Post-Helene Comms

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Drones becoming a problem in western NC

View attachment 170084

Air Traffic control will be problematic as well.

 

[mtindor]

I don't think I've ever seen this many helos in the air at the same time in this area. One of the Helos is using VIPER ECHO 2. Comms are clearer on my Unication G5, but my TRX-1 is scanning multiple towers, unlike the G5, pulling in more traffic.

View attachment 170050

Lots of private helos. N42FF is Garrett and Madi Mitchell out of Sarasota / Bradenton. They were dropping off supplies and evacuated those who wanted to get out of their current situation. I saw some video they took of the devastation during their missions. I think he said at one point when he was at the airport there were 82 helos there.

 

[10-43]

99% of FRS/GMRS radio owners don't use or know of repeaters.

During a previous hurricane here in Central Florida, mostly flat ground, I advised my neighbors via NEXTDOOR to use FRS1 CSQ during the storm. I was surprised how very active it was and the only fly in the ointment that some parents ignored my advice to keep kids from playing on FRS1.

Henderson County NC has a map of families where contacts were made and where none was made. The map is quite evenly dotted, meaning that a family with contact outside could easily make radio contact with ones who have no communications. For whatever reason hiking to those neighbors might be treacherous or impossible.

FRS has indeed been useful in one rescue in Oregon where a hiker was heard 80 miles away by kids playing with FRS radios. The mountains can help, helicopters with radios, even just receivers, can help. I am surprised (maybe not) that the ARRL has not suggested this.

If you are fortunate enough to be on a mountain or significant hill peak, indeed FRS can be heard at a long distance. The reality is that the overwheming majority of people impacted by this storm are in places other than flat Florida and in deep valleys that are difficult to reach out of with high power radios if there is no repeater on a hill peak. Especially in western NC, Eastern TN and bordering parts of Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina. We know that the majority of those badly affected were in valleys that suffered major flooding.

Anomalous communications are always possible, but unreliable. The 80 mile FRS contact was likely tropospheric ducting which is very unpredictable and infrequent. Barefoot FRS even the 2 watt channels are not likeky to reach much farther than 2 miles even on flat land where there are still.many obstacles. On the water it could be as much as 10 miles. It may be helpful on flat land if someone is close enough, but in mountainous areas being able to make a contact from where most people live which is not up high, will be somewhat short of a small miracle. It would be worth trying, but not a very reliable means of getting help.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

If you are fortunate enough to be on a mountain or significant hill peak, indeed FRS can be heard at a long distance. The reality is that the overwheming majority of people impacted by this storm are in places other than flat Florida and in deep valleys that are difficult to reach out of with high power radios if there is no repeater on a hill peak. Especially in western NC, Eastern TN and bordering parts of Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina. We know that the majority of those badly affected were in valleys that suffered major flooding.

Anomalous communications are always possible, but unreliable. The 80 mile FRS contact was likely tropospheric ducting which is very unpredictable and infrequent. Barefoot FRS even the 2 watt channels are not likeky to reach much farther than 2 miles even on flat land where there are still.many obstacles. On the water it could be as much as 10 miles. It may be helpful on flat land if someone is close enough, but in mountainous areas being able to make a contact from where most people live which is not up high, will be somewhat short of a small miracle. It would be worth trying, but not a very reliable means of getting help.

That is why I suggested helicopters as a platform. Most EMS and ENG (News) have Technisonic FM radios that are frequency agile (FPP) in the UHF band.

 

[10-43]

That is why I suggested helicopters as a platform. Most EMS and ENG (News) have Technisonic FM radios that are frequency agile (FPP) in the UHF band.

Suggest it to them. We can't do anything about that here.

 

[RaleighGuy]

POTUS aerial tour scheduled for this afternoon out of KGSP

1:20 PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Greenville, South Carolina
1:45 PM THE PRESIDENT receives an aerial tour of impacted areas
3:00 PM THE PRESIDENT departs Greenville, South Carolina en route to Raleigh, North Carolina

4/3472 NOTAM Details

 

[jplyler]

Does anyone know what freqs are being used for NCNG Helo Ops in/around the affected areas? I assume a lot of this traffic in on VIPER but I assume some VHF/UHF Air freqs may be used as well for enroute and normal A/A comms.

Is all the air traffic being managed via the normal ATC outlets or is anyone aware of special air ops freqs in use to help in the coordination?

 

[RaleighGuy]

Does anyone know what freqs are being used for NCNG Helo Ops in/around the affected areas? I assume a lot of this traffic in on VIPER but I assume some VHF/UHF Air freqs may be used as well for enroute and normal A/A comms.

Is all the air traffic being managed via the normal ATC outlets or is anyone aware of special air ops freqs in use to help in the coordination?

Hopefully someone closer can help you with A-A, but A-G is on VIPER ECHO2 and mission assignment is VIPER NCHARTOPS

Some freqs to monitor in early afternoon is 143.825 (both AM and FM) and 260.900 for visit.

 

[10-43]

Does anyone know what freqs are being used for NCNG Helo Ops in/around the affected areas? I assume a lot of this traffic in on VIPER but I assume some VHF/UHF Air freqs may be used as well for enroute and normal A/A comms.

Is all the air traffic being managed via the normal ATC outlets or is anyone aware of special air ops freqs in use to help in the coordination?

