Ontario Stake ERC Events - December 2024

                   Key

• (+/-): shift frequency up or down as needed
• QRM: man-made interference  
• MHz: Megahertz
• (+/-) QRM: shift up or down on frequency if there is man-made interference 
• Simplex: radio-to-radio 
• Repeater: using a repeater to re-transmit signals
• +0.6: offset to access the repeater
• PL: tone to unlock the repeater given in hertz
  

The Stake is shifting away from regional nets to a more hands-on approach, individual operations, to ward and stake nets.  If you would like information about the regional nets, you can contact the stake ERC rep for the regional director's contact info to get more information. 

All times given in Mountain Time 

12/1/2024 - Sunday 

    No stake net - Thanksgiving weekend

    7:00pm - Bishop's Storehouse Net - 3.818MHz (+/-) QRM

Fun Facts - Lightning Safety

Weather is important to radio operators, because it can affect their equipment or safety in general (e.g. lightning strikes), or they may use their equipment to warn of weather conditions. 

Here's a fun lightning safety video produced by the Church.

Overview of Emergency Response Communications - The Church Welfare Services

The following is taken from the Idaho ERC website regarding an overview of ERC.  Emergency Response Communications falls under the Church Welfare Services, and under the Church Welfare Committee, which is presided over by the Presiding Bishopric.  The first form of emergency communications is by phone.  Amateur Radio (ham) is the last and final form of communication - barring that, we're on foot and in person.  Amateur Radio allows us to cover distances and reach large numbers of people very quickly and to receive information as well.

This is an overview of emergency communications within the church in a Power Point format with the slides presented here for a reference. 

 

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Emergency Response Communications - for Priesthood Leaders

 

This is taken from the Idaho ERC webpage.  Once you get your call-sign in amateur radio (ham), you can be added to the website with your own credentials as the website is a tool for Emergency Communications Specialists or Operators within the church for those who work through any of the storehouses in Idaho. This is posted for informational purposes only.  The Ontario Stake Emergency Communications Rep is not responsible for the IDAHO Erc Webpage content, neither does this supersede any authority that is held by those responsible for ward and stake operations.

Emergency Response Communications
Program Overview for Priesthood Leaders

The Emergency Response Communications program (ERC) is part of the Welfare Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All Church welfare activities are directed by the General Welfare Committee. ERC is a backup communications system serving Church leaders during emergencies when local telephone and cellular phone service is not available.

When an emergency strikes, communication services are often the first to go down. Communication within wards and stakes and between Church units and the bishops storehouse can be extremely important in a serious event. Experience has taught us that traditional communication methods including the public switched telephone system and cellular telephones will likely not be available in a serious emergency or disaster. Most local cellular telephone towers have only a few hours at best of backup power and should not be relied upon.

The ERC program has been established to provide a means for priesthood leaders to report on the status of members and property in a disaster-affected area, and to request relief supplies and assistance as needed. Emergency communication services are provided using various methods, including satellite telephones and amateur (ham) radio.

First-Level Bishops' Storehouses in the United States and Canada act as hub communication facilities which serve second-level bishops' storehouses in their areas. Idaho Falls is the First-Level Storehouse which serves the following Second-Level Storehouses: Blackfoot, Boise, Burley, Missoula and Pocatello. 

Emergency Communications Guidelines

 The following was taken from the Idaho ERC website and provides an overview of emergency communications guidelines and considerations during a disaster. 

Church Emergency Communication Guidelines

Local emergency response efforts, including emergency communications, are conducted under the direction of local priesthood leaders. Some emergency situations result in the normal means of communications (telephones and cell phones) being unavailable.   During such emergencies local Church leaders need communications to determine the status of members and missionaries and to report to regional and area Church leaders concerning the welfare of members and to request assistance as needed.  Local Church leaders should know how and whom to contact during an emergency and what information to give and receive.  They should ensure the availability of reliable methods of backup communication.

How these matters are handled may vary in different countries and locations within countries, and are usually determined by local welfare committees.  Contact your Church leader or regional welfare specialist if you are uncertain about these matters.

Local Church leaders may call emergency communications welfare specialists to serve in stakes, wards, and branches to assist as needed.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: Why does our stake (ward) need emergency communications?

A: During a disaster local Church leaders have the responsibility to account for the welfare of their members and to report this information to their file leaders.  Local leaders also direct emergency response activities aimed at helping members recover while preventing further damage and suffering.  When disasters occur there is an immediate demand for telephone and cell phone service that generally overloads and shuts down these services.  Also, the disaster may cause physical damage to the telephone and cell phone infrastructure that will prolong service outage.  This failure of normal means of communication (wired and cellular telephones) is defined as a communications emergency.  Emergency planning should include a means of reliable backup communication.

Q: Will cell phones work in emergencies?

 

Ward and Stake ERC Leader, Operator Skills, Equipment & Responsibilities

R = Required, O = Optional, S=Suggested, L=Leaders Exclusive Required 

 

Why Ham? Why not just use....?

Realizing amateur radio is preparation for when everything* goes down (cell phones, internet, landlines, etc.) you want to be the best equipped you can be.  Amateur radio operators (aka "ham radio") typically are preparing for a prolonged and sustained communications and power outage lasting longer than 10 days; often prepping to be able to operate "indefinitely" with a complete and total loss of infrastructure.

Two GMRS Radios (too small, weak)

In such a scenario/crisis, we want to prepare by choosing something that is going to work across the worst situations we could have the most reliably for the longest term. 

Granted, the "likelihood" of us having a catastrophic failure/crisis is pretty slim - but the Lord did not counsel us to prepare based on man's statistical probability estimates.  Neither did he counsel or give authority to leaders or members to ignore his counsel based on their feelings and assumptions.  The Lord gave the Parable of the Ten Virgins which noted five were foolish (50%) because they weren't prepared and they were not allowed into the wedding feast.  Also, the Lord has warned us that these things will come "in such an hour as ye think not." 

Briefly, in amateur radio there are a few different wavelengths that are commonly used.  Radio bands are typically measured in "wavelengths" - or the height of the waves using the metric system (centimeters or meters) - and cycles per second called "hertz" (one cycle per second is 1 hertz, 100 cycles per second is 100 hertz, 1 million per second is 1 megahertz) and different wavelengths do different things in different areas. 

