He has demonstrated this at the last several ARROW field days, using the network to send our field day messages to the section mananger, etc.

So where’s the real answer? Possibly somewhere in the middle. Amateur radio is a volunteer service, and just like any volunteers, we don’t appreciate being berated for not responding to what might be considered unreasonable demands of others — unreasonable being in the mind of the volunteer, and no one else can make that decision for him/her.

It’s dangerous to assume that anyone can demand that a repeater be monitored 24/7 x 365 by volunteers. Where do the demands end, and the volunteers’ time and willingness to serve start? No one should be shamed into volunteering for any reason, no matter how noble it seems in the mind of the demander(s). That’s the quickest way I know of to drive volunteers away in droves. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, no one has the right to criticize.

When I was young (much younger than I care to admit) I once tried pleading and berating an empty repeater for what I considered was rightfully mine — directions to some place I was trying to drive to in the local city I was living in. It annoyed me no end that no one was responding mid-day, becuase I just KNEW that they were all ‘keeping quiet’. Looking back on that, I am still quite embarrased about the whole thing, and I’m certain that I sounded like a flaming idiot.

Bring a cell phone and emergency supplies on road trips. A ham radio is certainly nice to have, but I no longer assume that everyone is waiting with bated breath to talk to me, or to offer whatever assistance they can, in response to my distress calls.

Just last night at Hazel Park ARC meeting, I tossed out an idea to the membership about a possible off-air club activity. My idea was to get together a team of either golfers or bowlers (or both), and challenge some of the other local radio clubs to a match. I’m sure the results wouldn’t be so newsworthy as to catch the attention of someone on the other side of the globe, but it might be fun to hear the members with some friendly smack talk on the local repeater in anticipation of winning bragging rights over a rival club.

Any takers in Ann Arbor?

73, Bob K0NR

It was a January afternoon in an upper mid-west state and I was on a long distance cross-country trip. Temps were well below zero and the wind was blowing snow. My engine suddenly failed. After calling for assistance on several local 2m repeaters with no response, I found several locals chatting. I broke in and described my situation. One of the hams said he was blind and could not help. The other told me to try another repeater, one that I had already tried with no response. Astounded, I pondered my situation for 15 minutes and began making some hard decisions on self-preservation. Fortunately, a highway patrol soon happened to drive by going the opposite direction. A ride was offered to a nearby city where I found help.

UHF/VHF repeater use seems to be waning in many parts of the US. Monitoring repeaters 24/7 may be an honorable goal but may not be realistic, especially in rural areas. I do believe, however, that hams can and should do a better job of monitoring and offering assistance when needed.

This rant is made all the more absurd given that Mr. Kernaich acknowledges, though only in the briefest of mentions, that the proper emergency services (namely the police) did respond just as expected.