So this entry isn't about radiosport per se, however it is about emergency communications. This may seem out of the ordinary for me, since those who know me also know that I despise repeaters and nets, but we contesters are allegedly contesting to get better at passing emergency traffic. Some don't take this to heart, and I usually forget about it, but when it boils down to it, we're all very trained and very ready with big stations -- and we know how to use them. This post will ruffle a few feathers; feel free to tear into me in the comments if you must. Here are some recent gripes:

• Checking into a net with "traffic." Traffic means you have a message to pass. It does not mean you have an announcement (if you do, say "...with an announcement" at check-in). Stations with traffic have priority in the go-around (or they should), so don't waste time with "my traffic is that the weather is nice and the sky is blue!" Traffic means a message ONLY; it DOES NOT mean conversing lah-dee-dah in a net.
• Simulated Emergency Tests (SET's). If you decide to hold one, act as if it is an emergency. A local SET once had a group of boy scouts (I was one of them) helping on a certain 2m frequency. The SET organizer complained because we were on the frequency they had pre-arranged as the spot for coordination of the SET. NEWS FLASH: during a real emergency, frequencies may be occupied! Be prepared to move and have back-up plans in place. Sure, you can ask me to move, but you can't make me (though, personally, I will for emergency traffic). Have a back-up plan.
• Use your station on HF. If you suddenly need to pass a message to a station across the country, do you even know if your setup can do it? Do you know the best times and the best bands? Do you have QRO just in case?

My experiences with nets and traffic are not good. I checked into nets with traffic after 9/11/01 and during Katrina. In both cases, nobody in the net knew how to receive traffic correctly or even coherently. Also in both cases, I ended up finding fellow serious contesters to pass the messages to. Why is this? Because we have big antennas and we know how to use them. We know what is open to where and when it's open too.

The local emergency communications "gurus" usually get on my nerves in this regard. Some of them are technician-class (which is fine), but I am baffled as to how they expect to pass real traffic during a real emergency. Yeah, echolink and irlp are nice, but when those go down (and they will when the power goes out for an extended period), ut oh! Furthermore, a few of them are QRP only (which is also fine), but at this end of the sunspot cycle, could they pass traffic to 6-land? Yeah, they could, but it would be time consuming and non-efficient. Sorry for you VHF and QRP guys, but this is just the way it is. My station is always open, and I am always available when needed, but I have never once been asked, and never once has anyone responded to my emails regarding this.

Can you copy CW, even if only 5 or 6 wpm? Guess where most of the traffic for 9/11 and Katrina got passed! CW! Why is this? To be honest, I suspect it is because the CW guys have been around longer (generally) and can pass traffic smoother and more efficiently than the phone guys. I have no problem with phone as a mode and use it myself, but when it comes to emergency traffic, sorry -- I'll be done passing my CW message long before it happens in phone. If you consider yourself an "emergency communication guru," there is not much of an excuse for not knowing Morse Code anymore.

So here are some questions to ask yourself; this is just a test to see how ready you are to realistically handle an emergency situation:

1. What frequency and time do your regional traffic nets happen?
2. Could you copy CW traffic if you had to?
3. Do you know REAL phonetics (not police)?
4. What are usable hours for ALL HF bands this end of the cycle?
5. If you wanted to call VE2 on 40m, what frequencies can you do it on and when should you? Where is VE2?
6. Are your antennas good in 360 degrees, or can they be rotated somehow?

I know a group of people trained to do this, who strive to be the biggest signals on any band at any time, who study propagation and band changes, who can also usually copy CW in excess of 25wpm. They are called contesters!

Now, not all contesters are great EmComm guys, and not all great EmComm guys are contesters, but it does make you think! If you are that QRP-only guy, or that phone-only guy, or that VHF-only guy, have a list of other operators who are available in these regards. Most of us are willing and glad to help.