|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
11-16 of 16 messages
|
Previous
Page 2 of 2
|
|
RE: What is the mission of MARS?
|
Reply
|
|
by N9AOP on August 4, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Bud is on the right page about where we are today in this organization. MARS to me is more like a county (or parrish) EMA.
An EMA is tasked by the state to have plans and preparations to handle certain types of disasters. In our area that includes two nuclear generating plants, 5 major railroads and the occasional tornado as well as several chemical plants.
A major event takes place about once every 10 years but the rest of the time you have to drill and plan etc.
Either one of these operations takes a dedicated individual that is in it for the long haul. If a member comes along with the desire to train and do a lot of little nothings in preperation for the big one we will welcome him or her. If they only want to carp about what we do not do then they are welcome to go somewhere else and try something different.
ART AAM5RD/AAR5TG
|
| |
|
RE: What is the mission of MARS?
|
Reply
|
|
by N0MUD on August 28, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
I see several referances being made to MARS as a Vietnam era subsidy to military making use to phone home or send messages back and forth to family members. The last time I ran a MARS net was 1978 onboard the USS Scamp SSN-588 and the MARS call was NNN0COP. The ship was a submarine and we were on a Unitas cruise down the East side of South America, thru the Straits of Magellon and up the West side of South America, thru the Panama Canal twice. I was the Onboard Radioman that knew how to use the MARS system and knew the ham radio language and as the sailors onboard would line up outside the door to the radio shack I would be tuning up the radios and antennas and making my contacts in the US states. Mostly I used a Ham operator in the state of Ohio. He was almost there every night and helped me with the calls home so that my shipmates could talk to their loved ones. It was nice and because of a shipboard injury in 1967 I was medically transferred off the sub. The Senior Radioman gave me the MARS license as a going away present for all the work I performed for our fellow shipmates. I left the sub in Lima, Peru and flew to New London, CT our new homeport. I later found out the East Coast SubLant Admiral said no more MARS operations on his submarines. I have to say it was an honor to have been able to help sailors call home if nothing else just to say I love you to their wives or girlfriends (or both) hahaha. I have the license hanging on the wall in my radio shack and it is now just a piece of my naval history and a conversation piece. I also found out that the call sign was re-issued to a Coast Guard Cutter.
So the mission of MARS yes it has changed drastically. No more Vietnam era type calls or messages home from overseas sailors, thanks to the computer and cell phone age. Yes MARS has changed, don't know if for worse or not, I've attempted to get back into MARS since I've retired from the Navy and ran into many difficulties with training and non training. I also have a friend that had his own assigned MARS call when he was active duty and after retiring he got his old call re-issued to him again but was told he had to have it as a Tango number, he was very upset over this because when he was stationed overseas in the Med he was extremely active as a MARS operator. He was told that the MARS system has changed since he was last a MARS operator so we decided to go thru the training together. We waited and waited and waited for the training and got fed up with waiting. I turned my Tango number back in and he let his lapse. Why should we keep tango numbers and not get any training to be fully MARS operators again. Oh well. Just my two and a half cents worth. MARS used to be a good organization. Even the local MARS trainer for Wyoming/Colorado quit, he got fed up.
73s Mike N0mud
|
| |
|
RE: What is the mission of MARS?
|
Reply
|
|
by N1JIN on October 16, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
One of the primary roles of MARS is to support federal disaster relief efforts with a pool of trained operators who additionally have passed a background check. In many rural states like mine many of the Federal SHARES systems nodes are MARS stations as there is a very limited full time federal presence.
Most of the traffic handling is now digital and unless one is active on the TRANSCON digital net's one will not see much traffic other than local as the digital nets have become the preferred method of handling traffic as opposed to voice. In fact extra participation is awarded for transferring traffic to/from the digital nets.
We still do morale and welfare traffic especially for marine and aviation units as satellite space is limited and morale traffic is handled only when there is no mission traffic on the links.
MARS is also part of the NCS
National Communication System
The SHARES HF radio system is an initiative by the National Communications System (NCS) to establish a national HF radio capability using existing Federal resources to provide backup HF radio communications in support of National Security and Emergency Preparedness. SHARES was approved by the Executive Office of the President in January 1989. SHARES further implements Executive Order No. 12472, “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Telecommunications Functions” dated April 3, 1984.
No we are not activated often but we have been activated in the past and will be in the future. In NH Flooding took out several Verizon CO's and MARS provided 911 service between the affected areas and the NH EOC and 911 centers.
As MARS moves forward and becomes a joint service program with all the services combining forces I'm pretty sure MARS will become much more active than it currently is.
The region one net usually has between 20-40 participants on any given night and more if widespread IMC is on it's way
Scott AFA1JN USAF MARS
|
| |
|
RE: What is the mission of MARS?
|
Reply
|
|
by KE6AEE on October 23, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
In this day and age of cell phones, satelite phones, the internet, E-Mail and just tons of new technologies I think the need for Mars and Ham involvement is diminishing.
Richard
|
| |
|
RE: What is the mission of MARS?
|
Reply
|
|
by W4GRJ on October 24, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Richard,
During a serious disaster, cell phones & internet just don't work. Sat phones are o.k. but they are generally not available due to expense. I was deployed durring Katrina with the Fl SERT team to Hancock County MS to help set up EMMCONS & temporary 911 system since ALL phones were out for weeks. Hopefully we will never need the full capability of MARS, ACS, ARES, etc. but it would be foolish not to train & plan should it be required.
73's
Jack
AFA2DG / W4GRJ
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
Forum, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Forum Manager.
|
|
|
