Al Klein wrote:
The only thing the GPS-based system does is give you an exact location
- it doesn't notify anyone of anything.

"EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons, or EPIRBs,
are used when a ship is in distress, to emit a radio signal
marking the ship's location."

If radio had not existed, the next passing ship would have
rescued any survivors.

The way it usually was in the centuries before radio (just ask the
crew of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha) was that when the ship sank the
people on her died. (The Atocha's crew were all hardened sailors, yet
only 3 crew members - out of 265 people aboard - clung to the wreckage
long enough to be rescued.)

Yes, that's what I said. Passing ships rescue survivors.
--
73, Cecil, http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:15:26 GMT, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Al Klein wrote:
The only thing the GPS-based system does is give you an exact location
- it doesn't notify anyone of anything.

"EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons, or EPIRBs,
are used when a ship is in distress, to emit a radio signal
marking the ship's location."

GPS systems are receivers. Transmitters that use GPS-derived data
aren't GPS-based systems, they're transmitter-based systems. No
transmitter, no notification. No GPS, notification is a little less
accurate, that's all.

If radio had not existed, the next passing ship would have
rescued any survivors.

The way it usually was in the centuries before radio (just ask the
crew of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha) was that when the ship sank the
people on her died. (The Atocha's crew were all hardened sailors, yet
only 3 crew members - out of 265 people aboard - clung to the wreckage
long enough to be rescued.)

Yes, that's what I said. Passing ships rescue survivors.

Or, in this case, ships that were part of the same flotilla (they
didn't have to have any luck in being in the area) only managed to
rescue about 1% of the survivors. If they had waited for "passing
ships", their grandchildren would have been too old for rescue. Most
shipwreck survivors who are rescued aren't rescued by ships that just
happen to be passing, they're rescued by ships that knew about the
wreck and responded. (Before radio, most shipwreck survivors weren't
rescued.)

Al Klein wrote:
Transmitters that use GPS-derived data aren't GPS-based systems, ...

Huh???? Can you prove that assertion? :-)

Most
shipwreck survivors who are rescued aren't rescued by ships that just
happen to be passing, they're rescued by ships that knew about the
wreck and responded. (Before radio, most shipwreck survivors weren't
rescued.)

All that is true. If one was away from the shipping lanes,
one was SOL or USCWAP. However, if one was in the shipping
lanes with a flare, one at least had a chance of being
rescued. According to my nephew, one of our ancestors was
rescued in such a manner. Presumably, if that had not
happened, neither he nor I would exist.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:38:39 GMT, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Al Klein wrote:
Transmitters that use GPS-derived data aren't GPS-based systems, ...

Huh???? Can you prove that assertion? :-)

The notification systems are radio-based. Notification isn't made by
GPS. We had radio-based notification systems long before we had the
GPS.

If one was away from the shipping lanes,
one was SOL or USCWAP. However, if one was in the shipping
lanes with a flare, one at least had a chance of being
rescued.

Once flares had been invented. We've been sailing the seas for at
least 4,000 years, over 3,500 of them without radios, flares or other
means of communications to ships or land installations we couldn't
already see.

Al Klein wrote:
Cecil Moore wrote:

Al Klein wrote:
Transmitters that use GPS-derived data aren't GPS-based systems, ...

Huh???? Can you prove that assertion? :-)

The notification systems are radio-based.

Your assertion that transmitting GPS coordinates is not
a GPS-based system is obviously ridiculous and hopefully
just a bad joke. Better luck next time.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

Dirk wrote:
Ham's care more about operating appliances than knowing how to save a lives.

:-(

Many ham are American Red Cross first aid and adult CPR instructors.

That trumps CW at any speed.

Steve N. wrote:
Uh oh! Now a battle of the troll-o-meters...
Really cute, Bill...I love it.

73, Steve, K9DCI
P.S. I tilted my monitor and I see that this movement is a little out of
balance on the sides. End-to-end balance is ok. Carefully turn the balance
weight on the right side in a little, then it'll sit on zero regardless of
the orientation...

Press the degauss button. The needle will let go.

"R. Scott" wrote in message
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Bill, W6WRT

There I fixed it for you

wrote:
Dirk wrote:
Ham's care more about operating appliances than knowing how to save a lives.

:-(

Many ham are American Red Cross first aid and adult CPR instructors.

That trumps CW at any speed.
lol thank you for that

On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:58:48 GMT, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Your assertion that transmitting GPS coordinates is not
a GPS-based system is obviously ridiculous and hopefully
just a bad joke. Better luck next time.

No GPS, the notification still occurs. No radio, the notice doesn't
occur. What was the notification based on, again?

wrote in
s.com:


Steve N. wrote:
Uh oh! Now a battle of the troll-o-meters...
Really cute, Bill...I love it.

73, Steve, K9DCI
P.S. I tilted my monitor and I see that this movement is a little out
of balance on the sides. End-to-end balance is ok. Carefully turn
the balance weight on the right side in a little, then it'll sit on
zero regardless of the orientation...

Press the degauss button. The needle will let go.

"R. Scott" wrote in message
...
------------ REPLY SEPARATOR ------------

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
TROLL-O-METER


Bill, W6WRT

There I fixed it for you





Just found this thread. If I had to use CW to save someone's life, it would
depend on a lot of variables.

Firstly, if it involved any of my own ham radio gear, it would be more than
a little odd, since I have a mic for each transceiver and I don't own a key
jack that would plug into any of them, although I do have a straight key,
just no jack to plug it in with.

Assuming some weird contrived scenario where I had the equipment to send CW
but not phone, it would depend what frequencies it worked on. If it was on
the HF ham bands then no major problem, as there are still quite a few
people who still use CW.

My own lack of real aptitude shouldn't be a real problem for two reasons.
One, I could slow down to a comfortable speed, i.e. 5-10 wpm. Two, it would
matter more whether others could copy my sending than vicea versa. I did
pass 20 wpm, but have yet to buy a plug for my key, many years later. As I
said though, that really wouldn't make a difference.

If you asked the same question to someone who had only passed 5 wpm and
then, like me, never used it, then I suspect the victim wouldn't make it.
But then in most countries there is NO morse code testing any more, so
there are plenty of hams now who've never learnt atall. For decades there
have been no code VHF hams in most countries anyway.

There again, if the key was anything other than a straight key, that would
be curtains for the victim, as I would have no idea how to use it.

OTOH, if this scenario didn't involve the HF ham bands, then the victim
would be as good as dead, as I'd never find a non-ham who could still read
CW on the other end.

And your point was...?