Some of the "bands" are the 2-meter, 70 centimeter, 10 meter, 20 meter, 80 meter bands (meaning the wavelengths are 2 meters from top to bottom, 70 centimeters, 10 meters, 20 meters, and 80 meters).

The other variable is power measured in watts.  

Amateur radios are designed to send a radio signal at a particular power level. 

"UHF" - Ultra High Frequency:

70centimeters - 400 megahertz (400 million cycles per second) - is typically short-range, works well in urban areas. 

"VHF" - Very High Frequency:

2meters - 144 megahertz (144 million cycles per second) - goes farther, works much better over rural areas. 

"HF" - High Frequency 

10 meters to 100 meters  - 1.8 megahertz to 28 megahertz (1.8-28 million cycles per second) - bounces off the ionosphere and the land to circle the globe.

And then different frequencies are restricted / operate best at different power levels. 

HF takes quite a bit of training, equipment and practice to become proficient at, and we need to get people operational quickly, so getting hundreds or thousands of families equipped and trained on HF is not practical or reliable. We do need more operators who can do this, it will be being used, but for regular use within the stake it will not be what we are going to be needing. 

Our stake covers ~1,200 square miles, and it is approximately 70 miles across at its widest point, and its longest ward is approximately 50 miles at its widest point.  We only have one ward that is approximately 1 mile square where the handy-talkies might work.  There is also the Singles Ward which covers the entire Stake - so if there's a ward that needs some range in emergency communications, it would be the singles ward. We also have the issues of terrain with a lot of hills to the north of us.  

VHF (or the 2 meter band) which is used by amateur (ham) radios has the best propagation over the distances and terrain that we have in our stake at the power levels most members would have available to them.  It is also the most commonly used by police, fire, sheriffs, and is one of the most widely used bands for emergency rescue services and ham radio services (who are going to be the ones skilled and trained and listening).

These handy-talkie radios will not cover those distances and that terrain reliably and do not have the power to make them do so.  While we might wish to relay using others' radios to make GMRS or FRS work (and relaying is a needed skill) but we don't want to create a network or patchwork where we have to rely on relaying to get a message out.  At this point we do not have enough people to rely on relaying to get a message to the entire stake.  Also, if a disaster causes a loss of life or loss of equipment through parts of the region (e.g., flooding), then the relaying won't work, and the radios won't be useful. Additionally, relaying takes time, the shorter range your equipment and the more you rely on relaying, the more potential breaks you have in your plan, the less likely it is to work.

Now, there are no guarantees even using ham radio on VHF. There are areas of the stake where we could not reach except by relaying such as in the hills to the north headed towards Durkee and Dixie and running up through Hell's Canyon, or by hitting a repeater (a radio that takes a signal and rebroadcasts it with more power or more coverage).  But with VHF we would have to do it less, increasing the chances of success in a disaster which is what we are preparing for. 

CB or Citizen's Band (Trucker radios) is out because nobody listens to it, it isn't used widespread enough to be a real, viable, reliable option. 

And so cell-phones and satellite phones and all such other types of non-traditional communication have their limits and costs.

With a single amateur radio on VHF we can literally cover thousands of square miles and hit thousands of people...if they are prepared, practiced, and have the skills. Preparation takes time and practice.  Also, ham radio in general (HF) is what is used by the Church for it's disaster preparedness, it's what the Bishop's Storehouses are equipped with as well as Church Headquarters. 

Going back through history, when the early saints were threatened with military action in the Utah Territory, the Lord's apostles told the military leaders that the saints were prepared to leave their homes and live in the  forests, wilderness and woods for over three years because they were self-sufficient and had been preparing according to prophetic counsel.  Their preparation was a deterrent to that conflict and it saved many lives.  

Amateur radio does require some training and licensure and practice, which is what we want to be doing before we have to learn the hard way, or cannot. 

Radios require some training and practice to use across all sorts of conditions.  Being licensed (an FCC Requirement on the "ham bands") gives you a license to practice. Otherwise it would be like getting an airplane as part of emergency preparation, but never getting licensed or learning to fly, but expecting to use it in an emergency.

And just as the early saints were counseled to prepare, so are we, and just as they looked forward with faith, so should we. These messages are messages of hope and faith: 

9 ... I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.

10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise (D&C 82). 

Getting Families Started in Emergency Response Communications (ERC)

Before you begin jumping into ham radio and emergency communications, we encourage you to ponder and pray about the counsel we have been given to prepare and to be prepared for the last days and for emergency preparation.  The Lord can help anyone understand the complexities of subjects they haven't tried before - even electricity and radio communications.  You are encouraged to seek the Lord's help in learning something new and to practice relying on Him as you do so and He will help you. In a disaster situation where these would be used, we are going to have to learn to adapt and improvise and learn new things that may be hard for us.  It is easier to do that now when we have time, than in the situations themselves.

The Lord has not counseled us to panic (panic is not preparation) or to be afraid (fear is not faith), but we have been counseled to have optimism and faith in the Lord's promises.  We would counsel members to pray about how to best prepare their families in all areas - spiritual and temporal - and pray for wisdom, guidance, inspiration and for ways to be opened up for you to be able to prepare.  We would also encourage members to remember that the Lord does not give a commandment except He provides a way for us to accomplish what He has directed us to do (1 Nephi 3:7), including learning something that may seem very challenging such as amateur radio. You are encouraged to know that this is important, to gain a testimony of it's importance, and for help in both preparing and knowing how to prepare.

We have been encouraged as individuals, and families well as stakes and wards to be prepared for emergencies and disasters, both at the family as well as the church level. Even if a family is prepared with supplies and food, without communications they are cut off from their most important resources: each other and the church.  (All of you who are hunters should be jumping in on this, also).

Baofeng UV5R radio

Internet, telephone, cell phones, and satellite communications can all be cut off or disrupted. Ham radio is the most widely used, most versatile, and most capable form of emergency communications.  Our stake goal is for every single family to obtain at least one ham radio that they know how to use so they can tune in and at least listen & receive emergency communications from the government and/or the church in a disaster or emergency when other communications are lost.

