Emergency Communications

Handling Radios in CERT teams

Tue Aug 18th, 2015 CERT class #5

Wed Aug 19th, 2015 Continued EducationBernhard Hailer AE6YN and Steven A. Wilson KG6HJU

What is Two-Way Radio?

A two-way radio is simply a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver) – but not at the same time!

Duplex vs. Half-duplex: A telephone conversation is duplex (both directions simultaneously) whereas a two-way radio is half-duplex...one-way at a time while the PTT button is pressed

Portable two-way radios are often called

walkie-talkies or handie-talkies (HT). Two-way radios are also available in

mobile and base configurations.  A two-way radio is typically equipped with a “Push-To-Talk” PTT

button to activate the transmitter. The user simply presses the PTT button to talk and releases the PTT button to listen to others.

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Why Two-Way Radio?

With various wireless technology options, is two-way radio still a viable technology today? The answer is yes! The following two key points uniquely differentiate two-way radio to other wireless technologies:Instant Communication – With a press of the “Push-To-Talk” (PTT) button, within a fraction of a second, the user can immediately talk to convey his/her message. This instant communication capability is one of key the factors of why many organizations rely on two-way radio for their tactical or operational communications. Group Communication – Another distinct feature of two-way radio is its capability to facilitate “one-to-many” group communication very efficiently. One user can talk to one, five, tens, hundreds, thousands of users at the same time.

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Why Two-Way Radio in Emergencies?

In a severe emergency situation, there may not be any power.

Public agencies rely on an infrastructure that requires power.

Cellular telephone towers rely on power. Two-Way radios overcome this by NOT

relying on an infrastructure beyond the radio itself.

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Radio ServicesSeveral radio services to pick from: FRS (Family Radio Service)

No license required, ½W, low range, 14 channels (7 shared w. GMRS)

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) 5 year individual license required ($85), 5W, medium to long range, 14

channels (incl. FRS), repeaters can be used using specialized radios.

MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) No license required, 2W, medium range, 5 channels

Ham Radio (Amateur Radio Service) Individual license required (free, but exam must be passed), 5W and more, very long range, thousands of channels, many repeaters available, large community

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How Far Will Signals Go?

FRS - A mile, much less in buildings MURS - A few miles Ham radio - Several miles, much more with

repeaters

Propagation (how well the radio signal travels) is very dependent on surroundings!

Good antennas will improve propagation significantly.

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What is a repeater?

A B

A can‘t reach B directly. Instead A uses a repeater, retransmitting what A sends so that B can hear it.

Repeater

Inpu

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Freque

ncy OutputFrequency

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Simple Physics

Radio signals will, more or less, only reach other stations which are in direct line of sight

The higher you are positioned, the better you can be heard

The antenna is the most important part More power helps If you can hear the other station, the other

station usually is able to hear you.

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Which Radio to use for CERT?

FRS (low power, everybody can use) for Search and Rescue Teams

MURS (medium power, everybody can use) or Amateur Radio (if operator has license) for Search Team to Incident Command communication

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A Typical FRS Radio

PTT (Push-To-Talk) Button

Antenna

Channel / Scan Up

Channel / Scan Down

Call / lock

Speaker

Volume Up / Monitor

Power On / Off

Volume Down / Monitor

Microphone

Channel Indicator

Battery Level Indicator

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Know Your Radio!!!

Keep the manual or a cheat sheet with your radios.

Know how to reset your radio, in case you accidentally get it into a mode that you can’t get it out of.

Be familiar with the basic settings as well as programming without software.

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Handhelds and Mobile Stations Handheld radios

+ lightweight– low power (max. 5W)– low reach– relatively short battery life

Mobile radios+ high power (20W and more)+ good reach– large, like a car stereo– needs external antenna– needs powerful battery– ham radio only

Batteries

You don‘t want to run out of power! Your handheld probably will have a

rechargable battery. Have your charger with you. Get a cigarette lighter power cable. Get a AA battery adapter for your radio!

In case of a disaster, FEMA will provideAA and D cells as one of the first things(not AAA or C).

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Operating Etiquette

Follow rules and keep it SHORT Be PRECISE. Where, when, how many affected, how

much do you need? If the other station tells you to “stand by,” wait until you

are called back Learn and use the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha,

Bravo, Charlie, ...). Do not make up your own. Practice, practice, practice! Participate in the Tuesday

Emcomm Net.

Message Traffic

IC from Team BTeam B, go ahead

I have a message for the ICGo ahead

Need immediate help at 1234Main St, one person trapped

Team B, stand byTeam B, a fire engine has been dispatched.

This is IC, AE6YNTeam B, KI6CCF, clear

What is a Net? An amateur radio net, or simply ham net, is an

“on-the-air” gathering of amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and

specific frequency, and are organized for a particular purpose, such as: Relaying messages Discussing a common topic of interest Emergencies A regular gathering of friends for conversation

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What is a Directed Net?

A formal, or directed, net has a single net control station (NCS) that manages the operation for a given session.

The NCS operator: Calls the net to order at its designated start time Periodically calls for participants to join (or check-in) Keeps track of the roster of stations for that particular

net session Generally coordinates the operation of the net Manages communications between two operators

wishing to talk directly to each other (go direct)

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Tuesday Emmcom Practice Net

Every Tuesday

7:30 pm

WA6PWW Repeater (Fremont/Niles)

147.015 MHz

Positive offset, 600 kHz

Squelch sub tone 103.5 Hz

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Advantages of Being a Ham

Why would YOU want to be a ham? Access to more powerful equipment Access to many, MANY frequencies (channels) Access to a repeater network Access to a community of other experienced

hams Other than being a great emergency resource,

ham radio is a great technical and social hobby. It’s fun!

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How to Become a Ham

You need to obtain a license.The entry level “Technician” will already serve you well!

To get the license, you must pass an exam. No worries, it is pretty easy.

License tests are available all the time. Fremont has exam sessions once a month. “Ham cram” sessions are available in the Bay Area once every quarter.

Visit www.arrl.org (American Radio Relay League) Visit www.sbara.org (South Bay Amateur Radio Assoc.) For ham cram sessions, visit www.baears.com

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More Radio Education

Become a ham! One of the upcoming CERT CE classes may be

about radios Come to FCV (Fremont Communication

Volunteers) meetings, every third Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm, in Fire Admin Building, 3300 Capitol

Come to SBARA meetings, every second Friday of the month at 7:30 pm, at Hurricane Electric, 760 Mission Court, Fremont

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Activation Plan - Staging

C

Activation Plan - Communications

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QUESTIONS?

Break

BREAK

Practice

1) Form groups of up to three team members.

2) Each team gets a tactical call (Team A, B...)

3) For each team member, create a message describing an incident and what’s needed.

4) Make sure you add “THIS IS A DRILL”.

5) Each team member calls EOC and passes one message

Remember: Brevity & Precision are important!