TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATERUS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 11.48 DATE: November 27, 2011
SUBJECT: ASK QUESTIONS
Once during a traffic handling class there was a discussion on the use of messages on Amateur Radio. It was discussed about what type of traffic can be handled. It was understood that about anything could be handled as long as it met the FCC Rules and Regulations, and it didn't have information that the general public should know. Since the messages can't be encrypted, and may be transmitted on unsecured radios, the content should not be some kind of secret.
The instructor had some of the students send a message to other students in the class, requesting different items. Some of the items they were requesting were: ten gallon of blood, 100 gallons of water, and 10 additional radios. At first glance that seemed easy enough until questions were ask.
Questions like: what Blood Type is needed?, What will the water be used for?, and what frequency do the radios need to be on? Even though this was just a class, it does bring up a good point. When you're working as the radio operator handling messages, if you get a message to send that doesn't make sense, question the message. It may just have been an over sight on the person sending the message, or it may be the way he wants it sent. If it was an over sight, it's better to get it corrected before it gets sent, and then have someone else question the message later.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV