EchoLink in an Emergency

Hello,
I am an amateur radio operator currently serving the US Navy, while stationed in Sasebo Japan. Finding Elmer’s and staying active with HAM radio is a challenge and with a modest setup I work on managing an EchoLink-L station on the weekends when I can tinker and stay in contact with N1JIM in Maine and KJ0L-R in Iowa.

Well, just in case you missed the news, we had an earthquake yesterday 20MAR05. It was around a 4 on the Richter scale in our area and lasted only 30 seconds. Most people may dismiss this as small due the reports of a single death, and several home damaged. Please keep in mind this is the first earthquake in this area in the past 300 years.

So, I'd like at add a small story to those "anti-EchoLink" people.

Please follow along as the morning unfolded.

After it hit, things did not seem too bad. The house moved back and forth for about 30 seconds, a few items fell over and off my desk upstairs, including my EchoLink radio.

I made sure our home was in good shape, and then went next door to find out what happened, because our access to English speaking news was zero and/or delayed at best. The local radio did not broadcast anything.

Next door, the Japanese news via satellite stated they were expecting a 5 Meter Tsunami to hit a city that was about 2 hours drive to the north.

I rushed home and attempted our house phone - dead.
Then checked the local AFN radio again - no news
Checked the AFN satellite – no news
Checked our cell phones - out

Now worrying about how we could let our families know we were ok, we discovered that our Internet connection was still working.

I quickly jumped into EchoLink mode and contacted N1JIM in Maine.

He asked me to wait a few minutes, but I replied that we where in a slight emergency situation, and that I did not know if or how long I would be able to maintain communications.

I asked Mark to track down the family and get the message that we were ok, and that everything was fine at our location.

The family wanted to call, but I asked them to stay off the phone lines, as they could become overcrowded as the extent of the emergency became more apparent.

Within the hour, they lifted the Tsunami warning, which made for some sigh of relief.

We kept EchoLink connection open for several hours and checked in a few times to reassure that we were ok.

It took an hour to get the house phone line working, but still it was a bit limited, not all calls were getting through. We were able to call out from Japan, but any attempts for calls coming into country were not successful in reaching us.

Now over 24 hours later, the cell phones are still not fully functional.

So, EchoLink allowed us to pass on information at the early stages of what could have become a major disaster. I believe that I could have maintained communications for an hour or so on battery power if we had lost electricity to our home. This should allow more than enough time to pass information concerning our health, status, and the current conditions.

For those Hams who say EchoLink is not radio, I bet they would want it in an emergency situation.

Guy
KB1IJC
JA6PDG

 

EchoLink is an excellent mode of communications and in emergencies it is a good idea to have that capability on hand. I use echo link and I like it. To those who do not like EchoLink, swallow your pride. Because your pride does not keep the lines of communications open to save lives. In an emergency situation, anything goes, i.e., AM, CW, SSB, Packet, RTTY, and EchoLink.

 

The repeater here is on Echolink and and is our channel to the National Weather Service in Ft. Worth. During Skywarn activations the NWS communicates with us VIA ECHOLINK over the repeater. We have anti-echolink people here, one in particular whom I will not name. The OM doesn't understand how valuable of a tool it is. I use a WISP which has emergency power capabilities as does the repeater here. The WISP is wireless all the way to the backbone. If all else fails, most likely echolink will still work here.

 

Great test of a great technology. Good job Guy.

 

N1KDD said it all. In an Emergency you use WHATEVER works.

A similar situtation involving Echolink hapened in Guam and Saipan.

I have been in contact with Japanese hams just before and after Typhoons hit there. The Fiber stayed up and small VHF/UHF antennas's were easily reinstalled IF necessary.

I have found talking on Distant EchoLink repeaters a fun way of extending VHF/UHF QSO's  

                                                    73 & Aloha

                                                      KH6/G3SEA

 

I agree. Keep up the good work. It's nice to know the internet is available in emergencies. Glad you could use it to your advantage, and that all is well, and there were no major casualties.

Happy Easter

Ed

 

Note that not one word was said about Japanese Hams using Radio. Not one word of credit is given to Hams using Amateur Radio during this disaster.

Instead we hear about a "Ham" ( could have been any Japanese teenager with VOIP ) who demonstrated his "expertise" in using an Internet chat.

That's great luck that your Internet connection was still good... If it had been gone, you might have been forced to use Amateur Radio, like the legitimate Japanese Hams you neglected to mention.

Information about Amateur Radio can be found at:  http://www.remote.arrl.org/

Note that EchoLink devotees consistently refuse to give credit to Hams using Radio. The non-Ham stuff has created a large group within the hobby who do their best to downplay, or as in this case, simply fail to mention the accomplishments of legitimate Amateur Radio operators - using Radio.

We need a population of Hams who behave that way - about like we need cancer.

