Disaster Communications
Disaster and emergency communications are my primary interest within amateur radio. I bring a unique perspective to the table having been a disaster victim and a relief worker. I have seen just about every type of disaster known to man except pestilence. I was in California for earthquakes, wildfires, wind storms, and mudslides. I was in the Republic of the Philippines for typhoons and the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. While in Nebraska, I saw large apartment fires, floods, chemical leaks and was in Omaha when an ice storm crippled that city. I arrived in Oklahoma City shortly after the May 1999 tornado outbreak and worked with the Salvation Army in the aftermath of the May 2001 tornadoes. I have seen first hand the look on a family's faces as they look at what is left of their lives scattered across the countryside. All these people need is someone to tell them that it will be okay and it will get better.
That is left up to non-governmental agencies such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Aid also comes from government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). All of these agencies and other disaster relief groups depend on amateur radio to some extent for disaster communications.
While in the Air Force I spent a good portion of time assigned to units who's primary missions were contingency operations. The personnel in these units are highly motivate and generally "Macgyvers". Since the military is notorious for acronyms, we called them JOATMON short for "Jack Of All Trades--Masters Of None". My time spent in these units taught me much and enabled me to develop a few tricks of my own. This is the knowledge base I draw upon when mother nature wreaks havoc and as the ARES slogan says, "When All Else Fails".
I have built my station around the ability to move quickly. I believe in the KISS method, that is Keep It Simple Stupid. All of my equipment runs on battery power and is easily moved and operated. I am currently building a charging system that uses solar panels to recharge batteries. I have been using a Kachina MP-25 military surplus back pack radio for HF and have been pleased. I very close to Worked All States (WAS) from my home and a simple antenna on 75 meters. My HF radio is light weight and easily moved and can be run on with as little as 6 watts. Since it runs on 12 volts, I can use a variety of power sources to run the radio.
I have built a variation of the AN-85/GRA-4 HF antenna (KIT). This antenna is widely used by the military for a vertical HF antenna that is usually 40-45 feet tall. It depends on antenna tuners match the non-resonant frequencies to the physical length of the mast. This antenna mast serves very well as a base to hoist many varieties of dipole and long-wire antennas. I have used the 60 inch sections the GRA-4 comes in, to come close to a quarter wave length and have cut a section to make up the difference that is placed on top (THE MATH). I have also made a insulating stub for the base that allows me to isolate the driven element from ground. add a ground rod and some 50 ohm coax and you have a 20 Meter Hertz antenna. (Photos) The same math can be used for any other ham band however the physical size of the GRA-4 limits it's usage to 40 Meters and above. Eighty meters requires a 62 foot mast and that is impossible to manage. Even a 45 foot mast takes a little extra engineering [and luck} to get into the air.
An additional benefit of this style of antenna is that it supports 2 meter and 70 centimeter antennas at the top. It can also be used as a stand alone mast to support Inverted "V" or other variations of of dipoles. All of this fits into a five foot by nine inch package that can be carried by one person and fits in most automobile trunks.
In Emergency or Disaster communications, it is necessary to be flexible. I am always looking for better ideas. As communicators. it is not a good practice to stagnate in an narrow mind set. A system that works well in one situation may not work in another. There are too many people in the hobby who feel that their way is the only right way. Ninety nine percent of those people are wrong.
Training is another aspect of disaster communications that can't be over looked. FEMA has mandated several courses (I-100, I-200) for anyone who is active in disaster relief. These courses are going to give you knowledge that is paramount to your success in the field. If you don't understand how the Incident Command System (ICS) or National Incident Management System works, you will be a liability in the field instead of an asset.
The ARRL's EMCOMM courses are a great tool to learn the basics for disaster communications. There are three in all and will take you from basic to advanced emergency communications. Links to these courses are available through the ARRL website www.arrl.org.
Other classes you may want to take is basic first aid and CPR. You never know what you will run into.