When disaster strikes, and conventional communication systems fail, amateur ham radio operators step in to bridge the gap, providing a crucial link between those in affected areas and the outside world.
Gps, transponders, radar, and other systems rely on radio waves to operate
So when I said “VFR” and “light guns”, and you totally ignored it, it proved to me that you’re spouting some armchair opinions, and have never flown a plane. Nor did any of the people who downvoted me. Looks like the reddit crowd is in full swing in this thread.
Also, I said I couldn’t speak to the ambulance radios. I have no experience with those systems, and said as much. Everything you said about them is beside the point I was making.
You don’t need radio comms to fly or land a plane. Could a shitty ham screw up the instruments? Yes. Is that a headache for ATC and pilots? Yes. Will they crash a plane? No.
No, it’s not besides the point because you can have issues with poor visibility and those light guns are not immune from breaking down, and then you’d really want your other communication and instruments to be functioning as they should.
Look, I know we’re talking one in a million, worst case scenarios here, not situations that are at all likely to happen, just ones that theoretically could if Murphy’s law goes into full effect, multiple people at every level drop the ball, and the planets and stars are all aligned just so, etc.
Pilots are also trained for flight with poor visibility (for example, flying above clouds and looking for holes of clear sky to descend through, then looking for safe landing sites), and also landing with poor visibility, for exactly the reasons we’ve both brought up. I agree that it’s more hazardous, but like I said, it’s not falling out of the sky because someone pushed the wrong button on their equipment.
And not for nothin’; if someone keeps screwing up with short disruptions, or (even worse) leaves something on that causes consistent communication interference, the hams will find them, and the feds will start knocking on the door pretty quick.
So when I said “VFR” and “light guns”, and you totally ignored it, it proved to me that you’re spouting some armchair opinions, and have never flown a plane. Nor did any of the people who downvoted me. Looks like the reddit crowd is in full swing in this thread.
Also, I said I couldn’t speak to the ambulance radios. I have no experience with those systems, and said as much. Everything you said about them is beside the point I was making.
You don’t need radio comms to fly or land a plane. Could a shitty ham screw up the instruments? Yes. Is that a headache for ATC and pilots? Yes. Will they crash a plane? No.
No, it’s not besides the point because you can have issues with poor visibility and those light guns are not immune from breaking down, and then you’d really want your other communication and instruments to be functioning as they should.
Look, I know we’re talking one in a million, worst case scenarios here, not situations that are at all likely to happen, just ones that theoretically could if Murphy’s law goes into full effect, multiple people at every level drop the ball, and the planets and stars are all aligned just so, etc.
Pilots are also trained for flight with poor visibility (for example, flying above clouds and looking for holes of clear sky to descend through, then looking for safe landing sites), and also landing with poor visibility, for exactly the reasons we’ve both brought up. I agree that it’s more hazardous, but like I said, it’s not falling out of the sky because someone pushed the wrong button on their equipment.
And not for nothin’; if someone keeps screwing up with short disruptions, or (even worse) leaves something on that causes consistent communication interference, the hams will find them, and the feds will start knocking on the door pretty quick.