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Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade



Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade

Pasadena Star News

By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer



PASADENA -- A pair of ham radio operators were lugging equipment onto the

grounds of Tournament House in preparation for last year's parade when they

were stopped by a "senior Tournament official.'



"This senior Tournament person came absolutely unglued,' reports Allen

Hubbard, a board member of the Tournament of Roses Radio Amateurs. "He was

accusing them of lying to get on the grounds.'



Although they are not officially part of the Tournament of Roses, the radio

amateurs have been providing a communications link along the Rose Parade

route for more than 30 years. Radio operators have routinely "shadowed'

Tournament White Suiters, behaving like a volunteer signal corps straight

out of World War II.



But in the age of cell phones, they have begun to feel unwanted.



This week, the Tournament of Roses Radio Amateurs voted not to participate

in the upcoming parade, after suffering what they perceived to be a series

of indignities.



"This has been building for at least the last four years,' Hubbard said.



For many of the more than 250 club members, the incident at Tournament

House last year was the last straw.



"I think it's come to the end of a run,' said Bill Flinn, the Tournament's

chief operating officer. "We're sorry to see them go.'



Most White Suiters have cell phones, and don't need a radio operator

shadowing their every move. Nextel is a corporate sponsor of the parade,

and has donated a number of phones to the Tournament. That doesn't sit well

with the ham radio operators, who point out that cell phones often lose

reception in areas where ham radios work.



Amateur radio operators also tend to pride themselves on being hobbyists,

and on not being profit-seekers.



"We provide a genuine service to the Tournament,' said Earle Bunker, a club

member for 20 years. "The people we work with the White Suiters are very

much for us. They tell us that. It's somebody farther up the line.'



Bunker, who has traditionally handled ham radios at the post-parade float

viewing, said the radios often come in handy.



"Two years ago a fellow lost his insulin kit,' Bunker said. "Somebody

turned in the kit at one of the gates.'



Radio operators made the connection, and the kit was returned.



The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and

installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.



"Every year, there's $70,000 worth of private equipment brought in to help

the Rose Parade,' Bunker said. "I think there are some who think they can

do it all with Nextel. I don't think they can.'



Over the years, the group has coordinated its activities from a room inside

Tournament House that acted as a nerve center. But a recent remodeling

transformed the radio room into archive storage. Over the past few years,

the group has had to transmit from a mobile trailer.



"We used to get what we felt was better cooperation,' Hubbard said. "People

on the board have felt that Nextel has put pressure on the Tournament to

get rid of us. They want people using Nextels.'



Representatives of Nextel Communications did not return calls for comment.



The radio group had been negotiating with the Tournament in an effort to

keep the relationship alive. The minutes of a July meeting suggest that at

the time, relations were strained but the radio club remained optimistic

that it could still be useful.



"Time was spent reviewing the TORRA assignments list, clarifying,

confirming and deleting positions,' the minutes state. "Most TOR chairs

will not need shadows since they have Nextels.'



The minutes also suggest that radio operators were left stranded and bored

last year, without a White Suiter and with nothing to do. When Ed

Afsharian, chair of communications and credentialing for the Tournament,

suggested that one radio position be cut, the radio amateurs responded that

the position was so important that an extra operator should be added.



The negotiations finally broke down Sunday, when the radio amateurs' board

voted to back out of the Jan. 1, 2005, parade.



The Tournament will get along without the radio operators this time, Flinn

said, and consider having them back for the 2006 parade. Hubbard said his

wife is looking forward to taking him out for a New Year's Eve party for

the first time in 15 years.



"They say new technology will take care of it, but I don't know,' said

Bunker's wife, Mary Louise, herself a ham operator and a former mayor of

Alhambra. "A lot of gals don't know what good a husband is until he goes on

a business trip.



"It's going to be a real interesting New Year's.'

Let them use nextels.

If anything hits the fan and the Nextel system overloads there will be one
less source for backup comms.

Some groups have to learn from their own stupidity (if they ever learn)

Steve

No Roses wrote:
http://www.torra.us/index.html

Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade



Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade

Pasadena Star News

By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer



PASADENA -- A pair of ham radio operators were lugging equipment onto the

grounds of Tournament House in preparation for last year's parade when they

were stopped by a "senior Tournament official.'



"This senior Tournament person came absolutely unglued,' reports Allen

Hubbard, a board member of the Tournament of Roses Radio Amateurs. "He was

accusing them of lying to get on the grounds.'



Although they are not officially part of the Tournament of Roses, the radio

amateurs have been providing a communications link along the Rose Parade

route for more than 30 years. Radio operators have routinely "shadowed'

Tournament White Suiters, behaving like a volunteer signal corps straight

out of World War II.



But in the age of cell phones, they have begun to feel unwanted.



This week, the Tournament of Roses Radio Amateurs voted not to participate

in the upcoming parade, after suffering what they perceived to be a series

of indignities.



