1. September 2017 NW Citizen Corps Expo Instructor: Carl Leon, N7KUW
Radio Basics For CERT:
September 2017 NW Citizen Corps Expo
Instructor: Carl Leon, N7KUW

2. NOTE/DISCLAIMER:
This is not the official CERT Emergency Communications Class. But I do draw some information from that course to put this material in the proper context.

3. About Me: Carl Leon, N7KUW, WQKR592, WQSB766
Ham since 1988 – Extra class
GMRS since 2004
FCC General Radio-Telephone since 1981
FEMA/DHS COML / COMT / AUXCOM
Oregon-ACES Instructor
Deputy Director, Seattle ACS
King County SAR Communications Team
CERT Trained

4. About You (Introductions):
Name
Where you are a CERT (city/group)
Licenses & call sign(s)
How long using 2-way radio

5. For More Information WWW.N7KUW.COM/CommAcad/
Copy of this presentation (and some others)
me:

6. Communications Plan CERT Emergency Communications
Communications plan diagram
CERT Emergency Communications

7. Communications Plan CERT Emergency Communications
Communications plan diagram
CERT Emergency Communications

8. Communications Plan CERT Emergency Communications
Communications plan diagram
CERT Emergency Communications

9. Communications Plan CERT Emergency Communications
Communications plan diagram
CERT Emergency Communications

10. How do we make this happen?
Considerations:
Who needs to talk to who
Range needed
Frequencies/channels needed
Transmit power needed
Privacy considerations
License requirements
Antenna requirements
Power source(s) available

11. Communications Plan CERT Emergency Communications
Communications plan diagram
CERT Emergency Communications

12. Radio Types/Services FRS (New rules, Oct 2017)
Low power (< 2 watts ERP)
short range (1/4 to ½ mile typical)
license by rule (Don’t need “formal” license)
GMRS (New rules, Oct 2017)
Higher power (5 to 50 watts)
Longer Range
Can use repeaters
Requires License (covers a family)
Require FCC approved radios!

13. Radio Types/Services MURS (Multiple Use Radio Service) Citizens Band
5 VHF radio frequencies
Low power, simplex only
License by Rule (no individual license)
Citizens Band
27 MHz, 40 channels
Require FCC approved radios!

14. Radio Types/Services Amateur Business/Commercial/Public Safety
Many frequency bands
Much higher power levels
Repeaters, internet connections, and more
Requires individual license
Business/Commercial/Public Safety
Licensed for a very specific frequency, power, location, and purpose.
Only for businesses, government entities, etc.
Anyone within that entity can use (all covered by that single license)
Requires FCC approved radios.

15. New FRS / GMRS Rules FRS Can use all 22 channels
Narrow band (12.5 KHz band width) only
2 watts on channels 1-7 and 15-22
0.5 watts on channels 8-14
Cannot be capable of transmitting on any other frequency.
Non-removable antenna
Cannot be hybrid FRS/GMRS – FRS ONLY.
Must be FCC Part 95 approved/certificated (with FCC ID number on manufacturer’s label)

16. New FRS / GMRS Rules GMRS
May use FRS channels 1-7 with 5 watts of power, narrow band (are considered as GMRS in this use).
May use primary 8 GMRS channels with 50 watts of power, wide band.
May use 8 GMRS repeater input channels with 50 watts of power, wide band.
May use FRS channels 8-14 with 0.5 watts of power, narrow band (handheld radio only)
Must be FCC Part 95 approved/certificated (with FCC ID number on manufacturer’s label)
Cannot be hybrid FRS-GMRS, GMRS only.
Cannot be able to transmit on any non-GMRS frequency (such as amateur).

17. FCC ID Number:
Applies to any non-amateur type of radio (GMRS, Commercial, Etc.)

18. Getting a Radio: Considerations
What radio service (FRS/GMRS/Ham/Commercial)?
New or Used?
Collector?
Occasional operator?
Public Service Oriented?
Contesting?
Emcomm?
Fixed, Mobile or Portable?
Apartment, covenant-restricted, rural?
VHF, UHF, HF, Satellite?
Digital modes?
How much are you able or willing to invest? 

