Summary
Each city/agency Emergency Operations Center (EOC) [or Department Operations Center (DOC)] will need some basic equipment for amateur radio communications with the county EOC and with field locations within the city. The following recommendations for voice and data communications equipment are provided to help cities/agencies build a compatible, effective and efficient EOC radio room operating environment.
A summary of the nets that EOCs are expected to monitor can be found here: City/Agency Emergency Operations Center Nets
Location
For maximum efficiency and effectiveness, the ideal location of the radio equipment should meet the following requirements
- Inside or adjacent to the agency's Emergency Operations Center
- During an emergency, almost all radio traffic will be to/from the EOC. Minimizing the distance between the EOC and the radio equipment means the operator will be away from the station much less.
- If the radio room is immediately adjacent to the EOC, emergency management staff can speak directly to other locations over the radio when necessary (as long as a license amateur radio operator is present). This can greatly speed up communications that require back-and-forth discussion.
- A small anteroom off to the side of the EOC is ideal.
- Quiet
- For the radio operators: The radio operators can/will use a headset. But surrounding noise should be kept to a minimum (typical office-level noise is fine).
- For others: The radio operator will need to speak into the microphone. Doing so shouldn't interrupt others in the room.
- Secure
- The radio operator will usually bring their own personal effects and may need to bring additional equipment. These items should be secure when the radio operator needs to leave the station, such as to retrieve/deliver a message or visit the cafeteria or restroom.
- Accessible
- Amateur radio operators can access the location to participate in monthly practice or test nets and to perform regular maintenance (radio checks, software upgrades, etc.).
- Room for up to four or five operators (or two to three people for a DOC)
- In the general case, space for at least three or four operators are recommended in an EOC. In particularly busy times, more operators could be useful. Each needs a place to sit and operate computers, radios, etc.
Power
Reliable power is essential for emergency communications.
- Power during sustained outage (> 1 hour)
- The amateur station should have access to at least one dedicated 120V 15A circuit that has backup generator power via automatic transfer switch.
- Power during brief outages (< 1 hour)
- The station will also need some local battery power to keep equipment going during transfers between commercial and generator power, or during generator faults or other localized electrical problems.
Essential Equipment
The following equipment is considered the minimum equipment necessary for efficient and effective communications via amateur radio.
- VHF/UHF Antennas
- Antenna
- Recommendation: Minimum 2 x tri-band ground-plane antennas separated by 20 feet and free of near-field obstructions
- These antennas can be shared between voice and packet operations
- Lightning Arrestor
- Recommendation: DC-blocking, inductor-type arrestor for each feedline
- Voice Equipment
- Voice radio
- Recommendation: Minimum 3 x dual-band (2m/70cm) radios
- Voice radio operating considerations
- Two separate radios are needed to maintain continuous monitoring of both the county Message Net and county Command Net.
- If the two nets are on the same, dual-VFO radio, then reception may be lost on one VFO when transmitting on the other VFO. This is effectively being away from the net without checking out.
- Some radios allow reception on one VFO while transmitting on the other VFO **IF** the two VFOs are tuned to different bands. But the receive noise level may be increased due to lack of enough isolation between the transmitter and receiver.
- The second VFO of either radio could be used to monitor other, optional nets, such as the Resource Net and Hospital Net.
- The radio used for the Command Net can occasionally be used for something else.
- Be sure to check out of the Command Net before leaving and check back into the Command Net when returning.
- Repeated check out/in or being away from the Command Net for extended periods of time puts an added burden on the net control and means that your EOC may miss important communications. Continuous monitoring is best.
- Additional radios will be needed for city Tactical Nets.
- The number of radios and the method used are dependent on the city's/agency's communications plan.
- The physical location of radios will have an impact on how flexible the station is when staffing is at a minimum. Seek to locate equipment such that one operator can handle more than one net.
- Voice station computer equipment
- As amateur radio becomes more integrated with WebEOC, computer equipment for the voice station should be considered.
- Recommendation: computer, printer and appropriate software
- Also, consider connecting the computer and printer to a local radio-room LAN to enable printer sharing with the packet station and eventual connectivity with a high-speed connection to the county ARES/RACES network.
- Packet Equipment
- AX.25 (Packet) over VHF Amateur Radio
(includes equipment details and other resources)
- Recommendation: At least one complete packet station, including: radio, TNC, TNC/radio cables, PC, printer, and recommended software
- The 1.25m (220 MHz) access frequencies are recommended for City/EOC packet stations. This is because most individual users will access the packet BBSs on 2m (144-145 MHz).
- Network Connectivity
Recommended Equipment
Line of Sight
If the EOC has a line of sight to one of the county data network hub locations, then a high-speed TCP/IP connection over WiFi can be made to the county network. An additional lower speed TCP/IP connection may be possible over UHF radio, which could provide some backup if the WiFi link fails.
No Line of Sight
If the EOC has no line of sight to one of the county data network hub locations, then a lower speed TCP/IP connection may be possible using UHF radio.
This page was last updated on 03-Oct-2019