Field Communications Methods for Disaster Teams

Cell Phones - These are an excellent communications device as long as the cell towers are functioning or are not overloaded.  Unfortunately, unavailability is the case in a disaster situation during the first few weeks.  Cell phone must be recharged every 24-48 hours depending on use and battery age; therefore a 12-volt vehicle recharge cable must be part of the trip equipment.

CB Radios - Range is up to 5 miles line of sight.  So in hilly or mountainous situations, the range may be reduced sizeable or the full range depending on where the two communication points are located.  There are 40 channels for this radio with Channel 9 dedicated to emergencies and Channel 19 to highway communications. These radios are an excellent communications method for convoys as everyone hears at the same time, such as when to make a restroom or gas station stop.  It also works when teams are are working fairly closely together.  The  communications on Channel 9 is often monitored locally.  Most of the time, the radios are mobile installations as they are installed in vehicles.  There is no license requirement and the channels may be used commercially.  Due to the long length of the antenna, there are few handhelds.

     Channel 1 26.965 MHz  to  Channel 40 27.405 MHz

GMRS/FRS Radios - Range is up to 25 miles line of sight depending on version of the radio, terrain, and whether it is a GMRS or FRS channel.  These are generally handheld radios where the GMRS channels are 1-7 and 15-22 for the combination radio.  A FCC license is required to use these GMRS channels as well a call sign issued by the FCC.  There are penalties involved in using these channels without a license which cost about $85.00.  The FRS channels (8-14) do not have those limitations.  Also many of the radios are capable of scan all of the channels.  For each channel, there are privacy codes that can be selected from, which further assists with group or multiple team communications.  There are also up to 10 weather channels that can be received on the radio.  There are also single capability radios with just either GMRS or FRS channels..    

      Channel 1 462.5625 MHz  to Channel 22 462.7250 MHz  

      Weather 1 162.550 MHz to Weather 10 163.275

      Only FRS channels will be used for communications when dual function equipment is available.

Short Wave Radio Analog

Most of the current short wave equipment operates as analog equipment.  There can be noise or interference with the signal received.  Signals can be transmitted line of sight (about 90 miles), linked through repeater towers, bounced off a layer of the atmosphere, or bounced off a satellite.  Equipment can be as a base station with 110 volts, or mobile in a vehicle, or hand held.  The power depends on the method chosen.  The ability to get a signal from Gulfport, Ms. to Norcross, GA is limited.  The equipment is low cost and there is a lot to chose from. 

Short Wave Digital

Digital signal processing is coming into wide use which enables the bandwidth of the receiver to be tailored to the current reception conditions using upper sideband or lower sideband plus a greater number of filters.  Motorola digital handhelds are being used for field communications 

D-STAR  

  Digital Smart Technologies is a digital voice and data protocol specification developed for use for amateur radio. D-Star compatible radios are available on VHF and UHF amateur radio bands. In addition to the over-the-air protocol, D-Star also provides specifications for network connectivity, enabling D-Star radios to be connected to the Internet or other networks. D-STAR is the result of research by the Japanese Radio League and the protocol was issued in 2001.  ICOM is the only amateur radio equipment manufacturer has chosen to include D-Star technology.

  There are three bands can be used with D-STAR.  They are the 2-Meter, 70-Centimeter, and 23-Centimeter bands.  The first two are voice and the last is a high speed data band.

   As long as the signal strength is above a minimum level, the quality of the data received is better than an analog signal at the same strength, does not take as much energy, and the bandwidth is not as wide as analog.  The technology is capable of linking repeaters together and through the Internet for communications.  Thus one m may talk to another amateur radio operator using D-STAR across the county with handhelds, something unheard of for analog equipment..

   Another important aspect of D-STAR technology is its ability to send large quantities of data to emergency responders in the event of a disaster. Served agencies can instantly relate to sending "email" or a "word files" to someone. The data sent can be high-volume, where traditional amateur radio "modes" are capable of getting a message through albeit slowly, D-STAR can place documents into the hands of those that need them most - fast image, text and document data exchanges.

  Amateur radio organization and the emergency management agencies in Alabama currently have twelve repeaters and have been hard at work as they have more repeaters than any other states. There are projects are ongoing in Mississippi and Louisiana but are not as far along as the one in Alabama.  Mississippi has two up and Louisiana has three repeaters at this time.  

  The team is looking at both analog and the new digital system (D-STAR).  For Georgia, the current and upcoming D-Star repeaters should be operational within twelve months. (Summer 2009)

Atlanta    Cummings   Lawrenceville Morrow/Stockbridge	145.3500 -Dup 145.2000 -Dup 146.9700 -Dup 145.6100 -Dup	444.3500 +Dup 440.6000 +Dup 440.5500 +Dup 442.1750 +Dup 440.7250 +Dup	W4DOC K14SBA (GA Baptist) WD4STR K4USD KJ4BDF
Fayetteville Georgia Tech Jasper	Repeater being planned Repeater being planned Repeater being planned
GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 8 (Stone Mountain)  Repeater equipment has been donated but not operational GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 8 (Waycross-Valdosta) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 9 (Pembroke-Savannah) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 14 (Pelham-Albany) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 15 (Chatsworth-Dalton) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 20 (Matthews-Augusta) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 25 (Parrot-Dawson-Americus) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 28 (Warm Springs/Columbus) Awaiting repeater equipment GA Public Broadcasting (PBS) - Channel 29 (Cochran-Macon) Awaiting repeater equipment

All of the above repeaters are within the North Georgia Conference however there are no currently operational D-Star repeaters near the Atlantic coastline and only one (Panama City) in the Florida Panhandle.  The first North Georgia D-Star repeater should be operational by Fall.

Cost of a fully functional D-STAR handheld is about $500, a mobile is about $1000 and a base station is about $2500.

Conference setup

A variety of field radios will be used for communications; however the long range goal is to focus on the  ICOM IC-91AD VHF/UHF Handheld Dual Band Transceivers.   The ICOM IC-2200H or the IC-2820H will be used  for vehicle mounted and a base station at the conference headquarters.  There is a IC-92AD handheld which is submersible and has GPS option which very similar to the IC-91AD and at considerable more cost