15" antenna

The saints have been admonished to be frugal in their preparations.  The goal is to get as many members involved as we possibly can for the lowest cost possible. Above all, you are encouraged to pray  for guidance and help in your preparation.

The recommended radio is the Baofeng UV5R handheld radio with a 15" antenna (~9-15 miles transmission range) or an Abbree "tactical" 42-48" antenna (20-30miles transmission range). The radio runs around $22, the antennas run around $10.

Our best range on the 15" antenna was 71 miles from Ontario to Silver City through the War Eagle repeater.  The 15" antenna is a bit easier to maneuver and use carrying around, the longer "tactical" antenna can get a lot longer range, but is a bit more difficult to use (keep it vertical while extended so it doesn't bend or damage the connector to the radio). 

Hold it vertically so you don't stress/break it.

While there are "better" (and more expensive) hand-held radios and antennas, this radio will be sufficient for localized ward and stake communications in an emergency.  While it would be really neat to have a $200 handheld radio with a ton of whistles and bells, or a $500 radio with an LCD touch-screen display,  for $200 you can outfit 9 people with UV5R handhelds, or even put in a inexpensive mobile radio in your vehicle. Most of those whistles and bells will not be used by us in an emergency. Also, most of the "higher end" handhelds actually have more limitations than the UV5R when you consider all the frequencies/bands they can be made to operate on.

There are different models of the UV5R that are advertised as being "high power" with "long-range" having 8 watts or so of power out of the box.  In the ham radio world, 8 watts is not a lot of power, especially when we consider that some ham radio operators use over a thousand watts in some systems. 

Power is only part of the equation, if you have a hill in your way or there is radio interference, spending more money for three more watts is not going to do you a whole lot of good. You can also have the most amazing radio in the world but if you have a lousy antenna it's not going to do you any good.
 

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Introduction to Basic Emergency Communications

 Completely new to emergency communications? 

WHY CAN'T THEY HEAR ME? WHY CAN'T I HEAR THEM? (Troubleshooting VHF/UHF in the field)

We've all been there, could hear others but couldn't be heard, or could be heard but couldn't hear.  As you practice, you'll get to know how to troubleshoot really rapidly in the field any issues.  For starters, here's a checklist - you'll have to go through your radio manual for each item if you don't know how to work with that item. 

This list is for VHF UHF. 

HOW DO I KNOW?  

This is where practice is needed, sooner or later you're going to go through all these and you're going to get to where you can recognize it with others - practice practice practice!

You can't hear them:

1) power - on? 

Using A Baofeng UV5R Radio

The reason I am a fan of the Baofeng (Chinese for "Proud Wind" apparently), is because it makes ham radio affordable and accessible for emergency purposes.  My first ham radio I got recommended into was a very high quality but very expensive Yaesu, that was ultimately very limited.  They cost over $150 apiece in 2014. Just getting two of them cost over $300 and that did not leave me much money for anything else.  Even though there are higher quality (and more expensive) handhelds, I will choose the UV5R over them only because it saves me money to buy other ham equipment, and they can actually do a lot more when it comes to emergency preparedness.

This is a quickstart on the UV5R.

Learing to Use Your* Radio (That's not a Baofeng UV5R)

Not a Baofeng

There are only a few settings on a ham radio that you need to know to make it work and use it on the VHF and UHF bands  

These may have different buttons or slightly different names on different radios, but the principles are the same.  To learn your radio,  simply google YouTube videos on how to use your radio,  be it Yaesu, Alinco, Kenwood, Icom, Lincoln, Anytone, etc.  Usually, someone will have produced a video showing you how to operate it (I don't have every radio out there, so there's a possibility that some radios don't have a video about them.  If that's the case and you're feeling ambitious...you can make a YouTube video on how to use your particular radio, you may have to just refer to the manual in such cases).

It helps to Google the owners manual and print it out and read it.  You want to print it out and have a hard-copy because in a disaster, you may need it and won't be able to look it up on the internet.  It also helps to practice, practice, practice with it, at least weekly with the stake. Take the time to read your owner's manual.  You are learning an entirely new skill-set (we all are), it takes some time and practice, there's no way around that, but with a bit of diligence you will get it pretty quickly.

If you're really confused and feel your radio is a real mess and you just need to start over,  look up how to reset or restore it in the manual.  This will restore factory settings and you can start over.

Basics: 

VFO -  Variable Frequency  Operation,  or being able to simply adjust the frequency up or down or enter the frequency in the keypad.  (The frequency is variable, changeable, adjustable - VFO).

Memory/Channel - instead of adjusting the frequency you have frequencies assigned to channels, like on the TV or your car stereo.  If a radio is in memory/channel mode, you can only switch between preprogrammed  channels.  You'll need to switch back to VFO (on many radios this is a "V/M" button) if you wish to tune to frequencies not in your memory channels.  Refer to your owner's manual on how to tell if your radio is in channel or VFO mode.

Shift -  When you're using a repeater, you can't transmit on the same frequency that the repeater is broadcasting on. Radios come with a feature that will shift the frequency up or down when you key the mic. You can set it to be positive (up)  or negative (down)  or off. For simplex, or radio to radio, you'll want it off. For repeater operation you'll want it up or down depending on the repeater (see Step 2, getting tuned in).  Some radios call this "repeat mode" others call it SFT-D, you will have to look in your radio manual to know how they decided to label it in yours.

Offset - how much of a shift you want when you have shift turned on.  For VHF this is usually 0.6MHz.  For UHF it is usually 5.0MHz. You do not need to change it to 0.00 if you wish to operate in simplex mode, just turn the shift off. Then when you go to use a repeater, just turn the shift to positive or negative, up or down, as you need to operate a particular repeater.

