Emcomm Radio 101

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

1

Objectives

• You should be able to define
• Why are we here?
• Discussion of proper operations
• What equipment do you need?
• Minimum requirements?
• Suggestions?
• What is the Communication Plan?
• Introduction to non-amateur radios
• Summary

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Snohomish County ACS

2

Communication is Job #1

• ACS job is to pass traffic
• Use the most efficient means available
• Not limited to amateur or any kind of radio
• Use the phone, fax email or bicycle
• This requires planning and preparation
• We need to train ourselves and others
• We need to prepare ourselves, our homes and our families for extended deployments
• We need to prepare our facilities and assets
• We need to develop comm and staffing plans

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Snohomish County ACS

3

Snohomish ACS/ARES

Snohomish ACS is chartered by and provides communications support for Snohomish DEM. Snohomish ACS can only activate as part of an official activation with a mission number and as a result members are covered under Washington State insurance when on duty.

The Snohomish ACS team meets the criteria for a RACES team as defined in §97.407 and if the need for a RACES team arises, there should be no ambiguity that this team “is certified by a civil defense organization as registered with that organization”.

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Snohomish County ACS

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Snohomish ACS/ARES cont.

Snohomish ACS adopted the ARES mission when combining teams and now also provides support for Red Cross and county hospitals in addition to DEM member cities.

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As an ARES team there is the possibility of supporting events that do not have a mission number but this leaves participants uninsured and will be used rarely. Ask for the mission number if you are unsure.

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Snohomish County ACS

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Snohomish DEM Member Cities

• Arlington
• Darrington
• Gold Bar
• Granite Falls
• Index
• Lake Stevens
• Marysville
• Monroe
• Snohomish
• Stanwood
• Sultan
• Tulalip

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Snohomish County ACS

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Arlington, Darrington and Marysville EOCs have an Amateur station with separate 2m, 222 and 70cm radios

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Emergency Support Functions (ESF)

Snohomish County ACS

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NIMS Organizational Chart

Snohomish County ACS

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Chain of Command

• Know the chain of command
• Observe the chain of command
• This promotes efficient communication
• Everyone takes their role seriously
• Work with people, not around them
• There are egos involved
• Look professional, be professional and you’ll be treated like one
• Offer suggestions to minimize chaos, don’t add to it
• Staff will be exhausted, be polite, friendly and smile
• Tackle any extra task that needs doing
• Even the Assistant Director will take out the trash, make coffee and clean the kitchen
• Don’t forget Job #1

Snohomish County ACS

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Operations “Best Practices”

http://www.WA7DEM.org

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Snohomish County ACS

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On Air Operations

• Listen to traffic
• Only critical information goes over the air
• Others are listening
• Do not editorialize
• Stick to facts and exact message text
• Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification
• Some explanations may not be given on air
• Keep chatter off any nets
• Know what to say BEFORE pressing PTT
• Mind background noise in DEM10 and EOC
• There are headphones but operators are working

Snohomish County ACS

11

What to Say

• Use plain English
• Never use jargon (no 10-codes, Q-codes)
• “Condition Codes” are an exception
• Speak Clearly – Don’t rush, slur or mumble
• Avoid contractions
• Use ITU phonetics when spelling
• Police/Sheriff/SAR use different alphabet
• Pronounce numbers individually
• Minimize extra words
• Clear, Monitoring, Standing by, etc. are unnecessary
• Acknowledge all instructions
• Nothing goes over the air unless cleared by PIO

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Snohomish County ACS

12

ITU Phonetic �Alphabet

Agreed upon words to represent the letters of the “roman alphabet”.

The boldfaced syllables are emphasized. The pronunciations shown in this table were designed for those who speak any of the international languages.

The pronunciations given for “Oscar”, “Papa” and “Victor” may seem awkward to English-speaking people in the US.

