Emergency Communications Class

[Sailor]

I am teaching this class in Fort Wayne on April 20th, and at Tactical Response on May 17th. PM me if you are interested in hosting this or have questions. Class is $100 unless I have to travel.

Fort Wayne Registration 4/20/13 9:00-1:00 http://www.agsarmament.com/MPS-Emergency-Communications-Class-MPS-EMCOM.htm

TR Registration http://www.tacticalresponse.com/course.php?courseID=141


Emergency Communications

More and more people are taking it upon themselves to prepare for the uncertain. Power outages, tornado's, ice storm's, civil unrest, the list of natural and man made disasters goes on and on. The fact is, as an individual you are weak but as part of a group you are much stronger.

The weakest link in any tactical or disaster environment is always communication. It is the most important and the most fragile. This four hour class is going to help fix that, and is the culmination of 5 years of trial and error. I know what works and what doesn't work. The four hours will be a combination of lecture and hands on training with a pre-programmed ham radio you get to keep.

TOPICS COVERED:
Evaluating your group
Hands on training with your new Baofeng UV-5R. (One radio included with the class. Extra radios are $50 each)
Gathering intel, using a mix of old and new methods and why this is so important.
Six methods of outbound communications and how/when to use them.
Basic understanding of radio communications. (This is not a full fledged ham radio class).
Lists and hotlinks for recommended gear, and programs you will need.
A plug and play emergency communications system for your neighborhood. (your future group may be next door)
Step by step instruction for you to get the rest of your group up to speed.

The Instructor, Jeff Lewis, will need the name, zip code, and email address of each student as soon as you sign up or no less than a week out from class. He needs this to program your radio for your home location.

About the Instructor:

Jeff Lewis started working on group communications in 2008 as he saw a need to improve the communications within his own preparedness group.Since then he has spent much time testing, radios, antenna's, applications, and procedures. Jeff is an eternal student, and the communications field changes rapidly.

His way of giving back to the community is to pass on what he has learned to as many people as he can.

 

[Glock]

I highly recommend this class to anyone with any interest in emergency communications. It's full of good information.

 

[bb37]

Well, I'm confused.

Are you steering attendees towards getting their amateur radio license? If not, it's not very difficult as there hasn't been a Morse code requirement since 1991.

Are you pre-programming these radios with frequencies in the amateur radio band? If so, it would be illegal for attendees to transmit there without getting their license.

BTW, I am an amateur radio operator, callsign W9RXR, and I am also District Emergency Coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in the central Indiana area.

 

[Sailor]

Well, I'm confused.

Are you steering attendees towards getting their amateur radio license? If not, it's not very difficult as there hasn't been a Morse code requirement since 1991.

Are you pre-programming these radios with frequencies in the amateur radio band? If so, it would be illegal for attendees to transmit there without getting their license.

BTW, I am an amateur radio operator, callsign W9RXR, and I am also District Emergency Coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in the central Indiana area.

Amateur radio is just a portion of the class. It is a tool in the toolbox. I am not steering people away from it. Someone in there group should be licensed. I also realize that in reality not everyone a group will do this. The benefits of being able to monitor the ham freq's are huge.

I am pre-programming the radios for as many ham, public service, and school systems as I can.

I have my general class license, I fully explain the legalities.

Once students have a clear system, and a starting radio, many decide to go on and get licensed.

This class covers, modern tech, ham, SW, powering all the above, and how and when to use them.

 

[bb37]

Cool. We have enough trouble with people inadvertently or maliciously causing interference on the amateur radio frequencies. As long as your students understand their limits, it's all good.

 

[Sailor]

Registration for the Fort Wayne class has moved to AGS Armament. Saturday April 20th 9:00-1:00

MPS Emergency Communications Class

 

[jdhaines]

Registration for the Fort Wayne class has moved to AGS Armament. Saturday April 21st 9:00-1:00

MPS Emergency Communications Class

21st is a Sunday. Is this on Saturday the 20th or Sunday the 21st? Just wanted to be clear.

 

[Sailor]

Sorry thanks for the catch. Saturday 4-20.

 

[jfryan]

Amateur radio is just a portion of the class. It is a tool in the toolbox. I am not steering people away from it. Someone in there group should be licensed. I also realize that in reality not everyone a group will do this. The benefits of being able to monitor the ham freq's are huge.

I am pre-programming the radios for as many ham, public service, and school systems as I can.

I have my general class license, I fully explain the legalities.

