Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications

[russellhltn]

0-60 Hams in One Year Plan

How the Roseville California Stake Went from Zero to Sixty Ham Radio Operators in One Year

Here is what they do:

A good plan. A few comments:

2 Meter simplex (unless it does not work geographically for your stake).

If your stake is geographically really small, FRS or maybe the new XRS will do the job. Cheaper, and no license required.

Before going to 2 meter, you might want to talk to experienced hams in the area. There might be situations where 2 meter is overcrowded and you might be better served by going to a different band.

I do agree with going with a simplex mode. A repeater may not be available to you in the time of need. Either it may not survive the disaster, or the owner will give some other group priority. (Repeaters are private property. Don't just assume you can use them.)

Basic Hand Held Radios and mobiles. They recommend the Yaesu FT-270R hand held or the Yaesu FT-2900R mobile.

While everyone is attracted to hand-helds, you'd probably be better off with mobile. 50W vs. 5W makes a big difference in range and can mean the difference between getting the message though and not. Depending on the stake's geography, hand-helds may not do the job in simplex mode. One trick you may want to consider is have a mobile operator for between building communication and use FRS radios for in-building communication and getting messages from to/from the radio operator.

While Yasu is a good solid brand, some find Kenwood's menu structure more user-friendly.

An up and coming brand is Wouxun. $119 will buy you a commercial-grade dual-band. Several hams in my area have them and love them. Hard to beat the price.

[cshields]

While Yasu is a good solid brand, some find Kenwood's menu structure more user-friendly.

An up and coming brand is Wouxun. $119 will buy you a commercial-grade dual-band. Several hams in my area have them and love them. Hard to beat the price.

Just grabbed one of the Wouxun KG-UV3D radios at Dayton a week ago.. I'm a big fan of the Kenwood HTs, and the Yaesu HTs are real nice too. I grabbed a Wouxun just to see if it was worth the price. For a new ham who might be on a tight budget (which is the case for a lot of people right now) it is a great buy! They were $85 at the hamfest, now $100 online. Dual band with partial dual receive (it will monitor 2 frequencies at one time but as soon as one breaks squelch the other is muted until the first transmission is over. In other words, not dual simultaneous receive). However, you can't find a dual band HT for that price in any of the major brands so this is a perfect deal. For $22 diamond sells an antenna for this which helps the reach a lot (the radio is reverse-sma and there aren't many after market HT antennas for that form right now)

Recommended for someone who is on a tight budget. If you can afford the Kenwoods, Yaesu, Icoms, etc. you will get your money's worth, but budget-wise Wouxun looks to be a winner.

[Mikerowaved]

Just grabbed one of the Wouxun KG-UV3D radios...

And they actually have darned good audio quality over-the-air. It definitely needs the programming cable to commit a significant amount of frequencies to memory slots, but I can say the same thing for my Yaesu as well.

[ajwheeler]

I've been around the block a time or two. read most of the blogs on this site. Love it. dont confuse amateur radio and CB radio, they are not the same. huge difference in operational capability. Im all for all levels of radio communications, each has a very useful function. In my ward and stake we have amateur operators of various levels of experience. all are needed. The Elmers (tutors), and the new in the radio (Amateur) service. I was a newby myself and learned from others. I live on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. I am active on HF, VHF and UHF.

I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in obtaining their Amateur Radio Licence to contact their local amateur radio club and enquire about any possiblle classes that are often associated with their club. There is a budget for all levels of activity. one does not need to be well heeled to become active. often very good used equipment is available to the newcomer. But I suggest you talk to an well experienced Ham (Amateur) operator before making any purchases. Make sure that when buying late model vhf and uhf equipment that their accociated programming software (when it is required) is very friendly to use as opposed to some that are not. That can make all the difference in enjoying the very flexible features a programmable radio. Inexpensive does not necessarily mean friendly.

The Church can very definitely use your new found skills and service as and when needed, and do not forget the service to the general public in times of need. Amateur radio can be a lifelong friend and full of great times and experiences. If your interest is genuine and sincere, i garanttee you will not reget it.

dialajw@gmail.com

[aleigh]

My stake uses ham radio as one way of providing communications. My stake is also experimenting with FRS. Geographically, my stake is small and indoor and mobile antennas work fine with our simplex net.

I'm writing this post to request some feedback. Several of the hams in my stake are new to ham radio as well as to emergency radio communications. To help us overcome this "problem", I've created a blog that explains in simple terms some of the procedures that should be used by ham operators during emergencies. If you have an interest in this, I would appreciate your taking a few minutes to read the pages in the blog and sending me corrections and suggestions for improvement. The About page gives my email address.

Thanks in advance.

http://hamradiobasics.blogspot.com/

[kalspaugh]

I am in a new stake in the Philippines and am looking for ideas for setting up our network. I think it is worth mentioning that when we do this that we comply with the local and national radio control laws. I t would really be nice if there was an Echolink account that is manned 24/7 and not an occassional net call schedule. This can be easily done since there are Saints all over the world.

Now I read something suggesting that we keep our language simple or non-cryptic. We need to keep in mind that if we occupy the Ham Radio Bands, that our language must comply with the use of "Q" codes and respect the order in which the laws state that we operate under. This also includes proper licensing of the operators. Even 10 code type operators must comply to the rules of 10 code conversation rules. The advantage of Ham Radio operation is that at the flick of certain emergency frequencies, you can relay the emergency at a quicker and organized manner. Having said that,,there are some Ham Operators that make it known that their first priority is not communicating rather than baffling the listener with technical jargon that would confuse anyone. The end goal is communications so it is possible to communicate correctly and intelligibly by complying to the rules of communication. You can save the impressive talk for your Hamfests and club meetings.

[russellhltn]

We need to keep in mind that if we occupy the Ham Radio Bands, that our language must comply with the use of "Q" codes and respect the order in which the laws state that we operate under.

Are you saying that if we use the ham bands, we must use the "Q" codes? I've never seen such a rule.

[Mikerowaved]

It would really be nice if there was an Echolink account that is manned 24/7 and not an occassional net call schedule. This can be easily done since there are Saints all over the world.

IRLP node 9259 on the Western Reflector is primarily for LDS ERC-ECS use. Not just for nets either, but it's a go-to place in case of a real emergency. If Echolink works better in your situation, no problem. IRLP 9259 is permanently linked to Echolink Conference *ERC-ECS* (328327). There's really no need to man it 24/7. If and when disaster strikes, it will get busy pretty fast.

The end goal is communications so it is possible to communicate correctly and intelligibly by complying to the rules of communication.

I highly recommend the Amateur Radio Public Service Handbook as required reading for all who wish to use their radio skills to serve their community during any kind of emergency. It's certainly NOT the only training volunteer hams should have, but it's a great beginning, especially for those new at this type of thing.

[coletheelder]

I suggest that the Stake and Ward Emergency Planning Guide, as found on the Provident Living website, as well as in the Instructional Resources for Welfare Trainers, be used as a starting point when discussing this topic. Step 4 of the Guide addresses the subject directly.

In addition, The Emergency Response Communications Handbook "is designed to teach the basics of emergency communications as it relates to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." It is a private, not Church authorized description of amateur radio and emergency communications written by a Bishop's Storehouse Communications Specialist. I got my copy on Amazon.

[dpace1]

I read somewhere that the church dozen't allow Ham radio training in church buildings?