Manche Werbung ist schön, aber unlogisch. Manche nur unlogisch und deshalb blöd. Etwa die vom Internet-Branchensuchdienst "goyellow.de".

Wer den Plot nicht kennt: Schlampige, kettenrauchende Mudder sucht ihr weißes süßes Wuschelkätzchen. Die ist nirgends zu finden. Also: Haustür auf und draußen nachgesehen. Da fällt die Tür ins Schloss. Alarmtöne dröhnen und für die immer zusehenden Deppen erscheint eine roter Warnpfeil auf den Schlüssel, der auf der Innenseite der Tür noch sanft auspendelt. Momente später ein Spreng-Geräusch, etwas Qualm. Schon fällt die gesamte Tür ins Haus - die Katze liegt drunter, die Mudder guckt doof, der debile Schlüsseldienst-Mann auch. Im nächsten Bild erscheint noch mal ein Rest Schwanz von der Katze (merke: Auch tote Katzen wedeln noch!), verbunden mit der fragwürdigen Einschätzung, wie gut es doch sei, sich in solch einem Fall an eine vernünftige Branchensuche wie goyellow.de wenden zu können. All das von dem reizenden Claim. "Wie finden Sie das?"

Man braucht kein Profiler zu sein,um "es" doof zu finden.

Drei Gründe (es gibt mehr!), warum der Spot unlogisch ist.

1. Die Werbeagentur von goyellow.de erschafft etwas, das es nicht gibt: eine "planende Chaotin". Sie lässt zwar die Haustür ins Schloss fallen, aber: Sie hat schon vorher die Adresse eines Schlüsseldienstes im Internet nachgeschlagen (und weiß sie auswendig!).
2. Sie hat einen Nachbarn mit Internetanschluss, aber ohne Gelbe Seiten. In der Panik schaut man wohl eher da nach.
3. Auch in goyellow werden stümperhafte Handwerker gelistet.

Fazit: Lasst euch nicht verarschen, vor allem nicht durch Werbung.

Funkamateure stellten Verbindung zu Katastrophenstäben in Sri Lanka und Thailand her | Funk-Expedition auf die Andamanen | Weltweite Sammlung für ein Kurzwellen-Frühwarnsystem

"Alles war tot hier", schreibt Victor Goonetilleke, Präsident des Srilankesischen Funkamateurverbands und einer der bekannsten Operators [4S7VK] weltweit, "nur die Kurzwelle hat funktioniert."

Nachdem Festnetz wie Mobilfunk in den Katastrophengebieten augenblicklich zusammengebrochen waren, packten die Funker ihren stärksten Transceiver [Icom IC7400] zwei 12-Volt-Batterien, Dipol-Antennen und Lebensmittel in einen Geländewagen. Dann fuhr man nach Süden, ins Katastrophengebiet.

Goonetilleke richtete die Gegenstation im Katastrophenstab des Premierministers ein, der selbst aus dem betroffenen Gebiet im Süden stammt. "Wir hatten unsere Morsetasten griffbereit, falls es nicht gelingen sollte, eine Sprachverbindung aufzubauen", schreibt Goonetilleke, der die ersten 48 Stunden nach dem Seebeben im Katastrophenstab verbrachte. Der Funkkontakt gelang im 80- und 40-Meterband jedoch sofort.

Sogar einige Mitglieder hätten gelacht, als der Verband erst kürzlich wieder ein allgemeines Notfall-Informationssystem für Sri Lanka gefordert haben, so Goonetilleke weiter. Und erst vor zwei Monaten habe das Verteidigungsministerum über den Telekom-Regulator verhindert, dass Rotes Kreuz und eine Privatfirma den Amateurfunkern gebrauchtes Equipment zukommen ließen.

Thailand und die Andamanen
Auch in Thailand haben Funkamateure sofort nach der Katastrophe begonnen, den Kontakt zwischen den betroffenen Küstengebieten im Westen mit den Behörden in Bangkok herzustellen.

Der Funkverkehr vor Ort werde vor allem im den Amateuren zugewiesenen VHF-Bereichen sowie auf Kurzwelle im 40-Meterband [7000-7300 KHz] abgewickelt, schreibt Mayuree Chotikul [HS1YL], Präsident der Radio Amateur Society of Thailand.