Air Traffic will always be handled on the ATC frequencies for all air traffic movement in and out of an airport, or for travel directly from one airport to another.
Airport frequencies for approach/departure, tower, CTAF and UNICOM.
121.1 and A/D freqs KAVL - Asheville Regional, 122.7 KMRN - Foothills Regional (Morganton), 122.725 KRUQ - Mid Carolina Regional (Salisbury). Look them up on airnav.com. 123.025 A/A Helo, but heard this was initial contact frequency for non NC helo assets coming in from outside NC.

However, if you monitor on Viper SHP AirOps and NC HART H60 you will hear them advising when they are going in and out of these airports.

 

[spacellamaman]

Does anyone know what freqs are being used for NCNG Helo Ops in/around the affected areas? I assume a lot of this traffic in on VIPER but I assume some VHF/UHF Air freqs may be used as well for enroute and normal A/A comms.

from the pdf

NC MilCom Synopsis 2016-2021

So anyone who has interest in NC MilCom and has done a search of this site knows this post: https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/nc-mil-air-discussion-thread.100501/post-1771869 I printed it off into little pocket sized carry cards and stuck em with my scanners. RMPDCOP posted a lot of...

forums.radioreference.com

Since LUNAR is in heavy rotation, I would bet any non-VIPER comms will be heard on

32.45 FM FORECAST BASE
230.175 FORECAST BASE

Those two are heavily used for NC ArNG helos A2A and calling home base.

anything listed under ZEUS on that pdf would be a possible but my money is on those two.

Signal Stalker is remarkably effective when they are within a mile or two.

 

[spacellamaman]

For those of you (us) further east, the KRUQ freqs are useful as well as a huge amount of ops are coming out of there. This was confirmed to me via mil band freqs as the following:

293.000 A2G 1701

"PAT357, C12, 15 min out, heading over to drop some people off at the FBO"

presumably

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history

globe.adsbexchange.com

talking to the NCArNG folks at KRUQ ala KILLDEVIL OPS, or whatever it is they call it.

KRUQ has been hopping all week.


All KRUQ based H60 A2A freqs are probably worthwhile to listen to in the affected areas. See previously mentioned pdf for a compendium.

 

[lucas2121]

How is the infrastructure holding up? Are public saftey comms functioning as they should?

 

[wx9svr]

A couple power company STA's have shown up:

American Electric Power Service Corporation
WSEX984

ULS License - Business/Industrial/Land Trans, 809-824/854-869 MHz, Conv. License - WSEX984 - American Electric Power Service Corporation

Florida Power & Light Company
WSEX991

ULS License - Other Indust/Land Transp, 896-901/935-940 MHz, Conv. License - WSEX991 - Florida Power & Light Company

 

[cg]

The FEMA Daily Ops Briefing, under communications, says that "Project Roll Call" is underway. Made me wonder what it was so I asked Mr Google and... it helps determine what communications systems are operational.
Basic description of what it is in these award stories:

Joseph P. Casey and Paul D. Coburn

A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working towards effective government for the American people.

servicetoamericamedals.org

FCC's Own Service America Medal Finalists

www.fcc.gov

Who uses it (download link):

https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=33954

Picture:

https://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/docs/summits/PSHSB_Hurricane_Summit%20Presentation_Roll_call.pdf

They need to update the scanner though

 

[RaleighGuy]

VP visit Saturday related to storm, check out details in post linked below...

Mid-Atlantic MilAir 2024

1800- Lumpy 13 (E-6B # 162783) land at PAX. 1620- SAM 46 (C-32 # 09-0018) land at ADW. AF1 (VC-25 # 92-9000) not far behind.

forums.radioreference.com

 

[spacellamaman]

C130 in Morganton vic no doubt has comms with someone. Doing some serious loops all day

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live - aircraft flight history

globe.adsbexchange.com

 

[Mbk127k]

If I am hearing correctly Johnston County was a 911 reroute center for some of the counties such as McDowell County? Was hearing a lot of it Events Hotel 1

 

[thrownout27]

Live in Canton, heart of the flooding. Heard traffic I’ve never heard before, including Helo air to air, Federal Disaster (encrypted) and Interoperability with very high traffic from GSMNP, local Haywood and Madison County, Viper from Chambers Mt. and Duke Power. I get nothing from Jackson or Henderson. I’d say most traffic is IMAP on Viper and GSMNP.

 

[blantonl]

I've created a Wiki page for Hurricane Helene to start cataloging comms info related to the response. I know for a fact these threads are being used by many public safety agencies to gather info.

Hurricane Helene (2024) - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

We've done this in the past for natural disasters and it works quite well to catalog what radio systems and frequencies and talkgroups are in use, and helps with post-mortem of the response.

PLEASE PLEASE help to update this wiki page with info that you gather. Any help adding, formatting, updating info etc will be helpful for everyone involved.

 

[RaleighGuy]

I've created a Wiki page for Hurricane Helene to start cataloging comms info related to the response. I know for a fact these threads are being used by many public safety agencies to gather info.

Hurricane Helene (2024) - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

We've done this in the past for natural disasters and it works quite well to catalog what radio systems and frequencies and talkgroups are in use, and helps with post-mortem of the response.

PLEASE PLEASE help to update this wiki page with info that you gather. Any help adding, formatting, updating info etc will be helpful for everyone involved.

To add to this great idea and request, PLEASE try to help keep the Wiki page organized to make things easier to find, if adding by TG name lets try to keep it in order rather than just adding them wherever, it really does help find things.