19. Some Broad Radio Categories
Handheld
Small, portable, light weight
Easily transported
Use much less power (battery)
Amateur
Field programmable – frequency, tone, power
Very wide receive capability (“DC to daylight”)
Multi-band capability
Only legal on amateur frequencies
Commercial
Less susceptible to intermod
Better selectivity, less sensitive to de-sense
Some are much more rugged
Legal on business, public safety, and amateur
Mobile
- Much higher transmit power
- Better audio (volume & quality)
- Easier to use controls and displays
FRS/GMRS
- One or the other, restricted to
that specific use
- Good for local, short range
Expect a lot of traffic in any
emergency scenario
Can only have FRS, or GMRS,
channels in the radio.
My recommendation for a hand held radio would be for a dual band VHF/UHF radio. Separate single band radios can also be used. If you only have a single band radio, don't be discouraged, you can still provide valuable help.
Which radio should I buy? This is kind of like asking what brand or model car, or phone, should you buy. You might get feedback from your club or emergency communications group as to what they recommend (or what many of the members use). Another choice would to use the internet and go to eHam and look at “product reviews” and then make a choice as what to purchase new or used.
One moderately priced radio worth looking into is the Wouxun KG-UV6 if you are looking for a new VHF/UHF hand held radio selling for less than two hundred dollars. A properly imported Wouxun that has the FCC Identification number included on its label is also certificated for Part 90 (business/industrial/public safety) use, with official permission of the applicable license holder. The Wouxun is NOT legal for FRS, GMRS, MURS or Marine frequencies though (different FCC regulations cover those services). If non-amateur communications capability is a requirement for you (in addition to amateur), you should consider equipment similar to what the licensee operates (your employer or the agency/entity you are using those communications with). Many commercial 2-way radios will also operate in the 2 meter or 70 cm amateur bands (when properly programmed to do so).
Most radios are difficult to program manually in the field even with the instruction manual at hand. Commercial radios cannot be field programmed. Programming software with a USB Computer transfer cable is provided with some radios and can be purchased for almost any radio. The nice thing is the software creates a spread sheet and all you have to do is fill in the fields with frequency information and best of all the Alpha tags are typed in from your keyboard. Follow the instructions in the software package to transfer the information from the spread sheet to your radio.
There are various software packages available, some from radio manufacturers and some from third party vendors such as CHIRP and RT Software systems. CHIRP can be downloaded for free but you need to buy the appropriate USB-to-radio cable separately. The package from RT Systems provides their software and a USB transfer cable and is priced around $50.
Now that we have considered your radio choices, let's get started in EMCOMM using with this little hand held electronic wonder.
You have spent good money on your radio, so you might consider purchasing a holster of some type to protect it a bit from the elements for field use. There are a variety of models and styles to consider.
The number one problem in the field is you may have to change frequencies, offsets, tones for repeaters or simplex use and all of a sudden your mind goes blank on all the hoops you have to go through to accomplish this task. One "solution" to this is to pre-program as much as possible into your radio so that what you need is already there. But sometimes things change, so the other solution is to keep the radio manual of your radio or a copy of it with you during a deployment or have a cheat sheet so you can do this.
Talking about frequencies, you should program in all the frequencies your agency uses into the radio’s memory and make a mini list as to where in the radio memory they are located for recall. Some radios use numbers and some have alpha tags. It's Also a good idea to have a list of regional repeaters and simplex frequencies used for EMCOMM in your deployment kit, you can get them from you served agency or other seasoned members of your group. I use a lot of commercial radios, which can't be programmed in the field, so I pre-program the entire 2 meter Western Washington band plan, all repeaters and all simplex channels, in ascending frequency order. That way I will almost always have whatever frequency is specified available. Same thing for UHF and 70cm frequencies.
A great source for US, Canada and Mexico amateur radio frequency data base is on the internet at Also, you can join the Western Washington Amateur Relay Association ( and as a member download their database of all coordinated repeaters in Western Washington. You can download the band plan for Western Washington without being a member.
So now we have a hand held radio, with a protective holster, pre-programmed with frequencies and a manual/cheat sheet for field programming. What’s next?

20. New vs. Used Used Usually no warranty Benefits of Used
Problems with Used
More bang for the buck
You might inherit problems
More ‘track record’
Not latest technology
Might get it from a friend
Might not be your friend for long! 
Usually no warranty

21. New vs. Used New Benefits of New Problems with New Latest technology
No track record
Usually has a warranty
Usually more expensive
Accessories available
Simple or aftermarket alternatives may not be available yet
Often smaller
Smaller isn’t always best
Feature set is often “better”
Improvements may be small increments

22. Research Before You Buy
Save yourself a lot of grief
Remember, opinions are like belly-buttons…
Look for personal experience
QRZ.COM
eHam.net
CQ-amateur-radio.com
ARRL.org
Various Yahoo Groups
Retail sites such as universal-radio.com, hamradio.com, aesham.com, texastowers.com and others
Local hams, clubs, ARES/RACES team, etc.