"This has been building for at least the last four years,' Hubbard said.



For many of the more than 250 club members, the incident at Tournament

House last year was the last straw.



"I think it's come to the end of a run,' said Bill Flinn, the Tournament's

chief operating officer. "We're sorry to see them go.'



Most White Suiters have cell phones, and don't need a radio operator

shadowing their every move. Nextel is a corporate sponsor of the parade,

and has donated a number of phones to the Tournament. That doesn't sit well

with the ham radio operators, who point out that cell phones often lose

reception in areas where ham radios work.



Amateur radio operators also tend to pride themselves on being hobbyists,

and on not being profit-seekers.



"We provide a genuine service to the Tournament,' said Earle Bunker, a club

member for 20 years. "The people we work with the White Suiters are very

much for us. They tell us that. It's somebody farther up the line.'



Bunker, who has traditionally handled ham radios at the post-parade float

viewing, said the radios often come in handy.



"Two years ago a fellow lost his insulin kit,' Bunker said. "Somebody

turned in the kit at one of the gates.'



Radio operators made the connection, and the kit was returned.



The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and

installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.



"Every year, there's $70,000 worth of private equipment brought in to help

the Rose Parade,' Bunker said. "I think there are some who think they can

do it all with Nextel. I don't think they can.'



Over the years, the group has coordinated its activities from a room inside

Tournament House that acted as a nerve center. But a recent remodeling

transformed the radio room into archive storage. Over the past few years,

the group has had to transmit from a mobile trailer.



"We used to get what we felt was better cooperation,' Hubbard said. "People

on the board have felt that Nextel has put pressure on the Tournament to

get rid of us. They want people using Nextels.'



Representatives of Nextel Communications did not return calls for comment.



The radio group had been negotiating with the Tournament in an effort to

keep the relationship alive. The minutes of a July meeting suggest that at

the time, relations were strained but the radio club remained optimistic

that it could still be useful.



"Time was spent reviewing the TORRA assignments list, clarifying,

confirming and deleting positions,' the minutes state. "Most TOR chairs

will not need shadows since they have Nextels.'



The minutes also suggest that radio operators were left stranded and bored

last year, without a White Suiter and with nothing to do. When Ed

Afsharian, chair of communications and credentialing for the Tournament,

suggested that one radio position be cut, the radio amateurs responded that

the position was so important that an extra operator should be added.



The negotiations finally broke down Sunday, when the radio amateurs' board

voted to back out of the Jan. 1, 2005, parade.



The Tournament will get along without the radio operators this time, Flinn

said, and consider having them back for the 2006 parade. Hubbard said his

wife is looking forward to taking him out for a New Year's Eve party for

the first time in 15 years.



"They say new technology will take care of it, but I don't know,' said

Bunker's wife, Mary Louise, herself a ham operator and a former mayor of

Alhambra. "A lot of gals don't know what good a husband is until he goes on

a business trip.



"It's going to be a real interesting New Year's.'

From: No Roses on Jan 2, 8:51 am


Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade

Pasadena Star News

By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- A pair of ham radio operators were lugging equipment onto the
grounds of Tournament House in preparation for last year's parade when they
were stopped by a "senior Tournament official.'

Why is this posting in this newsgroup AGAIN?

It's been in here before. Same wannabe kinda story.


The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and
installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.

Why?!? The "Rose Parade" (Tournament of Roses) is, for over
90 percent of its route a STRAIGHT LINE along Colorado Blvd.
in Pasadena. Good grief, any deviation from the assigned route
could be telephoned in from public call boxes all along
Colorado! :-) Total route length is no more than 5 miles.

The floats aren't high-speed vehicles. They can be tracked
on foot by anyone able to walk. Some of the "white suiters"
(parade officials) use little motor scooters along the route.

At least FOUR major network/cable TV camera setups (multiple,
each one) covered this year's event, rain-soaked though it
was. Good grief, even Home and Garden Television cable
channel covered the 2006 parade!

Pasadena PD was out in force again...as well as paramedic
ambulances of the Pasadena FD. Both have fine two-way radios
that they use around the clock, a system in-use for decades
in Pasadena. In addition to that, the float builders have
their own HTs they use in moving to the parade start point
and for the ending assembly area.


The negotiations finally broke down Sunday, when the radio amateurs' board
voted to back out of the Jan. 1, 2005, parade.

Okay, so, from that sentence, this Pasadena newspaper story
is from 2004, not last year.

My wife and I watched an HDTV recording of both the 2004 and 2005
Tournament of Roses Parade on Sunday, shot by local independent
TV station KTLA. There was no sign that anyone of - or near -
the "white suiters" were using any HTs.


The Tournament will get along without the radio operators this time, Flinn
said, and consider having them back for the 2006 parade. Hubbard said his
wife is looking forward to taking him out for a New Year's Eve party for
the first time in 15 years.

