1. WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE? Radios, Antennas, Accessories, Personal Items, & More
Welcome to the wonderful world of Ham Radio and congratulations on taking the time to get licensed and volunteering for a roll in Emergency Communications.
I want to take some time to go over what radio equipment is needed to support both VHF and UHF voice communications in a field deployment.
Perhaps you already own a VHF hand held radio for the two meter band on ham radio, this is a great start.
In the Greater Puget Sound Area there are a great many VHF and UHF repeaters, in fact every available repeater pair is coordinated for use. Unfortunately we all can’t share the same repeater for our communication groups at the same time. In addition, repeaters may not be available following a disaster situation due to equipment damage and/or power interruptions.
Chances are you may use a two meter repeater to check in and then be assigned a repeater or simplex frequency in either the 2 meter or 70cm amateur band. We have a great group of volunteers that serve many agencies in our region and by using both UHF and VHF we can communicate a lot of information from the field to our served agencies and make the maximum effective use of our available spectrum.

3. But First …
Do we need to backup a little?

4. The Beginners Track Getting your first radio
I have my radio, how do I turn it on?
Safety for Beginners
But I’m afraid to talk into the microphone
This is fun, What’s Next?
I Get it Now! Where do I Go From Here?

5. Some Broad Radio Categories
Handheld
Small, portable, light weight
Easily transported
Use much less power (battery)
Mobile
Much higher transmit power
Better audio (volume & quality)
Easier to use controls and displays
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
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?

6. When a nearby powerful transmitter totally overwhelms your receiver.
DE-SENSE
When a nearby powerful transmitter totally overwhelms your receiver.
For example, you are parked beside another vehicle, you both have mobile ham radios and are both tuned to the same repeater. The person in the other car is talking on the repeater, but you can’t hear him on your radio.
Or, two of you are sitting at the same table with handheld radios, same situation. The other person is transmitting, talking on the repeater and you can’t hear him on your radio.

7. SOLVING DE-SENSE USE LOWEST POWER POSSIBLE (ALWAYS) ANTENNA SEPARATION
Free space attenuation is about 6db (or about 75%) every time you double the distance between antennas.
10 feet of vertical separation is equal to 40 feet of horizontal separation. At 150 MHz that provides about 35 db of isolation.
WIDER FREQUENCY SEPARATION

8. BUT WE’RE ON DIFFERENT BANDS
Amateur UHF (70 cm) is roughly the third harmonic of Amateur VHF (2 meter).
x 3 =
Intermod products are very complex calculations. For example, if we have , and all transmitting at the same time, there are 72 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th order harmonics ranging from 70 MHz to 1.7 GHz
Again, lowest possible transmit power and maximum possible antenna separation are your solutions.

9. A QUICK LOOK AT (DC) POWER
Battery power. Your nice little radio takes a lot of power for a deployment or just for the use of the enjoyment of ham radio. Most radios come with a rechargeable battery and a wall wart to charge the battery and takes about 12 hours to charge a battery. The bad news is that charged battery will last from 2 hours to 5 hours depending on your transmitting time and power settings.

10. Battery Power Consumption
Wouxun Handheld
On, idle amp
RX low volume 0.09 amp
RX high volume 0.20 amp
TX low power 0.55 amp
TX high power 1.50 amp
Kenwood TM-V71A Mobile
Off amp
On, idle amp
RX low volume 0.60 amp
RX high volume 0.70 amp
TX low power 2.75 amp
TX high power 7.40 amp

11. BATTERY CAPACITY Rated in Amp Hours (or milli-amp hours)
Can’t totally deplete – figure 60% of rated capacity
If draw down faster than rating plan, figure 90% of the previously calculated 60%.
Example: a 7.5 amp hour gell cell
60% = 4.5 amp hour and 90% of that = 4.05 amp hour
Example: an 80 amp hour car battery
60% = 48 amp hour and 90% of that = 43 amp hour
(A quick & conservative estimate is 50% of rated capacity)
So you need a spare rechargeable battery, or a battery pack that takes AA batteries. Most packs use 4-6 AA batteries AA batteries are cheap so you will need a pile of them for a back-up. The new lithium AA batteries are a great choice as they have a shelf life of 10 years and out last Alkaline batteries about 6 times (but are much more expensive also). You can also use rechargeable AA batteries with your AA battery pack, but you have to remember to recharge all your rechargeable batteries regularly. I don't recommend rechargeable AA batteries for EMCOM though.
On the topic of recharging batteries, you can get a fast charger that works from your 12Volt car battery or 115V ac. This unit will typically charge a pack in less than an hour.

