This episode’s feature covers the latest ICQPodcast Live session.
Emergency Communications / Public Service
Amateur radio in the news: Club POTA activation; POTA, SOTA and JOTA; Skywarn in Knox County, TN
This looks like a fun thing that you might want to do with your club….Dan
Is ham radio still a thing?
[SUSSEX COUNTY, DELAWARE] Amateur radio, aka ham radio, has been around for more than 100 years. While it started as a way regular citizens could experiment with Morse Code communication, it soon became wireless voice communication. With modern technologies like cellphones and the internet, it would seem there is no need for radio communication. But, ask any one of the almost 2,000 Federal Communications Commission-licensed ham radio operators in Delaware, and they will tell you it’s more than a hobby. For many, it is a part of everyday life.
October was especially busy for local ham radio operators. A group of hams from the Nanticoke Amateur Radio Club set up their equipment Oct. 7 at Redden State Forest just south of Georgetown. The purpose of the event was to give the operators experience in setting up an operational field station completely off the grid. They spent several hours in Parks on the Air conversations with other hams, many of whom were located in a variety of parks and public lands around the globe.
More club fun…Dan
Ham radio group installs new equipment at Silver Star summit
[KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA] Radio repeater equipment was recently replaced at the summit of Silver Star mountain by local ham radio operators. As far as we know, no pigs were harmed in the adventure.
Ham radio is not for people who love pork — it’s a well known term for amateur radio operators such as the Vernon North Okanagan Radio Amateur Club.
On Oct. 21 and 22, the group replaced equipment and operated a demonstration and educational radio station as part of the international scouting movement’s Jamboree on the Air, and participated in Parks on the Air and Summits on the Air radio sport activations.
National Weather Service SKYWARN volunteers spot storms in Knox County. Want to join?
[KNOXVILLE, TN] Between 1870 and Aug. 7 of this year, there have been 338 tornadoes observed across the 40 counties monitored by the National Weather Service office in Morristown.
Fifty-five of those tornadoes touched down on a single day: April 27, 2011.
During severe events like that violent spring tornado outbreak, the Morristown office relies on its powerful radar to warn the public. But its other greatest tool for keeping the public safe is a bevy of amateur radio operators called SKYWARN, the National Weather Service’s eyes on the ground.
“Our greatest technology that we use here is our radar, and I would say the SKYWARN spotter network is a pretty close second,” said Anthony Cavallucci, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “I think a lot of people just automatically assume we know what’s happening on the ground, and we really don’t until somebody reports it. Those reports are really quite helpful.”
Amateur radio in the news: BBC on the Solar eclipse QSO Party, ham radio supports hospitals, Baton Rouge hams activate the radio room of the USS Kidd
Eclipses do odd things to radio waves. An army of amateur broadcasters wants to find out why
It’s the huge tower in his back yard that gives Todd Baker’s hobby away. Bristling with antennae, the 30m (100ft) structure is taller than many of the mature trees nearby. Baker, an industrial conveyor belt salesman from Indiana, goes not just by his name, but also his call-sign, the short sequence of letters and numbers that he uses to identify himself over the air: W1TOD. He is a member of the amateur radio, or ham radio, community.
“You name it, I’ve been in it,” he says, referring to different radio systems, including citizens band, or CB radio, that he has dabbled with over the years. “Communications were just plain-o cool to me.”
Now, he dabbles in celestial citizen science, too. On 14 October, he and hundreds of other amateur radio enthusiasts will deliberately fill the airwaves during an annular solar eclipse, as it crosses the Americas. They’ll do it again next April, when a full solar eclipse becomes visible from Newfoundland to Mexico.
Local ham radio group trains to support hospital system during cyber attack
[PORTAGE COUNTY, WI] A cyber terrorist has taken control of the nation’s healthcare system. Communications are down, bringing hospital and medical operations to a grinding halt. Enter Portage County’s ham radio group, Portage County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group.
Nicholas Proulx and Phil Schobert, both members of the group, spent Saturday morning participating in the simulated emergency, which tested county-wide radio communications from the group’s command center — a mobile trailer known as EM50 — parked behind the Portage Co. Annex building.
From Baton Rouge to Belize, local ham radio operators talk around the globe
[BATON ROUGE, LA] The small room near the top of the USS Kidd is tight, with just about enough room for a ham radio and, at a stretch, four people.
For ham operators Pam and Jeff Welsh, it’s all the space they need.