My wife and I watched the rain-sodden Tournament of Roses parade
this Monday morning. [it is already 2006...the parade is never
held on a Sunday] No sign that anyone of - or near - the "white
suiters" were using any HTs.

Of course, with all the raincoats (transparent and opaque) that
most were wearing, it might be hard to tell. :-)

It's easy to hide a little Tuna Tin 2 HF CW transmitter... :-)


"It's going to be a real interesting New Year's.'

Nothing at all "interesting." Just rain and wind. Many floats
looked woebegone at the start from the applied decorations
struck off by rain. Rain hasn't hit the "Rose Parade" since the
1960s.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade has been going on for
116 years. The 2006 event is the 117th. Radio is only 110
years old and truly portable radios have only been around since
after WW2. The parade organizers and planners can, and have,
done this successful parade along the straight line of Colorado
Boulevard for many years without amateur radio "help."

It's just another BS posting by a parade wannabe. :-(

"Steve Stone" wrote in message
...
Let them use nextels.

If anything hits the fan and the Nextel system overloads there will be
one
less source for backup comms.

Some groups have to learn from their own stupidity (if they ever learn)

Steve

I could not agree with you more.
Ham comms are obsolete.

Even the Police, Fire and EMT's here all have NexTel
phones with the Talkgroup features, this in addition to
their regular trunked radios. Communications are no
longer a problem and using hams to get word around
is simply no longer necessary. Of course the hams will
never admit that they are as obsolete as the code keys
in their radio rooms.

Ham radio is now become a hobby
and no longer a service. Anyone who thinks otherwise
has their head buried in the sand like the proverbial
loony-toon cartoon ostrich.

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 20:34:11 GMT, "Steve Stone"
wrote:

Let them use nextels.

If anything hits the fan and the Nextel system overloads there will be
one
less source for backup comms.

Some groups have to learn from their own stupidity (if they ever learn)

Steve


yuo sound the many of the Dem on Iraq hoping for failure

Besides not being able to use the English language properly
in your postings, you also demonstrate your ignorance of
world politics as well. (Bush's "Iraqi oil-grab war" is an
abject failure.

Don't believe me? Then ask yourself if you are paying more for
Hydrocarbon/Petroleum Fuel(s) TODAY than you did BEFORE
his little war started.

G-d forbid our ******* King George Bush II attacks Iran alongside of/with
Israel in 2006! If that happens, you will be paying $7 per gallon as
world oil markets go thru the stratosphere in war related
petroleum speculations and price shocks.

wrote:
From: No Roses on Jan 2, 8:51 am


Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade

Pasadena Star News

By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- A pair of ham radio operators were lugging equipment onto the
grounds of Tournament House in preparation for last year's parade when they
were stopped by a "senior Tournament official.'

Why is this posting in this newsgroup AGAIN?

It's been in here before. Same wannabe kinda story.

It is an opportunity for Sterve to see that somehow, someway, people
are finding alternative methods of communications.

The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and
installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.

Why?!? The "Rose Parade" (Tournament of Roses) is, for over
90 percent of its route a STRAIGHT LINE along Colorado Blvd.
in Pasadena. Good grief, any deviation from the assigned route
could be telephoned in from public call boxes all along
Colorado! :-) Total route length is no more than 5 miles.

But, but, but...

The floats aren't high-speed vehicles. They can be tracked
on foot by anyone able to walk. Some of the "white suiters"
(parade officials) use little motor scooters along the route.

With the little upside down red hats on top? Those guys are funy.

Look, anything could happen. Ever seen National Lampoon's Animal
House?

Guess which Ham played Neidermeyer?

wrote:
From: No Roses on Jan 2, 8:51 am

cut

The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and
installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.

Why?!? The "Rose Parade" (Tournament of Roses) is, for over
90 percent of its route a STRAIGHT LINE along Colorado Blvd.
in Pasadena. Good grief, any deviation from the assigned route
could be telephoned in from public call boxes all along
Colorado! :-) Total route length is no more than 5 miles.

but of course only hams can handle it

The floats aren't high-speed vehicles. They can be tracked
on foot by anyone able to walk. Some of the "white suiters"
(parade officials) use little motor scooters along the route.

At least FOUR major network/cable TV camera setups (multiple,
each one) covered this year's event, rain-soaked though it
was. Good grief, even Home and Garden Television cable
channel covered the 2006 parade!

Pasadena PD was out in force again...as well as paramedic
ambulances of the Pasadena FD. Both have fine two-way radios
that they use around the clock, a system in-use for decades
in Pasadena. In addition to that, the float builders have
their own HTs they use in moving to the parade start point
and for the ending assembly area.

of course some day an earthquake will happen and the whole system will
die instantly

just like the cell system died at once in a katrina despite the fact it
was still text messages


The negotiations finally broke down Sunday, when the radio amateurs' board
voted to back out of the Jan. 1, 2005, parade.

