Ham Radio & Contacting Emergency Services

[ko6jw_2]

I have been looking into Garmin In Reach devices. Having been in situations in Alaska where there was no cell service, no ham radio and no commercial radio, it seems like the best solution. Battery life for long term use is an issue. Requires a subscription which is not cheap. However, if you need to summon help or send text messages it is the way to go. Relying on ham radio is problematical from a coverage stand point and from the stand point of contacting someone who will actually be able to help. As a long time ham, I can say that, as much as it pains me to say it, don't expect to get help in an emergency from ham radio.

 

[mmckenna]

Which cell carrier do you use? Is there no service for ANY carrier? My wife and I are both licensed amateur radio operators and we ride ATVs as a hobby. That gets us out to some VERY remote areas. I try to always have something on both Verizon and AT&T.

Out in the west, it's not uncommon to be in areas with zero coverage from any carrier. Too many valleys and canyons. Too many places with not enough paying customers to support the cost of a cell site. Even on my commute to work, I've got a 5 mile section of road with zero AT&T coverage.

 

[mmckenna]

I have been looking into Garmin In Reach devices. Having been in situations in Alaska where there was no cell service, no ham radio and no commercial radio, it seems like the best solution. Battery life for long term use is an issue. Requires a subscription which is not cheap. However, if you need to summon help or send text messages it is the way to go. Relying on ham radio is problematical from a coverage stand point and from the stand point of contacting someone who will actually be able help. As a long time ham, I can say that, as much as it pains me to say it, don't expect to get help in an emergency from ham radio.

Same here. Ham for a long time, but no way I'd rely on it in an emergency. I've tried on 3 occasions. Once actually reached someone who helped. 2 other times I reached someone who decided they "didn't want to get involved".

I carry an InReach mini with me when I'm in areas with no radio/cell coverage. $12.00 isn't much for the subscription, that's the cost of one Baofeng a month!
Battery life isn't an issue, it'll run a few days between charged. Charges off USB, so it's easy to recharge it in the truck, or with a cell phone power pack. I thought of getting a USB solar panel, but haven't needed it yet.

And, the $12.00/month gets you some useful stuff. I get a certain amount of free "canned" messages that I can set up ahead of time. The InReach devices all do bluetooth, so you can link it to your cell phone for faster message composition, plotting on a map, downloading messages, etc.
I was hung up on the monthly charge for a long time, then I realized that it wasn't that big a deal, especially since I could check in with the wife every night and let her know I was still alive. Not having her pissed off at me was well worth the 12 bucks. I challenge you to find anything that avoids the wife pissing-off that only costs you a dozen bucks a month.

 

[vagrant]

I currently have the inReach Freedom Plan subscription at $15/month. It is month-to-month so I can turn it off/on (suspend it), but that on/off plan also has an annual fee that just went from $25 to $35 starting next year. Based on my usage, I will switch to the annual plan mmckenna has. Basically, it will cost me $4 more a year for 12 months of service versus only seven months of service, so...that's that.

I actually use the basic weather message which eats up one of the 10 allotted txt messages, but it was wonky. I have not used it in a while, so I hope it is working right when I use it again.

 

[JASII]

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out for A Fee and Fee.

SpaceMobile deal could kill all of AT&T's dead zones

SpaceMobile, the go-to-market brand from Midland, Texas-based startup AST & Science, said it is 'finalizing' a deal with AT&T that could give the carrier unprecedented cellular coverage in the US.

www.lightreading.com

 

[mmckenna]

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out for A Fee and Fee.

AT&T has been looking at various satellite options for a while. Many years ago they were all set to roll out a satellite service with dual mode phones. Came to an abrupt halt at some point.
Would be nice to see this happen, but I'm confident AT&T will charge a premium for it.

 

[ccg_ga]

Which cell carrier do you use? Is there no service for ANY carrier? My wife and I are both licensed amateur radio operators and we ride ATVs as a hobby. That gets us out to some VERY remote areas. I try to always have something on both Verizon and AT&T.

I am on AT&T, no one in my immediate family has Verizon (or another carrier) so I'm not sure if any other carrier does have a signal where I was. Despite being at a somewhat high elevation for the southeast, I had zero bars.

I also am in remote areas around the southeast frequently (in my Jeep) and cell service is the first thing to go even a bit off the beaten path in most places. I don't count on the cell phone at all for communications while off-road.

I too am a big fan of the Garmin devices, simply for the peace of mind they provide. Garmin sends out e-mail newsletters now and then to inReach subscribers that highlight stories from those who have had to use the SOS button and coordinated with the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) that handles all of the SOS calls. I got an e-mail earlier this morning that highlighted the story on the page below. They usually provide a good context and tips on what to do in an emergency situation so I enjoy reading them (and glad those featured in the story are safe).

Takeaways From a Terrible Fall and Lifesaving Rescue | Garmin

 

[ccg_ga]

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out for A Fee and Fee.

SpaceMobile deal could kill all of AT&T's dead zones

SpaceMobile, the go-to-market brand from Midland, Texas-based startup AST & Science, said it is 'finalizing' a deal with AT&T that could give the carrier unprecedented cellular coverage in the US.

www.lightreading.com

This would be cool, but as you hinted will be expensive probably. All of the Sat phones I have looked at are way too expensive for my use.

AT&T has been looking at various satellite options for a while. Many years ago they were all set to roll out a satellite service with dual mode phones. Came to an abrupt halt at some point.
Would be nice to see this happen, but I'm confident AT&T will charge a premium for it.

