Backup Plan & Emergency Communications

This time we talked about backup communications and emergency planning. Earlier this week, the Oatmeal Net (WØRRZ's weekday morning net, also on the 146.94 repeater) was disrupted due to a repeater outage. For those who are using Ham Radio as a way to be prepared for emergencies, it's important to have a backup repeater or frequency that is known by the group. For the Oatmeal Net, the most correct backup is to go over to the 145.175- repeater, also owned by WØRRZ. This presents an issue of understanding the limitations of each repeater you use. It is important to be aware of the location of every repeater and how easily you can reach that repeater from where you are. Depending on terrain, location and other conditions, you may or may not be able to reach the repeater you thought you could. For instance, it is possible to reach the 146.94 repeater from parts of eastern Utah along I-70, but it becomes more problematic in Rabbit Valley. Also, a repeater on Palisade Point on the Grand Mesa has excellent coverage to the north and west of that location. But try to reach the repeater from Flowing Park on the Grand Mesa and you may be out of luck. I found that repeaters on Black Ridge, in Montrose and on the Uncompahgre Plateau are much more easily accessible from southern Grand Mesa than repeaters on Palisade Point (Which is on the northern most point of the Grand Mesa). If you are unsure about the location, ask someone who is frequently on that repeater. Many hams already know much of this information.

Also, if you really do want to be prepared in the case of an emergency, it won't hurt to get your General license and begin operating on HF. Since HF communications do not require the use of repeaters, this is a much more ideal way to communicate in the case of an emergency (Repeaters may be tied to the electrical grid or linked via the internet, and if these fail, that repeater will not operate). Also, consider getting involved in RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) or ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service), which are ham radio emergency communication services. Here is a link that describes the differences between the two: www.arrl.org/ares-races-faq. Another service is MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System) which consists of operators who assist in military communications.

Ham radio is an excellent tool to communicate in emergencies and in the backcountry. Sometimes both! When planning, be sure to consider which repeaters will be accessible and if you are relying on a linked system such as the GMRA or Colorado Connection, be aware of outages and all repeaters in that system. Sometimes, you may be able to access an unlikely repeater, but you won't know if you don't have access to all of them! Also, don't forget that 146.52 is another option!

If there ever is a repeater outage during the New Ham Net, we will move over to the 145.175- repeater. Information is listed on the club website at www.w0rrz.org.

Links:

• www.w0rrz.org - Western Colorado ARC
• www.gmra.org - Grand Mesa Repeater Association
• www.colcon.org - Colorado Connection
• www.arrl.org/ares-races-faq - RACES and ARES information
• www.coloradoraces.net - Colorado RACES
• www.coloradoares.org - Colorado ARES

Nets:

• RACES FM Net: Wednesdays - Early Checkins begin at 1925 on the GMRA and IRLP Denver Reflector 9870
• RACES HF Net: Sundays - Early Checkins begin at 1855 on 3990.5 khz (Requires General or Extra License)