Amateur radio operators have role in times of crisis

New technologies haven't eliminated the need for a backup system.

By Debbie Black
Tribune-Review
Saturday July 17, 2010
© by Tribune-Review

"(Ham Radio) is elegant in its simplicity. All you literally need is 12-volt power, a radio and a piece of wire....(It) can transit across the street or around the world."

The North Hills Amateur radio club still sends a strong signal in its 25th year of operation.

The club's amateur radio operators have provided communications services in such public venues as the Great Race, the Race for the Cure and the Pittsburgh Marathon.

Behind the scenes, the all-volunteer, privately funded public-service club has bee upgrading its radio communication with the installation of the Digital Smart Technologies of Amateur Radio (D-Star)system. The club's repeaters which receive a signal on one frequency and retransmit it on an different frequency, are located on the WPXI-TV towers and on the WQED-TV tower.

Last week, the North Hills club installed its second D-STAR repeater on a frequency offered by a fellow club, the Skyview Radio Club in New Kensington.

The D-STAR uses radio spectrum more efficiently than analog repeaters, making it easier to link repeaters and provide communications anywhere in the world.

The amateur radio operators work with many public safely groups and emergency responders to enhance communication. Their system, commonly called ham radio, is the last line of communications in disasters and emergencies when other systems fail.

"Many hospitals have paid to have ham operators either come in from the community or have employees become licensed ham operators ," says Fred Peterson, vice president of Professional Services and Emergency Management for the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania.

"For decades, RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) offered services to hospitals," Peterson says. "Volunteer ham operators would pull up in a car and used a radio for communications. We've really be impressed with the need for redundant communication systems. Phones collapse when public phone systems don't work.

"D-STAR in the past year, has hit the medical community. It enhances capability to transmit data and it is more effective when other systems don't work. It's an ideal technological development."

"Communication is a major priority of the federal Hospital Preparedness Program, which includes funds that can cover the cost of implementing D-STAR", Peterson says.

There are 625 amateur radio operators in Pennsylvania's 33 western counties, according to Larry Keller, section emergency coordinator for Western Pennsylvania Amateur Radio Emergency Services.

"If you think about the hundreds of individual ham-radio stations spread round, ;you can appreciate that this decentralized system cannot be broken," says Keller, of Murrysville.

In, a drill last year, Keller says, ham operators participated in a simulated emergency of a hospital being flooded. A list of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals was compiled and transmitted to relay stations at Skyview, which is located near New Kensington and has been operation for 50 years.

"The list was accurately received n Maryland and response sent back to the hospital in minutes," Keller says. "Using digital transmissions is like being able to send a computer file or a fax, but in emergencies, phones and Internet are prone to failure."

Ham radio is flexible and is not as limited as other communications systems because hams can use different frequencies to communicate. They usually use voice communications, but they can also transmit by Mores Code or with computer digital signals. Digital signals can send a higher volume of information accurately and in the a shorter period of time.

"The Amateur Radio Emergency Response System is primarily people and not just equipment," Keller says. "Each amateur is completely independent and probably none have exactly the same equipment. There is a long tradition of hams using their equipment to aid in a emergency."

The amateur radio service contribution is recognized in the FCC rules that regulate radio use. Through the American Radio Relay League, there are standing agreements with organizations such as the Red Cross, FMEA, National Weather Service and local governments.

"Amateurs handle what is generally referred to as `health and welfare` communications where other system are overtaxed with `tactical' traffic," Keller says. "We provide trained communicators with their own equipment and broad communications capabilities at no cost to the public. Keeping a system with the extensive capabilities of ham radio including trained operators would be enormously expensive for the relative infrequent use."

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