FYI 73, Gary Board Liaison, PR Committee ------ Forwarded Message From: Gary Pearce KN4AQ <kn4aq@ipass.net> Reply-To: pr@listserv.arrl.org Date: Sat, 04 May 2002 18:43:45 -0400 To: pr@arrl.org Subject: [PR:1611] More on Houston Chronicle article Resent-From: pr@listserv.arrl.org Resent-Date: Sat, 04 May 2002 22:43:51 +0000 The Houston Chronicle article on lack of tower access for Amateur Radio repeaters ("Static all around for local ham radio operators", May 1, 2002 - http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/editorial/outlook/1393266) turns out to be a response to a letter to the paper from Peter Wang KF5ND. Wang's letter, published on April 27 and titled "SOS for radio operators," complained about dwindling Amateur participation in the Houston MS-150.* Wang wrote, "...even as the popular ride has grown larger, volunteer amateur radio operation participation has plummeted. This year we were critically short of volunteer operators - all of the ambulances were not equipped with onboard radios and had to rely on spotty cell phone coverage." And he offered this unique suggestion to the people of Houston: "the next time you see a vehicle with 'Texas radio operator' license plates, ask the driver, 'Are you putting your radio and license to good use?'" There was one other response to Wang's letter, from Bruce Paige KK5DO. In his letter, published April 30, Paige was miffed that ham radio operators were criticized. He said that hams help out in many areas in the community, and then confuses the issue by missing the fact that Wang is a licensed ham, accusing Wang of not knowing much about ham radio and inviting him to become licensed. So, a few Houston hams have decided to air some dirty laundry in the public media. A PIO bad dream, if not a nightmare. Houston... we have a problem. 73, Gary Pearce KN4AQ North Carolina PIC * The MS-150 is a 150 mile, two-day bike tour, a fundraiser sponsored by the National Multiple Sclrosis Society. There are MS-150's in many cities, and most rely on Amateur Radio for communication. The Houston MS-150 is huge, with 10,000 riders participating (our ride in the eastern NC area draws less than 1000, and we have about 45 hams providing communications -http://www.rars.org/gallery/1999/ms-150/index.html ). ------ End of Forwarded Message