Honolulu Skyline as seen from Kapiolani Community College, Photo by David Cabatu
Honolulu Skyline as seen from
Kapiolani Community College, Photo by David Cabatu
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| SCANNING >Public Safety STATEWIDE C&C
OF HONOLULU COUNTY
OF HAWAII COUNTY
OF KAUAI COUNTY
OF MAUI |
Oahu
Civil Defense Agency
Introduction The Oahu Civil Defense Agency, in cooperation with local public safety agencies, provides for the protection of life and property for the island of Oahu. Working closely with the Department of Defense (DOD) and State Civil Defense (SCD), OCDA has developed a volunteer program that use trained civilian personnel to provide mutual aid assistance to Police, Fire, EMS, Ocean Safety and the National Weather Service. The amateur radio component to Civil Defense, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), provides communications between various government entities during times of civil defense emergency, which may include hurricanes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism, or war. (Excerpted in part from the Oahu Civil Defense Agency website) Department Structure Civil Defense Districts For
civil defense operations, the island of Oahu is divided into six (6)
districts. The primary Emergency Operations Center for the county is
located in the basement of the Honolulu Municipal Building. Each
district has an EOC with communications capability on the City 800 MHz
radio system, as well as amateur frequencies on HF, VHF, and UHF.
Civil Defense Administration The Oahu Civil Defense Agency is headed by a team of nine administrators, which include an administrator, a deputy administrator, communications officer, public information officer and secretary. Other administrative positions are not known right now. Civil Defense Volunteers The OCDA Volunteer Program was formed in the early 1950s, and utilizes the services of community volunteers to assist in responding to various natural and man-caused disasters that affect the island of Oahu. Volunteers serve as the "eyes and ears" and work in operational districts around the island as responders, communicators, traffic control, and administration. Their jobs require them to be out in the worst of conditions contending with rain, flood waters, high surf, and darkness. (Excerpted in context from the OCDA website). More Information: http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/volunteer.htm Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service During times of disaster, amateur radio operators have always served their community by providing radio communication when normal communications such as telephone, broadcast radio, and government radio systems were impaired or disabled. One of the organizations of amateur radio operators assisting in emergency communications on Oahu is the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. A national organization founded in 1952, RACES operates mostly at the local and state level to assist government communication needs during disasters. (Excerpted in context from the Oahu website). More information: http://www.honolulu.gov/ocda/races.htm Radio Communications Emergency Alert System In Hawaii, EAS broadcasts originate from State Civil Defense in Birkheimer Tunnel, and can be monitored on 161.640 MHz. When warning sirens sound, listen to important emergency information any TV or radio station. Civil Defense will advise the public of the impending threat, issue evacuation orders, and issue statements as to what shelters may be opened Civil Defense Volunteers Prior
to transitioning to the 800 MHz, civil defense operations were conducted
on a two-channel VHF radio system, of which is listed in the table below.
Oahu Civil Defense switched all communications to the Honolulu County 800 MHz trunked radio system during the Summer of 2001. OCDA operates on analog mode using one of six district talkgroups. I-CALL is a feature that is sometimes used, and only a handful of scanners are able to monitor these communications. In mid-2006, all volunteers were switched over to Ericsson Jaguar 700 or 7100IP radios with the following talkgroups: CD Districts, CD Common, HFD Dispatch, HPD Patrol and Event, INTEROP, MUTAID, Talk Common (Conventional). Volunteer radios can only monitor HPD and HFD talkgroups, but can transmit on any one of four INTEROP groups. Administration and District Coordinators may transmit on HPD/HFD talkgroups to coordinate mutual aid if necessary. Trunked Radio System highlights:
Information on the Honolulu EDACS Trunked Radio System can be found here. Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service RACES use amateur radio frequencies in the HF, and VHF/UHF bands. Various modes (analog voice, digital voice, and data) are used. During activations, the following frequencies are used on a primary basis: VHF/UHF Frequencies
High Frequency (HF) Frequencies
Amateur radio operators have access to many more frequencies than just the ones listed above. Operators may switch to secondary frequencies at the discretion of the Net Control Station (NCS) to maximize band usage and to prevent interference with on-going communications. Because amateur radio operators can operate on almost any frequency that an individuals license allows, it would help to monitor the primary frequencies above to figure otu where secondary communications may take place. Radio Call Signs Civil Defense Administration and Volunteers OCDA call signs take the form of Defense xxx where the first digit denotes the district number. Call signs with a single digit, from Defense 1 through 9, are OCDA Administrators. Call signs with two digits are OCDA Volunteers.
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service RACES call signs are those issued by the Federal Communications Commission. At the OCDA radio console, the club station is KH6OCD. Individual call signs can be used, and operators sometimes use tactical call signs during tactical/emergency nets. Operation of the latter are usually at the discretion of the NCS, and use the Incident Command System structure. For More Information Official website: http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/ocda/ |
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Copyright © 2000-2006 by David J. Cabatu. All Rights Reserved. |
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