[LINK] home emergencies

[Tom Koltai]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: link-bounces at mailman1.anu.edu.au 
> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman1.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Karl Auer
> Sent: Thursday, 19 February 2009 8:36 PM
> To: link at mailman1.anu.edu.au
> Subject: Re: [LINK] home emergencies
> 
> 
> On Thu, 2009-02-19 at 07:14 +0000, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> > Certainly an exaggerated response to genuine efforts to save lives 
> > still the purely-personal no-proof effort to respond's appreciated 
> > thanks Karl
> 
> No proof. Hmm. While others' attempts to extrapolate a 
> technology that was used by a few enthusiasts a couple of 
> decades ago into a functional early warning system usable by 
> hundreds of thousands of people who will use it for the first 
> time when the disaster is at their doorstep - this is backed 
> by extensive scientific research?
> 
No, just lots of stories.

http://www.acrem.org.au/

Im sure if you ask them nicely they can tell you of a few lives saved.

> > Last time i used one battery CB radios will reliably get signal 
> > through when phone and power etc are down, and yes, they are 
> > definitely two way
> 
> Golly. Good to have an emergency channel filled with "Help!" 
> and "Where's Pooky?".
> 

And Karl, in a real emergency, I have never heard anyone use the CB
radio to ask "Where's my pookie?"
That includes, two cyclones, two floods, one bushfire, and one
avalanche.
I have however heard a lot of good responses that I KNOW saved lives.

> It doesn't scale, and cannot meet its stated objectives. 

It doesn't have to scale. 475 mhz is good for about 35 kms without using
a repeater.
So chatter is local - i.e. - the area that you want to know about. Your
community. 
Unless you switch to a repeater channel (2).

> Something we should all be familiar with by now, the typical 
> characteristics of a wishful-thinking technical response to a 
> fundamentally non-technical problem.

Well, in the cyclones (that was pre Mobile Phone and PC days) - CB radio
was the latest Tech.

> > For many years Taxi systems used radio in mission-sort-of-critical 
> > jobs with little black boxes that identified individual 
> senders, and 
> > allowed selective & private two-way communications. An existing 
> > reliable system that works, cheap & basically low-tech.
> 
> Yup. Works well with a tiny user base. Doesn't scale.

Oh yes it does - with Emergency operators operating higher wattages -
and repeaters offering telemetry and emergency channel linkages, yes it
does definitely scale.

But Karl, I used a CB for about five years. There was a rule in the
bush, when the following items were on board, the trip could start - 20
litre jerry can of Deisel, 20 litre jerry can of water, Snake Bite Kit,
Folding Shovel, cigarette lighter, Car mounted CB, hand held CB.
And the CB was not included for social networking. It was categorised as
a life saving device.

I gave up on CB's when the Government removed the 27 Mhz spectrum.
So from that perspective, you are right. Not many people realise the
value of the now defunct 27mhz CB. And the 475 mhz is not quite so far
reaching - but in a fire - if you are asleep and the CB is connected to
an alarm - It would wake you, without you suffocating in your sleep.
And THAT was the whole purpose of the thread - I think.

i.e.: What solution is there that would warn people?

It was A solution - not necessarily the only one.

Tom