ARE WE FOCUSED?
This artical
appeared in the July/August, 1997 issue of the REACTer Magazine.
the REACTer is the Official Publicarion of REACT International, Inc.
The artical was writen by Flagler County Assist REACT's President,
Bob Pickering
This is our response to the article in the June 1997
issue of Pop Com magazine.
This issue has a very good article about REACT, and REACT.
s monitoring of CB Channel 9. We shared it among the members of our Team, and
will share it at the Florida State Council Meeting.
You and your Team should see it. Everyone in REACT should
see it.
The article asks "Is anyone listening". Millions
of people on CB radio, and I have heard CB radio called "dead, dying, and a
dinosaur". Well we better be careful, because that T-Rex out there is very much alive
and well.
Our Team along I-95 receives hundreds of calls a year on CB
9. There is heavy use of cell phones, and there are also call boxes located here. But
people still use CB 9. We can frequently get better information than a cell phone caller
or a call over a call box.
Cell phones are dependent on their towers. The cell site
can be overloaded, even causing a busy signal on 911. "Its happened to me".
Also frequently a caller on a cell phone will lose the cell
site, cutting off communications before they are able to describe the problem.
Some call boxes are just a button you push that rings a bell
at the dispatch of the agency that is responsible for the call box. They can. t
talk to anyone. The only know someone pushed the button. Like an old fire call box.
So you can see where the importance lies on monitoring CB9.
If we do not focus on our primary objective, someone else eventually will. If we do not do
what REACT is supposed to do, Monitor CB 9, Provide emergency communication support, and
provide a public service, some other organization may rise and overtake us. The article in
Popular Communications suggests that this may happen.
If we do not do these things, a company, manufacturer, or
other sponsor will start another organization. The people who purchase the radios they
sell will demand it. So it is up to us. I believe monitoring CB 9 is a REQUIREMENT to be a
REACT Team. It is stated in our charter.
There are many Teams that are on CB 9, GMRS 462.675, and the
ham bands. There are many fine articles written about the calls that they handle. hats off
to them, as they are public. s main contact with REACT. When they go to CB 9 to
call for help.
CB 9 is a very valuable resource. Let us use it, and bring
CB 9 monitoring up to higher standards. I think that this article can be a wake up call.
It is time to get going. It is time to focus on CB 9. Let this be a positive step towards
keeping REACT a top notch organization. Bob Pickering |
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