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A Alfa AL FAH

B Bravo BRAH VOH

C Charlie CHAR LEE

D Delta DELL TAH

E Echo ECK OH

F Foxtrot FOKS TROT

G Golf GOLF

H Hotel HOH TELL

I India IN DEE AH

J Juliet JEW LEE ETT

K Kilo KEY LOH

L Lima LEE MAH

M Mike MIKE

N November NO VEM BER

O Oscar OSS CAH

P Papa PAH PAH

Q Quebec KEH BECK

R Romeo ROW ME OH

S Sierra SEE AIR RAH

T Tango TANG GO

U Uniform YOU NEE FORM

V Victor VIK TAH

W Whiskey WISS KEY

X X-Ray ECKS RAY

Y Yankee YANG KEY

Z Zulu ZOO LOO

Snohomish County ACS

13

Tactical Callsigns

• Use Tactical Callsigns on all radios
• Amateur Radios also require personal callsign at END and every 10 minutes of transmission
• Hold ID until end of exchange
• Rarely would a conversation exceed 10 minutes
• No amateur callsigns on commercial radios

Snohomish County ACS

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Radio Nets

• Open/Closed Nets
• Open Nets
• Free form
• Low or sporadic traffic
• Listen before talk protocol
• Normal operations
• Closed (Directed) Nets
• Net Control Station (NCS)
• Only transmit when approved by net control

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• Types of Nets
• Tactical Net
• The front line net during the incident - where the action is
• Resource Net
• Used to recruit operators and equipment to support tactical effort
• Command Net
• Interagency and managers

Snohomish County ACS

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Identifying an Emergency

• Emergency
• Immediate threat to life or property
• Key Words
• Mayday, SOS, Break, Help
• FCC declares an emergency and posts rules
• Any special conditions and rules to be observed
• Remember
• Emergency traffic always has right of way
• FCC follows Good Samaritan rules and will forgive those that help
• The FCC also punishes those that are fraudulent

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Emergency Traffic

• Dos
• Assume the emergency is real
• Open the frequency
• Stop your contact
• Take the emergency call
• Avoid FCC declared emergency frequencies for non-emergency traffic
• Don’ts
• No false emergencies
• You can lose your license and go to jail for declaring a false emergency
• You can be held liable if you interfere with emergency traffic
• You will be required to pay the cost of the search and rescue effort

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Declaring an Emergency

• Voice
• MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY any station come in please, this is <your call sign* > …
• Morse Code
• SOS, SOS, SOS DE <your call sign* > …
• On a net or repeater
• Break or Break, Break, Break

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• * Call sign can be a tactical call sign or your name

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Amateur Radios

http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

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Type of Equipment

• HT
• Most versatile – mobile or portable use (you can’t use it if it’s not with you)
• Easily transportable between vehicles
• Options available to allow external antenna, power and speaker/mike
• Low power limits range
• FM Mobile
• Higher power maximizes range
• Installations are clean/uncluttered
• Multiband units often include removable face to ease installation
• Only required accessory is an antenna
• Easily used as base unit by adding power supply/battery and base antenna
• Multiband/Multimode Mobile/Base
• Rigs are similar in size to FM mobiles with more versatility
• Easily used as very capable base unit
• Include HF for use after upgrading license
• Include SSB/CW/PSK31 capability for weak signal work even on VHF/UHF
• More complicated, more expensive, HF not commonly used by ACS

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Snohomish County ACS

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Equipment Recommendations - HT

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• 2m FM , Battery capable
• Low power
• 1W for battery conservation
• 5W preferred
• Frequency agile, with PL
• Minimum of ten field-programmable memories
• Headset
• Minimize noise and keep conversations private
• Higher gain antenna
• Extra battery/charger

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Snohomish County ACS

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Don’t expect repeaters to �“always be there”

• An HT is INADEQUATE for use as a primary rig for emergencies because it:
• Limits you mostly to nearby repeaters
• Severely limits your useable simplex range!
• Average HT simplex range is 2-5 miles
• Typical stock “rubber duckie” is -6 dB!
• But EVERYONE still needs one:
• For “walk & talk” solo assignments
• As a spare or backup in case your mobile quits!

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Snohomish County ACS

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�Handheld Users �Supplement your equipment!

