FCARC Communication Guide - Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club, Inc
Contents
1. a 2 Meter Minimum b 2 Meter 440 Recommended c Handheld for portable use d Mobile radio for fixed or mobile use 2 User Manual a Original Minimum b Copy in binder Recommended c Digital Optional i Laptop ii Tablet i e l Pad 3 Antennas a Handheld i Stock Minimum ii Enhanced handheld antenna Recommended ii J pole Optional v Quad antenna Optional v Magnet Antenna Optional p o ji 1 Recommended when being used in Sag or Supply vehicle b Mobile or Fixed station Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 9 i Use appropriate antenna for mobile or fixed station c Radio memories are programmed for see appendix a for local frequency list i Event frequency Minimum ii Local Repeaters Recommended ii National Simplex Recommended v Local police fire ambulance Optional v NOAA weather Optional d Accessories i Speaker Microphone or Headset Microphone Recommended ii Extra battery pack Recommended iii Antenna adapters Optional 1 BNC SMA PL 259 p o j 4 Maps a Route Minimum i This map should be provided by event coordinator b Local Area Recommended c City Optional 5 Logistics a Ham Radio License Minimum b FCARC badge Recommended c Supplies for notes i Pen or Pencil ii Clip board 6 Supplies a Water and Snack Recommended b Basic First Kit Optional c Hand wipes Optional2. 2 Sheriff 5 Mobile 3 Investigative Sheriff 9 Point to Point Fire Brown Dispatch Sheriff F 6 Fire Yellow FG BLUE Fire Silver Countywide Fireground Fire Lime Appleton Fire Fireground Fire Gold Countywide Fireground Fire Violet Appleton Fire Dispatch Police 1 Dispactch Tactical Police 2 Police Dispatch Police Dispatch Winnebago County Frequency 158 730 154 800 155 610 158 835 155 370 158 910 158 775 154 445 154 295 154 325 154 190 158 940 155 760 Created by David Sprangers NDODW February 29 2012 OshkoshPDDet Description Sheriff 1 Dispatch Sheriff 2 Oshkosh Police Sheriff 3 Neenah Menasha Police Sheriff 4 Auxiliary Reserve Tactical Sheriff 9 Point to Point Sheriff 19 Oshkosh Police Tactical Fire 1 Red to be Yellow Dispatch Fire 2 Green Fireground Fire 3 Yellow Fire 4 Orange Neenah Menasha Fireground Fire 7 Silver Oshkosh Fire Police Channel 16 Public Works Police Channel 5 Public Works Page 13 Gold Cross Hospitals Alpha Tag Service Dispatch Service Tactical Hospital Helicopter Dispatch Hos pital 155 340 141 3 PL Theda Clark Theda Clark Memorial Hospital Theda Star Helicoptor 462 950 192 8 PL Theda Clark Theda Clark Memorial Hospital Theda Star Helicoptor Hos pital 155 340 110 9PL AMC EMS B Appleton Medical Center 463 000 192 8 PL AMC Med 1 Appleton Medical Center 155 340 107 2 PL St E EMS B Saint Elizabeth Hospital Police F 20
3. emotionally charged already and you do not need to add to the problem For instance instead of saying horrific damage and people torn to bits you might say significant physical damage and personal injuries Phonetics Certain words in a message may not be immediately understood This might be the case with an unusual place name such as Franconia or an unusual last name like Smythe The best way to be sure it is understood correctly is to spell it The trouble is if you just spell the word using letters it might still be misunderstood since many letters sound alike at the other end of a radio circuit Z and C are two good examples For that reason radio communicators often use phonetics These are specific words that begin with the letter being sent For instance ARRL might be spoken as alpha romeo romeo lima To reduce requests to repeat words use phonetics anytime a word has an unusual or difficult spelling or may be easily misunderstood Do not spell common words unless the receiving station asks you to In some cases they may ask for the phonetic spelling of a common word to clear up confusion over what has been received Standard practice is to first say the word say I Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 3 spell then spell the word phonetically This lets the receiving station know you are about to spell the word he just heard Several different phonetic alphabets are in comm
4. 463 025 192 8 PL St E Med 2 Saint Elizabeth Hospital Public Service frequencies from http www radioreference com Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 14
5. FCC regulations on IDing Be ready to respond to net control s call at any time during the event Let net control know if you will be away from your radio for a while and let net control know when you are back Created by David Sprangers NDODW February 29 2012 Page 7 These guidelines are extra important if we are running simplex since stations may not be able to hear one another If net control does not respond to your first call be patient as another exchange may be taking place The FCARC s primary radio traffic will be concerned with in roughly decreasing order of priority Medical emergencies Children separated from their group Requests for rides from the sag wagon Radio checks Requests for re supply of rest stops Requests to secure rest stops Reports on stragglers Reports on first walkers Requests to secure a station Finally remember that part of the fun is knowing that although we are called radio amateurs we provide a professional grade service to our clients Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 8 Communications Readiness To participate in a Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club communications event you should be aware of the minimum and recommended equipment needed to effectively communicate with Net Control Along with radio equipment you should have the proper supplies to help you make it through the event without any major problems 1 Radio Types