Tone - the tone needed to "unlock" the repeater. Often called CTCS or  Continuous Tone Coded Squelch, or PL  for Private Line. For more information on repeater operations, see this entry: https://ontariostakeerc.blogspot.com/2022/10/ham-radio-basics-repeaters-and-radio.html

Power - Whether your radio is operating at high or low power. Some radios you can actually set how many watts you wish to put out. Most simply have "low" or "high," or "low," "medium," and "high."   For simplex operations, you're probably going to want to operate at higher power.  For repeater operations you may be able to operate on medium or low, you'll have to test if you are activating the repeater.   Lower power conserves your batteries which can be critical in a disaster.  When I'm mobile in my vehicle on the radio, I usually have my power set to "high" if I'm headed any significant distance from the repeater.

Squelch -  This blocks out unwanted static or interference. If you have it too high you may not hear anybody.. If you're operating simplex ex and you're trying to hear other people on a handheld some distance away, you're going to want to turn this down. I've found for my radios having it turned between 1 and 4 usually works to keep the noise down while still allowing me to hear other people.

A\B -  Most radios come with dual channels meaning you can have 2 channels/frequencies on the screen at once. If you're set to talk on the "B" channel/frequency, but are looking at the "A" channel/frequency, you may wonder why nobody can hear you.  

It took me a while to learn my radios, and I'm nowhere near knowing all of the features on them all.  I just have most of the basics down that allow me to operate within the stake and a bit for fun.  Again, there isn't any substitute for diligence, perseverance or repetition, but if you ask Heavenly Father for some help and keep at it, you will get it, and this should get you started.  Join us on the weekly nets and keep practicing!

Getting your Ham Radio License(s)

SUMMARY: 

Getting your license is easy - study on your own using the app and/or manuals, take the multiple choice test online at home or at a testing center, get your license, get on the air.

Q: What are the ham licenses? 

 

A: Technician (local operations), General (Global operations), Amateur Extra (unrestricted).

Q. Do I need to take a class? 

A. No, you only need to pass the FCC licensing test, classes aren't required.

Q.How do I study then? 

A. You can use an app or go online to www.hamstudy.org (costs a few dollars), or go to to the app Ham Radio Prep (free).  These will quiz you with explanations using the questions and answers on the test.    You can purchase a study guide on Amazon for your technician license.  I only used Hamstudy for my Technician License and never got the manual as it had the explanations in it.

Here is a syllabus for the technician test that was used on May 18th.

Q.  But I don't feel like I know enough!

A.  Me too! We're all learning and none of us knows everything, we've all been new, and there's a lot of people who will be excited to have a new Ham on the air and will be very happy to help.

Q. How do I know when to take the test? 

A. When you start passing your practice tests on the app at 85% consistently, it is time to sign up to take your real test.  (Anchorage Alaska Online Testing - most flexible one I've found - that link has all the instructions you'll need to get licensed, I got my last two licenses through them, they are a great bunch of people).

Q.  Do I need to go to a testing center? 

A. No, you can take the test online at home as long as you have a laptop and cell-phone with cameras so you can take the test virtually and an internet signal, you can take the test over Zoom.  Usually you can sign up for a test within 24-48 hours of being ready.  I prefer testing online because it's easier logistically.  If you wish to take a test in person, you'll have to search for when one's offered by zip code and date and can do so here: https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session

Q. How much does it cost?

A. The test usually costs about $15, and the license costs $35 with the FCC (as of April 2022) and is good for ten years.

Q. What license do I need? 

A. You'll start with your technician license which allows you to operate locally. 

If you decide to go farther, for church operations, everything that we do in the church can be covered by the General License. We really* need General or Amateur Extra Licensees because they can communicate with the Bishop's Storehouses and Church Headquarters.  

I strongly recommend if you wish to go for the Amateur Extra, that you pay close attention while studying for your General because you will you be building on the Material you studied in your General license. 

Q. How long does studying take? 

 

A. For the technician license, if you study for about a half hour a day (put on some music, or cut out social media or study during lunch - sit and quiz) most people will be ready within 2-3 weeks.

Q. How many questions is the test? 

 

A. The Technician license has 35 questions from a pool of 300, it's multiple choice, the app has the answers on it, you only need to pass 26 questions.

Q. I passed the test, now what? 

A. You'll have to pay the $35 fee to the FCC and you should have your call-sign issued within 10 days.  You can see if you got your call sign by looking here and typing your name and city in: https://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search

 Q. I got my call-sign, now what? 

A. Join us on the air or go to a club meeting - here's the calendar for events in our stake: https://ontariostakeerc.blogspot.com/2024/05/ontario-stake-erc-events-may-2024.html

(I literally knew next to nothing my first time on the air, and I definitely had stage-fright, but One of the hams reached out to me and we're now best friends and we're helping others get going - you'll be okay! The whole point is to learn). 

Q. But ham radio equipment is expensive, right? 

A. A beginner radio, the Baofeng UV5R runs about $17 on Amazon -  you can outfit a family of five for about $85, you put a better antenna on it (like this or this ) and my best with it is 73 miles (the recipient was on top of a mountain and I was in downtown Nampa), and I've also hit the International Space Station and reached into Canada and Alaska with a different type of antenna hooked to it.  

Like anything there are more expensive radios - I do have one radio that has a "James Bond" type "radar scope" on it in my car that tracks satellites and will track other operators, give me the direction to them using compass headings and we can see where we are at, it can send and receive photos - all without cell-service or internet, and it was less than a decent cell-phone or laptop - I have that so I can contact my family if I'm at work and there's a loss of communication.

Q.  Do I have to have a license to turn my radio on and listen? 

A. You can listen without a license, you need your license to transmit though, and will need your license to practice.

Q. Why not just use handi-talkies from Walmart? 

A. https://ontariostakeerc.blogspot.com/2024/04/why-ham-why-not-just-use.html 

Q. I have friends who use those radios without a license, why do you need a license?

A. It is illegal to communicate on some FCC designated frequencies without a license and there are very heavy fines and penalties if caught.  Also, as church members we want to be obeying the law so we set good examples in our community and help protect the church's reputation.

Q. Do I need a license to buy a radio? 

A. Nope!  I recommend get one radio for each member of the family plus a spare if you can ("Two is one, one is none"). Put it in your 72 hour kits. This way you can at least practice listening. 

Q. But this seems like overkill to me, do we really need to do this? 

A. The Church uses ham radio at its headquarters and bishop's storehouses, and amateur radio is part of emergency preparedness in the church handbook - the Lord has counseled his people to be prepared including at least a years worth of food storage. 

