Part 97 spells out as the first founding principle of amateur radio:
principles:
Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
Last week, my club, ARROW, did its part by providing communications for two different events: a parade and a bike tour.
The two events couldn’t be more different. The first event—the Jaycees’ annual Fourth of July parade—took place in a ten square block portion of downtown Ann Arbor. We were literally right underneath the repeater. The second event—a bike tour with six or seven different routes, including a 100-miler—took place over at least 100 square miles.
For the first event, we used handhelds. For the second event, we mostly used high-power mobile radios and 5/8-wave whips in the vans that swept the routes helping riders. And at the primary lunch spot, which is in an RF hole, our station included a beam antenna to ensure that the signal made the repeater.
We really earned our stripes during the bike tour. It was a hot day, and the van in which I was riding, provided aid to many riders. I felt pretty good about that. It was fun, too.
Providing public service is something that every amateur radio operator should keep in mind when buying a radio. If you’re buying a handheld, for example, you might want to buy an extra battery pack to go along with it. If you’re buying a mobile radio, I’d suggest buying one capable of at least 50 W output. A 5/8-wave whip makes a good antenna for the mobile.
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