Once students have a clear system, and a starting radio, many decide to go on and get licensed.

This class covers, modern tech, ham, SW, powering all the above, and how and when to use them.

As a licensed ham myself, while I agree with the premise of the class, I have to say that putting transmit capable radios, programmed to ham & public safety frequencies, in the hands of unlicensed people is wrong regardless of the purpose. Here in St. Joe County, when the CERT teams were started, everyone was given an FRS radio, which required no license, and accomplished the same thing. Just my , but personally I think it would have been better to go the FRS route for their neighborhood groups, and recommend that people pick up a cheap scanner if the purpose is to monitor what's going on.. If they chose to get their ham license, wonderful - but you wouldn't have a whole neighborhood of unlicensed people talking on frequencies when they shouldn't.

It's also illegal under Indiana code 35-44-3-12.
IC 35-44-3-12
Unlawful use of a police radio; exemptions; "police radio" defined
Sec. 12. (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) possesses a police radio;
(2) transmits over a frequency assigned for police emergency purposes; or
(3) possesses or uses a police radio:
(A) while committing a crime;
(B) to further the commission of a crime; or
(C) to avoid detection by a law enforcement agency;
commits unlawful use of a police radio, a Class B misdemeanor.
(b) Subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2) do not apply to:
(1) a governmental entity;
(2) a regularly employed law enforcement officer;
(3) a common carrier of persons for hire whose vehicles are used in emergency service;
(4) a public service or utility company whose vehicles are used in emergency service;
(5) a person who has written permission from the chief executive officer of a law enforcement agency to possess a police radio;
(6) a person who holds an amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission if the person is not transmitting over a frequency assigned for police emergency purposes;
(7) a person who uses a police radio only in the person's dwelling or place of business;
(8) a person:
(A) who is regularly engaged in newsgathering activities;
(B) who is employed by a newspaper qualified to receive legal advertisements under IC 5-3-1, a wire service, or a licensed commercial or public radio or television station; and
(C) whose name is furnished by his employer to the chief executive officer of a law enforcement agency in the county

in which the employer's principal office is located;
(9) a person engaged in the business of manufacturing or selling police radios; or
(10) a person who possesses or uses a police radio during the normal course of the person's lawful business.
(c) As used in this section, "police radio" means a radio that is capable of sending or receiving signals transmitted on frequencies assigned by the Federal Communications Commission for police emergency purposes and that:
(1) can be installed, maintained, or operated in a vehicle; or
(2) can be operated while it is being carried by an individual.

So if you're programming radios with those frequencies, and someone gets busted for having it with them walking around town. Seems you'd be opening yourself up to liability if something happens since you are the one that provided them. Again.. just my

 

[jdhaines]

You guys are going crazy with this. He's trying to teach people. He's going to explain what is legal and what isn't. The very title is Emergency Communication Class and in an emergency all things are allowed. If we have civil breakdown, natural disasters, etc it would be very nice to have a radio which is already programmed for the emergency channels so we could find out what is going on. Then use other predetermined and programmed channels for local comms.

Getting your ham is a good idea, and certainly something to push, but stop acting like it's a secret club with a secret handshake. This is sort of like telling people they can't own "firing-capable guns" until they are properly licensed. That's BS. There is nothing stopping people from buying or owning "transmit-capable" ham radios and screwing around with them now. This will help people do that in a way that makes sense. People are responsible for themselves and Sailor is offering his time and knowledge to help others learn more about comms. I think it's great and am trying to make plans on attending.

 

[cedartop]

C'mon Josh, we can't have unlicensed people communicating with each other in an emergency!

 

[Sailor]

A few thoughts.

1. People are paying and traveling to take this class. They obviously feel that comms are important enough to do this. The last thing they will be doing is interrupting your Tuesday night ARES net like a drunk CB'er.

2. Like I said before, I know the law up and down. I don't need it quoted for me. I teach it. I teach how easy it is to be located if you break the rules. I have zero concerns about being liable for teaching this class and providing pre-programmed radios.

3. Public service frequencies are programmed to be listen only. This just makes sense so accidental interruptions do not occur.

4. The entire section on setting up your neighborhood revolves around sections of your hood using FRS to report to a ham operator the status of their street. The ham operator then reports this to the EOC, so that LEO do not have to waste their time and resources doing wellness checks in the neighborhood.

5. My goal is to have a large number of MSG's being able to communicate with each other if needed. At least one ham operator is needed per group to properly test this.