Okay, so, from that sentence, this Pasadena newspaper story
is from 2004, not last year.

Lords of Light
cut

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 21:59:50 -0500, "Bernie the Bignose"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 20:34:11 GMT, "Steve Stone"
wrote:

Let them use nextels.

If anything hits the fan and the Nextel system overloads there will be
one
less source for backup comms.

Some groups have to learn from their own stupidity (if they ever learn)

Steve


yuo sound the many of the Dem on Iraq hoping for failure

Besides not being able to use the English language properly
in your postings, you also demonstrate your ignorance of
world politics as well. (Bush's "Iraqi oil-grab war" is an
abject failure.

perhaps it is a failure prehaps it is sucess that is not the point

that you like that the dems WANT their to be a failure that is just
plain sick

Don't believe me? Then ask yourself if you are paying more for
Hydrocarbon/Petroleum Fuel(s) TODAY than you did BEFORE
his little war started.

G-d forbid our ******* King George Bush II attacks Iran alongside of/with
Israel in 2006! If that happens, you will be paying $7 per gallon as
world oil markets go thru the stratosphere in war related
petroleum speculations and price shocks.




_________________________________________
Usenet Zone Free Binaries Usenet Server
More than 140,000 groups
Unlimited download
http://www.usenetzone.com to open account

wrote in message
oups.com...
From: No Roses on Jan 2, 8:51 am


Ham radio operators to skip Rose Parade

Pasadena Star News

By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- A pair of ham radio operators were lugging equipment onto the
grounds of Tournament House in preparation for last year's parade when they
were stopped by a "senior Tournament official.'

Why is this posting in this newsgroup AGAIN?

It's been in here before. Same wannabe kinda story.


The radio group has also tracked floats with global positioning devices and
installed a dozen video cameras up and down the parade route.

Why?!? The "Rose Parade" (Tournament of Roses) is, for over
90 percent of its route a STRAIGHT LINE along Colorado Blvd.
in Pasadena. Good grief, any deviation from the assigned route
could be telephoned in from public call boxes all along
Colorado! :-) Total route length is no more than 5 miles.

The floats aren't high-speed vehicles. They can be tracked
on foot by anyone able to walk. Some of the "white suiters"
(parade officials) use little motor scooters along the route.

At least FOUR major network/cable TV camera setups (multiple,
each one) covered this year's event, rain-soaked though it
was. Good grief, even Home and Garden Television cable
channel covered the 2006 parade!

Pasadena PD was out in force again...as well as paramedic
ambulances of the Pasadena FD. Both have fine two-way radios
that they use around the clock, a system in-use for decades
in Pasadena. In addition to that, the float builders have
their own HTs they use in moving to the parade start point
and for the ending assembly area.


The negotiations finally broke down Sunday, when the radio amateurs' board
voted to back out of the Jan. 1, 2005, parade.

Okay, so, from that sentence, this Pasadena newspaper story
is from 2004, not last year.

My wife and I watched an HDTV recording of both the 2004 and 2005
Tournament of Roses Parade on Sunday, shot by local independent
TV station KTLA. There was no sign that anyone of - or near -
the "white suiters" were using any HTs.


The Tournament will get along without the radio operators this time, Flinn
said, and consider having them back for the 2006 parade. Hubbard said his
wife is looking forward to taking him out for a New Year's Eve party for
the first time in 15 years.

My wife and I watched the rain-sodden Tournament of Roses parade
this Monday morning. [it is already 2006...the parade is never
held on a Sunday] No sign that anyone of - or near - the "white
suiters" were using any HTs.

Of course, with all the raincoats (transparent and opaque) that
most were wearing, it might be hard to tell. :-)

It's easy to hide a little Tuna Tin 2 HF CW transmitter... :-)


"It's going to be a real interesting New Year's.'

Nothing at all "interesting." Just rain and wind. Many floats
looked woebegone at the start from the applied decorations
struck off by rain. Rain hasn't hit the "Rose Parade" since the
1960s.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade has been going on for
116 years. The 2006 event is the 117th. Radio is only 110
years old and truly portable radios have only been around since
after WW2. The parade organizers and planners can, and have,
done this successful parade along the straight line of Colorado
Boulevard for many years without amateur radio "help."

It's just another BS posting by a parade wannabe. :-(



Lennie...just in case your glory days of the Forties, Patti Page songs in
the fifties, and black and white TV in the sixties are difficult to let
go...this is 2006.
It is probably a good thing for you though, because modern medicines have
enabled you to keep your blood pressure in control, your prostate from
shriveling into a prune, and has kept arthritis from palsying your one, good
hand.
Life has been good to you, Lennie. Or so it seems.