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Author Topic: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets  (Read 165977 times)

KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #30 on: February 24, 2015, 03:10:12 PM »

The Southern Baptist Convention is the 3rd largest disaster relief organization.  I am a member of the NC Communication and Information team.  Our goal is to get the message through, by any means.  As such our communication trailer is equipped with a variety of communication systems including ham radio, cb radio (for truckers delivering supplies), frs/gmrs, local wifi (to set up a wi fi intranet system on site) , satellite phones and internet, RED Cross radio,  and business band equipment. To be a member, you need to be a ham and be trained every 3 years.  We do have a weekly ham radio net and a voip net each week. Southern Baptist have mutual aid agreements with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.  Southern Baptist have provided millions of meals, chain saw debris removal and rebuilding efforts for both local an national disaster.  All for free, without regard to any persons religion, race, etc.   As you can see, Southern Baptist does have part 90, business band equipment with the proper FCC license. Copies of all necessary licenses are on the communications trailer.  And you can see we want to get the message out, by any means necessary.

Randy Ka4nma

Randy, I applaud your efforts and those of your other church members. It is a model of how to do things right. The LDS church could easily follow your model. I'd give full approval to them using your model. Using the correct type of radio service for the different types of communications and including everyone in your efforts should be the goal we all should have no matter what organization is represented.
Just by getting Part 90 radio for church business and using Ham radio and other forms of radio for message passing and having mutual aid with the Red Cross/Salvation Army and no doubt government agencies is the best use of the different types of radio service.
I have not read any real rebuttal by anyone in the LDS Church, so I have to figure by the silence, they hope this will just all go away and conduct business as usual. I'm calling on the LDS Church as well as any other organization to do things the right way. I don't know of any other organization that is using Ham Radio as the LDS are or I would include them in this post. This is not an attack on the LDS, just a request to do it right.
73's O.M.
John
« Last Edit: February 24, 2015, 03:23:23 PM by KF7VXA »
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KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #31 on: February 24, 2015, 03:15:03 PM »

Simple answer to the ARES/RACES net question. Since "government" is involved in both of these, you can't pray on an ARES/RACES net without getting someones shorts in bunch.

KF7CG

Nor should you. Ares/Races is not the place for prayer or religious content. There are nets open to prayer that are non denominational and not related to Ares/Races. That said, I would have no problem telling someone I was keeping them in my prayers, no matter what net I was on and leave it at that ; this includes members of the LDS Church.
John
« Last Edit: February 24, 2015, 03:25:11 PM by KF7VXA »
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KA4NMA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #32 on: February 24, 2015, 03:43:32 PM »

John,

That is not my model. It is what both the lay and vocational members wanted.  The Southern Baptist cooks meals for distribution and the Red Cross provides the food.  A typical messages might be that a cooking unit at such location needs food for 10,000 people for the next 3 days sent to headquarters.  Or that all units and people arrived safety.    One thing I did not mention is the home guard.  Home guard are hams, like me, who cannot go to a disaster site.  We can listen at home, and if the message cannot get through, we can relay it by any means, radio, phone, etc.   Also, since we are communications and IT, we do not have much contact with the public, so we do not do any witnessing or counseling.  Southern Baptist disaster relief has special training for counseling chaplains.  Since we are not trained in that area, we cannot do any counseling.  If somebody ask for prayer, we will pray for them, but we do not initiate it. Sometimes, prayers for safe travel are voiced over the ham bands. Each area (cooking, child care, chain saw, etc) are trained in that area, and unless cross trained, cannot provide services in another area.  Next time you see a disaster video, look for the yellow shirts.

Randy ka4nma
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KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #33 on: February 24, 2015, 04:27:26 PM »

Randy, I never intended to say that there was any motive to involve you religion in what your church is doing other than what Christ would like us all to do. I fully understand your mission, and it's not to make converts of other religions or non believers. It is to help everyone. It is the Christian thing to do.
I have not herd any the LDS Church do any preaching in their weekly nets either.
I applaud all of your efforts. You are doing what you are doing for the right reasons.
73's John
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W6EM

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #34 on: February 25, 2015, 08:43:43 AM »

I was a radio observer for the most part during Central Florida's Hurricane Charlie back in 2004 due to my poor health at the time.  The Southern Baptist Relief activities from their mobile kitchen/command center in Hardee County Florida so impressed me that we later made a supporting donation.

Their mobile center was on the air on a wide area repeater system and provided food and assistance to many residents who were homeless due to the Hurricane's path of destruction.

One week after the storm passed through, a friend asked me to drive to Wauchula in Hardee County near where the SBR trailer had been to take some photographs of the damage to his second home.  The devastation was incredible.  His concrete block home had no roof, and the block wall that supported one side of the house and carport was cracked and shifted.  Few trees were left standing and those that were were completely defoliated and most snapped in half.  Even all of the street signs were gone.