23. Mobile vs. Handheld vs. Base
How will you operate?
Can you afford several types?
In General
HT’s have lowest power, but most utility
Mobiles can be used as a base station (need power supply and antenna)
Many base station rigs are also transportable
HT’s can be connected to an amp for more power (less common)
So can mobiles
So can bases
Output Power: 50/20/10/5 W (144 MHz),
35/20/10/4 W (430 MHz)

24. Handie-Talkies (“HTs”)
Mono-banders usually least expensive
Note: Don’t unnecessarily limit yourself
Most have a 5 Watt output on 2M
Dual-banders are probably the most popular
Option: Dual receive (more expensive)
Single receive (can be competitive with mono-banders)

25. Handheld Radios (HT)
(Also consider Anytone, TYT, Tytera, and others. What is shown is only illustrative, not recommendations. There are many options.)
I googled Ham handheld radio comparisons and got this list of current models.

26. One good option…
$270
For all items

27. Mobiles (think “your car”)
More power than an HT (some are 100W!)
Can be used mobile, base or transportable with the appropriate power source
Can be cost-competitive with HTs
Easier to read displays than HTs
Usually more features and capabilities
Normally UHF/VHF, some HF…
Big 3: Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu (Vertex)
Many others: Wouxun, TYT, Tytera, Anytone, Alinco, and more. Many are inexpensive.

28. Kenwood TM-281A, $133

29. True Dual-band operations
Icom’s IC-2730A – About $330

30. A Note About Digital… There are multiple digital technologies and
protocols in use in amateur radio. All are brand specific – proprietary in effect (they do not work with each other). D-Star, Fusion (aka C4FM), DMR, P25.
If you are involved with a group of people who are using digital, then you may want to invest in whatever brand/protocol they are using. None are necessarily better than or worse than the others, they are just different from each other.
Or not. No need to rush in unless you really want to.

31. Digital versus “Digital”
Digital: D-Star, System Fusion, DMR, P25
Use a Vocoder to convert analog voice to digital and transmits a digital signal. Uses a vocoder to decode digital signal and give an analog sound from speaker. Need a specific digital radio per the system used.
“Digital”: Fldigi, Winlink, Winmore, Pactor, etc.
Encode a pseudo-digital signal on an analog radio transmission (FM, SSB). Use a regular UHF, VHF or HF radio.

32. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ANTENNA

33. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ANTENNA
Now comes the single most important thing you can do to improve your radios transmission performance - get rid of the rubber ducky antenna, and use an auxiliary antenna. First choice might to get an auxiliary antenna whip that is about 18in long that connects to the antenna output. They come with SMA and BNC connectors and will improve your receive and transmit factor by fifty percent. They do make an antenna that has a three foot pull up that works great for a radio with a BNC connection but is not recommended for SMA as it could break off the screw-in connection at the radio if flexed to hard.
Once you go past having an antenna that is connected directly to your handheld radio, you can get considerably better antennas and much improved performance. There are as many possible solutions to this as there are people able to think them up. One reasonably good solution is to build a J-pole antenna. A J-pole can be made out of copper tubing, or it can be made out of TV-antenna "twin lead", or a number of other materials. Do a Google search on J-pole antenna and you will find a lot of information on how to build them.
A very handy, small, portable, but good antenna is the Model EE-3 tri-band portable emergency antenna from Evans Engineering. You simply attach the ground plane radials to the base plate, then either fully extend (for 2 meters) or fully retract (for 70cm) the vertical and ground plane elements. For 1.25 meters (220 MHz), set them to about 12-5/8 inches in length. You can find this antenna on eBay for around $30.
You can build your own ground plane ¼ wave antenna out of a connector and some pieces of heavy electrical wire, but because the radials are permanent, it is harder to transport in a compact package.
Another antenna would be a mag mount UHF/VHF antenna, again with the proper antenna cable adaptor for stress relief. You can attach it to the roof of a car, a metal filling cabinet, this antenna should again double the effectiveness of you radio.
Another good antenna for EMCOMM is the ELK Log Periodic Antenna for 2/440. With this antenna you should get a three-fold improvement of effectiveness from your radio. Remember as hams we should use the lowest power setting on our radio, so by lowering the power of your hand held to half power or less you will use less battery power and extend the time you can use your radio from a battery pack. More information on this antenna is on the internet . This antenna is in the $100 range and is also very useful with a mobile UHF/VHF radio which may be the next large purchase you will make in Ham Radio equipment. To support the ELK antenna you will need a portable tripod and mast. =

34. What about the Antenna? HTs: Rubber Duck = “Dummy Load”
Get another one or two, depending on your use. Some aftermarket are pretty good, but be careful of Chinese knock-offs.
Mobiles: Buy a good antenna
Magnetic mounts okay, often not as good as permanent mounts
Center of metal mass tends to be best
Aesthetics may dictate placement! 