Q. Do I need to learn Morse Code? 

A. No.  Older hams did have to but this is no longer required - you'll hear a lot of Morse code on the air though as it's still widely used - if you want to learn it, look at the app "Morse Mania" online - Back in the day, when Morse was used regularly, they used three letter codes or two number number codes that were easier than spelling everything out.   "73" Was easy to hear:

--...  ...--  two dashes three dots, three dots two dashes - means well wishes, or best regards.

At any rate, 73 and we can't wait to help you get on the air!

Ham Radio Basics: Repeaters and Radio Settings

Repeaters form a central part of any ham's on-air life. 

A repeater repeats your radio signals at higher power or more efficiently allowing more people to hear you. You may have a handheld that goes goes a few miles, but once you hit the repeater you can cover even more area.

Within the Ontario Stake we have two repeaters that are a part of our emergency communications frequencies and the third that should be part of your emergency preparations. The main one we use is the Malheur Butte repeater, with the Lime repeater as a backup that can reach over to La Grand via the Beaver repeater (they are connected by landline, so when you communicate with one repeater, you're actually communicating with two, as long as they are working properly), and then there's the Sheep Creek repeater in Weiser which has most of the activity in the region (click the links to see a map of how far those typically reach).

When it comes to setting up a ham radio, even though there's  seemingly hundreds of different settings on the radios, there are only a few key settings that you really need to know. These are, frequency, offset, shift, and tone.

Frequency refers to the frequency that you listen to on a repeater. For example, the Malheur Butte repeater is listed as being 147.100 megahertz. This means if you wish to listen to the Malheur Butte repeater, you're going to have to tune in  to 147.100 megahertz. 

If you wish to use the Malheur Butte repeater you're going to have to know a couple more things. 

First is offset. Offset refers to the difference between the frequency the repeater transmits, and the frequency it listens to your radio on. Most of the time it's 0.6 megahertz, or six kilohertz. On your radio this will appear as 0.6, or 0.6MHz. 

The other thing you have to know is whether it's a positive or negative shift. The Malheur Butte repeater has a positive shift of 0.6 megahertz.  So when you tune your radio to listen to the repeater at 147.100, you also program an offset of 0.6, and then whether it is higher or lower than the repeater's frequency. 

There is one more thing that you need to know, which is called the tone, continuous tone coded squelch or CTCS, or PL for "private line." This consists of a very low tone ranging from 67-254 hertz.  You can't hear it and other radio operators can't, but the repeater can. The Malheur Butte repeater's tone is 100 hertz. When you key your mic, in addition to your voice being sent over the radio, it is also broadcasting that tone at 100 hertz. When the repeater hears that, it acts as a type of key unlocking the repeater telling it to transmit the rest of what it's hearing. And voilà you're on the air!

So, quiz yourself. 

You look up the Sheep Creek Repeater and you see the following information: 

147.120, +0.6, 100.0Hz 

You can highlight below (drag your mouse or your finger across the screen) to see the answers, I've hidden them in white:

What is the frequency of the repeater? 

A: 147.120MHz (megahertz, or 147.120 million cycles per second)

What is the offset? 

A: 0.6MHz

What is the shift, positive or negative?

A: Positive (+)

What is the frequency your radio will talk to the repeater on? 

A: 147.180MHz (147.120+0.6 = 147.180MHz)

What is the tone, CTCS or PL for the repeater? 

A: 100 hertz.

One more: 

You look up the Squaw Butte Repeater in Emmet, you see the following: 

146.740, -0.6MHz, 100.0

What is the frequency of the repeater? 

A: 146.740MHz (megahertz, or 146.740 million cycles per second)

What is the offset? 

A: 0.6MHz

What is the shift, positive or negative?

A: Negative (-)

What is the frequency your radio will talk to the repeater on? 

A: 146.140MHz (146.740-0.6 = 146.140MHz)

What is the tone, CTCS or PL for the repeater? 

A: 100 hertz.

How do you know if you're hitting the repeater? 

You can "kerchunk" it - i.e., key your mic for a second, and when  you let go you'll get a signal from the repeater of noise that sounds like a "kerchunk" that lets you know you hit it. It's repeating your signal that you sent out back to you.  You won't hear the "kerchunk" sound on simplex, or just operating radio-to-radio because nothing's getting repeated. You will very often hear this sound of a repeater making a "kerchunk" sound while you are tuned into it, which is other ham radio operators testing their radios to see if they have everything dialed in or are in range.   

Note, you may be able to "kerchunk" the repeater, but it still may not be hearing you clearly. This is a matter of experience and practice with your radio and an individual repeater. For example, the repeater in Lime, Oregon can hear me clearly from downtown Nampa on my mobile radio.  The Malheur Butte Repeater cannot and this is because the Lime repeater is at a much higher elevation. The repeater in Silver City, called "War Eagle" has an incredible range stretching towards Twin Falls and I can hit it from Ontario in my vehicle if I get a clear line of sight. 

Quick review and test yourself: 

What is offset?  What is shift?  What is tone, PL or CTCS?  What are three major repeaters in the Ontario region you could use?  What does a repeater do? 

If you can answer those, you're on your way to being a ham!  If not, scroll up, and make sure you get it and THEN you're on your way to being a ham!  Also, you can read the announcements in the sacrament bulletin regarding ham radio and know what they are talking about!

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS: MESSAGE TRAFFIC LOGS & SUPPLIES

note the clipboard and notes with the radios

Most disasters requiring emergency communications resolve within 72 hours.  The remainder are typically resolved in 10 days.  However, on the rare occasion, some last longer. We want to be prepared for any scenario (because we don't know what will happen until after it is over).

In addition to a radio, you're going to need to have the materials for and be proficient at taking notes during ham communications. 

Near your radios and in your go-kits, you're going to need/want as you're able to put them together: 

• Binder/clipboard/carrying case (whatever works for you)

• Notebook (mine is spiral, not shown in the pic below)
  

• Pencils/Pens 

• ARRL band chart (also linked on the sidebar of the website)
  

• Boise Storehouse and Regional Band Plans  (Frequencies list)(also linked to on the sidebar of the website). 

