In article ,
notbob wrote:

[snip]
This worries me because it highlights the shortcomings of all this new
high tech gimcrackery. As I understand it, even satellite cellphones
require a service provider with a nearby uplink antenna. So, this
brings up my question, as a non ham:

How long do you think it would have taken James, or anyone in that
situation, to make contact with outside help and get him and his
family out of there if he'd had something like a basic QRP tranceiver
and antenna and knew how to use it?

Any thoughts you may have on this issue would be appreciated.

Well, the _right_ high tech gimcrackery (a "personnel locator beacon",
e.g. http://www.landfallnavigation.com/spwff1.html) would almost
certainly have been effective. And I'm sorry for his family's loss, and
can appreciate that Mr. Kim must have felt that taking action was
necessary to save his wife and children, but had he _stayed_put_ he'd be
alive today.