Charles Brabham,  N5PVL

Director: USPacket
Admin: HamBlog.Com
Weblog: N5PVL's  Blog

 

Being a past President of the Yokosuka Amateur Radio club, we thought of how our emergency communications plan would work before echolink came along. The idea being that in a diaster, nothing is certain in regards to power, phone etc. So our plan was simple. Use all means possible. Need power? Go take a car battery out of a vehicle and hook it to your radio. Need to know what freqs to ues? Go to www.qsl.net/7j1yaa/tiara/emercomm.html and see the freqs that were setup years ago. We worked hard to allow the Japanese Telecomunnications Commission, the JARL, Military bases in the area, along with area Navy and Air Force Mars to let us use assigned frequencies to communicate during a disaster. It's great that you were able to use echolink to contact home. But next time don't rely on that. Use that JA6 or 7J call and setup your own system of communications. And how about the KA call? Contact the Yokota Air base about that call sign that you are allowed to have ON BASE ONLY.
Then sit down and think about what you would do if echolink was not working during your past disaster. There's local packet radio all over Japan. That's a neat way to meet Japanese hams. Need a TNC? Contact me and I'll send you my old KPC-3. What about the Navy MARS station there? Is it still in operation? I worked at the Yokosuka station for a couple years NNN0NVT and learned LOADS about HF operations and such. How about link to your mars station using vhf to tx out on assigned HF freq. There's loads more out there to help in an emergency and I'm happy to hear that echolink was there to help in the pinch.
Bottom line.....THINK emergency comms and use ALL means possible.

Drop Brent an email and get something going with the TIARA group.

Have a fine NAVY day!

Perry Whitney N5USN

ex 7J1ATC
ex KA2PW

 

N5PVL, you should go back and read your words again before bashing echolink.

These are YOUR words, cause YOU wrote them:

This "Them or Us" attitude, being applied against fellow hams who have done nothing more offensive than to use different equipment or software is a recognized hallmark of the protocol warrior. Again, though this behavior is obviously unworthy of the amateur radio service, still it has crept into our everyday dealings with each other. - Thus the general malaise that has affected digital amateur radio.

Over and over, I saw a lack of respect for their fellow hams, a cynical attitude about the hobby, and a basic inability to play well with others as outstanding characteristics of the protocol warrior. This told me that a good counter-attitude would be to simply respect our fellow hams, and the hobby that brings us together to work and play.

Charles, N5PVL


All of our ham emergency communications methods have a place in the hobby

Charles, N5PVL


Regards,

Perry

 

Guy its a great article - keep up the good work

Best Regards

Benny
U. S  Navy Retired
KI4HOC

 

N5USN says:

I hate to be the one to break it to you, OM - but the Internet is not an Amateur Radio resource. It is not "ours" as Hams by any stretch of the imagination.

Integration of Amateur Radio and the Internet is detrimental to the hobby, and directly endangers our negotiating position with Congress and the FCC.

Your confusion regarding the Internet and Amateur Radio proves my point about the way it blurs the line between the two. Politically, deliberately blurring this line is fratricidal, as it will affect not only you but also your fellow Hams... Ones who are interested in - duh - Radio!

Wise up. The Internet is not Amateur Radio, and putting our "Ham Radio" communications over the Internet in preference over Radio is not particularly clever.

If you do not have an interest in doing things with Radio, obviously you are in the wrong hobby. - Is there a special hobby for Internet chat? If so, maybe you should check it out, eh?

Charles Brabham,  N5PVL

Director: USPacket
Admin: HamBlog.Com
Weblog: N5PVL's  Blog

 

I don't know of anyone who would dispute the utility of Echolink in a emeregency. My gripe is with those who brag about a contact made, let's say from Ames, IA to Pretoria, SA, using Echolink and have the absolute gall to call it DX. The ONLY real DX is using RADIOS!

Dennis

 

Charles, that was YOUR quote not mine!!!

Go back and read!!!

....while you are there....read again YOUR words that YOU wrote. Then lighten up on someone who does not see the hobby as you do. Take the part YOU enjoy and make it yours. Don't push what YOU think onto others. Enjoy the hobby.

CHARLES WROTE:

Over and over, I saw a lack of respect for their fellow hams, a cynical attitude about the hobby, and a basic inability to play well with others as outstanding characteristics of the protocol warrior. This told me that a good counter-attitude would be to simply respect our fellow hams, and the hobby that brings us together to work and play.

Charles, N5PVL

 

You're lucky. Echolink would be useless here.

Here, without radio, if the power and telephone lines went down (no Cable out here) we'd be out of touch.

That's why I have batteries and a mobile setup.

Cortland
KA5S

 

Those who do not like Echolink do not like it simply because it, (call it what you may), really has nothing more to do with ham radio then a cell phone does or one of the many other internet linking schemes.

And it has nothing to do with pride.  Echolink is the brainchild of someone who thought it would be neat to try on ham radio.  Well, history has shown it works and works great.  But just because a large number of hams do not use echolink has nothing to do with pride.  It simply is not something I or others care to use just as many hams do not use PSK, RTTY, CW, SSB etc.

Echolink has its followers just like any other mode and you can follow it to its conclusion, wherever that may be.  Now let my warm up the autotune Alpha 8877's and check the propagation into China. You go answer the phone.

K2WH