Les Jones

Tech > Emergency Communications Over Two-Way Radio

One of the disaster scenarios that played out with Katrina was the widespread loss of communications. Land lines and cellular links went down, leaving large areas incommunicado. That's caused me to think about my family's plans for communications in case of an emergency.

Ham Radio

One option is ham radio. An event last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park illustrated its usefulness. During a Knoxville school's class trip to Abrams Falls a student was pulled underwater. His classmate Jordan Webb (call sign KI4AVG) had packed his ham radio that day and sent out a distress call. Jim Bond (call sign K6SPY) in Knoxville heard Webb's call and alerted rescue personnel by telephone.

Unfortunately it was too late to save the student from drowning, but Webb's call got emergency personnel to the scene hours faster. It's not hard to imagine a scenario in which Webb's ations could have meant the difference between life and death.

Hams can reach great distances. If phone lines in your area are down, it's possible to radio a distant ham operator in an area where phone lines are working. In turn, he can make a call on your behalf or even patch you directly into a phone line. The ham radio community has a reputation for being helpful and for forming emergency networks to ferry information in a crisis.

Cost for a dual-band, battery-powered, hand-held ham radio is as little as $200. Single-band models are about half that.

A license is required to operate a ham radio. The good news is that Morse code requirements have been relaxed. For the beginning license level (Technician), there's no Morse code requirement at all.

FRS and GMRS Radio

For people who don't want to learn how to use a ham radio, Mike Spenis recommends short range family radios like the popular Motorola Talkabouts. The FRS models don't require licensing, and they're simple enough for children to use.

You can find these at Radio Shack, Home Depot, or practically anywhere electronics are sold. Cost ranges from as little as $29 per pair up to around $100 per pair. More expensive models have more power and support all 14 FRS channels for maximum compatibility with other units, and may also support GMRS. The downside of these systems is their range, which is limited to a few miles and line of sight communications. They're generally sold in pairs because they're intended for person to person communications. Because of the multiple channels and codes in use, there's no one like Jim Bond monitoring these radios for emergencies.

Some of those personal radios are GMRS units, which extend the range a few more miles. By law, you need a license to operate GMRS. That seems to be largely unenforced, and most people who buy them probably never realize they're supposed to have a license. To operate within the law, however, you should fill out FCC Form 605 and pay the $80 licensing fee, renewable every five years.

There are also dual FRS/GMRS radios. If a radio has 22 channels that means it supports all 14 FRS channels and all 8 GMRS channels. This GMRS and FRS FAQ is very informative.

CB Radio

Glenn Reynolds suggests good old citizens band radio for emergencies. It's easy to use and you don't need a license. If you send out distress calls on each channel there's a good chance a trucker or someone with a scanner will hear your call if you're within range. CB can reach beyond line of sight, and works pretty well in mountainous areas, but overall range is limited to four or five miles.

Glenn uses this dual-use Cobra model. It's a handheld, battery-powered unit with its own antenna. When used in the car, it connects to an external, magnetic-mount antenna to eliminate interference from the car body, and runs off the car's cigarette lighter. Besides the CB channels, it receives 10 NOAA channels for weather information. Cost is $89. Radio Shack has a CB Radio FAQ.

Packet Radio

Another wireless medium is packet radio. If ham radio is analagous to a phone line, then packet radio is like using a modem for digital communications over that phone line. Like any digital medium, it can carry a variety of media, but its low bandwidth results in it being used for text rather than voice. Packet radio has been useful in some situations - including Hurricane Katrina - for organizing emergency information. You can find more information at Introduction to Packet Radio.

Ham Radio Links

• Amatuer Radio Relay League
• Welcome to Amateur Radio (also sells video training tapes)
• Beginner's Guide to Ham Radio
• Study for Your First Ham Radio License
• Sample Ham Radio Test Questions
• Ham Radio License Test Sites in Tennessee
• Ham Radio License in a Day

That last link isn't an exaggeration, at least for some people. Back when I worked for U.S. Internet one of the founders, Tom Badgett, was a ham enthusiast and amateur pilot. Tom and our CTO, Niels Jonker, went to a convention where ham radio tests were being administered. Niels looked through the study material, realized he already knew the electronics part, spent a few minutes reading the regulatory part, then took the test on the spot and passed.

UPDATE 9/10: Computerworld has an article on the role of ham radio operators in the Katrina recovery, and Information Week looks at the communications failures that aggravated the disaster. Southgate Radio Club is covering donations of ham equipment for use in Katrina recovery. Also, this blog post has been extensively updated and expanded with new information.

Update 9/10: Added CB radio information.

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