Emergency Communications? Ham Radio?

[ScottBailey]

I realized I need some emergency communication device, and my mobile phone doesn't cut it. I've considered and ruled out S.P.O.T. and satellite phone is unrealistically pricey.

So is ham the answer? And if it is, where do I start?

 

[davinski]

I think Ham radio is the way to go. If you get some VHF equipment and then get into HF radio you will be well covered. Just this past weekend I was on Steens mountain. 9700 feet. No cell covereage. Just happened to be scanning on 2m vhf and talked with some folks about 130 miles away. Nice. While camped, it was easy to get a clean signal out on 80m hf into the midwest.

Besides, it is fun to just talk with people when on the go. Kills some of the time on those long drives.

you'll need to get a license, it is fairly easy. Books are availalbe from the ARRL (www.arrl.org) and a local club can get you the testing. Expedition portal has a nice forum on this stuff you can check out.

Then the fun begins.....more stuff to spend money on.

dave N0XLW in seattle

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

I went the 2 meter route as well for the same reasons. It is nice to talk back and forth with the group you are wheeling with too. They may be a mile or 2 away and out of sight, but still within the realm of communication distance. You can feel like you are out there all alone, but still have the ability to get in contact with someone in an emergency.

Kyle

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

I've considered and ruled out S.P.O.T.



That's too bad because (1) S.P.O.T. has my antenna in it, and (2) it is only about $150, + $100/year.

We're making about 10,000 of those antennas a month (I think) so somebody's buying 'em. O' course, they're not really for emergency communication so much as communicating you have an emergency...

 

[craig333]

I'm definitely considering some type of PLB. HF gear is pricey plus the investment in time to get licensed. Cell and CB are unreliable. 2meter ham while cheaper and easier to get licensed for still has dead spots. One of my favorite areas has no 2 meter coverage (its in a valley with no towns and for some reason no reachable repeaters on the peaks).

Interesting you couldn't get out on your cell on the mountain top. I frequent many areas with poor coverage but never failed to get a signal from a mountain peak.

Carry a CB. You may be able to reach a logging crew, camper or something like that even when range is an issue.

Also, you can use any means to communicate (licensed or not) in a true emergency. If you have access to a radio you aren't licensed to use, carry it. Just make sure it meets that emergency rule.

I want the PLB just because I know I can and will be places nothing but satellite communications will get the job done.

 

[the fisherman]

Only In An Emergency

Got an Icom 2meter in the TOW MISSLE, use it sometimes to communicate with my boat, say I'm sitting in the Costco parking lot, I can find out if we need anything from the store. I've spent the better part of my life talking on radios, I've got everything from Sitor to c.b. can't say I like any of em'.

 

[ScottBailey]

1 vs 2 way

I understand moderately priced PLBs are 1 way communication. So--in the case of SPOT--if the GPS light is good, then the outbound transmission is likely to send... NOT guaranteed.

In an emergency, I want transmission verification.

I suspect buying the ham gear, then working on the license is probably the way to go...

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

I understand moderately priced PLBs are 1 way communication. So--in the case of SPOT--if the GPS light is good, then the outbound transmission is likely to send... NOT guaranteed.

In an emergency, I want transmission verification.

I suspect buying the ham gear, then working on the license is probably the way to go...

FYI, we optimized the antenna so that the G* TX gain is about 6 dB more than the GPS RX gain. That's not a guarantee, but it makes for a pretty good bet. We know there are people walking around today that would've been dirt without their devices.

That said, I don't own one yet...

 

[chnlisle]

Kyle are you using a hardwired set up or a hand held? How effective is it?

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

Mine is hardwired. I (thankfully) haven't really had to use it in the Dodge a whole lot, but it works well in the Jeep. It is a night and day difference vs. CB for clarity and range. Most people I have talked to shy away from the hand helds for vehicle use due to the reduced range. Some have setup antenna systems on the vehicle to use with the handheld radio though. For me, that becomes awfully cumbersome for day to day communication, but should work well for emergency purposes.

Kyle

 

[ScottBailey]

Handheld

Some have setup antenna systems on the vehicle to use with the handheld radio though. For me, that becomes awfully cumbersome for day to day communication, but should work well for emergency purposes.


I think this is the route I'll take. Icom's IC-V8 Sport looks like a reasonably priced starter radio... Opinions?