• ERC Message Forms  - aka ICS Form 213 (also linked to on the sidebar of the website).

• Hard-copy of your owner's manuals so you can troubleshoot in the field (look that up and print it out if you don't have the hard copy). 
  

You'll want to, as you're able to, have these out and being practiced with when you're practicing with ERC.  If not the actual forms (which we use during relay exercises) you'll want to practice at least taking notes, and practicing keeping mental track of others participating, any communication issues, propagation between different areas - just getting a feel for things overall.

My mobile notebook storage

 

Currently my notes notes are organized by frequency (HF, simplex, repeater portion), and then by stake, I write down the call-signs that I hear check in, and any issues with them, or any traffic (traffic = messages or communications) they have. 

This allows me to relay traffic if there's a communications breakdown, and also gives me practice paying attention to whoever is participating, getting a feel for propagation or signaling issues etc. 

If they report they are on emergency power with no traffic, I write "EP0" - find what works for you. 

My notes for the weekly nets often look something like this and are currently logged into excel for record keeping so I can get statistics for the stake. (For relay exercises I use the ICS Form 213)

Date

HF

Facilitating (net control) Call Sign/Name.

La-Grande

Call signs - issues - power - traffic 

Nyssa 

Call signs - issues - power - traffic 

KJ7RN - EP1 (emergency power, 1 traffic) - training item, using solar power for charging batteries, suggested (brand X), cost, etc.

Ontario 

Call signs - issues - power - traffic

(Which might look like this) 

K7RHB - EP0 (emergency power, 0 or no traffic)

KK7BKR - weak signal, relayed by KG7HVD - EP0

KK7HKN - couldn't hear net control, relayed to by KK7BKR, EP0 

Weiser 

Call signs - issues - power - traffic 

I repeat this for the simplex frequencies, and then the repeater portion of the net. 

Make sure your notes can be read and understood by others, including yourself, put a key in there if you have to (EP1=emergency power 1 traffic).  It can be tempting to rush and feel pressured by everyone else who seems "better" at this than you when you're learning.  If you need to ask someone to repeat their traffic, feel free, you're a part of this as well, we want everyone to be able to receive the messages - it's not a speed contest to impress anyone.

We've all forgotten our call signs or the phonetic alphabet, we've had ourselves on simplex when we needed to be on the repeater, or our power turned down too low, etc.  The goal is learning to troubleshoot, and becoming comfortable with troubleshooting.  The objective is for everyone to learn, and be able to help everyone become proficient and comfortable with improvising.

If ERC is anything like my experiences in the military, we would train and train and train, and often when the real thing happened or hit, we were making it up as we went because something happened we hadn't planned for and we were hoping we could get things to work.

Remember, do not run faster than you are able, seek the Lord's guidance in all of these things.  The world was not created in a day, panic isn't preparation.  Just keep practicing!

EMERGENCY POWER: Recommendations, Considerations

In a localized disaster, (a disaster that happens where you're at) emergency power is going to be your main source of power.

Emergency power refers to any source of power that is not tied to the public electrical grid. Car batteries, vehicles, radio batteries, emergency power packs, solar panels, generators of any kind, all constitute emergency power.

For church operations, we strive to operate on emergency power as often as possible while training so that we have experience operating our equipment and are aware of any issues before we need to rely on them.  I recently had an experience where I went to use my emergency power and it was dead - I didn't have a backup for my backup and I didn't know what caused my system to go dead and it wasn't there when I needed it.  Lessons learned: It's better to learn these things now rather than when we require them. 

For those who are just starting out in ham radio, your first two emergency power systems or sources are going to be, the battery in your handheld radio (UV5R?) or your vehicle's charging/power system.  You can purchase a cigarette lighter or charging port charger for your UV5R handheld to work in your vehicle for about $8.00 at the time of this writing off Amazon. Vehicle charging systems do not last very long for ham radio operations - i.e., I've killed my car battery in less than a day when I left the radio on in the car. However, your vehicle is probably going to be your primary backup unless/until you start working on other longer-term systems.

CAR BATTERIES: 

Meant to provide a lot of power for a short period of time, usually have lead plates with battery acid inside them.  They require a long time to charge for the amount of power they give out afterwards. However, if this is where you need to start, then by all means!  It is best to have a backup power system rather than none because you couldn't get the exact one you wanted immediately.

MARINE BATTERIES: 

Can provide a lot more power for a lot longer than a car battery as they have thicker lead plates inside.  Still bulky, and you're still charging a lead-acid battery that requires a considerable time to charge for the power it gives out. Many hams use these for their home backup systems because they are relatively inexpensive compared to lithium ion batteries and will have these under the desk where their ham stations are at ready to flip a switch to emergency power.

LITHIUM ION BATTERIES: 

LiFePO4 batteries are a type of lithium ion battery.

LiFePO4 batteries have become the gold standard in ham radio battery backup systems.  The batteries charge the fastest, they last the longest, they are the most stable, they can be recharged several thousands of times before they wear out, their self-discharge rate (losing power sitting on the shelf) is the lowest of any battery, and they maintain a steady discharge current until they are discharged. LiFePO4 batteries are more expensive, however. 

Lithium Ion will power your radio for longer

Some math for your emergency power considerations:

Amps - (A) or ampere - the amount of current your radio uses to operate. 

Amp-hour - (Ah) a unit of measurement of how much power a battery has.  If a battery is a 10 Ah battery, it will supply one amp for ten hours.  Or ten amps for one hour (10x1=10), or five amps for two hours (5x2=10), or two amps for five hours (2x5=10) until it is discharged. 

All ham radios come with a specification list including how much power they use in the manual.  Radios use more power when transmitting than they do when listening. Here's an example from a Yaesu 991a, a higher-end radio:

Yaesu 991a power consumption

• If there is no radio signal present and it is only turned on and not transmitting, it only consumes 1.8 amps. (Rx = receiving).
  

• If there is a radio signal and you're only listening, it consumes 2.2 amps. 