• Antenna
• The most important option
• HT antennas are universally bad (single band HTs have best antennas)
• Where do you want to mount on vehicle?
• Magnetic mounts are great portable mounts but can (will) scratch over long period
• Extra batteries
• Battery cases that take AAs are handy but may operate at reduced power
• DC power cord
• Provides power while operating and will charge batteries
• Speaker/Mike or headset
• Allows radio to stay on belt or in car
• Programming software/cable
• Simplifies entering and maintaining large numbers of memories

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Snohomish County ACS

23

Equipment Recommendations – Mobile/Base

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• Dual-band or Multi-band recommended
• 2m and 70cm are critical bands
• ACS has designated frequencies on 6m, 2m, 220 and 70cm
• Mobile / Portable / Base Capable
• 25 watts minimum for reliable simplex
• Good base/mobile antenna
• You need to be able operate 24 hours without primary power

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Snohomish County ACS

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Communication Plan

http://www.WA7DEM.org

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Snohomish County ACS

25

Snohomish ACS DEM VHF-UHF Frequencies

• Repeater Frequencies
• 146.920- 123.0Hz Granite Falls Resource Net
• 224.380- 103.5Hz Marysville (FT) Command Net
• 442.975+ 103.5Hz Clearview Tactical Net
• 444.200+ 103.5Hz Marysville (FT) Alternate 70cm
• 146.780- 103.5Hz Lynnwood Alternate 2m
• 440.325+ NR7SS Mt Pilchuck DSTAR DV Mode
• Simplex Frequencies and Tones
• 52.450      100.0Hz
• 144.46     123.0Hz
• 446.500   103.5Hz
• 224.640 156.7Hz

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Snohomish County ACS

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Snohomish ARC/Hospital VHF-UHF Frequencies

• Repeater Frequencies
• 145.390- 123.0Hz Everett Resource Net
• 146.800- 136.5Hz Lynnwood OPS-1 Wide Area
• 223.940+ 110.9Hz Haystack Command Net
• 223.860+ 103.5Hz Lyman Region 1 Hospitals
• 443.875- 127.3Hz Haystack OPS-1 linked
• 444.975+ 114.8Hz Haystack Command Net
• Simplex Frequencies and Tones
• 147.420 156.7Hz
• 223.520 156.7Hz
• 445.850 156.7Hz

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Snohomish County ACS

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WA State Frequencies

• HF Frequencies
• 75 meters: 3.985 LSB �(± 3 KHz based on band usage / QRM).
• 60 meters: 5371.5 USB �(± 0 KHz, 50 watts max ERP)
• 40 meters: 7.245 LSB �(± 3 KHz based on band usage / QRM). 
• FM Simplex frequencies
• 6m Primary 52.310 Alternate 52.330
• 2m Primary 146.460 Alternate 146.480
• 125cm Primary 223.420 Alternate 223.440
• 70cm Primary 445.825 Alternate 445.800.

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Snohomish County ACS

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In case of emergency

• Check that you and your family are safe and secure before you respond as a volunteer
• Check that your property is safe and secure before you respond as a volunteer
• Monitor the 146.92 repeater, watch email
• Follow the instructions you receive from the ACS staff on the above frequency
• Contact your local Radio Officer, or his/her designee, for further instructions

Snohomish County ACS

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ACS Activation Process

Snohomish ACS must wait for activation by DEM with a Washington State mission number then -

• The DEM duty officer contacts the ACS radio officer of the activation
• The radio officer sends an activation notification using the MyStateUSA system, as appropriate
• Members are instructed to check-in to a resource net on the ACS146.92 repeater with their availability for deployment
• The first members on the 146.92 repeater will establish net control and accept check-ins from members
• The radio officer determines the staffing needs from the DEM duty officer (or requesting party)
• The radio officer will check with net control to finalize staffing arrangements

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Snohomish County ACS

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ACS Response - EOC

• Activation notice goes to ACS members via MyStateUSA
• First members available check-in on 146.92 repeater with availability and establish resource net
• Radio room unlocked and radios powered up by first to arrive
• A call will be made on EOC Hail, the DEM VHF system that the EOC has been activated and to stand by for roll call
• The computer will be powered up and logged into WebEOC
• A call will be made on the ACS 146.92 repeater that the EOC is active and the repeater is in condition yellow, giving priority to ACS traffic
• A general call will go out over EOC Hail and DEM VHF requesting any active EOCs check-in
• All check-ins will be recorded in WebEOC
• A call will be made to State EMD on CEMNET notifying them of the activation
• Any member cities and ESFs that don’t check in will be called specifically by radio and phone until reached
• An ICS-205 communications plan is created
• A staffing plan is created

