VoIP WX Net

Interactive Map of Amateur radio repeaters

EchoLink 

EchoLink Map

IRLP Main Web Site 

IRLP Status Web Page 

NEW!! Marine Radio Frequencies Page.

Click here for the Ozone Amateur Radio Club in Slidell, La.

Click here for "The Coast Guard Channel" 24/7 internet TV

Members of the Auxiliary have the opportunity to train in six operational specialty courses. An AUXOP member has completed all six advanced specialty courses and is entitled to wear the special AUXOP device on the uniform. (Click on the device for more info.)

From the this ain't no "Paper Flotilla" dept: See the flotilla on duty & on the water at the Krewe of Bilge Parade here at furstphotos.com  further efforts to distance ourselves from a paper flotilla are HELO OPS support, and the extensive training described on the Surface Ops and Boat Crew pages.

 

Operations Programs

Communications

Flotilla 4-08 Slidell, 8th District (CR)
Slidell, Louisiana

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

"Where The Action Is!"

There is no requirement in the Auxiliary to obtain a ham license; auxiliarists can merely take the AUXCOM course, or the same communications watchstander PQS that the gold side active duty coast guard requires of it's communicators, or the new auxiliary telecommunications operator course that was just announced. (And may eventually replace the first two.) Additionally, boat crew and aircrew can use the radio equipment on those facilities without any additional certification.

But auxiliarists who fit the above criteria can communicate on both Coast Guard frequencies and the numerous additional ham frequencies if they get licensed to do so. And being able to talk to an additional set of emergency service, trained and dedicated volunteers is invaluable. We appreciated all the help we could get in Katrina, and need to train with all available resources we can use or potentially could use, during the next disaster.

Why Hams?   Where do Ham Operators fit into the emergency services provided by the Auxiliary and the Coast Guard?

Ham operators are internationally recognized as good communicators. They have developed skills sets, in both every day radio communications, as well as emergency communications, through such organizations as Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Weather Services (NWS)' SKYWARN.

The Amateur Radio Operators who volunteer for these services train and practice their skills in drills, waiting for that one event which may never come, to put their skill set into action.   The Auxiliary is always interested in individuals with unique skill sets.  Amateur Radio Operators are among these types of individuals.

• Amateur Radio Emergency Service - "ARES trains and organizes Hams to provide emergency communications to ""Served Agencies"" such as FEMA, National Weather Service, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Hospitals, and others. This site describes ARES goals and methods and structure."
• VoIP SKYWARN/Hurricane Net - Kevin KD5WX maintains this site daily and are called by the NHC to activate the net, concurrent with the HF watch nets. Activated during Hurricane season only.
• ARES National web site - ARES is a public service organization coordinated by the American Radio Relay League.
• ARES vs RACES organizations - An ARRL FAQ
• N3XGR's ARES-RACES page - Links to US local emergency service local units
• Ham Radio Emergency Communications - What to have before you go.

Remember – Auxiliary communications specialists practice their skills every day, in the real world.  Whether it’s doing a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) patrol via vehicle, and needing two-way communications with the Active Duty Coast Guard, a Safety Patrol on the water, augmenting the communications watch at an active duty Coast Guard unit, or even assisting at major events, these types of events are daily on-going Auxiliary missions, in every part of the US.

Communication and good communicators are at the heart of any successful mission, and Ham Operators have the experience that the Auxiliary is both looking for and would like to instill in their current communicators.

Qualified Ham Operators can become instructors, teaching non-Ham operators the techniques and skills that will make them skilled radio operators.

   

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"Team Coast Guard"

 

Auxiliary members provide important operational support to the U.S. Coast Guard and are considered members of "Team Coast Guard." Patrols are often called upon for search and rescue assistance, Helo Ops co-ordination drills, and other training missions. In addition, special patrols may check navigational markers, update charts, or monitor the waters for hazards and environmental pollution. Flotilla 4-08 takes on as much as it can reliably handle, making Active Duty assets and resources available for other uses, or available to "standby for surge" operations when necessary.

During Katrina all telecommunication towers, including both public safety and amateur repeaters went down. It was a radio amateur of the Coast Guard Auxiliary that "re-discovered" the old technique of NVIS. The Coast Guard took an extreme interest in NVIS. Being a bureaucracy, they can't just go out, buy the right equip, and start using it. (studies have to be done; security protocols ensured, etc) But the auxiliary can. They can then use the aux to communicate on it when they themselves can't. (click here for a FAQ on NVIS)

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In times of crisis and natural disasters, Amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.

Unlike commercial systems, Amateur radio is not as dependent on terrestrial facilities that can fail. It is dispersed throughout a community without "choke points" such as cellular telephone sites that can be overloaded.