• If you are transmitting (Tx=transmit), at full power (100 watts) on High Frequency (HF - global communications), it consumes 23 amps.  On the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands at full power (50 watts) which you use for localized operations through the repeaters (144Mhz, VHF,  and 430Mhz, or UHF) it only consumes 15 amps. 

Obviously you're not going to be keying the mic and transmitting the entire time, so depending on how much you're transmitting and what frequency you are on and whether you are actually picking anyone up all determines how much power you use over time.  

So if you have a 10 Ah battery, it would power this radio listening with a signal (2.2 amps) for approximately 4.5 hours (10/2.2=4.5).   If you have a 200Ah battery, it would last approximately 90 hours (200/2.2=90.9), which is 3.75 days.  

If you get a different radio, like the TYT-TH9800, it only consumes 0.5 amps listening, and 8.5amps transmitting, so the same 200Ah battery would last 400 hours if you're only listening, or approximately 16 days.  So, power isn't everything, it is also your radio and what you're doing with it that determines how long your power lasts. 

Fancier radios consume more power. 

SOLAR CELLS: 

They do not work as well when it is cloudy and do not work at night. 

They work better when they are directly pointed at the sun, which will require moving them periodically for longer charging periods. 

Can be carried like a briefcase

Many hams get portable solar cells that fold up such as can be ordered through Harbor Freight or Home Depot, etc.  Ham operators doing emergency field operations will have multiple power sources such as using one battery, having one battery on standby, while they charge another with solar cells.  They usually come with a lot of different adaptors so they can charge cell-phones, laptops, radios, etc. 

If you run a radio off solar power with no battery, as soon as a cloud appears or the sun goes down, you stop operating.

There are two types solar panels - polycrystalline and monocrystalline.  Polycrystalline panels are less efficient and less expensive, they are light blue when you look at them.  Monocrystalline panels  are dark blue and are the most efficient and produce more power with less space, and are, you guessed it, more expensive. 

More powerful solar cells will charge a battery faster than lower power ones, and a larger battery will take longer to charge than a smaller one.  

Suffice it to say, get the best you are able to that suits your needs.  You will have to experiment before you are able to become proficient at using solar power to maintain ham radio operations.  

POWER PACKS: 

These are great!  They can charge so many things with various ports.  They are easy to pack and easy to charge and care for. Grab and go!  

Just note, the more features and digital displays and such that they have, the more power they consume.  As always, the more power they have the longer they last, and, the more expensive they are.  It's great if you can learn to charge these from your vehicle, and many come with solar panels as a combo kit.

 GAS GENERATORS:

Many people wish to purchase a gas powered generator for emergency power. Lessons learned from other Ham radio operators and other disasters was that getting fuel for generators in a really bad disaster was very difficult. Transporting fuel can also be very difficult. In some places, the noise of the generator attracted unwanted attention from people who were looking to obtain supplies from people who were prepared.  

Storing fuel long-term can be difficult, and there are limitations on the amount of fuel that you can store in your house in many places.  Additionally, generators themselves are and can be very expensive.  However, if you wish to use a generator, I would encourage you to prayerfully do your own research and homework on what's going to be the best fit for you and your family. For emergency communications, we typically do not require the power volume that a gas-powered generator produces.

CONSERVING POWER:

At the end of it all, managing your power is a skill that you will acquire over time. Here's some tips: 

1) Turn your transmission power down to the minimum needed. 

2) Turn your volume down. 

3) Become efficient at communicating - keep messages short - reduces transmit time and power consumption.

4) Turn off backlights on your radio screen (no need to have the backlight on in the daytime, or running continuously at night). 

5) Be prepared for an emergency, have your notebooks and message forms ready so you can write them down the first time and aren't making others repeat and use their power as well as your own. 

6) Become familiar with your radio and the systems you are going to have to operate on, their frequencies. This makes it easier to troubleshoot problems so you don't waste time and power trying to figure out why people can't hear you or you can't hear them.  PRACTICE!

TIPS FROM EXPERIENCE: 

Don't go overboard with this - line upon line, precept on precept - don't run faster than you are able. Get one system down and thoroughly practiced and troubleshot and then move on to starting the next one. You don't need the best of everything, having basic equipment and being able to afford all the other necessities is better than having one of the best of something but nothing else. Prepare diligently.

Emergency Prep: Communications Checklist

The following is a list of supplies / prep you'll want to take/have/get for your family to be ready for an emergency involving communications.   I recommend working on at least one of these a week if you're able to,  and you'll be set in no time - remember to consult with the Lord,  and never run faster than you are able to. 

1. Radios - charged and ready to go in home where all family members can get them? (Including knowing how to use them? )

2. Emergency charging equipment - car charger or solar panels with attachments for your radios - accessible and known how to use?  (+spares?)

3. Battery pack for charging - spare batteries for radio or portable power pack your wall chargers can plug into? 

4. Antennas - spares? 

5.  Owners manual for radio,  printed out and accessible?

6. List of frequencies for stake, repeaters,  and EMS printed out? (See right side of blog).

7. Message traffic forms (stack of them - I have 20-50),  printed out?  (See right side of blog).

8.  Binder for keeping organized plus notebooks with paper? 

9.  Writing utensils? (Plenty?) 

10. 72 hour grab/go kits ready with meds, glasses, sleeping, water,  clothes,  misc? 

11. Earphones for radio?  (Can be nice for discretion or in a noisy environment).

12. Backpack to carry all this in easily accessible in one grab? 

13. Anything else?  (James 1:5; let me know!)

14. Keep going! But if ye are prepared,  ye shall not fear.  

Selecting A Mobile Radio

Mobile radios are radios you put in your vehicle.  Why get a mobile?  They have more power than a hand-held, your command station (vehicle) is just gas-and-go, nothing to put up or take down in the field, it's always protected from the weather, can be relocated faster than on foot.

You'll very often see mobile radios for vehicles out in the fields or even on a ham's desk in their office.  Why?  Because mobile radios are designed to withstand shock, vibration, movement, they are designed to fit in small spaces, run on variable power (electrical charging systems aren't always constant), run through a variety of temperature extremes, etc. etc.  In other words, most ham radios are designed with mobility in mind (not all, but most).