6. We are the good guys. The more we can be self sufficient and informed the better. Regardless of a license.

7. Not everyone is an electrical engineer. I think my method is better at reaching some people.

 

[teddy12b]

I'm going to be in class and I can't wait for it. I'll see some of you guys there!

 

[Ted]

A few thoughts.

1. People are paying and traveling to take this class. They obviously feel that comms are important enough to do this. The last thing they will be doing is interrupting your Tuesday night ARES net like a drunk CB'er.

2. Like I said before, I know the law up and down. I don't need it quoted for me. I teach it. I teach how easy it is to be located if you break the rules. I have zero concerns about being liable for teaching this class and providing pre-programmed radios.

3. Public service frequencies are programmed to be listen only. This just makes sense so accidental interruptions do not occur.

4. The entire section on setting up your neighborhood revolves around sections of your hood using FRS to report to a ham operator the status of their street. The ham operator then reports this to the EOC, so that LEO do not have to waste their time and resources doing wellness checks in the neighborhood.

5. My goal is to have a large number of MSG's being able to communicate with each other if needed. At least one ham operator is needed per group to properly test this.

6. We are the good guys. The more we can be self sufficient and informed the better. Regardless of a license.

7. Not everyone is an electrical engineer. I think my method is better at reaching some people.

Do the radios, or will the radios, have the capability to listening to trunked radio systems, or demodulating specific digital radio systems?

 

[Sailor]

No.

 

[jfryan]

That's great & all.. but it's still against the law for them to receive police frequencies if they take them out of the house, without having a ham license. Like I said.. I think the concept is great, but if you know the law "up & down", then you'd know that it's against the law... but I'm sure everyone will keep their radios inside & never transmit on them until they get a license - just like everyone has been told carrying a gun without a license is illegal too & they all obey that one..... There are tons of 1 day tech classes. It seems a viable option would be to get a VE or 2 together & incorporate it all into 1 class. Then you have people with the training of what to do in an emergency & the legal ability to do it, all while furthering interest in the amateur radio community. That becomes win-win for everyone.

 

[Sailor]

I have no desire to make this a tech prep class. We are adults. If students want to persure getting their license they can study online for a week and pass it.

My class is four hours of practical hands on info with one on one follow up when needed. They can learn ohms and amps on their own time.

I suggest you write up a course outline and teach a class how you want it taught.

 

[Ted]

.........but it's still against the law for them to receive police frequencies if they take them out of the house, without having a ham license. Like I said.. I think the concept is great, but if you know the law "up & down", then you'd know that it's against the law......

I have no desire to make this a tech prep class. We are adults. If students want to persure getting their license they can study online for a week and pass it.

My class is four hours of practical hands on info with one on one follow up when needed. They can learn ohms and amps on their own time.

I suggest you write up a course outline and teach a class how you want it taught.

That really wasn't the point that jfryan was making.

He was merely attempting to convey to you that by programming police frequencies into the HT.....a HT, btw, that's greatest advantage is its portability......you are potentially setting up the user to fail in terms of breaking the law.

Providing the list of local frequencies, or a directing someone to Radio Reference or similar websites to obtain frequencies is one thing. Programing them in to the radio and turning them loose to break the law is quite another........at least, not without informing these folks of the law if they walk out the door with their radio monitoring said frequencies.

I would hope that you will be responsible enough to think in the best interests of the people that are paying you to provide information that is in their best interests........even if they don't decide to obtain their Ham ticket.

 

[Sailor]

I Have already stated that I explain the legalities fully.

 

[jfryan]

I have no desire to make this a tech prep class. We are adults. If students want to persure getting their license they can study online for a week and pass it.

My class is four hours of practical hands on info with one on one follow up when needed. They can learn ohms and amps on their own time.

I suggest you write up a course outline and teach a class how you want it taught.

Apparently you're not familiar with the one day class.. Not a prep class.. your students walk in, learn what they need to, take the test & leave at the end of the day with their ticket if they pass. Regardless if you explain the legalities, the fact is, YOU are the one providing them with illegal radios walking out the door. You're getting defensive, when all that's trying to be explained is that what you're handing them is illegal. You can't be that naive to think that just because you tell them 'here's a programmed radio, but don't use it because it's illegal' , that they're just going to let that radio sit there & do nothing with it.

In fact, here's a post right here on INGO about a 1 day class (which was taught free btw): One day tech class offering

And not to be antagonistic, but in 4 hours, what do you show people how to do with radios they can't legally use?