Monday, February 06, 2006
Ham Radio as a Emergency Personal Communications System
I have had the unfortunate “pleasure” of being in several urban chaos situations. The latest was this hurricane season. I was in both New Orleans and Miami, but I was also at Kent State during the shooting, in Chicago during the 60 riots, in Tampa during the build-up for the invasion of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis, in Montgomery Alabama during some race difficulties and quite a number of lesser events like local small riots, power outages, blizzards, heat waves and such. OK, I am an old duffer, but I have an interesting life.
Consistently the most important need was for RELIABLE information. There are always rumors about what is happening and folks on the street will repeat speculation as fact.
Should we run or stay put? If run, where? Which route is safe? If stay put, how long? What will we need and how long will we need it? Who are the hostiles? What are they doing? Where are the friendlies? Information becomes the basis for all subsequent actions.
So, over the years we have learned that the most important “don't leave home without it” is a ham walkie talkie. These are very specialized radios. Gloria (KD5TOW) carries a very small low powered transceiver with extended transmit and receive capabilities. Gloria wants the smallest lightest radio that meets her most important needs. More on that later. Mine (Ron, N1AHH) is similar, but with higher power and more battery options.
Both of these radios will receive on almost any commonly used communication frequency. TV, Standard broadcast (AM/FM), public service, weather, CB, FRS, GMRS etc. Really everything that is not digital (except of course analog cell which is both illegal to monitor and not very useful anyway).
The point is, we have the ability to seek out information and we can communicate with each other under almost any circumstance. The reliable range between us is about a mile, but most of the time it is much more. If we are near repeaters, (devices which repeat our transmissions) we can be hundreds of miles apart. Using special systems like Echolink we can communicate from virtually anywhere to anywhere.
But it is not that simple. During the past year, we have spent significant time in Tampa, Sacramento, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Remote sites in the High Sierra mountains, The high desert of central California and many one or two day stops in small towns, cities and remote areas. Keeping on top of the communications scene in such varied areas is complex and requires a diligent effort.
This blog (for the moment) will focus on the equipment we use, the techniques we apply and the attitude we maintain. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Consistently the most important need was for RELIABLE information. There are always rumors about what is happening and folks on the street will repeat speculation as fact.
Should we run or stay put? If run, where? Which route is safe? If stay put, how long? What will we need and how long will we need it? Who are the hostiles? What are they doing? Where are the friendlies? Information becomes the basis for all subsequent actions.
So, over the years we have learned that the most important “don't leave home without it” is a ham walkie talkie. These are very specialized radios. Gloria (KD5TOW) carries a very small low powered transceiver with extended transmit and receive capabilities. Gloria wants the smallest lightest radio that meets her most important needs. More on that later. Mine (Ron, N1AHH) is similar, but with higher power and more battery options.
Both of these radios will receive on almost any commonly used communication frequency. TV, Standard broadcast (AM/FM), public service, weather, CB, FRS, GMRS etc. Really everything that is not digital (except of course analog cell which is both illegal to monitor and not very useful anyway).
The point is, we have the ability to seek out information and we can communicate with each other under almost any circumstance. The reliable range between us is about a mile, but most of the time it is much more. If we are near repeaters, (devices which repeat our transmissions) we can be hundreds of miles apart. Using special systems like Echolink we can communicate from virtually anywhere to anywhere.
But it is not that simple. During the past year, we have spent significant time in Tampa, Sacramento, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Remote sites in the High Sierra mountains, The high desert of central California and many one or two day stops in small towns, cities and remote areas. Keeping on top of the communications scene in such varied areas is complex and requires a diligent effort.
This blog (for the moment) will focus on the equipment we use, the techniques we apply and the attitude we maintain. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.