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Snohomish County ACS

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ACS Response – DEM10

• Activation notice goes to ACS members via MyStateUSA
• First members available check-in on 146.92 repeater with availability and establish resource net
• DEM-10 prepped for travel (unlocked, powered up, started, visual inspection, front radios configured, disconnected from shore power and cables stowed)
• The computer will be powered up and navigation software started
• A call will be made to SNOPAC or requesting agency notifying them DEM-10 is enroute and requesting any additional instructions
• Once DEM-10 arrives on scene, rear operator positions are setup
• SNOPAC and/or requesting agency are notified DEM-10 is operational
• Any additional equipment is deployed (antennas, awning, generator, lights, etc.)
• Mission number is recorded on whiteboard with GPS location
• A staffing plan is created and recorded on whiteboard with help from net control

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Snohomish County ACS

32

ACS Radios

http://www.WA7DEM.org

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Snohomish County ACS

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ACS Amateur Equipment

• Snohomish ACS uses:
• Yaesu FT-897 and Icom IC-M802 on HF
• Yaesu FT-8800/8900 for VHF/UHF FM
• Alinco DR-235T for 222MHz FM
• Icom IC-2820H for FM and DSTAR (DV)
• Icom ID-1 for DSTAR high speed data (DD)

Snohomish County ACS

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FAMILY RADIO SERVICE

• FRS is unlicensed service with limited range
• Only units with <500mW and fixed antenna are FCC type accepted
• FRS shares some channels with GMRS
• Most radios have all 14 channels
• There is a cache of FRS radios in DEM-10

Snohomish County ACS

35

Commercial VHF/UHF

• Snohomish ACS Uses Vertex FT-5500
• Up/Down arrow selects frequency “bank”
• Bank name displayed momentarily when changed
• DEM, SAR, etc
• Right (detented) knob selects channel within bank
• Left knob sets volume
• Left button ‘MON’ allows monitoring
• Listen to weak signals �or check volume
• Other radios used for�specific services

Snohomish County ACS

36

800 MHz Trunking Radios

• Similar to cellular service but with more power and larger “cells”
• Trunked radios use “talk groups” not channels
• Controller determines actual frequency
• Wait for beeps after PTT
• Allow time for controller to communicate with radio
• Organized into banks or “zones” of talk groups
• DEM EOC and COM1/2 have a cache of HTs
• DEM 10 has two portables as well as mobile radio
• The mobile can be used from the drivers or passengers position and also has a second control head for use from the rear operators position
• These units have the same talk groups as radios at DEM
• Handheld radios cost about $2500 so be kind and keep track �of them

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Snohomish County ACS

37

Using Trunking Radios

• Operation
• Press PTT and a double beep reports the system assigned a frequency
• Talk only after double beep
• A low pitched tone when pressing PTT (“bonk”) means:
• The system is busy at the moment
• Typically a system busy will not last for more than 1 second. You will receive a beep when the system is clear and you can then continue your transmission.
• You are in a bad spot
• If the BONK continues to happen, you are in a null area and need to move the location of the antenna. You may only need to move a few inches. This can happen inside a building or on the edge of the coverage area.

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Snohomish County ACS

38

Radio Protocol

• Everything in plain English per ICS
• No 10-codes/Q-codes
• Other station callsign first, followed by your own
• Sheriff/SAR uses reversed order
• Talk across the mike, not into it
• Amateur Radios
• Use Tactical Callsigns
• DEM10, Snohomish EOC, Portable 1, Command, EXEC 1
• Sign off with personal call or WA7DEM (ACS)
• Government Radios (VHF/UHF/Trunking)
• Use Tactical Callsigns
• Like above but no amateur call – ever
• Remember others are listening

Snohomish County ACS

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Minimum Expectations

• Practice these skills on the air
• Take some turns as net control
• Program all the ACS frequencies into your radio
• Know how to program any frequency into your radio
• Be able to program frequency/shift, set and enable tone
• Be familiar with County equipment
• Keep your contact info current in MyStateUSA
• Participate during activations

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Snohomish County ACS

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http://www.WA7DEM.org

Snohomish County ACS

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