Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Northport, NY 11768 (631) 757-3919 [email protected] www.allocca.com www.WB2LUA.com Copyright 2016, Updated 4/11/21 This guidebook may be reproduced, provided it is reproduced in its entirety without any changes ISBN-13: 978-1530388400 2 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Table of Contents Amateur Radio Emergency Communications in the Community ......................................5 Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) ........................................................................6 Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) .............................................................8 Principles of Disaster Communication ..............................................................................10 Working with Public Safety Officials and Agencies ..........................................................12 National Traffic System (NTS) .............................................................................................13 Incident Command System (ICS) ........................................................................................14 Message Handling ................................................................................................................16 Hurricane Intensity Scale ....................................................................................................17 Estimating the Manpower Necessary to Service an Emergency Event ..........................18 The Emergency .....................................................................................................................19 Radiogram .............................................................................................................................20 ITU Phonetic Alphabet .........................................................................................................21 International Q Signals ........................................................................................................22 U.S. Amateur Bands .............................................................................................................24 Amateur Radio Call Sign Numerical Prefixes ....................................................................26 Signal Reporting ...................................................................................................................28 Communications Net Procedure .........................................................................................29 CTCSS (PL) Tone Frequencies ............................................................................................31 Packet Radio .........................................................................................................................32 APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting Service) ....................................................................45 Phase Shift Keying (PSK) Radio .........................................................................................51 Winlink 2000 ..........................................................................................................................55 Satellite Radio .......................................................................................................................62 3 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Antennas and Propagation ..................................................................................................70 H.F. Antenna Analysis ..........................................................................................................79 Emergency Power ................................................................................................................87 Anderson PowerpolesR .......................................................................................................93 D-Star and Programming .....................................................................................................95 Narrow-Band Emergency Message System (EBEMS) - MT-63 Operating Instructions ..... 123 Echolink and IRLP ..............................................................................................................128 Portable Antenna Systems ................................................................................................132 4 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Amateur Radio Emergency Communications in the Community Every major disaster throughout the entire world represents sudden local emergency conditions where loss of life, limb, property, necessary resources and even the ability to call for help have been forced upon people somewhere. When the news story breaks and we hear about it in the midst of our daily lives, the story is about the event itself and the extensive upset to life at the scene. However, somewhere in those initial reports, you usually hear that it was some local ham radio operator who was first able to re-establish communications and get out the call for help. They're usually first, they're usually there, and they usually get it done! In our country, these reliable, highly trained, and dedicated amateur radio or "ham" radio operators are the same people you know as friends and neighbors. Amateurs they are, as they receive no pay or compensation for the services they eagerly provide in such times of crisis. The pure satisfaction of provisioning extremely effective civil emergency communications is their fulfilling reward. You'll recall that it was ham radio operators who provided the first communications downtown on 9/11 when the WTC disaster eliminated electric power, radio, television, and even NYC emergency communications were disrupted. Hams established communications within a few hours, while it was days before anything else approached normal. And that was right here at home! Amateur Radio ("ham") Operators must be trained and skilled in many aspects of communications and radio technology in order to pass strict federal licensing examinations to earn their Federal Communications Commission issued licenses and radio "call sign." In very real terms, they are anything but amateur in the performance and utilization of their skills. They own and maintain their own radio equipment and are responsible for all aspects of the operation of their radio stations, whether it is from a fixed base location, a mobile station, portable station, or from aircraft or marine locations. Hams have built, orbited, and operated their own satellites since 1961, only 4 years after the world's first satellite, Sputnik, blazed the skies. Hams are for real, and they are an incredibly valuable asset to the world, all the time! Why use Amateur Radio? The answer is simple and obvious, and it’s because amateur radio equipment is independent of commercial radio services like telephones, cell phones, and even Police, Fire, and EMS service radio services, which are very limited in frequency and interoperability. Ham radio (Amateur Radio) is inherently frequency agile and readily portable, thus it is ideal for emergency dependability. Many hams are able to pick up and go, and set up communications on a moment's notice from almost anywhere. Many do just that for the enjoyment of it. You'll see hams in the parks and around towns providing supporting communications for public events like parades, marathon runs, etc. Such events are easy practice for hams, yet major events like the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon critically depend on them because hams get the job done. 5 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a private volunteer organization of licensed amateur radio operators. It is not a part of any government organization. The only qualifications required are a valid FCC amateur radio license. ARES may assist private organizations, such as The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, etc. ARES may also assist with community events such as marathon races. Only certified RACES personnel can assist government organizations, such as state, county, town, village, police, fire, EMS, etc. ARES is organized as follows: National ! Advising all ARES officials. ! Setting and carrying out the League's policies. Section ! Section Manager appoints the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). ! Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). ! The Section manager is elected by the ARRL members in the section. ! The Section manager delegates to the SEC the section emergency plan. ! The Emergency Coordinator has the authority to appoint District and local EC’s. Local ! The local Emergency Coordinator (EC) is the key contact. ! Direct contact with the ARES volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. ! The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the DEC. District ! In large sections, SECs have the option of grouping their EC jurisdictions into "districts" ! SEC appoints a District EC to coordinate the activities of the local ECs in the district. Assistant EC’s ! Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC) head up special interest groups or projects. ! AEC’s are designated by the EC to supervise activities of groups or projects. ! AEC’s provide relief for the EC.