35. BASIC ANTENNA RULES Use the best antenna possible
Get it as high as possible
Keep it away from other antennas
Remember RF exposure safety requirements.
Have the proper adapters/connectors.
Beams can help, especially when receiving and for reducing multipath.
Speaker-microphones and the Statue of Liberty
No more antenna slides. Time for a lot of show and tell. Field expedient antennas. Adapters for different connectors. Real life examples of needing/using adapters. Real life examples of using different antennas. Show a long rubber duck, a base antenna, a yaggi, mag mount, etc. Coax – short and longer. Situations where you might be inside and need to set up an outside antenna (shelter operation for example). Summary, be prepared.
A nice addition to your hand held radio would be an auxiliary speaker-microphone which gets a lot of RF away from your head and you can hold the radio over your head and get your antenna higher in the air and still be able to talk on the mike at the same time.
When operating in a quiet setting such as a shelter a useful item is an ear phone bud and/or a set of earphones. When operating in a noisy environment earphones come in very handy. Your radio should have a jack for phones and most all auxiliary microphones have a jack in the microphone. One other consideration when you are in a very noisy environment is to move away to a quieter location when you have to transmit to prevent the background noise from interfering with your voice.
You might add a few antenna adaptors to your kit and some extra antenna coax cable with fittings. I would say 50Ft of coax would be great to have in your kit.
show’s photos of the various cables and has information on loss factors and comments.

36. Adapters & Connectors

37. Coax Cable, aka Feedline

38. Various Coax Types versus Loss

39. A “Base Station” Vertical
2M/440 “base station” antenna – Comet GP-3, ~$90
Some stuff you’ll want to to consider:
Gain:
146MHz 4.5dBi
446MHz 7.2dBi
VSWR: 1.5:1 or less
Max Power: 200 watts
Length: 5' 11"
Weight: 2 lbs. 12 oz.
Mounting Mast Dia: 11⁄2-21⁄4"
Connector: SO-239
Construction: Heavy-duty fiberglass

40. Dish (for HamWAN) www.hamwan.org Way more Directional! Can provide
Yes, this is an amateur radio antenna, operating at 5990 MHz (5.99 GHz)
Way more
Directional!
Can provide
“massive” gain
(30dbm)
Very Line of Sight!
Admittedly, not for CERT

41. Preparing for radio operations
Recommended radio supplies from the ARES Field Manual:
Toolbox – assortment
Headphones
of tools.
Power supplies, chargers
Electrical and duct tape
RF Connectors
Soldering iron and solder
Antennas with mounts
Safety glasses
Patch cords
VOM
SWR bridge
Additional radios
Extra coax
Digital gear
Extra batteries
Microphone
Flashlight
Again, time for a lot of show and tell. Explain why for some of these items (and what they are, e.g., VOM).
I find a LED flashlight with extra batteries, paper and pencil/pen for taking notes, a watch for keeping time, a Leatherman tool, a small VOM meter for checking batteries and for antenna shorts. A fanny pack or small case to store your gear in. A check list of items you need for deployment, as hams we have a tendency to raid our deployment kits for just having fun with our hand held radios.
I have found it useful to put together a three ring binder with information for my served agency for emergency communications. Message forms, frequency lists with offsets and tones used by your served agency, phone numbers used by your agency and members, addresses, list of gear for radio deployment, training notes and the second part is survival gear which we did not include in the presentation. Many people create these forms electronically, but you very well may not have online access in an emergency/disaster situation so having paper copies is a necessity.
To find out more about other ideas on putting together a kit or kits for emergency communications Google [Ham Radio Go Kits] as you will see there are a lot of ideas of how to put a kit together, look over all the ideas and put together something you think would work for you and talk it over with others in your communications group.

42. Personal Preparedness
Food
Utensils
Water
First Aid
Sanitation
Toiletries
I n f o r m a t i o n
Appropriate Apparel
Safety
You need to be prepared to support yourself for the entire period of deployment.

43. Safety and Security TRAINING or DISASTER DISASTER
New or Rarely Practiced Activities
New or Rarely Visited Locations
May be Hazardous Locations
Likely to be Unsecured Locations
DISASTER
Likely to be Hazardous Locations
Panicked People and General Disorder
Can You Deploy? – personal safety, family, property
Keep Yourself Safe – don’t become a casualty and a liability
Think About What You Do – Is it Safe?
Ask For Help – If you have any doubt, ask for advice or assistance
Pay Attention to What Others Do – Is it Safe? Speak Up
Heed Warnings from Others – Stop, Listen, Adjust
JUST A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Cold/Wind/Rain – Hypothermia
Sun/Heat – Heat Exhaustion
Dehydration
Cuts, Scrapes, Bumps, etc
Head and Eye Injuries
Guy Wires and Stakes – Tripping
Free Standing Antenna Masts – Injury from falling mast

44. Specific radios?
Who else to ask?
Other info sources?
Intimidated?

45. For More Information WWW.N7KUW.COM/CommAcad/ Copy of this presentation
me:
And…
for the 2017 Communications Academy at South Seattle College, April 14-15, 2018