On the morning of Oct. 13 the pair — both members of the Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club — were hunched over a ham radio, fiddling with dials and knobs as the sound of static filled the room. The BRARC, for short, was marking the occasion of the U.S. Navy’s birthday by transmitting from the Kidd, with people tuning in from around the country and farther afield.
Amateur radio in the news: ARISS reaches students in the Middle East, amateur radio part of Taiwan’s civil defense, club reaches out to community
NIST studies first-responder communications needs
This article was published by NIST yesterday. I think that if amateur radio wants to remain relevant in emergency communications, someone needs to be reading these kinds of reports.
Based on this survey, NIST produced 14 different reports. Here’s a quote from one of them, Voice of First Responders – Identifying Public Safety Communications Problems: Findings from User-Centered Interviews Phase 1, Volume 1:
The public safety community is in the process of transitioning from the use of land mobile radios (LMR) to a technology ecosystem including a variety of broadband data sharing platforms. Successful deployment and adoption of new communication technology relies on efficient and effective user interfaces based on a clear understanding of first responder needs, requirements and contexts of use.
–Dan
America’s First Responders Give NIST Their Communications Tech Wish Lists
NIST’s nationwide survey aims to improve communications devices for fire, police, EMT and 911 crews.
January 30, 2023
Our first responders have spoken. An extensive research project conducted by experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reveals what our country’s police, fire, emergency medical and 911 dispatch responders think about the communications technology they use on a regular basis and how they would like developers to improve it in the future.
More than five years in the making, the Voices of First Responders project reflects the input of 7,182 respondents to a survey NIST conducted of first responders hailing from across the country, from large cities and suburbs to small towns and rural areas. The results of the study, the largest of its kind ever to investigate public safety personnel user experiences, provide a wealth of data intended to help developers of communications technology create more useful devices for the field.
“First responders are people who go to the scene with the goals of saving lives and protecting the public,” said Yee-Yin Choong, an industrial engineer at NIST. “We set out to understand this technology from their perspective, to find out what is working for them and what isn’t.”
While the results fill more than a dozen publications, some overarching messages stand out, including three interrelated requests that first responders made: Public safety communications technology should be trustworthy, be controllable and reduce user frustration.
“Our findings are aimed at the research and development community, but we are also trying to reach administrators who make purchases,” she said. “Technology needs to be trustworthy, and the users need autonomy over it. Our results indicate that if you focus on those things, the users will be happier.”
The team also distilled the study data into six guidelines for future technology development:
- Improve current technology — more important than developing new technology is improving what first responders currently have.
- Reduce unintended consequences — develop technology that does not interfere with or distract from first responders’ attention to their primary tasks.
- Recognize that “one size does not fit all” — technology must accommodate public safety’s wide variety of needs, across disciplines, districts and contexts of use.
- Minimize “technology for technology’s sake” — develop technology with and for first responders driven by their user characteristics, needs and contexts of use.
- Lower product and service costs — develop technology at price points that departments find affordable and also scalable for widespread distribution.
- Require usable technology — technology should make it easy for the user to do the right thing, hard to do the wrong thing, and easy to recover when the wrong thing happens.
The team began its investigation by interviewing about 200 first responders from across the country to gain a general understanding of how they used communications devices. From this information, the team developed a more detailed survey about particular pieces of technology — from radios and phones to laptops to the headsets and earpieces that call center dispatchers use — and details about them, such as frequency of use and the problems they presented.
After obtaining the raw survey results, the team spent three years analyzing the interview and survey data and developed a total of 14 publications detailing the findings. Four are NIST Special Publications (SPs), each of which concerns the technology needs of one of the four first responder communities. The remaining 10 are NIST Interagency Reports (NISTIRs), which focus on the interview and survey data across all four communities.
The data are freely available online, and the team has made it possible to enter specific queries and create charts that allow for more effective analysis.
“For a developer, the data might help you design a better radio, but it also might give you information you never thought of,” Choong said. “One police officer said his body camera needs to show the court exactly what he saw. It should indicate that he was upside down and in the dark, but it shouldn’t change the video contrast, which can make it appear that something in that dark room was plainly visible.”
The study fills a gap in public safety communications technology research. Previous research efforts by other organizations have focused on the technology itself, not users’ interactions with it in real-world situations, Choong said.
“Before our project there was no systematic method for looking at the users’ needs and the problems they have faced,” she said. “We did not have any preconceived ideas of what we would learn, but we were rigorous in our methodology for obtaining the data. We include the details so that it can be useful in domains beyond public safety communications research.”
