KF4BAP

Hello, my name is Mike Crenshaw. I am excited to be part of a new
opportunity for the amateur community who have an interest in
"Emergency Communications." This opportunity being the
Emergency Communications Response Vehicle or ECRV as
it is called around the American Red Cross.

Being part of an ECRV crew is a new volunteer opportunity through
The American Red Cross. There are currently only eight of these
vehicles in the United States. The ECRV I mainly work out of is
ECRV 4710 that is stationed at the Louisville Area Chapter of the
American Red Cross, Louisville, Kentucky.

The ECRV has a full spectrum of communications capabilities
reaching far beyond the usual HAM frequencies. In fact, the crew
of the ECRV utilize five (5) different FCC licenses to meet the
vehicle's mission. This includes the new FEMA/SHARES license and
several other commercial licenses. As far as radio, the ECRV is
capable of working on any frequency. It has (14) different radios
and (24) different antennas to work with on its 52' telescoping mast.

The radio capabilities of the ECRV are actually its secondary
function. The primary purpose of the ECRV is to connect an
American Red Cross disaster relief operation headquarters via
Satellite to the American Red Cross National Headquarters in
Washington D.C. Once a connection has been made through the
Satellite equipment, the ECRV is capable of giving the disaster
Operation 10 IP computers with internet connectivity, 10 IP
Wireless telephone access, and 10 IP wired telephone
Connectivity. I'm still not done telling you about what
this vehicle can do. The ECRV carries an 8KW AuraGen
Powerplant that is capable of supplying basic power to the disaster
Operation. The reason the AuraGen was selected over a traditional
Generator is because the AuraGen is driven by the ECRV's 7.3 liter
Diesel engine. With the vehicles 45 gallon diesel tank, the vehicle
can actually stay in service without refueling for close to 50 hours.

Got you interested? GREAT!! We would love to talk with you
about being part of our team. If you would like to know more
about how you can get involved, please email me at
[email protected]

73's