Role of HAMs in Emergency/Disasters

Presented by
Jayant S. Bhide VU2JAU
National Coordinator for Disaster
Communication in India
(ARSI) R3
Contact vu2jau@gmail.com
Mob. 09425109013
 Introduction to Emergency
Communications

• What Constitutes an Emergency Communications?

• “We will define an incident as any planned or unplanned

occurrence or event, which requires action by emergency
service personnel to prevent or minimize loss of life or
damage to property and/or natural resources.”

– Clearly, during large events, normal communications

channels can become overloaded by the flow of
information (traffic)
AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATION HELP

GUJRAT EARTHQUAKE 26 th
Morvi (GUJ) Flood September 1979
JANUARY 2001

2005 Tsunami
ORISSA CYCLONE
 Amateur Radio’s Role

• Support the emergency management community

• Amateur radio is NOT an emergency response team

– We don’t provide first aid
– We don’t transport victims
– We don’t provide traffic control
– We don’t provide any other function normally provided
by public safety personnel
• Amateur radio DOES provide communications when
the normal public service systems are overloaded

• Do you have the time and the drive to do it well?

 Why Amateur Radio Works

• Doesn’t rely on common carriers and phone

companies
• Public Service Agencies can only communicate if
they are on the same frequencies
– We provide that common frequency through the use of
the many at our access
– Many frequencies allow us to overcome different
communications obstacles
• We are distributed throughout the community
– We can respond quickly to immediate areas of need
• Regardless of the make and model of our equipment,
we can communicate
How Does Amateur Radio Communications
Compare with Other Radio Activities?

• Uses the same basic skills and activities

– Each operator is licensed HAM in
varying levels
– Each operator routinely uses that
privilege to practice the ability to
communicate via radio
– One uses the same general operating
practices to communicate on repeaters
or HF
– Contesting emphasizes speed and
listening skills and endurance
How Does Amateur Radio Communications
Compare with Other Radio Activities?

– Field Day offers the chance to

practice setting up under unusual
conditions
– Public Service Events let us
practice flexible communications
• Regular amateur radio activities
begin to resemble the skills required
during emergency communications
 Uniqueness of
Emergency Communications

• Activation with little or no prior

warning
• May handle several key
organizations simultaneously
• May often deal with multiple nets
and a limited time frame
• Portability and ability to be
operational in a short amount of
time
• Leadership, teamwork and initiative are the keys
How Does Amateur Radio Communications
Compare with Other Radio Activities?

• Emergency communicators look for

specific stations to contact NOW to
pass traffic
• Operations could continue for days
• Things happen in real time
• Emergency communications
involves amateurs and non-
amateurs
• Ability to improvise
 Procedure

• Only requirements
– Valid ham license
– Sincere desire to help
• Volunteer organization
– Local leader is the Emergency Coordinator – EC
• Typical activities are with HF, VHF nets
– Preparedness through practice
• Weekly nets
• Drills
• Self activating
– Any ARES leader can activate the group
 The Primary Served Agency

• Primary responsibility for an event

– Amateurs are there to help
– Reason that ARES and RACES exist
– Model for operations
– Standardized structure

• Responsibility for Public Information

– Never make a statement to the media or
public about an emergency
– If pressed, you can talk about amateur radio
and its role
 Communications Guidelines

• Two levels of communications

– Formal - Passing traffic on behalf of served agency
– Informal - Passing traffic originated by YOU

• Rules for passing served agency traffic

– Read it first. If you don’t understand it, ask for
clarification
– When you transcribe it, make no changes
• You may not understand the content, but others will
• MAKE NO CHANGES
– If you are the originator, make corrections BEFORE
you send the message!
 Communications Guidelines (continued)

• It’s important to say as little as possible, but get

the message across
• Some rules:
– Brevity and Clarity - if you can leave out a
word without changing the meaning of the
message, do it
– Do not use contractions
– Do not editorialize
– Listen
– Use standard ITU phonetics
In any disaster….

Communication is
the first casualty
 Communications Is:

• The two-way exchange of ideas and information

• Using fewest words to completely define the thought

• One complete task or thought at a time

– because it is precise

• Unemotional

Communications will be acknowledged

 Final Thoughts on Safety

• Incident scenes are not about radios or being a Ham

• They are about the incident

• You will either be part of the problem …

-or-

• You will be part of the solution

 Security Considerations

– Message contents should remain private

• You should never reveal the contents of a
message
– Even after an incident is over

• Lots of people monitor the ham bands

– General public
– Media
Security Considerations contd….

• Might receive portions of a message… not

the full context
– Rumor and speculation

• Stick to passing messages

– Make sure messages are approved prior
to sending
– Keep a log of all traffic
 Basic Training Checklist

• Education and training supplies the knowledge

– Confidence to execute the required process in the
minimum amount of time
– Learn BEFORE the skills are needed
• Acquire the basic skills needed to function as a team
– Support one another
– Operate as a cohesive unit
• ID Cards
– HAM Radio license
– Drivers License or other photo ID
– Civil Defense ID or other ID
 Basic Training Checklist (cont)

• “Hot Zones”
– Typically refer to areas that may contain hazardous
materials or other unknown hazards
– Stay out unless instructed otherwise (remember
personal safety issues)
– Bottom line - don’t become part of the problem
• Test your techniques and equipment before an event
• Equipment
– Handie-talkies with earphones, a hand mike and a gain
antenna. Don’t forget the spare batteries!
– Use PTT rather than VOX
– For fixed ops, use a mobile radio and deep-cycle
batteries with a good antenna
 Advantage to HAM Radio operators

• Be treated as a co-worker
• A safe working environment
• A suitable assignment
• Know as much as possible about people, policies,
procedures and programs
• Participate in activities and quality training
• Be heard and have an active part in planning
• Recognition & Rewards
Crowed Controlling
 Satellite Communication

• There are many satellites in the space sent by

various countrues for many purposes.

• Weather satellites NOAA 17,18,19

• Communication AO91,92,95, SO 50 etc

• Research International Space Station

• All the satellites work on different frequencies VHF

and UHF
International Space Station
ISS
Weather Satellites
NOAA 17,18,19
 DisasterTraining Program

• It is a 5 – 6 days program in which 60 students are

required. Different teams are formed and trained
accordingly
• 1 First Aid
• 2 Communication
• 3 Casualties
• 4 Media
• 5 Ambulance
• 6 Medication
• 7 Photography
73’s de VU2JAU