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Interactive
Map of
Amateur radio repeaters
EchoLink
EchoLink Map
IRLP Main
Web Site
IRLP
Status Web Page
Operations Ribbon granted
to those who qualify in auxiliary operations programs.
Helo Ops (Helicopter
Support / co-ordination Training)
The NEW Marine Safety
Ribbon for those completing
the Marine Safety Program and training towards the
Trident
device. A page on the Coast Guard Auxiliary
obsolete ribbons is here. (and while we're at
it, a link to current ribbons, devices,
uniforms,
and insignia of the US Coast Guard auxiliary is here...)
Urgent!! Appeal to
Ham Radio operators and those willing to become Ham
operators.....
Members of the Auxiliary have the
opportunity to train in operational specialty courses. An AUXOP
member
has completed an upper number of specialty courses
& is entitled to wear the special AUXOP device on the uniform.
NEW!! Marine
Radio Frequencies Page.
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Operations Programs
Communications
Flotilla
4-08, 8th District (CR)
Sector New Orleans, Louisiana
United
States Coast Guard Auxiliary
"Where
The Action Is!"
There is no requirement in the Auxiliary to obtain a
ham license; auxiliarists can merely take the AUXCOM course,
or the
same communications watchstander PQS that the gold side active
duty
coast guard requires of it's communicators, or the new auxiliary
telecommunications operator course that was
just
announced. (And may eventually replace the first two.)
Additionally,
boat crew and aircrew can use the radio equipment on those
facilities
without any additional certification.
But auxiliarists who fit the above criteria can
communicate on both Coast Guard frequencies and the numerous
additional
ham frequencies if they get licensed to do so. And being able
to talk
to an additional set of emergency service, trained and
dedicated
volunteers is invaluable. We appreciated all the help we could
get in
Katrina, and need to train with all available resources we can
use or
potentially could use, during the next disaster.
Why
Hams? Where do Ham Operators fit into the
emergency
services provided by the Auxiliary and the Coast Guard?
Ham operators are internationally recognized as good
communicators. They have developed skills sets, in both every
day radio
communications, as well as emergency communications, through
such
organizations as Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
(RACES), the
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National
Weather
Services (NWS)' SKYWARN.
The Amateur Radio Operators who volunteer for these
services train and practice their skills in drills, waiting
for that
one event which may never come, to put their skill set into
action.
The Auxiliary is always interested in individuals
with unique skill sets. Amateur Radio Operators are
among
these types of individuals.
Remember ? Auxiliary communications specialists
practice their skills every day, in the real world.
Whether
it?s doing a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) patrol via
vehicle, and
needing two-way communications with the Active Duty Coast
Guard, a
Safety Patrol on the water, augmenting the communications
watch at an
active duty Coast Guard unit, or even assisting at major
events, these
types of events are daily on-going Auxiliary missions, in
every part of
the US.
Communication and good communicators are at the
heart of any successful mission, and Ham Operators have the
experience
that the Auxiliary is both looking for and would like to
instill in
their current communicators.
Qualified
Ham
Operators can become instructors, teaching non-Ham operators
the
techniques and skills that will make them skilled radio
operators.
"Team Coast
Guard"
Auxiliary
members provide
important operational support to the U.S. Coast Guard and
are
considered members of "Team Coast Guard." Patrols are
often called upon
for search and rescue assistance, Helo Ops co-ordination
drills, and
other training missions. In addition, special patrols may
check
navigational markers, update charts, or monitor the waters
for hazards
and environmental pollution. Division 4 takes on as much
as it can
reliably handle, making Active Duty assets and resources
available for
other uses, or available to "standby for surge" operations
when
necessary.
During
Katrina all
telecommunication towers, including both public safety and
amateur
repeaters went down. It was a
radio amateur of the Coast Guard Auxiliary that
"re-discovered" the old
technique of NVIS. The Coast Guard took an
extreme interest in NVIS.
Being a bureaucracy, they can't just go out, buy the right
equip, and
start using it. (studies have to be done; security
protocols ensured,
etc) But the auxiliary can. They can then use the aux to
communicate on
it when they themselves can't. (click here
for a FAQ on NVIS)
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VHF Aurora :
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144 MHz Es in EU :
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144 MHz Es in NA :
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Today's MUF & Es
by MMM on VHF :
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Solar X-rays :
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Geomagnetic
Field :
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Estimated Kp :
(courtesy of the DX
robot server here.)
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Convenient Solar Data
In times of crisis and natural
disasters, Amateur radio is
often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline,
cell phones and other
conventional means of communications fail.
Unlike commercial systems, Amateur
radio is not as dependent on terrestrial facilities that can
fail. It
is dispersed throughout a community without "choke points" such
as
cellular telephone sites that can be overloaded.
Amateur radio operators are
experienced in improvising antennas and power sources and most
equipment today can be powered by an automobile battery. Annual
"Field Days" are held
in many countries to practice these emergency improvisational
skills.
Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can
quickly
establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance
interoperability.
