I am currently studying for my technician-level exam. As part of my self-imposed learning experience/coursework, I want to write one blog post daily about a question or topic I wish to know more about.
Community Service Communications net:
In what ways have you worked on a community service communications net?
What sort of events typically establish them?
How do you stay informed about community service communications nets in your area?
Third-Party Communications:
What’s the most likely reason to conduct third-party communications?
What practical/real-world first-hand examples of when this was used?
When was the last time you received a third-party message?
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to discussing and learning.
In response to your questions, I have operated as a storm spotter for our local SKYWARN nets. It is a great way to get your feet wet in the public service space. Lots of organizations like ARES and RACES organize public service nets during natural disasters (tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.), and public events, like bike races. To find out what is going on in your local area, I would spend quite a bit of time listening and conversing on any local repeaters, especially repeater systems, to find out what types of events and nets are happening in your area.
As far as third party communications, I have rarely, if ever, received third party communications, but a practical example of this would be the following scenario: A hurricane has just passed over part of Texas, and wiped out power and cell towers. A group of amateur radio operators arrive as part of a disaster relief effort and set up on emergency power. Someone, an unlicensed individual, who lives in the area needs to contact their family, but, again, cell service is out. The amateur operators are able to relay a message via radio to an operator outside of the affected area, and they are, in turn, able to relay that message to the person’s family.
Another real-world example which actually happened shortly after the Joplin tornado in 2011 involved the hospitals. Amateur operators were able to set up at the hospitals on emergency power, and, since all other communications were down, the doctor’s were ordering the medical supplies they needed via radio.
It’s a neat way to participate in being a storm spotter. I have an SDR that I plan to do some listening on. How would I locate or find a map or listing of local repeaters? Is there a difference between a single repeater and a repeater system ( assuming it’s peer-to-peer ( TX → repeater) /vs. host-to-mesh ( TX → repeater system))?
Thank you for clarifying third-party communications and giving a real-world example. That is how I envisioned them being used, and I hope to be proficient and resourceful enough to do the same one day.
So the linked repeater system in my local area has several repeaters around the region. Many are linked all the time, but a few are unlinked, functioning as individual repeaters, until a severe weather net or training net.
A very comprehensive resource for finding repeaters in any area is https://www.repeaterbook.com/. You can input your city and state, or even GPS coordinates, and it will list all the repeaters near you, as well as whether they are digital, analog, or both. They also have a Repeaterbook mobile app that uses your location to show all the repeaters near you. It’s great for using on the go.