Schon kurz nach der Katastrophe ist eine Dx-Expedition [d=distance, x=unknown] zu den Andamanen aufgebrochen. Unter dem Rufzeichen VU4RBI ist die Station seitdem von dort aktiv.

aus:
The Hindu

Amateur ham radio enthusiasts are playing an unusual but important role in tsunami relief work, reports SHONALI MUTHALALY

When four amateur radio operators headed to the Andaman and Nicobar islands a few weeks ago, armed with only basic equipment, backpacks and sun blocks, they had no idea that their fun hobby would soon become the islands' only lifeline.

"They went because it's a `high value' country for hams (amateur radio operators) since you need special permission from the Government to operate there," says Gopal Madhavan, an avid ham and one of the members of the governing council of the Amateur Radio Society of India. "The last time a ham operated in the Andamans was about 25 years ago."

The team, which came from across India, left Chennai on December 3 on their `DXpedition' (basically ham slang for an expedition to any foreign country). "They met here for a cup of tea before they left... There was a great amount of enthusiasm," says Gopal, carefully tuning his buzzing radio, alive with their voices crackling all the way from the islands. "They went to Port Blair, set up the equipment — all DXpeditions carry radios and dismantled antennas, which can be set up later with guy ropes — and contacted about 35,000 hams across the world."

Then, the earthquake began, followed by tidal waves, which swept over the small islands.

"They were actually in operation when the tremors began. Bharthi, the team leader, was talking to an Australian on the radio. He says her voice suddenly rose by a few octaves and she yelled `tremor'. Then, her radio went dead."

The islands were devastated by the quake and crashing waves. Phones died, the electricity went out and life in Andaman and Nicobar came to a stunned halt. On the airwaves too, there was a loud silence, as hams across the world held their breath, wondering whether the team had survived. However, about two hours later, unbelievably, they were back on the air.

"Every other form of communication was down. They were the only link from the Andamans to the mainland for several hours after the disaster," says Gopal, adding that the tsunamis had engulfed the island, paralysing all machinery and communication systems. The ham radio however, which was operating from a tower, was in working order, although the team did have to scavenge for batteries to get it operating again since it had been running on electricity.

In the tradition of hams, the team stayed on to help, the DXpedition was converted into an emergency network and hams from across the world, especially India, swung into action. Two more people headed to the islands to support the emergency network, and with help from the Indian Army, which is providing the hams with food, camping and batteries, the station on Port Blair continues to operate, while another station has been set up at Car Nicobar, which has been practically obliterated by the catastrophe.



Pic: by K.V. Srinivasan

Rising to the occasion: Gopal Madhavan

Hams have time and again proved useful in situations like this where communication lines are down and emergency services have their hands full. "The police have to concentrate on law and order at this point, while the Army and emergency services have specific roles to play. Roles they cannot really deviate from because they have so much work to do," says Gopal.

He says they are often called upon by the Government to lend a helping hand since they are a mobile, usually well-connected, civilian group. Hams can set up radio stations even from their cars, travel around affected areas, identify people who need help and radio the police or hospitals. They can also mobilise men and materials since they have a vast network of millions of people from all walks of life, which covers the world. Port Blair, for instance, has just asked for 12 doctors so the hams are calling hospitals for help. "And while we co-ordinate from here, the ham control station in Delhi is talking to the Government to see if they can spare doctors," says Gopal.

Right now the main concern of the Andaman team is to find missing people. "We are getting calls from all over the world from people who are worried about friends and relatives," says Gopal. The teams in the islands field these calls, ask where the missing person was last seen and send people out to look for them. "However, with disasters like this, it is extremely difficult to find people since the tendency is to flee. What we can say is... well... if someone's dead and the body's been found," says Gopal. "We then radio back the news so that relatives are informed. (pause) That's been happening a lot."

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, although the State Government has said they have the situation under control, hams from across South India are being mobilised anyway, to help in whatever ways they can. They have established stations in Vellankani, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari, Pondicherry and Thanjavur and have also set up control stations in the bigger cities, like Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. Gopal mans the Chennai station. His role is to co-ordinate rescue efforts and help transfer information, since most of the emergency ham stations work on batteries to save power and use long wire antennas, generally tied to a tree, and are hence relatively feeble. "Mobilising people has taken a while," says Gopal, "We have to find people with diesel cars because petrol vehicles don't work in water. We need people who drive Scorpios or Mahindra jeeps so they can travel with all the ham equipment and supplies."

