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The following was received via Geoff VK4KEL from the Electronic Design Magazine e-Newsletter..

A few months ago, NBC's Tonight Show staged a race between a pair of ham-radio operators with Morse-code keys and a couple of kids with text-messaging cellphones to see who could communicate faster. The hams won hands down, proving, in the minds of some, that old technology could hold its own against new. In recent days, ham radio was put to the test again by Hurricane Katrina. This time, however, lives were at stake.

As the US nation collects itself in the aftermath of the Katrina disaster, President Bush has promised federal reviews of what went right and what went wrong.

One of the findings of those inquiries should be that the federally-instituted Amateur Radio Service, which functions under the licensing authority of the FCC, stood tall when the country needed it.

Amateur radio currently faces various threats to its existence. Chief among those is the advent of broadband-over-powerline (BPL) technology, which, if broadly adopted, has the potential to cause widespread interference to HF
communications, not just for amateurs but for other services that use the HF spectrum.

Amateurs and the ARRL have made a lot of noise about BPL, asserting that it could seriously hamper their efforts and those of relief agencies such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, in the event of a disaster such as Katrina.

It's rumoured, though, that the same FCC commissioners who have given their blessing to BPL field trials will now take a much harder look at the technical issues concerning BPL and its interference potential in the HF spectrum. Let's face it: The federal government didn't handle the emergency in the Gulf very well; it'd be prudent for it not to sanction a technology that could impede one of the few things that actually worked.

Many readers of this newsletter are amateur radio enthusiasts. If you are, and if you haven't already done so, consider writing your congressman to express your concern about the future of the Amateur Radio Service, especially in light of its outstanding efforts in recent days.

Remind your elected representatives that a vibrant and unimpeded Amateur service can and will be a lifesaver when disaster strikes. Also, consider how you yourself might help. What if a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake ravages your area? Are you prepared to get on the air without relying on the mains to handle emergency traffic? Get in touch with your local amateur-radio club and find out how you can pitch in.

Your cell phones and wireless routers are indeed great stuff, but so is a good old HF transceiver. We shouldn't always be in such a hurry to let the flood of new technology wash away the old. The geek down the block with all the antennas on his property could turn out to be your best friend someday. Because sometimes, old trumps new.

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia

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