 

[K6ON]

Starter Radio IC-V8

The Icom V8 is a great little handheld. No Frills, but built like a tank. I use one for APRS, and it's on 24 hours a day in my truck. While APRS transmit duty cycle is short, it's receiving and transmitting data bursts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I've never had one seconds trouble with it, and it does get quite warm in the summer. It will take quite a beating and keep on working..for a starter handheld it can't be beat.


Click this link to see exactly where my truck is located, complements of a Tiny Trak 3, IC-V8, and APRS:


http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=k6on-4


Get that license, you'll have loads of fun on ham radio, and it's great back-up communications. With no code required, and a simple multiple choice test, getting an entry level license today is a no brainer.


The picture shows the IC-V8 semi-hidden way back under the rear seat.

 

[davinski]

Here is an article from today's seattle post intelligencer newspaper.....Amazing what you can do with a little radio.....And radio operators seem to always bend over backwards for you if you are in trouble. Nice to see it is still true.......73 de n0xlw
-----------------------------------------------


Hiker summons help with ham radio
'It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great'

By JACKSON HOLTZ
THE (EVERETT) HERALD

EVERETT -- A series of dots and dashes bouncing off the ionosphere Sunday helped save a hiker stranded on Buck Creek Pass east of Glacier Peak.

The hiker, who broke his leg, used a low-voltage portable radio and Morse code to send out a call to help.

Six hundred miles away, in Bozeman, Mont., Robert Williams was testing his ham radio Sunday when he heard the call signal, "W-7-A-U."

Williams replied and quickly learned, in the dashes and dots, that he was talking with a 62-year-old Corvallis, Ore., man, who had slipped and hurt himself in the high Cascades of Western Washington.

"I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams, 65, said Monday. "It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great."

Williams called 911 and was connected to Snohomish County search and rescue officials. He spent much of Sunday and Monday relaying information, including GPS coordinates, from the hiker to rescuers.

"It was quite an experience," Williams said. "I'm just glad that he was a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It made the difference for him."

On Sunday, rescue crews reached the man, who had set up camp on Buck Creek Pass, at about 6,000 feet just west of the Chelan County line.

He was taken to safety Monday on horseback.

The call set in motion one of two mountain rescues Sunday.

A second team of rescuers went up Three Fingers Mountain after a man there fell about 200 feet on a glacier near the summit.

Including the weekend rescues, search and rescue teams this year have now responded to 100 missions, Snohomish County Sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom said.

Both of the injured men in the weekend rescues were well prepared for the wilderness conditions, he said.

"To have that equipment will save your life," he said.

The man on Three Fingers was hiking with three other people when he fell. His climbing party summoned help, officials said.

On Monday afternoon, he was taken by helicopter off the mountain to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, sheriff's Lt. Rodney Rochon said.

He wasn't able to walk when he was loaded into the chopper, Rochon said. He apparently had sprained his ankle and knee in the fall.

Bad weather Sunday prevented helicopter rescues of both men. Teams spent a night in snow and frigid conditions in the mountains.

Rescuers on Three Fingers used a pulley system to hoist the man off the glacier and onto the trail, Wikstrom said.

Teams then carried the man to Goat Flats, where he was loaded onto the chopper.

Rescuers on horseback reached the man on Buck Creek Pass on Monday morning.

The trail from Darrington was washed out from recent storms and wasn't passable, so crews approached along the Trinity Trail near Lake Wenatchee, Wikstrom said.

It isn't the first time amateur radio operators have helped out with an emergency situation, said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the American Radio Relay League in Newington, Conn.

The radios work well when other kinds of communication fail, he said.

Ham radio operators were of paramount importance after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and when a tsunami ravaged Southeast Asia in 2004.

Still, it's rare that Morse code is used to initiate a rescue, he said.

Amateur radio operators used to be required to know Morse code to get a license. That requirement was dropped a few years ago.

Since then, Morse code has actually gained popularity, Pitts said.

"Morse code will get through when no other type of communication will," Snohomish County Hams Club President Grant Hopper said.

Williams, the Montana man, said he was able to understand the injured man's code even when his signal became very weak. Voice communication over the airwaves likely would have become garbled or misunderstood.

The man had a low-voltage radio transmitter, which operates on about as much power as it takes to make a tiny Christmas tree light sparkle.

In the right conditions, radio signals can bounce off the Earth's atmosphere and ricochet thousands of miles.

"A signal like that can skip a long way around the world," Williams said. "You can talk to Europe or Asia given the right conditions."