This would be cool too since I am on AT&T.

 

[ccg_ga]

On the inReach subscription, I have the 'Recreation' plan on an annual basis which is 24.95/mth. My last bill was for $26.20 with all fees.

The plan is good for 40 text messages (pre-set/canned messages don't count against this as mmckenna mentioned) and a 10-minute tracking interval. Text messages over 40 are $0.50 each.

On my last billing cycle I had 38 system messages (tracking points) and 19 text messages. I have yet to go over the plan allowances and I am in a remote area where I use it at least 2 weekends a month typically.

 

[JASII]

I am sure that you already know this, but a Verizon cell phone, without a subscription, can be used to call 911. I know some years back the word was getting around, but maybe some people don't know that.

E911 Compliance FAQs | Verizon Customer Support

Review information about calling 911 from your mobile phone.

www.verizon.com

 

[mmckenna]

I am sure that you already know this, but a Verizon cell phone, without a subscription, can be used to call 911. I know some years back the word was getting around, but maybe some people don't know that.

All cell carriers are required to do this, not just Verizon.

It's useful, but not ideal. 911 dispatchers would much rather you have service so they can more easily call you back and keep track of your call in CAD.
And it still doesn't work if there's no coverage.

 

[Steve162]

One problem with using Amateur or CB these days is that if the person you contact dials 911 from his home phone he will reach the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that covers his location- which may be hell and gone from the location of the emergency.

I would like to think that by carefully explaining the situation to the 911 operator they could connect him to the appropriate PSAP or at least take the information and pass it on but my last few 911 calls left me wondering about the hiring process, at least in my area.

 

[JASII]

All cell carriers are required to do this, not just Verizon.

It's useful, but not ideal. 911 dispatchers would much rather you have service so they can more easily call you back and keep track of your call in CAD.
And it still doesn't work if there's no coverage.

Yes, they do. I just mentioned Verizon because he already has AT&T.

I didn't know about the 5 minute callback window. I don't know if that is a Verizon exclusive or if they all have a 5 minute callback window.


"...Our phones are designed to remain in emergency mode for approximately 5 minutes once 911 has been called to give public safety responders a better chance to call you back if the original call becomes disconnected. Although it varies by phone model, emergency mode can generally be exited before 5 minutes are up by pressing the End button twice or simply by making a non-emergency call..."

The other thing worth mentioning is there are some very inexpensive MVNOs out there that offer a small amount of airtime for some very reasonable prices. Carrier diversity is very desirable and affordable. Basically, if you are already on AT&T/FirstNet, bring along a second phone with some minutes on Verizon (or an MVNO.) Conversely, if you are already on Verizon, bring along a second phone with some minutes on AT&T (or an MVNO.)

 

[mmckenna]

Dispatchers can send the calls to other dispatch centers. NG911 is going to make this much easier.

But, as you pointed out, it does require someone providing the location info. And that means that the person calling for help on the ham radio know where they are.

 

[KK4JUG]

I am sure that you already know this, but a Verizon cell phone, without a subscription, can be used to call 911. I know some years back the word was getting around, but maybe some people don't know that.

Several years ago, we had a "serial" bomb threat caller who called 911 with a threat to a particular Walmart 6 times. We determined that the phone had an "out of service" number. We also determined that each call was picked up by the same cell tower. With the help of one of Verizon's engineers at the tower site, we monitored another one of the calls. He found which direction the call came from and even gave us the direction it came from: the Walmart parking lot. The engineer also gave us the brand of phone and said it was a bag phone. While the call-taker kept the caller on the line, plain clothes officers swooped down on the parking lot and found him still talking to 911. It was a disgruntled Walmart employee.

 

[K9DWB]

FWIW that emergency call mode happens on my Samsung A10e that's connected to a Sprint/T-Mobile reseller that offers me some free cell service via Assurance Wireless. I have seen it state emergency mode or something like it when I've had to call 911.

Oh and be sure A Fee & Fee will pass on the bill for every little thing the billing department can think of. I had them years ago and the charges had more lines of entry on the bill than my call log.

 

[k8md]

I'm surprised that no one has created an "emergency assistance" DMR tg on Brandmeister. Where they form a club and all take turns "standing watch" on the TG. Sort of like ECARS on 7.255. They could potentially take check-ins, but hopefully they'd keep the rag chew down.

They can easily do it from hotspots at home. Would hams program the TG in their radios?

I'm not sure hams have a sufficiently thorough understanding of DMR for this to be widespread or useful. It's also certainly doesn't hold a candle to having an InReach or a PLB. It would be an interesting use of DMR.

 

[AK9R]

Same could be said of any of the VOIP modes. An Echolink conference, an IRLP reflector, a D-STAR reflector, or a WIRES-X room could all be set up for this purpose. I'm not sure there are enough repeaters around that support one of the many VOIP modes, especially in lightly populated areas, to make this viable. Heck, in sparse areas east of the Great Plains, you are probably more likely to find someone on 146.520 MHz than any other frequency or mode.

 

[jonwienke]

I'm surprised that no one has created an "emergency assistance" DMR tg on Brandmeister.

Talkgroup 911 doesn't appear to exist currently...

 

[mmckenna]

Talkgroup 911 doesn't appear to exist currently...

That would make a crap load of sense, and might even drive me to replace my old CDM-1550 with a DMR capable radio.