In Sri Lanka too, the hams have moved to the East Coast, which has been devastated. Since there are very few hams there, hams from India are now being mobilised to travel to the island. Meanwhile, the radio waves have been inundated by people calling in to offer help. "Hams worldwide are getting involved. The Canadian hams are in the process of sending blankets, bed sheets and cooking utensils," says Gopal, "Everybody's offering aid. Everybody wants to help."

Disaster management

In Gujarat, for 10 days after the 2001 earthquake, hams were the only people who could communicate effectively. A number of them drove straight to Gujarat when they heard about the tragedy, using car batteries to power their radios so they could call for help whenever they found victims or unclaimed bodies.

Every time there's a cyclone, an air crash or disasters in open fields where communication is difficult, hams are called upon for help since their mobile radio systems always work. Often, one ham is stationed at the district collector's office, just so he can talk to the authorities.

Over the years, many hams have lost their lives when serving during disasters. Deepa, a young lady who went to Gujarat to help out, picked up a disease there and died. More recently, a Sri Lankan ham, who was in Iraq on a peace keeping mission as part of the UN group for communications, was shot dead.

Hamstrung

Although hams have helped the government a number of times in emergency situations, red tapism is slowly choking amateur radio as a hobby. The laws, which were laid down in the days of the British Raj, are apparently "ridiculously outdated" today. For instance, according to the law, a ham can't leave home with his radio. Hence, ironically, every time they head out to help with disaster management, they're actually breaking the law.

However, last month, the Home Department and Ministry of Communication had a meeting in Delhi with the Amateur Radio Society of India, which seemed to finally acknowledge the efficacy of ham radio. The society submitted a paper asking for changes and has been told that it's been studied and the "departments concerned are looking into the issues."

Viele Wörter oder Sätze bekommen nach bestimmten Ereignissen eine ganz besondere, unbeabsichtigte Bedeutung:

• Heiligabend auf dem Weg zur S-Bahn diskutierten wir noch kurz über ein Werbeplakat für eine Kreditkarte mit Kollegen. Darauf stand:
  "Mantel oder Malediven?"
  Zumindest heute ist klar, was man wählen würde: Den Mantel, denn das Paradies ist zur Hölle geworden.
• Auf dem Bahnsteig: Noch Tage nach der Katastrophe hängt völlig unverändert ein Werbeplakat für Sri Lanka, "Flieg in die Sonne!" Keiner hängt's ab.
• Im Radio spielen einige Sender das Lied "die perfekte Welle" von "Juli" nicht mehr. Wir frotzeln, ob sie bald auch die Ultrakurzwelle, die Kurzwelle, die Mittelwelle, die Langwelle verbieten werden. Beim Friseur müsste eigentlich die Dauerwelle dran glauben. Die Firma "Wella" wird in "Tsunama" umbenannt. Und wellige Täler stehen ab sofort auf dem Index, ebenso wie die Neue Deutsche Welle. Immerhin: Die Welle der Hilfsbereitschaft ist wohl die einzige, die noch politisch korrekt ist und nicht abebben sollte.
• Wenn schon niemand für das Erdbeben im Indischen Ozean verantwortlich gemacht werden kann, dann muss sich des Volkes Zorn eben an anderen Dingen Bahn brechen: Etwa daran, dass es dort kein Frühwarnsystem gab. Oder, neuerdings, dass die Hilfen nicht richtig koordiniert werden.

Wenn man darüber weiter nachdenkt und die Augen offenhält, gibt es so viele Beispiele für einerseites pietätloses, andererseits aber auch völlig überzogenes Handeln. Ich werde nie vergessen, wie mein Blick kurz nach den Terroranschlägen des 11.September in New York in einer arabischen Imbissbude plötzlich an dem bis dahin immer völlig unbeachtete Werbeplakat auf dem Zigarettenautomat hängenblieb: Es zeigte die Twin Towers. Und wurde nach einigen Tagen offenbar entfernt. War wohl zu gefährlich für die (syrischen) Inhaber.