This is the first time Williams has helped someone in danger using his radio.

The rescue likely wouldn't have been possible if the injured man weren't a competent radio operator, Williams said.

"My guess is that he was just waiting to hear from somebody," he said. "I happened to be the lucky one."

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Fascinating...

This is thread is getting more interesting as it goes along. I am starting to see myself as an actual licensed radio operator instead of just messing about designing the hardware.

Please keep the discussion going as I lurk and learn, gents...

 

[ScottBailey]

I jumped

The Icom V8 is a great little handheld. No Frills, but built like a tank. I use one for APRS, and it's on 24 hours a day in my truck.

COOL! Rugged is critical and no frills is good: at this stage simpler is better. (BTW, tracking is what initially interested me in S.P.O.T.!) Just ordered my V8 from HRO. Almost exactly what I had in my 'allowance' fund: just under $120.

Get that license, you'll have loads of fun on ham radio, and it's great back-up communications. With no code required, and a simple multiple choice test, getting an entry level license today is a no brainer.


Before I ordered, I took a sample test (here) to get an idea of what kind of reading and studying I'd need to do. The test covered a certain amount of basic electronics and RF (radio frequency); things I have familiarity with from work.

Simple is right: I correctly answered 74.3%. Good enough to get the license, but not really good enough to operate: I got most of the technical questions right and most of the regulation questions wrong! Easily solved with some internet study, I think.

 

[K6ON]

Ham Radio

Scott, great on ordering the V8, you'll have fun with it.

The world of ham radio is limited only by your personal commitment and your bank account. I would recommend, for any real emergency communications capability, to get at least a General Class ham license and a radio capable of HF operation. There are, depending on
where you live, usually ham radio clubs that give free classes on getting a license. Some commercial classes are also available, and are usually given over a weekend with the test at the conclusion of the class. Most guarantee you’ll pass, and 99% do. If you fail, you can take the class again at no cost. A General Class license will give you voice privileges on all the ham bands that permit it, including the HF bands. It’s the HF bands that are capable of world-wide communications, even from a vehicle down in the bottom of a canyon somewhere.

An example of a small mobile VHF/HF radio that fits easily in vehicles is the Yaesu FT-857D. They can be purchased new for about $685. and used on eBay for around $500. The radio offers everything you need for world-wide communications in a small package. The receivers cover
.1 to 56mhz, 76-110mhz, 118-164mhz, 420-470mhz. With the simple removal of a couple diodes, the radios will transmit on all of the above listed frequencies with the exception of the 76-110mhz band.. Transmitter power output is 100 watts .1-60mhz, 50 watts 118-164mhz, 20 watts 420-470mhz. The radio is capable of the following operating modes: A1 (CW), A3 (AM), A3J (LSB/US, F3 (FM), F1 (9600 bps data), and F2 (1200 bps data). Kind of a “do everything” radio in a very small box. While the above description is of a Yeasu radio, Icom, and Kenwood also make comparable VHF/HF mobiles, and they are all great.

As someone pointed out in an earlier post, in a life-threatening emergency, you can transmit on any frequency without a license. I have an FT-857 installed in my truck and have many non-ham frequencies programmed into it. I have all the VHF Marine frequencies, all the CB channels, all the FRS frequencies, a couple law enforcement agencies, several Dept of Forestry channels, all four of our local towered airports, the unicom freqs of a couple local non-towered airports, plus a few more I cant remember sitting at my desk in my office. Of course it also has all the local 2meter and UHF ham repeaters programmed.

As you can guess, I’m a proponent of ham radio. I’m 65 now and have been a ham 50 years. I’ve seen ham radio save many lives, pass thousands of health and welfare messages, coordinate rescues, and handle tens of thousands of messages home from servicemen. While some may think
ham radio is an anachronism in this world of the internet and cell phones, when all those other forms of communications fail, and fail they will, ham radio gets through.

Soap Box Mode: OFF

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Scott, et al-

This is cool...

... I'm fixin' to make that leap...

 

[robbie]

We have SPOT. Usually send an OLK message every couple of days from the bush. Satellite phone is not too good here. global star does not work, iridium does but very expensive. No cell or regular phone service. Don't want to talk to anyone anyway..
robbie

 

[ScottBailey]

Passed Technician Test

I passed the technician test!

 

[K6ON]

I passed the technician test!

Scott..Congratulations on passing the test. Welcome to ham radio...you're going to have a great time...

73 de W6JCW