So, what radio do you pick for your vehicle?  

For emergency preparedness, ERC, you really only need a few features which most radios come with:

• BANDS - VHF/UHF - some radios do come with only VHF, but our backup band is the 70cm (UHF) band, so having UHF as well is really helpful. 
• POWER - ≥25W power.
  

Most mobile radios are just VHF/UHF, some will be advertised as a "tri-band" or "quad band" and you really have to look at what that means.  Most hams buy two radios for their vehicles if they are doing both VHF/UHF and HF - one for the former, and one for the latter because the latter also requires a separate antenna system.  Even if you do get an all-in-one like the Yaesu 991A, you'll still need two antennas for it if you're going to operate on all bands. For ERC as a Technician Licensee, you primarily need VHF/UHF.

Here's a few features I like when it comes to emergency preparedness.

• Dual monitoring (can listen to two channels at once).
• ≥50W power - you may even see 75W, and even 25W will get you out pretty good across our stake. In a total disaster, when the electrical grid goes out, most of the radio interference (Radio Frequency Interference - RFI) disappears and your range drastically increases.
  

Bonus feature: 

• Detachable face-plate - means you can mount the radio body someplace, and run a cord to the faceplate and put it somewhere you can see it much easier than trying to fit a bulky body and get everything aimed just right so you can see it. 
  

Beyond that for emergency prep and being able to communicate, you're good to go.  

QYT-KT8900R - fixed faceplate

When it comes to purchasing radios, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).  You can buy used radios and they may work perfectly well (off eBay, Facebook, etc.).  I've had some great success that way, but also, if radios are exposed to smokers, etc., or have been used a bit hard, you may not see it or notice it until later. I've bought used ones where I just needed a replacement part for another radio.  For other things, I'm just fine with Amazon (for my handhelds) and bigger purchases I use DX Engineering or Gigaparts (links to the right on this blog).  If you're out and about you can stop into a ham shop and buy a radio there (closest ones I saw last time were a few hundred miles from here).  I haven't purchased a radio from The Antenna Farm, but I have ordered other supplies for antennas from them (link also on the right).  

Also, radios for or from different parts of the world (i.e., a Yaesu built for use over in Japan versus the USA) often come preprogrammed with different frequencies than the USA.  I tried to save money by getting a great deal on a ham radio from Japan/for Japan only to find I couldn't use it here and had to send it back.  If you're ordering it from a stateside vendor, most likely it will be suited for use in the USA.

I have one of these - This is a low-end radio that I put in my go-kit and it works perfectly fine, puts out 25W and I have it hooked to a LiFePO4 battery.  This is a QYT-KT8900R (don't ask me what the letters mean, Chinese radios come with numbers and letters for the name).  I bought it used off Ebay for ~$70, it could go into a vehicle or even go on your desk (You'd probably have to change the wiring for the power supply, but that's easy, hams do that all the time).  It does everything I would need for an emergency. 

TYT-TH9800 - faceplate detaches

My first mobile radio (which I love) is the  TYT-TH9800, a Chinese radio that, for the features, is extremely inexpensive (I paid a little over $200).  It also is capable of listening on the air-bands (listening to aircraft or air traffic control) and can be unlocked to communicate outside of ham frequencies without having to have hardware changed (i.e., have someone remove a resistor inside to open up frequencies for you thereby impacting your warranty).  While we don't communicate out-of-band, for a disaster scenario, being able to communicate on EMS frequencies can be a real comfort and lifesaver or even help to EMS services. It also has cross-band-repeater capabilities where you can use this radio as a repeater, i.e., park your vehicle on a hill while you hike into a valley and use your handheld to reach the vehicle's radio which then relays your signal to a repeater.  It also has a detachable face-plate. It can also communicate on the 6M and 10M bands.  We don't use either of those bands as a church, and I haven't used them on the radio.

Yaesu FT-400 - separate faceplate

There are fancier radios out there like the Yaesu FT-400.  It has a host of features that are great for any serious ham enthusiast.  However, for an emergency, we really only need meat and potatoes basics.  Why not all the other bells and whistles?  Well, for what we are doing as a stake and caring for our
families, we have some pretty basic frequencies we'll be relying on to communicate and get information over.  Features like digital WIRES-X or GPS we really don't need, neither do we need a fancy LCD touch screen - those also suck up more power faster from your battery supply.  But if you're a serious enthusiast, this is a fantastic rig in my experience, I've not even begun to tap how to use its full capabilities.  It's a lot of fun  (and the price has come down quite a bit on it since I bought mine).  This is one of those ones that requires a hardware change (cutting out a resistor from the circuitry) to unlock it to use beyond ham bands. 

On my more expensive radios I did pay for the warranty and service package.  

You can mount your radio about anywhere you want.  I am not a fan of drilling into my car or doing extensive work with interior panels - mount-and-go is my style - so I passed the power cords through a grommet in the firewall with my Acura that was up under the dashboard using a coat hanger and one of my kids to get the wiring from the battery to the radio.  That was actually the hardest part, get the coat hanger through, and then attach the wire to it using a tiny bend in the coat hanger and pull it back through.   With my van, I just drilled a hole in the dash where the feed line came through.  I mounted my radio body in my Acura on the driver's side down near my right leg with the speaker pointed out so I could hear better, so that I can turn the AC on down on my feet and have it cool the radio, and just beware not to cook it with heat down on my feet (they hold up pretty well with heat, but take care of your equipment).  

In my van I mounted my radio to my right and below the dashboard and aimed towards me so I could see it.  I wish I'd known about detachable face plates then or the Lido mounts (see next paragraph). 

There are many mounts you can get for a detachable faceplate, I used a Lido seat-bolt mount on the passenger side with my Yaesu FT400.  You'll need to get mount that matches your radio because different radios have different attachments, and you may need to order a longer cord from the faceplate to the body depending on your arrangements (check Amazon or whoever you buy the radio from).

Prayerfully consider what to get, don't go broke doing this, save up if you want to, but when you're ready, get your radio, save your receipt, it's easier than you think and we can help get you going. 

When you buy a radio, you're going to need to get an antenna and some wiring supplies which will be covered in the next entries.