Amateur radio operators are experienced in improvising antennas and power sources and most equipment today can be powered by an automobile battery. Annual "Field Days" are held in many countries to practice these emergency improvisational skills. Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can quickly establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance interoperability.

Recent examples include the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the 2003 North America blackout and Hurricane Katrina in September, 2005, where amateur radio was used to coordinate disaster relief activities when other systems failed.

On September 2, 2004, ham radio was used to inform weather forecasters with information on Hurricane Frances live from the Bahamas. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake and resulting tsunami across the Indian Ocean wiped out all communications with the Andaman Islands, except for a DX-pedition that provided a means to coordinate relief efforts.

The largest disaster response by U.S. amateur radio operators was during Hurricane Katrina which first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north of Miami, Florida on August 25, 2005, eventually strengthening to Category 5. More than a thousand ham operators from all over the U.S. converged on the Gulf Coast in an effort to provide emergency communications assistance. Subsequent Congressional hearings highlighted the Amateur Radio response as one of the few examples of what went right in the disaster relief effort.

In the United States, there are two major methods of organizing amateur radio emergency communications: Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), sponsored by the ARRL, and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), which requires registration with municipal or county governments, to allow continued operation under Part 97.407 of the FCC regulations in the event the Amateur Service is ever shut down by presidential order. ARES and RACES involvement within the same area are usually intertwined, with many governments requiring membership and service in that locale's ARES organization as well. Many government Emergency Operating Centers, Red Cross Chapters and National Weather Service facilities have permanent Amateur Radio stations installed.

Radio clubs independent of the ARRL and ARES also participate in emergency communications activities in some areas. Additionally, the Department of Defense also sponsors the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) program which also utilizes Amateur Radio operators for emergency communication using military radio frequencies.

Emergency communications and disaster assistance is usually done in conjunction with volunteer disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol (aux of the USAF - SAR command), Coast Guard Auxiliary, or local government emergency management agencies, as well as volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps.

The ARRL has a memorandum of understanding with numerous agencies such as the American Red Cross. The ARRL also is a member of the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) and conducts emergency communications certifcation courses for interested Amateur Radio operators.

• ARRL Backgrounder: Amateur Radio Emergency Communication

• Navy-Marine Corp MARS with links to Air Force and Army programs

• Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services

This site supports the VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Nets which they operate by combining both the Echolink and IRLP linked repeater networks, thus providing for more efficient and effective utilization of available resources while handling critical wide area communications during major severe weather events. To learn more about the efforts of the VoIP Hurricane Net, join the VOIP-WXNET Yahoo Group to keep informed and learn more about the use of EchoLink and IRLP for hurricanes and other weather and disaster related situations.

The VoIP Hurricane Net wants ARES, RACES, SKYWARN and other emergency communication groups such as MARS and REACT to utilize the VoIP Hurricane Net as another means to pass weather data, damage and other pertinent reports to WX4NHC--the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami--and to other national agencies. During hurricanes, NHC forecasters use real-time "ground truth" reports from Amateur Radio volunteers--such as the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14.325 MHz--to the NHC via WX4NHC to develop more accurate forecasts and to get a better handle on a storm's behavior.

The ALE High Frequency Network (HFN) is available 24/7 for emcomm text messaging. HFN provides HF-to-email, HF-to-cellphone, and HF-to-HF messaging relay.  Amateur Radio for Broadband wireless internet here.  Interactive Map of Amateur radio repeaters here.

 

Amateur Radio licensing material:

A free 30 page study guide for the Technician Class Amateur Radio Exam is available at:

http://studyguide.eqth.info/

FREE Amateur Radio Exam Lesson Plans and Question Pool.  In particular see the PowerPoint Question Pool by K3DIO

http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/powerpoint.html

ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0872599639

ARRL Technician Q & A (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0872599647

Amateur Radio Licensing Frequently Asked Questions from the ARRL web site:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/classes.html

Here is the link to the "Ozone Amateur Radio CLub"...  which is the local amateur radio club in Slidell, LA       http://www.w5sla.net/

 

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 The content of these web pages is explanatory and not authority for action. Views and opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard. Information may be reprinted except news stories and articles republished from other sources. Commercial use of Coast Guard emblems, logos, or other graphics must be approved by the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

NOTICE - DISCLAIMER:  Links to non-Coast Guard entities are not under the control of the United States Coast Guard, or the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, and are provided for the convenience of our customers. They do not, in any way, constitute an endorsement of the linked pages or any commercial or private issues or products presented there. We cannot make any warranty or representation concerning the content of these sites, or secondary sites from the pages to which they link. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE - PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 The information contained in this website is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, and may only be used for the official business of the United States Coast Guard or the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.

 Semper Paratus