American Red Cross Channel Plan

[Joseph11]

Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this, but is there an actual confirmed channel plan, with PL/DPL, for the American Red Cross nationwide? I'm aware of 47.42 MHz and the 100.0 Hz and 146.2 Hz PL tones apparently used for that channel, but I haven't seen any actual confirmed information for them. I remember hearing them use 47.42 MHz during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but too much was going on to properly document PL tones and such. Thanks.

 

[QDP2012]

You might have seen this already, but there's some HF/VHF/UHF information that might be useful, in the Disaster Relief#American Red Cross Wiki page. It's not a radio-specific channel-plan, and I don't know how current or correct it is.

Hope this helps,

 

[nd5y]

The Red Cross information on the wiki page is all of their current FCC licenses that have nationwide areas of operation.
They also have some licenses for local chapters, regional or statewide use in some areas that are not on the wiki page.
I have never heard of them having a standard nationwide tone. The last time I heard anything on 47.42 there was no tone, but that was many years ago.

 

[ecps92]

PL varies by Region etc and unlike years and years ago, when a Disaster/Fire team got call out, it's easier to use a Cellphone now vs the Radio. Hardly hear the ARC anymore in New England

The Red Cross information on the wiki page is all of their current FCC licenses that have nationwide areas of operation.
They also have some licenses for local chapters, regional or statewide use in some areas that are not on the wiki page.
I have never heard of them having a standard nationwide tone. The last time I heard anything on 47.42 there was no tone, but that was many years ago.

 

[KC2zZe]

Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this, but is there an actual confirmed channel plan, with PL/DPL, for the American Red Cross nationwide?

Culled from my notes:

F1 47.420 Red channel / primary (varies widely; ie: 146.2 Northern NJ and Orange Co., NY; 94.8 New York City; 82.5 Westchester Co., NY)
F2 47.500 Black channel / secondary
F3 47.460 Tan / alternate
F4 47.660 Yellow / back-up
F5 47.540 Orange / Tac 1
F6 47.620 Blue / Tac 2
F7 47.580 Purple / Tac 3 (DCS 165)

Confirmed? Well, no; not in a long while, as ecps92 mentions above. And to expand upon nd5y's point above, local chapters are often permitted access to nearby radio shops' local radio networks (community repeaters, trunked systems, etc.) and, therefore may not be showing up with Commission licenses of their own (or using systems in addition and beyond what is licensed to them specifically) since the shop(s) would be handling those matters.

 

[teufler]

At Katrina, Red Cross did not operate radios, they relied on ham networks. They were too busy to worry about radios. Jackson, Ms received 10 kenwood d700, for use. They went into a closet and were not used. Local chapters seem to store items on the radio consoles.

 

[jaspence]

Red Cross radio

The Red Cross in my area also uses the P25 statewide system that our county is part of.

 

[gewecke]

The Red Cross in my area also uses the P25 statewide system that our county is part of.

. The same is true here in Illinois, as they have their own talkgroup on our statewide P25 network. I have however see ERV's last year still with low band whips. 73, n9zas

 

[bryan_herbert]

Good luck hearing any radio traffic. A few years ago (while living in California) the Red Cross chapter in Santa Clarita held an open house. I decided to head over and take a look - it was very disappointing. Their radio equipment was all tube gear, none of it was hooked up. It was piled on a desk, covered in dust, as if someone had just dragged it out of their garage or storage unit just to show off for that night. To make the situation more depressing, there wasn't a single antenna at the facility. Keep in mind, this is a community of 250,000+ just outside of Los Angeles. The chapter was forced to close in 2013 after losing their lease.

 

[Joseph11]

Thanks for all the replies and information, guys! I was not aware of how much usage on these frequencies has diminished.

F1 47.420 Red channel / primary (varies widely; ie: 146.2 Northern NJ and Orange Co., NY; 94.8 New York City; 82.5 Westchester Co., NY)

KC2zZe, which other PLs/DPLs have you logged for this?

 

[bodnarp]

Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network handles most disaster comms. HF, HF digital, UHF etc.

 

[nosoup4u]

In NJ the Red Cross now has 700 radios on the NJICS system.

 

[Joseph11]

John, do you know if the Red Cross in NJ uses low band at all as of recent? I know they have talkgroups on the 800 MHz and 700 MHz systems, but I've never heard them on the 800 MHz system at least. Thanks.