Statewide Special Events Proposal for Portable 2M & 70cM Repeaters

Buchanan County ARC –Larry Locke (KDØGFY), President, Buchanan County EC –Steve Murphy(KDØUIK), Vice President –Clair Franzen (KCØRFN), Secretary / Treasurer, Buchanan County AEC Linn County CERT ARC –Rich Struve (NØUUS), Founder Rural Iowa ARC –Eric Grams (NØZJT), President, Fayette County EC –Dan Bonjour (KDØBIJ), Vice President, Fayette County AEC –Jerry Clark (KØVTT), Secretary / Treasurer

Long History Amateur radio has a long history supporting public events and in times of disaster This is done through individual hams, clubs and ARES Buchanan County Amateur Radio Club, Linn County CERT Radio Club and Rural Iowa Amateur Radio Club have chose to specialize in these services

Key Components Many skills and a deep equipment cache is brought to the table –Communications Van –Portable Repeater Trailer –Command Trailer –Radar Monitoring / Lighting Detection –Wireless Internet –Drone mounted Camera But have to rely on local ham repeaters

Public Safety Comparison As part of the National Interoperability Communications Plan national channels have been identified for interoperability between agencies –National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) –Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG)

Proposal Identify a 2 M and 70 cM frequency pairs to be used as state wide temporary repeater pairs for special event and emergency response use Idea from –Twin-Band Area Spectrum Management Association Located in southern California –

Details 2 M Suggested State Wide Portable Repeater Pair for Special Event & Emergency Use – input – output A wide-split repeater pair (2.655 MHz split), on a shared non-protected basis to facilitate the operation of small portable 2 meter repeaters

Limitations Effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 Watts Maximum antenna height above local terrain of 100 Feet (30.5 Meters) Repeaters utilizing this pair shall use CTCSS or DCS access

Special Event Operation Shall be limited to no more than 24 hours before the beginning of the event and continue no more than 24 hours after the events completion –Example: A 5K run occurring July 5th at 8:00 the repeater may go on the air July 4th at 8:00 and shall be off the air no later than July 6th at 10:00 assuming the event lasted 2 hours

Emergency Operation Shall be limited to start when a request has been received from a local emergency management agency for communications support and continue no more than 24 hours after the request to discontinue operations –Note: Operations during drills and / or exercises is allowed for a period no longer then 24 hours

Coordination As frequencies are allocated state wide, use within the prescribed guidelines will be considered coordinated Groups setting up a system shall monitor before activating as to not interfere with a system already in operation Operation outside these limits will be considered uncoordinated operation unless approved on a case-by-case basis by the Technical Committee

Rational If a dedicated repeater pair was set up state wide, local ARES groups and others could have the pair pre-programmed into their radios By using a pair 2Mhz or wider smaller mobile duplexers can be used so the system is truly portable and the duplexers will stay in tune better Using a ERP of 100 watts would be a 50 watt mobile radio with a 3dB gain antenna

Rational The height of 100 feet allows use of portable tower trailers, roof etc. to get reasonable range at a disaster but still keep the area covered down May want to consider a lower height for special events is coverage area is a concern

Proposal 70 cM Suggest that a 70cm pair also be selected Operate under the same guidelines as the 2 M pair Due to spacing of normal repeater pairs, suggest that the Repeater Council select a standard pair if one is available

Next Steps If Statewide ARES leadership concurs with this proposal Select representatives from this organization to present the concept to the Iowa Repeater Council If they concur, create policy documents –Adopt policy by both organizations

Questions?

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