The county where I live (parish in the state of Louisiana) is planning to buy an amateur radio station to use in times of emergency. I am trying to help out and be able to assist in those emergencies. Which radio covers most bands and has speech output or can be operated by a computer? I was very surprised to find out that there isn't that much interest in amateur radio locally and it isn't used that much for emergencies. I would really like to get that changed and become a part of it too.