6. Sometimes the job of listening is complicated by noise You might be operating from a noisy location the signal might be weak or other stations may be causing interference In each of these cases it helps to have headphones to minimize local noise and help you concentrate on the radio signal Digital Signal Processing DSP and other technologies may also help to reduce radio noise and interference Microphone Techniques Even something as simple as using your microphone correctly can make a big difference in intelligibility For optimum performance hold the mic close to your cheek and just off to the side of your mouth Talk across rather than into the microphone This will reduce breath noises and popping sounds that can mask your speech Speak in a normal clear calm voice Raising your voice or shouting can result in over modulation and distortion and will not increase volume at the receiving end Speak at a normal pace _ rushing your words can result in slurred and unintelligible speech Pronounce words carefully making sure to enunciate each syllable and sound Radios should be adjusted so that a normal voice within 2 inches of the mic element will produce full modulation If your microphone gain is set so high that you can achieve full modulation with the mic in your lap it will also pick up extraneous background noise that can mask or garble your voice A noise canceling microphone is a good choice since it blocks out nearly all un
7. d Clothing i Rain Gear Recommended Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 10 ii Coat or Sweatshirt Recommended iii Warm gloves Optional iv Hat 1 Baseball type Recommended 2 Winter Optional v Sunglasses Optional Created by David Sprangers NDODW February 29 2012 Page 11 Frequency 147 760 147 760 145 330 443 650 145 520 145 550 145 580 446 000 147 555 147 240 146 655 147 300 Echo Link 442 175 145 290 NOAA 162 400 162 400 162 425 162 450 162 475 162 500 162 500 162 525 162 550 162 550 Frequency List FCARC Repeaters Offset Minus Minus Plus Plus Plus Minus plus Plus Plus Rhinelander Milwaukee Sister Bay Crandon Wausau Gresham Black River Falls New London Green Bay Madison Fora complete listing Go to http www nws noaa gov nwr stations php State WI amp Sort WF Created by David Sprangers NDODW February 29 2012 PI Tone 107 2 100 0 100 0 100 0 100 114 8 Downtown Receive National Calling National Calling Club Frequency Winnebago Co Outagamie Co Calumet Co W9RIC Darboy WE9COM Green Bay Sullivan Green Bay Green Bay Green Bay Green Bay La Crosse Green Bay Green Bay Sullivan Page 12 Saem es cg 154 205 FG BLUE Sheriff Dispatch Central Multicast Gray Sheriff 2 Alternate Information Black Sheriff 3 Mobile 1 Sheriff 4 Mobile
8. e NCS that you believe the exchange to be complete If the Net Control Station believes the exchange is complete and Aid 3 had forgotten to identify then the NCS should say Aid 3 do you have further traffic At that point Aid 3 should either continue with the traffic or clear by identifying as above Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 6 A Review of Habits to Avoid e Thinking aloud on the air Ahhh let me see Hmm Well you know if amp e On air arguments or criticism e Rambling commentaries e Shouting into your microphone e Cute phonetics e Identifying every time you key or un key the mic e Using 10 codes Q signals on phone or anything other than plain language e Speaking without planning your message in advance e Talking just to pass the time Reference Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course Level p 37 50 FCARC s general radio guidelines and primary focus points of radio traffic during FCARC s public service events created by Andy Palm N1KSN Listen before transmitting When you have a transmission to make call net control by just saying your callsign and then wait to be recognized Speak clearly and distinctly Once recognized say what you need to say and no more Don t use 30 words when 5 will do keep transmissions short Remember to ID at the end of each exchange series of back and forth transmissions to avoid inadvertently breaking
9. fic for a specific location such as Firebase 5 you would say Aid 3 priority traffic for Firebase 5 This tells the NCS everything needed to correctly direct the message If there is no other traffic holding the NCS will then call Firebase 5 with Firebase 5 call Aid 3 for priority traffic Note that no FCC call signs have been used so far None are necessary when you are calling another station Station Identification In addition to satisfying the FCC s rules proper station identification is essential to promoting the efficient operation of a net The FCC requires that you identify at ten minute intervals during a conversation and at the end of your last transmission During periods of heavy activity in tactical nets it is easy to forget when you last identified but if you identify at the end of each transmission you will waste valuable time What to do The easiest way to be sure you fulfill FCC station identification requirements during a net is to give your FCC call sign as you complete each exchange Most exchanges will be far shorter than ten minutes This serves two important functions 1 It tells the NCS that you consider the exchange complete and saves time and extra words 2 It fulfills all FCC identification requirements Completing a call After the message has been sent you would complete the call from Aid 3 by saying Aid 3 lt your call sign gt This fulfills your station identification requirements and tells th