Amateur radio in the news: Ham radio helps rescue lost hiker, passing traffic during Falklands War, SkyWarn Recognition Day
Ham radio repeater connects lost hiker with help
BELMONT, NH — Off trail, after sundown, as the temperature and snowflakes are falling, and with a dead cellphone, it seemed that all factors were against a local man in the woods Sunday evening. Yet he was safely home by the end of his ordeal, and was able to communicate with his wife and emergency services via his amateur radio skills.
How two amateur radio enthusiasts secretly passed soldiers’ ‘I am safe’ messages during Falklands War
At the height of the Falklands war, the unlikely friendship of two amateur radio enthusiasts 8,000 miles apart allowed more than 50 soldiers the opportunity to get messages home to their loved ones.
Bob McLeod, a ham radio operator, made history when he broke the news to the world that the Falklands had been invaded but, in doing so, he had also drawn the attention of the Argentines, who were quick to confiscate his equipment.
Ham radio operators get their message out
Amateur radio volunteers set up temporary operations from forecasting headquarters and made contacts with other stations to demonstrate their readiness to operate in emergency conditions and act as observers for the weather service.
Locally, operations were conducted at the NWS office in Oxnard. Volunteers set up six stations on different radio frequencies and operated through the day under simulated emergency conditions.
Amateur radio in the news: Radio rescue highlights hobby, vegetarian-friendly hams, radio amateurs on “pumpkin patrol”
Amateur radio-aided rescue highlights useful hobby
BUFFALO [Wyoming] — Two miles from U.S. Highway 16, a Nebraska man drove his truck through Crazy Woman Canyon before he slid off the road on Halloween night.
Unharmed, but without a functioning vehicle or a cell phone signal, Nicholas Cashoili turned to his ham radio — a device that needs only a radio frequency to make contact with other radios.
Elphinstone Chronicles: The vegetarian friendly kind of ham
Elphinstone [British Columbia] — Our friend and Elphinstone Chronicles founder, Gayle Neilson, has very interesting people in her Area E neighbourhood. Living across the street from her is the president of the Sunshine Coast Amateur Radio Club Society (SCARCS), which sounds like the most illustrious club to hit the Elphinstone region ever.
The society, which has been operating nearly four decades, is very supportive and helpful in getting people into the hobby. They are always open to new members, or the “ham-radio-curious.” My first astute questions were along the lines of why do they call it ham radio? And is there a “beyond” version? I had grave concerns as a vegetarian. It turns out there is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the intricacies of this query which I was obviously not the first to ask. Suffice to say, it is slang for an amateur radio operator.
Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association Assists NYS State Police Troop T (Thruway) in Halloween Pumpkin Patrol
Little Falls [NY] — New York State Police and citizen volunteers have completed the 38th annual Pumpkin Patrol watch. This is a two-day volunteer crime prevention program involving New York State Amateur Radio Associations working with Law Enforcement for safe Halloween eves. The objective is to ward off Halloween pranks and protect motorists traveling the Thruway. Patrols consist of NYS State Police Troop T Troopers and local Amateur Radio Operators from area ham radio clubs.
On October 30th and 31st, from 6 pm to 11 pm, volunteers monitor NYS Thruway overpasses and report any unusual activity to law enforcement. State Police say 15 organizations from 19 counties have volunteered to participate this year statewide.
Should this guy get a license?
I recently got an email from a fellow who writes:
We are new to Ham radio and before we spend money on a license we would like to know how to set up our radios so we can at least communicate with each other in case of an Emergency. I know all about the license part so I don’t need a speech just some information.
I replied:
Without knowing what kind of radio that you have, the best thing for you to do is to read the operator’s manual. By studying for and getting a license, you’ll learn more about how to do this.
To which, he responded:
I have. It is very vague. (I presume he’s talking about the operator’s manual.)
I have two Anytone 778s. Both are mobile radios. Like I said I have no desire to spend money on a license if I’m only using it for a SHTF kinda of day. All I want to do is be able to reach someone in an emergency. Everyone is all about a license. I could care less if the FCC is listening, and besides i really think that they have better things to do with their time then chase me fo talking on a radio.
I replied again:
You’re right. In an extreme situation, it’s unlikely that the FCC is going to be listening for unlicensed operators, but there are advantages to being licensed:
- t will help you learn how to program and use your radios properly.
