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Maybe It's Time For A New Type Of Amateur Radio Club

Looking over the websites of many Amateur Radio clubs, I have noticed an overall theme common to many. That theme seems to be some sort of public service mission, (that's a good thing) with that mission centered on the availability of one or more repeaters (that's not so good). The public service is usually made up of a combination of weather watch activities, communications assistance at public events, as well as planning for the prospect of providing communications for one or more "served agencies" such as the American Red Cross, City/County Emergency Management, or a similar organization.

Dues are usually collected so that the club can maintain the central equipment necessary to achieve its stated mission. That equipment usually being repeaters, antennas, towers, generators and other associated hardware.

Traditional Amateur Radio clubs, and their public service missions, are a good thing and I don't want to detract from that. However, it is no secret that there are many, many Amateur Radio Operators who are not comfortable with traditional Amateur Radio clubs. Conversely, a lot of traditional Amateur Radio clubs are not comfortable with some of their prospective members.

Here's an idea for a new type of club with a new mission and a new way of doing business that offers an opportunity for us who are outcasts either by choice or otherwise.

First, we must examine the mission of this new type of club. That mission is to serve the actual citizens of a community, and not the "served agencies", using 2-meter FM simplex. Club members gather and exchange information during times of disaster and trouble and feed this information to friends, family and neighbors who, after all, are the rightful owners of the information.

Club members also engage in a continuous education campaign to inform the public on what simplex frequencies to monitor with their scanners, and to encourage them to become licensed Amateur Radio operators.

This new type of club does NOT collect dues FROM its members. It generates income to be distributed TO its members. What? A club that pays its members? Of course, and here's why it should be this way and how it works.

In my opinion, the "served agencies" are more than capable of taking care of themselves during times of disaster than many Amateur Radio Operators want to admit. These agencies, for the most part, have the funding necessary to carry out the mission they would have Amateur Radio Operators perform. This is especially true after 9/11. There is no scientific or financial reason why any municipality cannot purchase and put into use any form of back-up communications that Amateur Radio Operators can muster. You say they're not "trained" radio operators? They don't need to be. Their strength is in their knowledge of what it is they need to communicate.

Why have an Amateur Radio Operator passing messages regarding the public water supply when a person familiar with the terminology of that business - an employee - can do the job more efficiently as long as they have a means of communications? Again, there's no scientific or financial reason why they cannot have the same equipment that the local Amateur Radio club possesses. I've heard it said before that even if municipalities have the right equipment, they might need help setting it up. If that municipality does not have a contract with a communications company to assist with this, then yes, qualified Amateur Radio Operators could do this.

In Wichita County there are 500+ Amateur Radio operators listed in the various databases. There's no way 500 hams could work with our local "served agencies". There would be mass confusion if 475 of them weren't sent home immediately. However, there is work available for many of the rest of them in communicating information directly to the public.

Since the "new" club uses no repeaters or other centralized equipment, there is no need to collect dues to finance these things. The club's strength lies in the capabilities of its individual Amateur Radio Operators who are properly equipped to carry out the mission of providing information to the public. This is where the reverse-funding comes in.

Every member must be able to effectively communicate with all other members within the community without the aid of repeaters or the Internet. To make this happen requires that each member have the right equipment. That equipment includes compatible radio gear, an antenna of sufficient height, and the availability of back-up power. Portable masts and replacement antennas are also necessary.

In order to ensure that each member has this equipment, the club participates in regular simple fund-raising activities that need be no more complicated than that carried out by the Girl Scouts and other groups. There are a number of fundraising possibilities such as raffles, car washes, garage sales, retail sales, business ads on your club website, etc.

The funds raised during these events are distributed to the "participating" members for the purpose of maintaining their simplex communications equipment. For example, if six members participate in a car wash, then those funds are split among those six members. This eliminates any possible grumbling about funds being given to people who are not participating.

The new club itself is informal, with no real need for elected officers of any type. Club members may, if they want, meet informally at different agreed upon locations. They might discuss the next type of fundraiser to engage in, and the details of making it happen. No voting is really necessary, just a friendly agreement.

The above are just the "broad strokes". There are many details to consider. Is it time for something like this in your area? Come on, don't be afraid to say yes!

73,
Maynard - WF5TX