10. ficient Brevity amp Clarity Each communication should consist of only the information necessary to get the message across clearly and accurately Extraneous information can distract the recipient and lead to misinterpretation and confusion If you are the message s author and can leave a word out without changing the meaning of a message leave it out If the description of an item will not add to the understanding of the subject of the message leave it out Avoid using contractions within your messages Words like don t and isn t are easily confused If someone else has drafted the message work with the author to make it more concise Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 2 fon Sieg Make your transmissions sound crisp and professional like the police and fire radio dispatchers and the air traffic controllers Do not editorialize or engage in chitchat An emergency net is no place for Hi Larry long time no hear Hey you know that rig you were telling me about last month amp or any other non essential conversation Be sure to say exactly what you mean Use specific words to ensure that your precise meaning is conveyed Do not say that place we were talking about when Richards School is what you mean Using non specific language can lead to misunderstandings and confusion Communicate one complete subject at a time Mixing different subjects into one message can cause misunderstandings a
11. fon Sieg ra probed The Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club provides communication support for many public service events in our community Examples of information being exchanged between the FCARC and event coordinators includes medical emergencies welfare checks status reports on participants or a request for the sag wagon In order for effective and efficient radio traffic to be passed from the event operators to event officials the FCARC is asking all participants read the following guidelines before transmitting on your radio for an FCARC communication event The first section called Basic Communication Skills is from Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course Level from the ARRL which provides an overview of the basic skills every Ham Radio operator should know to provide emergency communications Even though this is based on emergency communication the fundamentals can be used for the FCARC communication events The second section consists of the FCARC s general radio guidelines and primary focus points of radio traffic during FCARC s public service events created by Andy Palm N1KSN Basic Communication Skills Objective This lesson introduces communication skills that are specific to emcomm operations and helps you understand differences from normal Amateur Radio operations Information An emergency communicator must do his part to get every message to its intended recipient quickly accurately and with a mi
12. gt E a a ee Nei x A S A I INNS ye Seven SEV vin Eight Ate Nine NINE er Zero ZEE row Numbers are always pronounced individually The number 60 is spoken as six zero not sixty The number 509 is spoken as five zero nine and not as five hundred nine or five oh nine Pro words Pro words called pro signs when sent in Morse Code are procedural terms with specific meanings They are used to save time and ensure that everyone understands precisely what is being said Some pro words are used in general communication others while sending and receiving formal messages We will discuss the general words here and cover the formal message pro words in a later unit Meaning and function End of contact In CW SK is sent before final identification Used to let a specific station know to respond Used to indicate that any station may respond Leaving the air will not be listening A temporary interruption of the contact Indicates that a transmission has been received correctly and in full Two letters are sent as one character Source ARES Field Manual Tactical Call Signs Tactical call signs can identify the station s location or its purpose during an event regardless of who is operating the station This is an important concept The tactical call sign allows you to contact a station without knowing the FCC call sign of the operator It virtually eliminates confusion at shift change
13. nd confusion If you are sending a list of additional food supplies needed keep it separate from a message asking for more sand bags Chances are that the two requests will have to be forwarded to different locations and if combined one request will be lost Plain Language As hams we use a great deal of jargon technical slang and specialized terminology in our daily conversations Most of us understand each other when we do and if we do not on occasion it usually makes little difference In an emergency however the results can be much different A misunderstood message could cost someone s life Not everyone involved in an emergency communication situation will understand our slang and technical jargon Even terms used by hams vary from one region to another and non hams will have no knowledge of most of our terminology Hams assisting from another region might understand certain jargon very differently from local hams For these reasons all messages and communications during an emergency should be in plain language Q signals except in CW communication 10 codes and similar jargon should be avoided The one exception to this is the list of standard pro words often called pro signs used in Amateur traffic nets such as clear say again all after and so on We will discuss some of these pro words in detail below and others later in this course Avoid words or phrases that carry strong emotions Most emergency situations are
