Roll-Up VHF/UHF Antennas
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Emergency Communications deployment has similarities to camping and backpacking trips, where you need to pack everything you need with you without overloading yourself. Striking the proper balance is challenging, because no matter how hard you try you will usually find something you should have packed and something you should have left behind, because we never know what the requirements of the deployed location will be.
It's safe to say that one item likely to be on any deployment list is some form of enhanced antenna to improve the ability to reach out to distant repeaters, or even function as an ad-hoc cross-band repeater.
Arrow makes a great dual band J-pole that breaks down to be pretty portable, but requires a pole to be mounted to, as is the case with most commercial antennas. It's possible to bring a tripod along, or some type of mount that can be attached to your vehicle, but that may require your deployment be restricted to a parking lot or your vehicle. Sometimes that will be the case by necessity, but it does isolate you from your served agency members.
Drone Carried Emergency Repeaters
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One of the challenges of EMCOMM is we are often deployed at locations where infrastructure may be damaged, and that could include any repeaters in the area. As our simplex efforts have shown, simplex communications is challenging to say the least. Portable repeaters are a potential solution, but in some situations there may not be a high spot to deploy it to, or there may not be power to that area, and it may not even be accessible by vehicle to power it off its alternator.
People have discussed the use of balloons, but in that case, in addition to the balloon, you need the helium or hydrogen and it presents challenges keeping it properly tethered, not to mention requiring a particularly large balloon to carry a repeater payload or tether an antenna coax from the ground, much less carrying enough power capability to operate the equipment.
Some are proposing that Drone Carried Emergency Repeaters are a possible solution.
Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) Antennas
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Why NVIS?
We as amateur radio operators are typically focusing our efforts on HF towards long distance communication, "DXing". You would think the same would be true for emergency communications as well, however in many instances what is needed is solid communications within the area of the emergency and the areas surrounding it. During an incident we will often need to communicate to different parts of the state and, perhaps, adjacent states to exchange information to the "outside world" until normal communications resumes.
So, that fantastic all-band fan dipole antenna you have 80 feet in the air, while great for talking to China from West Georgia, will quite possibly find it very difficult, if not impossible, to reliably communicate with Macon. Why? because HF DX communication relies on atmospheric skip, and your fantastic antenna is liable to be throwing your signal at an angle up towards the horizon, right over the heads of the people around you, only to bounce off the atmosphere and land in Asia or Europe or California. What is ordinarily a fantastic thing is actually proving to be a hindrance for emergency communications.
Snow Spotter Program
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Most amateur radio operators are familiar with the SKYWARN program, and reporting of severe weather conditions. We usually associate the SKYWARN program with reporting heavy rain, hail, and even tornadoes. But, the National Weather Service also runs an associated Snow Spotter program, gathering data to assist them in their mission to protect life and property, as well as developing better storm models.
Snow spotting, like conventional storm spotting, has specific conditions and information requirements. The NWS wants reports of:
- Change in precipitation type (rain to snow, snow to freezing rain, etc)
- Snow Accumulation of 1 inch or more
- Heavy Snowfall Rate (example: snowing at 1 inch per hour)
- Significant Blowing or Drifting snow
- If the snow, ice, or blowing snow is having a major impact on travel
- If what is occurring is not what is in the forecast
- Anything significant that you think we should know about
SKYWARN / Storm Spotting
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Amateur radio and the National Weather Service have a unique and exciting relationship, where amateur radio operators with an interest in meteorology can combine those two interests and provide valuable public service.
The National Weather Service (NWS) sponsors a weather spotting program open to all interested citizens, but with special consideration for amateur radio operators. The NWS SKYWARN program is a multi-faceted program designed to train public safety personnel, amateur radio operators, and citizens at large in the basics of storm spotting and reporting.
Where things get really interesting for amateur radio operators is the NWS maintains amateur radio stations at their centers, usually working in conjunction with repeater owners who link repeaters together forming a wide-area linked repeater network for amateur radio operators to report real-time directly to the NWS!
In Georgia, the NWS Peachtree City office is the center of the action for amateur radio operators operate equipment that, in conjunction with the linked repeater network, can maintain contact with amateur radio operators / storm spotters all across the state.
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