12. HOW LONG WILL MY RADIO RUN?
Assume higher than normal radio traffic – let’s use 65% receive, 10% transmit and 25% idle (most HT batteries are rated at 5%, 5% and 90%) V71 hi V71 low Wouxun 1700 mAh 3.6 Hrs 7.5 Ah 2.5 Hrs 4.8 Hrs 16 Hrs 80 Ah 27.2 Hrs 51.3 Hrs 171 Hrs So the HT will run approximately 3 times longer than the mobile radio on the same sized battery given the same transmit power & usage pattern. 10% transmit is only 6 minutes per hour! And in an emergency situation, it is not realistic to expect even 25% idle time.
Show Excel spreadsheet.

13. BATTERY CAPACITY IN PRACTICE
Explain how keeping batteries warm gives them longer life. Also draining them at rated capacity versus at faster rate.

14. Sources of Emergency Power
-STORAGE BATTERY
-GENERATOR
-SOLAR
-HUMAN GENERATED
-MOTOR VEHICLE -
Show different batteries, lithium batteries, etc. Discuss power sources, power supplies, solar panels, generators, and safety.
Show external power adapters for handheld radios. Leads into connectors – power poles next slide.
Something that works great in the field is a battery pack device that you can plug into your car dash for 12 Volts or have an oversized gel cell or AGM
battery. You can power your radio for a day or more depending on the size of the auxiliary battery. A small solar charger could be of some use also.
There are a number of good quality battery charger/analyzer/conditioner devices. MAHA is a major manufacturer and has several models for different types of batteries. If you use rechargeable batteries, I would look into one of these.

15. CONNECTIONS THAT WORK TOGETHER

16. THE ANDERSON POWER POLE
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Has become an Amateur EMCOMM standard
Can be plugged and unplugged countless times
Polarity easy to see and maintain
Little danger of short in a dry environment
Requires specialized crimpers and parts
Crimping technique requires some training or practice
Supplies not readily available locally
Connection does not positively lock
Connection not waterproof

17. Radio Summary
Many variables, pick based on your specific needs for your specific situation (mobile, handheld, etc.)
Environmental considerations – some radios are rated for wet/moist environments.
Accessories – external power, external antenna adapter, spare battery, manual for the radio.

18. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ANTENNA

19. 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. =

20. 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.

21. 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

22. Preparing for radio operations
Recommended radio supplies from the ARES Field Manual:
Toolbox
Headphones
Electrical and duct tape
Power supplies, chargers
Soldering iron and solder
RF Connectors
Safety glasses
Antennas with mounts
VOM
Patch cords
Additional radios
SWR bridge
Digital gear
Extra coax
Microphones
Extra batteries
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.

23. Personal preparation
Be prepared to live off your own resources, carried in your “go kit,” for the duration of the deployment. This includes food, water, replacement clothing, medical supplies, and so on.
It’s nice to carry everything in every Ham Radio Go Kits ideas published but in an emergency earthquake or storm situation you might not have the use of a large car or truck to transport you gear, you may be on foot. Besides radio gear, your kit will consist of personal survival equipment, food, water and portable shelter in place gear. The trick is trying to get everything in a nice compact deployment package that can be used in responding to an emergency communications assignment.

24. Personal preparation
Recommended personal supplies for a 72 hour go kit from the ARES Field Manual:
Snacks
3 day change of clothes
Liquid refreshments
Foul weather gear
Throat lozenges
3 day supply of water and food
Aspirin
Prescriptions
Portable stove; mess kit with cleaning kit
Toilet articles
First aid kit
Flashlight
Message forms
Batteries
Log books
Candles
Shelter (tent and sleeping bag)
Water proof matches
Alarm clock

25. For More Information Email me: Carl@n7kuw.com WWW.N7KUW.COM/CommAcad/
Copy of this presentation
me: