Radio Amateur EmergencY NETwork Dumfries and Galloway RAYNET Radio Amateur EmergencY NETwork

What is RAYNET? RAYNET is an acronym for the 'Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network', formed by the Radio Society of Great Britain in 1953 following the disastrous UK East Coast Floods, during these floods Radio Amateurs provided emergency communications because of the severe disruption caused to normal means of  communication, thus contributing to saving lives and property.

The 1953 floods were caused by a major storm surge which coincided with a naturally high spring tide. Storm surges are caused when air pressure and strong winds push a volume of water across large distances. The result is an elevated body or 'hump' of seawater which can move towards the coast and overtop sea defences. Small changes in atmospheric pressure can result in large volumes of water being displaced. The storm surge that caused the 1953 floods resulted in sea levels rising almost 3 meters above normal high water marks. Most sea defences along the east coast of England were not designed for such events and most could not prevent the oncoming wave of water.

Dumfries and Galloway RAYNET Dumfries and Galloway Raynet was founded in 1986 by the late Alex Anderson GM4VIR after a major forest fire about 8 miles north of the town of Gatehouse of Fleet in 1982/3. The local WRVS were providing food and drinks from the village to the fire fighters but were having problems in updating the food requirements for the large number of people involved. Afterwards Mrs Lillian Dent the WRVS organiser asked Alex if the local amateurs could have provided some kind of radio link between the two and Alex decided then that Dumfries and Galloway Raynet should be established. The minutes of the first AGM dated 8th September 1986 show members present as John GM6LYJ, Alan GM4XTI, Keith GM4JKB, Sam GM4HTI, Jack GM3OXK, Alex GM4VIR, Drew GM6AWA, Jim GM4RJF, John GM8RSC, Hazel GM4VIS and Lorna GM6WJI. The minutes go on to relate election of office bearers, Alex was elected controller and so Dumfries and Galloway Raynet began. Over the years the group has been very active in all parts of the region and were among the first Raynet groups on the scene at the Lockerbie air disaster along with operators from Strathclyde, Ayrshire and many other areas. Alex was awarded the MBE for his work during the disaster, which he accepted on behalf of all the Raynet operators involved.

Our current membership stands at approximately 20 with around 12 very active members involved in the regular group exercises. All our exercises are related to safety radio cover and events such as Marathons, Hill Runs, Horse Endurance Rides, Point to Point Racing, Sled Dog Races, Sealed Knot Events, Car Rallying, Exercises with the local Emergency Planning Office the list goes on. The high spot of our year is the Galloway Hills Rally which is run through the forestry areas between Dalbeattie and Newton Stewart, for this event we need at least 25 operators and we use 4 talk through units linked back to Rally Control in Castle Douglas. Over the last couple of years the group has enjoyed something of a revival with new members and users, we have also been allocated equipment and resources from the Dumfries and Galloway Council which has helped greatly with maintaining our profile within the community.

The Lockerbie Air Disaster On Wednesday 21st December at 19:03 Hrs Pan AM flight 103 a Boeing 747 exploded at 31,000 feet over the town of Lockerbie causing major loss of life both in the air and on the ground. Given the difficult terrain the subsequent search for passengers and evidence over the vast area of remote countryside showed the emergency services’ existing communications network in that area to be inadequate RAYNET installed Radio Communications systems at short notice and supplied radio operators to pass messages and control the network over a ten day period. There were up to 130 radio operators on the ground in any one day and over 7000 man hours devoted to the disaster by RAYNET members from all over the UK.

Sustainable Communications Communications technology has advanced in leaps and bounds over the twenty years since the Lockerbie Disaster, and the introduction of the Airwave system has made communications more dependent on IT than ever before. If there were to be a major incident with massive power outages or damage (natural or man made) to communications installations this could seriously disrupt the ability of emergency services to maintain contact with their control. This is where RAYNET could be of invaluable help.Our equipment is not dependent on IT: each member has an independent mobile radio station and usually a base station at home and all our equipment is powered by 12 volt DC which makes it totally independent. The mobile units have a repeater system and portable mast and can be deployed in strategic locations to facilitate communications county-wide. Recently we linked Stranraer to Annan using our repeater system. We were able to access Dumfries EPO using handheld radios from Stranraer, Newton Stewart, Wigtown, Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright, Castle Douglas, Crocketford, Sanquhar, Thornhill and Annan. It took approximately two hours to set this system up.

Mobile Control Unit During the early part of 2006 we were awarded a grant by Dumfries and Galloway Council which enabled us to purchase a large Box Trailer and convert it for use as a mobile control unit. It is fitted with two VHF/UHF radios capable of being used as cross band repeaters, there are two extendable aluminium masts at the rear which allow us to have two radio stations working at once (one on VHF and one on UHF) this allows us greater flexibility. Power is from two 100Ahr batteries with two solar panel charging units on top…..all backed up by a 1.5 Kva generator giving us 240 volts as well as a 12 volt charging system. There’s no shortage of volunteers to work control now!

The group’s general running costs are funded by donations from users such as the Scottish Endurance Riding Club, Galloway Hills Rally, Hardrock Challenge and many more users. But items such as the control unit and new radio equipment generally require funding from other sources. We are currently looking for funding to purchase a new mobile tower unit as our existing one has now become unusable. We are also looking to purchase APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) equipment. This equipment will allow us to keep accurate locations of all mobile and pedestrian operators. Dumfries and Galloway RAYNET would like to thank your department for the support given to us over the years and we look forward to many more years of your continued support. John McCulloch MM0GOF Controller D&G RAYNET