 6 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA ARES Operation During Emergencies and Disasters ! Operation in an emergency net requires preparation and training. ! Handling of written messages (traffic handling). The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) ! Nationwide exercise in emergency communications, administered by ARRL Emergency ! Coordinators and Net Managers. ! ARES and the National Traffic System (NTS) are involved. ! SET provides the opportunity to discover the emergency communications capabilities. ! SET weekend is held in October, and is announced in QST. ! To find out the strengths and weaknesses of ARES and NTS. ! To provide a public demonstration to served agencies such as Red Cross and through the news media to the public. ! To help radio amateurs gain experience in emergency communications. During the SET ! The "emergency" situation is announced and the emergency net is activated. ! Stations are dispatched to their positions. ! Designated stations originate messages to test the system. ! Test messages may be sent simulating requests for supplies. ! Tactical communications for served agencies is emphasized. After the SET ! Critique session to discuss the test results and review good points and weaknesses. ARES Mutual Assistance Team (ARESMAT) ! ARES members in an affected area may not be able to respond to ARES operation because of their own personal situations. ! Communications support must come from ARES volunteers outside the affected areas. 7 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) RACES is authorized by local, county, state, and federal emergency management agencies, under the direct control of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the United States government. Amateur Radio Service provides radio communications during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies. As defined in the FCC rules, RACES is a radio communication service, conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs, designed to provide emergency communications to local or state civil- preparedness agencies. RACES operation is authorized by emergency management officials only. To become a member of RACES, a licensed amateur radio operator must be officially enrolled in the local civil-preparedness agency having jurisdiction. Operator privileges in RACES depend upon the class of license held. In the event that the President invokes his War Emergency Powers, amateurs involved with RACES might be limited to certain specific frequencies (while all other amateur operation could be silenced). Originally, RACES was designed for wartime. It has evolved over the years to include all types of emergencies to government organizations, such as town, county, state, police, fire, EMS, etc. Only certified RACES personnel may assist government organizations and workers through the incident command system. Dedicated RACES Operating Frequencies 1800-1825 kHz 1975-2000 kHz 3.50-3.55 MHz 3.93-3.98 MHz 3.984-4.000 MHz 7.079-7.125 MHz 7.245-7.255 MHz 10.10-10.15 MHz 14.047-14.053 MHz 14.22-14.23 MHz 14.331-14.350 MHz 21.047-21.053 MHz 21.228-21.267 MHz 28.55-28.75 MHz 8 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA 29.237-29.273 MHz 29.45-29.65 MHz 50.35-50.75 MHz 52-54 MHz 144.50-145.71 MHz 146-148 MHz 222-225 MHz 420-450 MHz 1240-1300 MHz 2390-2450 MHz 9 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Guidebook – Dr. John A. Allocca, WB2LUA Principles of Disaster Communication Principles of Disaster Communications ! Keep the non-critical communications level down. ! If you're not sure you should transmit, don't. ! Study the situation by listening. ! Don't transmit unless you are sure you can help by doing so. ! Don't ever break into a disaster net just to inform the control station you are there if needed. ! Monitor established disaster frequencies. ! On CW, SOS is universally recognized. ! On voice, "MAYDAY" or “EMERGENCY” is universally recognized. ! Avoid spreading rumors. ! Authenticate all messages. ! Strive for efficiency. ! Select the mode and band to suit the need. CW Mode ! Less non-critical communications in most amateur bands. ! Some secrecy of communications - less likely to be intercepted by the general public. ! Simpler transmitting equipment. ! Greater accuracy in record communications. ! Longer range for a given amount of power. Voice Mode ! More practical for portable and mobile work. ! More widespread availability of operators. ! Faster communication for tactical or "command" purposes. ! Official-to-official and phone-patch capability. Digital Modes ! Less non-critical communications in most amateur bands. ! Secrecy of communications - less likely to be intercepted by the general public with a scanner. ! Greater speed. ! Potential for message store-and-forward capability from within the disaster site to the "outside world." 10