The current parade route beginsby Seattle Center, follows 4th Ave through Downtown Seattleand ends at the north parking lot of Qwest Field, a distanceof about 2 to 2.5 miles._____________________________________________________________