Amateur Radio operators using DMR assist in New Hampshire rescue

[deleting since I don't want to feed the troll (and apparently you can't delete posts on here??)]

 

Our local newspaper published the story this morning. https://www.laconiadailysun.com/new...cle_ee26f808-7b2a-11ed-9c25-4ff20590aa2f.html

 

Another very simple device that would save the lives of lost hikers--particularly children: a WHISTLE! How many parents even think of putting whistle on a chain around their kids' necks--as well as on their own necks when out in the wilderness?

 

And you have no problem linking to a newspaper article that reports his name and his call comes up immediately on a Zed name search? Trying to follow the logic here.

 

somewhere up there pretty sure it's the old K1HR freq 145.430 MHz that is a DMR repeater. I can hear all over NH and vt.

 

Yes! This is one of the best items to have in your pocket or pack.

 

That's because we didn't have his permission to release his name when I posted the info. He has since agreed to release it and gave further information to the newspaper. So no, I don't have a problem with it as he agreed to releasing his name after the fact.

 

When I was a scoutmaster I used to tell all my scouts to carry a whistle and a large trash bag, orange if they could find one, for use as a temporary shelter/raingear. Folded up in their pocket or backpack.

 

I have personal experience with trying to use a whistle to summon help, and my experience is not very good. I was using a very loud whistle specifically intended for this purpose, and I quickly found out that in a forest (in this case the Adirondacks) the sound from the whistle did not carry very far. I'm guessing that I might have been heard for at most a couple hundred feet. That's probably fine if there are a lot of people in the area, but in the wilderness it's almost useless. I later tested a whistle while above tree line on Mt. Adams in New Hampshire, and again found that the sound simply did not carry very far. I still carry a whistle when I hike, but only for the case where I'm in a position where I cannot easily be spotted by a nearby rescuer who is actively looking for me.

 

Why do our fellow operators choose wintertime to go into the woods/forest without a knife, cordage, compass and firemaking kit? Add a metal cup to melt snow and snare wire to catch dinner. Everything but the knife fits in the cup.

If all else fails (hahahah), stab the celphone battery with the knife then use the burning lithium to start a nice fire. (don't breathe or cook over lithium fumes)

Living at 2500 meters I've listened to more than a few SAR activations. The mental toll on all those wonderful people... when they can't bring back a live person.. dang.. It's immensely powerful on air; can't imagine in person. We all really do owe it to our SAR teams to be fully prepared any time we put ourselves in harms way. (No offense intended to the subject of the story) Would it be wrong to setup a fake "rescue" and have a huge party/thank you for the SAR teams? Asking for a friend - lol.

(boring long OM rant deleted) hahaha

Lots of good positives from this thread. Thank you all.

73,
Carl

 

Several hundred yards based my experience but in either case it’s a whole lot better than shouting. Don’t assume you will visible to searchers. Last year someone was rescued here when she made noises to alert searchers who were only tens of yards away but didn’t know she was nearby. It was night and she had covered up with boughs to stay warmer.

 

Low frequencies carry further than high frequencies. Maybe practise burling and try to burl ...---...

 

Looks like the folks at the Resort deserve a lot of the credit for hosting the repeater.
The paper tells a good, well rounded, story.

Thanks for posting the link.

I like the part where the lost hiker walked home. Pretty spry for an OF!

 

I also think that using the APRS function in radios that have it is a good idea. Sure, it won't work everywhere, all the time, but it is one more tool to help if you need it. In my part of the US (western Nevada) there are many places where there is no cell coverage, but in most areas I can hit a repeater somewhere. The real problem is that no one is monitoring those repeaters. I know that one machine I use often has an autopatch (for you young folks, that is a repeater that has a telephone line connection that can be accessed via CTCSS tones) but it (the autopatch function) was shut down because of abuse, apparently. As far as DMR, the reality is that other than T/G 91 (World) I almost never hear traffic on DMR in my area, and analog repeaters are the same, except for weekly check-in nets. So, why not promote some kind of alert system that would use a universal CTCSS sequence, and have radios with a decoder attached to the audio out. These could be cheap radios that only listen to a specific frequency, and if they hear the specified sequence, would trigger some kind of alarm - tone, flashing light, etc. That way those who wanted to be able to help out would not have to sit next to a radio all day. I suppose some bright programmer could make a system that would send a text message to a selected phone number. With repeaters set up with Echolink, a person could literally link to the repeater and answer the distress call from their cell phone. Droidstar is a DMR app that allows a cell phone to access the DMR network. It's a bit clumsy, but it does work. When my XYL and I travel to the Portland area, I carry two handheld radios, and may start carrying a QRP HF rig, as many places along the route have neither cell phone nor repeater coverage. The satellite emergency locators are a great idea, also, and may be something I'll add to my collection! Anyhow, just some ideas that came to mind after reading this article. I'm glad to read that all worked out OK.

 

Just a little side note since one of the responders mentioned his reaction to hearing 'Code Plug". I saw the same thing happen around here a few years ago. Upon mention of the dreaded and mysterious 'Code Plug" for DMR radio, it seemed that some hams wanted to stop right there. Why the term (code plug) is used, I have no idea; perhaps the answer is in the history of commercial DMR radio. Do you have a Baofeng that you program with Chirp? Do you use RT systems to program any of your radios? Have you used other radios that included free software to help load frequencies in them? If so, they have one thing in common, they create a small file on your computer that is then transferred (loaded) to your radio. A 'Code Plug' is nothing more than DMR's specific name for that computer file. As with any radio, or any computer program, you need to learn a little about it first. It is also true that DMR may require some different groupings, and use some different names for some fields (example: a Zone, is similar to a Bank). There are numerous YouTube videos available to assist you with that. Once you understand the basics, it merely involves filling in the blanks on a spreadsheet/data type program, saving it as a file, and then loading that on your radio. I don't mean to over simplify, but the bottom line is that the actual 'Code Plug' is nothing more or less than that small file on your computer that is loaded to your radio.