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H.R. 2743, The Military Affiliate Radio System Emergency Communication Act of 2007
- This item is from the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.
Comparing original version (created by webmaster) with revision saved on June 16, 2007, 18:14:00 (webmaster):
H.R. 2743 would provide for the continuance of volunteer communications capability within the United States and its territories.
== Detailed Summary ==
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== Status of the Legislation ==
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(Log inLatest Major Action: 6/15/2007: Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to edit the wikiHouse Committee on Energy and be the first to update the status of the bill!)Commerce.
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== Points in Favor ==
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== Points Against ==
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Visitor Comments
Kenton E Graham
July 1, 2007, 8:45am (report abuse)As an amateur operator for over 50 years, and as a State Mars Director for Arkansas (AFMARS), I strongly encourage support for this bill. Amateurs have thousands invested in their equipment, and need all the encouragement we can give them to help support emergency communication such as MARS. If they cannot be allowed to use (by modification) their existing equipment, we are likely to lose many of these volunteers.
Frederic H. Howell
July 1, 2007, 9:05am (report abuse)I have been a member of Air Force MARS for about 50 years and implore you to support this bill. MARS is an extremely valuable resource for the government at just about zero cost. Impending changes dictated by the NTIA will effectively eliminate this emergency service due to the extremely high cost to the volunteers. The government is simply trying to shift its costs to these dedicated people.
Gerald E Taylor
July 1, 2007, 2:05pm (report abuse)A recurring complaint regarding emergency response is the failure of the communication systems in heavily damaged areas as witnessed during hurricanes. The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) is a capable volunteer emergency communication service which is currently available and will be adversely affected if the proposed NTIA rule exemption is not approved. I urge Congress to pass this bill and to direct the improved utilization of all skilled voluntary communication agencies.
Jim Wooddell, AAR9AD
July 2, 2007, 9:47am (report abuse)I am an active, dedicated Army MARS member and one that is deployable during emergencies and disasters. I am a non-paid volunteer and if folks like myself are forced to comply with the NTIA requirements, all of our radio equipment will be useless and many of us will never be able to afford the radios that will be required. And, the largest majority of ALL HF radio manufacturers do NOT make the HF radios that comply with the NTIA specifications. You can a list of these for yourself here:
https://ntc.cap.af.mil/comm/equipment/hf_summary.cfm
Folks, please do what you can to support HR 2743.
Rick Pemble AAR4WJ
July 2, 2007, 10:31am (report abuse)Along with the 9/11 and Katrina commission reports, I too, have witnessed first hand, through hurricanes Francis and Jeanne, that the first infrastructure failure, is the routine and emergency communications systems. Without communications, first responders, volunteers, and national assets cannot operate efficienctly or with deliberation. The MARS program trains their volunteers to exacting standards to fulfill the 'missing link' in those first 48 or longer, critical hours after an event.
Please support this bill.
Justin Kates AAT3OT
July 2, 2007, 11:31am (report abuse)I'm a big supporter of this bill specifically because of the possibility of the loss of a major portion of the Military Affiliate Radio System membership because of these new standards. MARS operators have been known to pick up the pieces after a disaster and build those communication networks when all other means fail.
Richard Bardos AAR5VC
July 2, 2007, 11:47am (report abuse)In the last 5 years, most equipment made for amateur radio use, have very low harmonics and is frequency stable to less then 20hz. This is better then most equipment that the military is now using in the field. Also the wide spectrum of frequencies we use in MARS, 2 - 20mhz, our antennas are broadband and have 3 to 10db loss over an antenna designed for a single frequency. This also adds to attenuation of the actual radiated harmonics. Also most equipment designed for amateur radio use meets or exceeds the requirements for opposite sideband suppression, which is more important.
Steve Waterman, AAA9AC
July 2, 2007, 11:53am (report abuse)During many of the major disasters, worldwide, and especially during domestic disasters such as Katrina, the Winlink 2000 system now deployed by the Tri-MARS services played a significant role in the saving of lives and property. Note the comments in the special Congressional Report, "Failure of Initiative" detailing the use of this Radio e-mail system to get complex messages to multiple recipients in and out of a disater area.
The highly disciplined first response abilities of voice and data within the MARS system have proven themselves dramatically. One can only imagine the tragic consequences of not supporting such a service during a subsequent disaster and any investigation that follows, thereafter.
Perry Ogletree
July 2, 2007, 2:05pm (report abuse)Emergency communications are one of the most important factors in disaster response. As proven time after time in these events, cell phones, land lines and even satellite phones fail due to damage and overload. The ability to provide for redundant and reliable communications has been a hallmark of the MARS system. I fully support this bill.
Mark H Voris AAM7NE
July 4, 2007, 1:46pm (report abuse)I have been a dedicated member of ARMY MARS for over nine years and feel that the communications we provide are well managed. In the event of a disaster, frequency stability is the last thing that anyone needs to worry about. We are communicators, we are the ones who can get messages passed when all other forms of communications fail. The majority of the MARS membership have radios that are new enough that being frequency stable isn't an issue. I support this bill 100%.
Mark Hatcher AFA3ES
July 6, 2007, 9:51pm (report abuse)The frequency stability spec. NTIA is calling for is very difficult, and expensive to attain, with very little benefit, especially in the arena of emergency comms. Many current military radios don't yet meet the frequency stability specifications in the new NTIA standard. Amateur radios have something that no type tested "approved" radios have. A Variable Frequency Oscillator (VFO) which allows us to tune on-the-fly, while monitoring the performance of our equipment. I see little or no benefit in holding Amateur/MARS communications equipment to this standard. If this exemption does not pass, the results could be disastrous for the Emergency Comm Community. If the NTIA can't live with a permanent exemption, at least grant an exemption for five to ten years till equipment costs fall.