- By using your radios regularly, you’ll learn something about radio technology, which can definitely help you in an emergency situation. For example, you’ll learn about what kind of antenna to use and how best to deploy it.
- By using your radios regularly, you’ll ensure that they will operate when there is an emergency situation. If they sit on the shelf for a year or two or three, there’s no guarantee that they will work correctly when you do need them.
I’m sure I could think up several more good reasons for getting a license, but these three are what popped into my head at at the time. Perhaps those of you who are more involved with emergency communications could provide a few more reasons for this fellow to get his license.
Amateur radio in the news: Taiwan prepares for Chinese invasion, DE hams provide public service comms, looking for emcomm volunteers in TX
If China declares war, these ham radio enthusiasts could be crucial
TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Tuesday nights, BX2AN sits near the Xindian River, motionless but for his thumb and middle finger, rhythmically tapping against two small metal paddles. They emit a sound each time his hand makes contact — from the right, a dit, or dot; from the left, a dah, or dash, the building blocks of the Morse code alphabet.
“Is anyone there?” he taps.
The replies come back in fits and starts: from Japan, then Greece, then Bulgaria. Each time, BX2AN, as he is known on the radio waves, jots down a series of numbers and letters: call signs, names, dates, locations. Then he adjusts a black round knob on his transceiver box, its screens glowing yellow in the dark.
Wearing yellow emergency vests, the operators, aka hams, joined the crowds of attendees to provide general information, give directions, and be the eyes and ears on the street for the county’s mobile command unit. The teams were also able to provide specific festival information, as well as assisting family members to find each other.
For an event as big as Apple Scrapple, these feet on the street allow first responders and event staff to concentrate on other tasks. Using their radios, multiple volunteers can exchange information and quickly coordinate an incident response.
Is Field Day still relevant?
I always enjoy Field Day, and this year was no exception.But, as I sat there, punching call signs into N1MM and watching my log and the logs of the other networked stations, it occurred to me that there were an awful lot of 1B, 1D, and 1E stations. I’m guessing that the majority of these stations were one-person operations operating from their back porch.
I know that Covid is still an issue, and some hams are just anti-social, but I think that these folks are really missing out. I mean, it’s nice to try something new once in a while, and the first year was fun. I operated completely QRP and battery-powered. The second year, however, was completely unsatisfying, even though we did manage to cobble together a small group.
Is Field Day still relevant?
This year was a lot better. Our club was 3A, but even so, attendance was way down. Noting that, and noting all the single-operator stations, I’m beginning to wonder if Field Day is still relevant. I’ve always described Field Day as a combination club social event, emergency preparedness exercise, and public relations event. With so many single-operator stations, it’s certainly not much of a club event, and I doubt that the 1B, 1D, and 1E ops are doing much public relations.
I suppose that the 1B and 1E stations are exercising some of their emergency communications capabilities, but a lot of training is now required to really take part in emergency communications. I’m not sure that knowing that your generator is working and how to start it would be all that valuable in a real emergency situation.
Even with all the 1B, 1D, and 1E stations on the air, it seemed to me that participation was down. At least it was down on CW. After searching and pounding a bit, I had no problem at all finding a clear frequency on which to start calling CQ.
Should Field Day encourage more VHF/UHF operation?
Another reason that makes me wonder about the relevance of Field Day is that operation mostly takes place on HF. Sure, some clubs have VHF/UHF stations, but I’d say that those are the exception rather than the rule. And, since the majority of licensed hams are Techs, how appealing is it for them to come out and participate in Field Day?
Also, most emergency communications now take place on VHF, UHF, and above. How is making rapid-fire CW contacts on 80 meters training people to be better at emergency communications?
I mentioned this to my friend Mark, W8MP, who happened to wander into the CW station while I was pondering this idea. He said, “Well, at least this is getting people on the air.” That’s true, I guess, but there are all manner of contests and operating events that get people on the air.
I’m not exactly sure what we can do to increase Field Day participation, but here are a couple of ideas:
- Give more points to VHF/UHF and up QSOs to encourage more operation on those bands.
- Require every club operation to have a GOTA station, or give more points to GOTA contacts. It seems to me that GOTA stations are one of the really good things about Field Day and it should be promoted more.
- Give points for activities specifically directed at Tech licensees. I’m not sure what that would be, though.
I’m certainly interested in hearing what you think about this? Am I off base here? If not, how would you make Field Day more relevant to the situation that amateur radio finds itself in these days.