Emergency Communications Information Sheet

National SOS Radio Network (http://www.NationalSOS.com) - Using FRS/GMRS Walkie-Talkies in a Disaster Zone. (1) Turn on your FRS/GMRS walkie-talkie to Channel 1 (462.5625 MHz). Broadcast every hour on the hour with privacy codes turned OFF. Say your name, your exact location, and the nature of your emergency. (2) Keep calling for 2 minutes. Say, for example: “Emergency! This is John Smith. I am 12 miles South of Interstate 10 on Route 7. My car won’t start. Please send help.” (3) Listen 3 minutes for an answer. If you don’t hear one, save your batteries by turning off your walkie-talkie. Wait until the top of the next hour to call again. – FRS and GMRS now share 22 common channels. FRS is license free, but GMRS requires a FCC license because of higher power authorizations (up to 50 watts), repeater use, transmission of limited data applications, and external antennas.

Wilderness Protocol - The Wilderness protocol (QST Magazine, August 1995, p. 101) calls for hams in the wilderness to announce their presence on, and to monitor, the national calling frequencies for five minutes beginning at the top of the hour, every three hours from 7 AM to 7 PM while in the back country. A ham in a remote location may be able to relay emergency information through another wilderness ham who has better access to a repeater. 

National Calling Frequencies: 52.525 MHz, 146.52 MHz, 223.50 MHz, 446.00 MHz, and 1294.50 MHz. Consider following the Wilderness Protocol on Channel 1 (462.5625 MHz) with your FRS / GMRS radios, as well.  

NOAA / National Weather Service Radio - NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from National Weather Service (NWS) offices across the country. The broadcasts include warnings, watches, forecasts, current weather observations, and other hazard information, 24 hours a day. All NOAA Weather Radio stations broadcast on one of seven frequencies in the VHF Public Service band: 162.400 MHz, 162.425 MHz, 162.450 MHz, 162.475 MHz, 162.500 MHz, 162.525 MHz, and 162.550 MHz.

How to Use Zello Channels During a Disaster (https://blog.zello.com/how-to-use-zello-channels-during-a-disaster)
“Zello is a popular walkie-talkie PTT (push-to-talk) app with over 110 million users worldwide. Zello is free and there is no range limit as long as there is Internet access. It can reach thousands of people from anywhere in the world, in real-time, using live voice. All audio, photos, and text sent over the channel are stored in History on the user's device.”

Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) uses five channels in the 151 – 154 MHz spectrum range. The most common use of MURS channels is for short-distance, two-way communications using small, portable hand-held radios. An FCC license is NOT required for MURS radios. Radio power is limited to 2 watts. Radio repeaters are not permitted for MURS. External antennas are allowed, however the highest point of any MURS antenna must not be more than 60 feet above the ground or 20 feet above the highest point of the structure on which it is mounted.

MURS Channel 1 (151.820 MHz)
MURS Channel 2 (151.880 MHz)
MURS Channel 3 (151.940 MHz)
MURS Channel 4 (154.570 MHz)
MURS Channel 5 (154.600 MHz)           

Winlink (https://www.winlink.org/) is a worldwide radio e-mail service that uses radio pathways where the Internet is not present, and is capable of operating completely without the internet--automatically--using smart-network radio relays. Winlink provides its users email with attachments, position reporting, weather and information bulletins, and is well-known for its role in interoperable emergency and disaster relief communications. To sign up for a Winlink account you must have a valid amateur radio license.


Radio Horizon - VHF / UHF radio propagation is line-of-sight. Tropospheric ducting, tropospheric scatter and sporadic E, may increase the range of your VHF / UHF signal, but line-of-sight is what you can count on. Line-of-sight propagation is limited by the radio horizon. Calculating the distance to the radio will provide you with the maximum distance your VHF / UHF signal will travel based on line of sight propagation. Since radio transmissions involve a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, both need to be considered for these calculations.


Radio Horizon Distance in Miles =         

H1 = TX antenna and H2 = RX antenna         
Square root of H1 (in feet) x 1.415 = D1
Square root of H2 (in feet) x 1.415 = D2
D1 + D2 = Radio Horizon in miles.

                                                            

To increase the range of your radio transmission,
increase the height of your antenna.

Example: Transmitting antenna (H1) height = 40 feet. Receiving antenna (H2) height = 8 feet. Square root of 40 = 6.325 x 1.415 = 8.95 (D1). Square root of 8 = 2.828 x 1.415 = 4.00 (D2). The sum of 8.95 (D1) + 4.00 (D2) = 12.95 miles (theoretical maximum distance).


Signal Strength is primarily a result of a radio's power output, measured in watts. The stronger the signal strength, the more it can withstand weakening when it passes through obstacles (such as building and vegetation). Increased signal strength will give you a clearer signal within the radio horizon, but does not increase the range of your radio beyond the radio horizon itself, for VHF / UHF transmissions.  


Use Text Messaging Instead of Voice Calls – During a disaster cellular networks may become overloaded as thousands of people attempt to make calls all at the same time. Text messages use much less bandwidth than voice calls. Text messages may go through even when the cellular network is too overloaded to pass voice traffic.

Send Text Messages Between APRS & SMS 

To send a SMS Text message from an APRS station, address your message to SMSGTE with the following format:

To: SMSGTE

@2065551234 Message (i.e. No cell coverage here.)

To send a message from SMS to an APRS station, address your message to the gateway number(*) with the following format: 

@<callsign> <message>

The @ symbol signifies that the following characters represent the destination for the message while <callsign> represents the callsign and SSID the message should be sent to. All words following the destination will form the body of the message.

(*)Please note that the gateway telephone numbers have not been published here to prevent spam messages being sent into the APRS network. You will learn the gateway’s number when you send your first message from APRS to SMS.
(Read more at: https://smsgte.org)  

FEMA Shelter Locator - You can use FEMA's text message program to search for open shelters during a disaster in your area. To locate an open emergency shelter, text SHELTER and your Zip Code to 43362.

EchoLink® (http://www.echolink.org/) software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology.  The program allows worldwide connections to be made between stations, or from computer to station, greatly enhancing Amateur Radio's communications capabilities. 

Community Alerts help keep you informed of hazardous conditions in your community.  WA Alerts & Warnings (https://mil.wa.gov/alerts)

Monitor Radio Communications of your local public service (i.e. Police and Fire) agencies. You can find their frequencies at (https://www.radioreference.com). 

Red Cross Safe & Well - The American Red Cross maintains Safe & Well, a web-based system that helps reunite friends and family displaced by a disaster.  The Safe and Well site is always available and can be used by the public for any disaster, large or small. (https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php)