14. nimum of fuss A number of factors can affect your ability to do this including your own operating skills the communication method used a variety of noise problems the skills of the receiving party the cooperation of others and adequate resources In this unit we will discuss basic personal operating skills Many of the other factors will be covered in later units Why Are Emergency Communication Techniques Different Life and death communications are not part of our daily experience Most of what we say and do each day does not have the potential to severely impact the lives and property of hundreds or thousands of people In an emergency any given message can have huge and often unintended consequences An unclear message one that is delayed or mis delivered or never delivered at all can have disastrous results Listening Listening is at least 50 of communication Discipline yourself to focus on your job and tune out distractions If your attention drifts at the wrong time you could miss a critical message Listening also means avoiding unnecessary transmissions A wise ham once said A ham has two ears and one mouth Therefore he should listen twice as much as he talks While you are asking when will the cots arrive for the fourth time that hour someone else with a life and death emergency might be prevented from calling for help Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 1 S es E OR RAD
15. on use but most hams and public safety agencies use the ITU Phonetic Alphabet shown below and others use military alphabets Many hams like to make up their own phonetics especially as a memory aid for call signs and often with humorous results Unfortunately this practice has no place in emergency communication In poor conditions unusual phonetic words might also be misunderstood We need to be sure that what we say is always interpreted exactly as intended _ this is why most professional communicators use standardized phonetics ITU Phonetic Alphabet alfa AL fa C charlie CHAR lee E echo ECK oh G golf GOLF india IN dee ah K kilo KEY loh M mike MIKE O oscar OSS cah Q quebec kay BECk S sierra SEE air rah U uniform YOU ni form whiskey WISS key yankee YANG key B bravo BRAH voh D delta DELL tah F foxtrot FOKS trot H hotel HOH tell J juliet JU lee ett L lima LEE mah N november no VEM ber P papa PAH PAH R romeo ROW me oh T _ tango TANG go V victor VIK tor X x ray ECKS ray Z zulu ZOO loo Numbers are somewhat easier to understand Most can be made clearer by simply over enunciating them as shown below One Wun hree THUH ree Five FY ive Two TOOO Four FOH wer Six Sicks Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 4 OR CITE P3 2
16. s or at stations with multiple operators Tactical call signs should be used for all emergency nets and public service events if there are more than just a few participants The NCS may assign the tactical call sign as each location is opened Tactical call signs will usually provide some information about the location or its purpose It is often helpful if the tactical call signs have a meaning that matches the way in which the served agency identifies the location or function Some examples are Created by David Sprangers ND9DW February 29 2012 Page 5 Saem os Le ig e Net for net control e Springfield EOC for the city s Emergency Operations Center e Firebase 1 for the first fire base established or a primary fire base e Checkpoint 1 for the first check point in a public service event e Canyon Shelter for the Red Cross shelter at Canyon School e Repair 1 for the roving repair vehicle at a bike a thon e Mercy for Mercy Hospital Calling with Tactical Call Signs If you are at Aid 3 during a directed net and want to contact the net control station you would say Net Aid 3 or in crisper nets and where the NCS is paying close attention simply Aid 3 If you had emergency traffic you would say Aid 3 emergency traffic or for priority traffic Aid 3 priority traffic Notice how you have quickly conveyed all the information necessary and have not used any extra words If you have traf
17. wanted background noise and is available in handheld and headset boom mics Headset boom microphones are becoming less expensive and more popular but care should be taken to choose one with a cardioid or other noise canceling type element Many low cost headset boom mics have omni directional elements and will pick up extraneous noise Voice operated transmission VOX is not recommended for emergency communication It is too easy for background noise and off air operator comments to be accidentally transmitted resulting in embarrassment or a disrupted net Use a hand or foot switch instead When using a repeater be sure to leave a little extra time between pressing the push to talk switch and speaking A variety of delays can occur within a system including CTCSS decode time and transmitter rise time Some repeaters also have a short kerchunk timer to prevent brief key ups and noise from keying the transmitter It also gives time for some handhelds to come out of the power saver mode Leaving extra time is also necessary on any system of linked repeaters to allow time for all the links to begin transmitting These techniques will ensure that your entire message is transmitted avoiding time wasting repeats for lost first words Lastly pause a little longer than usual between transmissions any time there is a possibility that other stations may have emergency traffic to pass from time to time A count of one one thousand is usually suf
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