When hikers or others get lost in the Cascades or the Columbia River Gorge, what frequencies or talkgroups do the searchers use? For example, just today (1/6/14), there was a "Sarcom Mountain Wave" truck up on Mt Hood, which served as the communications base for the search. Info on the organization is here, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications
But there is also the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office that does searches in the Gorge, and they probably use different frequencies.
I can't seem to find any for Mountain Wave, Multnomah County, or Washington County either. Do they use low power simplex freqs, or they on the BOEC CCOM 800Mhz system? Even if they're on localized frequencies, there must be a way for them to talk to BOEC or CCOM either way, to radio back reports, or to request further aid.
Do I need to be "up close" to hear the searchers on the ground, or can I hear them from my home in Milwaukie? Any insight on this would be great. Thanks in advance for your help, and happy scanning.... the best hobby of all.
But there is also the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office that does searches in the Gorge, and they probably use different frequencies.
I can't seem to find any for Mountain Wave, Multnomah County, or Washington County either. Do they use low power simplex freqs, or they on the BOEC CCOM 800Mhz system? Even if they're on localized frequencies, there must be a way for them to talk to BOEC or CCOM either way, to radio back reports, or to request further aid.
Do I need to be "up close" to hear the searchers on the ground, or can I hear them from my home in Milwaukie? Any insight on this would be great. Thanks in advance for your help, and happy scanning.... the best hobby of all.