Recent examples include the 2001
attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan,
the 2003 North America blackout
and Hurricane Katrina in
September, 2005, where amateur radio was used to coordinate
disaster
relief activities when other systems failed.
On September 2, 2004, ham radio was
used to inform weather forecasters with information on Hurricane
Frances
live from the Bahamas. On December
26, 2004, an earthquake and resulting tsunami
across the Indian Ocean wiped
out all communications with the Andaman Islands,
except for a DX-pedition that
provided a means to coordinate relief efforts.
The largest disaster response by
U.S. amateur radio operators was during Hurricane
Katrina
which first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north
of
Miami, Florida on August 25, 2005, eventually strengthening to
Category
5. More than a thousand ham operators from all over the U.S.
converged
on the Gulf Coast in an effort to provide emergency
communications
assistance. Subsequent Congressional hearings highlighted the
Amateur
Radio response as one of the few examples of what went right in
the
disaster relief effort.
 In the United States, there
are two major methods of organizing amateur radio emergency
communications: Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARES), sponsored by the ARRL, and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
(RACES), which requires registration with municipal or county
governments, to allow continued operation under Part 97.407 of
the FCC
regulations in the event the Amateur Service is ever shut down
by
presidential order. ARES and RACES involvement within the same
area are
usually intertwined, with many governments requiring membership
and
service in that locale's ARES organization as well. Many
government
Emergency Operating Centers, Red Cross Chapters and National
Weather
Service facilities have permanent Amateur Radio stations
installed.
Radio clubs independent of the
ARRL and ARES also participate in emergency communications
activities
in some areas. Additionally, the Department of Defense also
sponsors
the Military Affiliate Radio System
(MARS) program which also utilizes Amateur Radio operators for
emergency communication using military radio frequencies.
Emergency communications and
disaster assistance is usually done in conjunction with
volunteer
disaster relief organizations such as the American
Red Cross,
Civil Air Patrol (aux of the USAF - SAR command), Coast Guard
Auxiliary, or local government emergency management agencies, as
well
as volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps.
The ARRL has a memorandum
of understanding with numerous agencies such as the American Red Cross.
The ARRL also is a member of the Voluntary Organizations Active
in
Disasters (VOAD) and conducts emergency communications
certifcation
courses for interested Amateur Radio operators.
This site supports the VoIP
SKYWARN and Hurricane Nets which they operate by combining both
the Echolink
and IRLP
linked repeater networks, thus providing for more efficient and
effective utilization of available resources while handling
critical
wide area communications during major severe weather
events. To learn more about the efforts of the VoIP
Hurricane
Net, join the VOIP-WXNET Yahoo
Group to keep informed and learn more about the use of EchoLink
and
IRLP for hurricanes and other weather and disaster related
situations.
The VoIP
Hurricane
Net wants ARES, RACES, SKYWARN and other
emergency communication groups such as MARS
and REACT
to utilize the VoIP Hurricane Net as
another means to pass weather data, damage and other pertinent
reports
to WX4NHC--the
Amateur
Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
in Miami--and to other national agencies. During hurricanes, NHC
forecasters use real-time "ground truth" reports from Amateur
Radio
volunteers--such as the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN)
on 14.325 MHz--to the NHC via WX4NHC to develop more accurate
forecasts
and to get a better handle on a storm's behavior.
The ALE High Frequency Network
(HFN) is
available 24/7 for emcomm
text messaging. HFN provides HF-to-email, HF-to-cellphone,
and HF-to-HF
messaging relay. Amateur
Radio for Broadband wireless internet
here. Interactive
Map of Amateur radio repeaters here.
Amateur
Radio licensing material:
A free
30 page study guide for the Technician Class Amateur
Radio Exam is
available at:
FREE
Amateur Radio Exam Lesson Plans and Question
Pool. In
particular see the PowerPoint Question Pool by K3DIO
ARRL
Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an
Amateur Radio
Operator (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) (Paperback)
ARRL
Technician Q & A (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0872599647
Amateur
Radio Licensing Frequently Asked Questions from the
ARRL web site:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/classes.html
The
content
of these web pages is explanatory and not
authority for action.
Views and opinions expressed within do not
necessarily reflect those of
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the
U.S. Coast Guard.
Information may be reprinted except news stories
and articles
republished from other sources. Commercial use of
Coast Guard emblems,
logos, or other graphics must be approved by the
Commandant of the U.S.
Coast Guard.
NOTICE
-
DISCLAIMER:
Links
to
non-Coast Guard entities are not under the control of the
United
States Coast Guard, or the United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary, and are
provided for the convenience of our customers. They do
not, in any way,
constitute an endorsement of the linked pages or any
commercial or
private issues or products presented there. We cannot make
any warranty
or representation concerning the content of these sites,
or secondary
sites from the pages to which they link.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE - PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 The information contained in
this website is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act
of 1974,
and may only be used for the official business of the United
States
Coast Guard or the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Semper Paratus
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