Never once did I hear anything but coordination between SBR and county command center hams and Red Cross shelter volunteers.  A great example of how it should be done.  SBR is a great organization.
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KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #35 on: February 25, 2015, 06:58:00 PM »

Here is a link for the LDS web site on emergency communications. www.lds.org
Click on "Preparing for Emergency's", then 'Emergency Communications" Then "Guidelines for Emergency Communications" There is also a book available in print or on Amazon.com called "The Emergency Response Communications Handbook" by Dennis Bartholomew, AF6TR. The book is only a few dollars.

Read what is written and form your own opinions. The book greatly expounds on what is on the LDS web site.
John
« Last Edit: February 25, 2015, 07:16:59 PM by KF7VXA »
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K5AKG

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #36 on: March 01, 2015, 03:09:40 PM »

Quote
Nor should you. Ares/Races is not the place for prayer or religious content. There are nets open to prayer that are non denominational and not related to Ares/Races. That said, I would have no problem telling someone I was keeping them in my prayers, no matter what net I was on and leave it at that ; this includes members of the LDS Church.
John

In my area, the LDS Church uses whatever form of communications might be available during an emergency (including teenage boys as "runners" and unused amateur frequencies), and has been accepted as a node in the county's ARES net.  That way, each Bishop receives and passes on information appropriate to his responsibilities, church officials are able to keep track of the bigger picture, and the church is able to add useful information to that bigger picture.  Emergency comms content, not religious content.  Pretty simple.

Alan
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KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #37 on: March 01, 2015, 04:59:05 PM »

But there is not a separation of business and relief/emergency communications. This is why they should have part 90 equipment.
If you read about the Church emergency communications on their web site, you will see the church does not acknowledge the ERC as a part of the official church activities. Why the separation ???
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
John
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KS4VT

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #38 on: March 02, 2015, 07:39:28 AM »

In my area, the LDS Church uses whatever form of communications might be available during an emergency (including teenage boys as "runners" and unused amateur frequencies), and has been accepted as a node in the county's ARES net.  That way, each Bishop receives and passes on information appropriate to his responsibilities, church officials are able to keep track of the bigger picture, and the church is able to add useful information to that bigger picture.  Emergency comms content, not religious content.  Pretty simple.

Alan

The way that you described this is that the local ARES group is providing "the authority/approval" for them to utilize the spectrum in the amateur service.
If I'm reading ths correctly, ARES has no authority to permit the use of frequencies in the amateur spectrum by a business entity.  Only the FCC can do this and should be in a form of an of an Emergency STA.

STA Licensing (Emergency STA)
FCC Operations Center (FCCOC)
Email: FCCOPCenter(at)fcc.gov
Phone: 202-418-1122
Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau
To Be Used Outside Of Normal FCC Hours ONLY
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WN2C

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #39 on: March 02, 2015, 10:26:55 AM »

Yet another way that people are taking HOBBY radio and using it for semi commercial purposes. 

You have proof and on what basis are you making this assumption?

Rick  Wn2C
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WN2C

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #40 on: March 02, 2015, 10:28:36 AM »

I don't like these nets. I was born and raised in a large Mormon community/city and was not Mormon. After I got my Tech license I checked into one of their 'nets'. I checked in, not familiar with what the net was all about at the time and just wanted to listen and was told I needed to vacate the frequency since I was not Mormon.
Frankly, I stay away and do not support their use of amateur frequencies for religious purposes.

I call BullButter on this!

Rick  Wn2C

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WN2C

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #41 on: March 02, 2015, 10:36:20 AM »

The areas of concern which violate the spirit and intent of the regs have been mentioned above:

-Maintaining communications among the Stake
-Keep leaders informed
-Checking on church buildings.

These are all routine business of the church.  Ham radio is not the appropriate place for them.  The church should not be using ham radio as their planned normal method for conducting this business.  They need to purchase commercial radio and obtain commercial licenses.

The LDS Church already has their own satelite system to transmit on tv to its members. So I guess the 'commercial' aspect is covered.

Rick  Wn2C
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KF5KXT

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #42 on: March 02, 2015, 10:47:24 AM »

I suppose I'm a bit late in this topic. I am LDS as a new convert. Several mentioned emergency communications being irrelevant to church when in reality the opposite is true, the LDS church has a special emphasis on community and saving lives as our heavenly father would want us to do. However due to forum rules I won't go into religion.

My ward doesn't have a ham radio program yet but after reading this topic I think I might ask my bishop about it on Wednesday. Glad I found this topic.

Thanks. KF5KXT.
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WN2C

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #43 on: March 02, 2015, 11:03:25 AM »

I am waiting to have someone tell me what the 'Business' the LDS is conducting. I need detailed descriptions of what exactly is the business is.

Rick  Wn2C
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KF7VXA

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RE: LDS Emergency Radio "ERC" Nets
« Reply #44 on: March 02, 2015, 02:30:22 PM »

Read the thread, it's covered rather well.
John
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