Quoting Arthur Feller [email protected]:
At the same time, the Red Cross system is anything but nimble. Deployment from a limited stock of equipment can take days for shipment (problematic into disaster areas) and hours to get into service. With some pre-assembly, once on site, a good crew of two well trained technicians can get one of the Red Cross VSAT stations on the air in an hour or two. Finding the well trained technicians is another problem.
In essence, the Red Cross' major issues are quantity, transportation, and training.
Hams usually have big advantages in all three areas.
If all we can deliver is short lead time 250 kbps service for 18 hours a day, they'll be very happy, indeed.
73, art..... W4ART Arlington, VA
It seems to me that the best that hams can offer, and have ever offered, in any emergency communications is redundancy. Put it another way, I'd be horrified if our nations' emergency services did not have the resources to avail themselves of the modes and means that we amateurs cobble together.
However, this is a redundancy in overwhelming depth, and that has its uses. I imagine the Red Cross (US) cannot send out 1,000 satellite stations; but when Eagle is flying I'd expect that's around the number of digital stations we might have working in the US. If one of those were to be deployed in an emergency, its role would be to assist in bringing on-line the Red Cross' system, and thereafter to provide backup, but I would think this would be a quite valued role.
Indeed, the argument seen on this list recently, which claims that any efforts of ours to provide emergency services would be pointless because of the deeper pockets of the professionals, cuts against *any* amateur role in emergency response in any mode and on any band. Given that amateurs seem to be in fact making a difference in these ventures and being appreicated for it, I would say there must be some fault with that argument.
I think there's much to allow one's imagination play over regarding Eagle's user classes. Consider the role of the U/V text messaging in all this. A 2m rig hooked up to the jumpkit laptop could provide an easily set-up, out-of-band conversation to help bootstrap the internet connection with info such as accurate time (needed for pointing), IP addresses, etc.
73, Bruce VE9QRP