Radio Communications

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Radio Communications
BLM
COLORADO
Basic Course
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Course Objectives

• Radio Theory
• Terrain Effects
• Antenna Design
• Narrowband

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Course Objectives

• Infrastructure
• Common Phrases
• Procedures for Repair
• Emergencies
• Familiarization

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• BE SAFE!

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Prepare For Your Trip

• Follow Office Specific Check In/Out Procedures.
• Visually inspect and check your equipment for
  proper operation before leaving for the field.
• Do a radio check.

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Know Your Options

• Know what sites cover your intended work/travel.
• What is their operational status?
• Alternative forms of communications.

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Radio Theory

• Radio waves are generated by a rapidly
  oscillating electric current.
• Frequency is the amount of cycles a radio wave
  makes referenced to one second of time.
• Wave length is the distance the wave travels to
  complete one cycle.

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Example One Wave Traveling at One Cycle Per
Second
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Radio and Light Waves

• Radio Waves are Electromagnetic Energy.
• Light Waves are Electromagnetic Energy.

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Similar Properties

• Radio waves travel in much the same way as light.
  
• Imagine a light bulb on top of your handheld or
  vehicle.
• The energy is similarly
• sent in all directions.

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More Similarities

• Reflected
• Absorbed
• Diffracted
• Dispersed

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Handhelds and Mobiles Perform Differently

• Handhelds Transmit with less power utilizing a
  small battery source.
• Mobiles utilize a gain antenna which effectively
  doubles the transmit power and receive
  sensitivity.
• Handheld antennas tend to be more obstructed.

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Batteries are Critical

• Proper care of batteries is essential.
• Batteries are a users responsibility.
• Typically last for 8 hours before charging.
• Radio will not transmit effectively.

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Antenna Comparison
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Things to Remember

• Height is more advantageous than power.
• Know the location of the site you are trying to
  transmit to and what objects or terrain are in
  the path.
• A small shift in position can make a big
  difference in signal quality.

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Height Matters
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How Far Can You Communicate

• Typically BLM handhelds can communicate within a
  few miles of each other.
• Typically a BLM vehicle radio to a BLM
  mountaintop radio can communicate about 40 miles
  apart.
• Typically BLM mountaintop radios can communicate
  about 100 miles apart.

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Narrowband

• Narrowband radios are mandated for BLM use.
• Radios programmed incorrectly will sound
  distorted.

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Base Station

• A means for dispatch to communicate to users over
  a large area in the field.
• Radio is installed for optimum performance.
• Users may not hear both sides of conversation.

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Base Station

• Radio is connected to dispatch center and
  remotely controlled.
• Radio can be used to access repeaters.
• Radio does not have a squelch tail.

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Base Station
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Repeater

• They extend the coverage area.
• Received signals are repeated.
• Radio is installed for optimum performance.
• Users hear both sides of conversation.

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Repeater

• Operates on two frequencies.
• Squelch tail is present.
• Radio has no physical connection to dispatch.

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Repeater
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Repair

• Open a ticket in Remedy
• Document your radio problem symptoms and what you
  have done to determine problem.
• System outage contact Dispatch Office

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User Responsibility

• Never change your antenna
• Insure you have an antenna
• Battery
• Keeping radio clean

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Is Anyone Out There

• Your radio must be transmitting on the same
  frequency the radio you are trying to reach is
  receiving.
• Your radio must be transmitting the same sub
  audible tone the radio you are trying to reach is
  listening for.
• We dont typically use receive sub audible tones
  on our portables and mobiles.

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R A D I O

• R-elax
• A-djust Volume, Channel
• D-etermine - What your going to say. Is it your
  time to talk?
• I-nitiate Contact
• O-ver

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Proper Use

• Hold the radio about an inch away
• Push the PTT button and wait one second before
  talking.
• Talk directly into the microphone
• Identify who your calling and then yourself
• Wait for their response then proceed.

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Use Concise Common Terms

• Affirmative
• Negative
• Disregard
• Clear or Out
• Standby

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Emergency

• Try to contact any Interagency Dispatch Center.
• Try to contact any person listening to radio.
• Use National Law Enforcement Emergency Channel,
  (NLEEC) to contact a law enforcement dispatcher.

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Banks, Zones, Channels

• Banks contain zones or groups
• Zones and Groups contain individual channels

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• We will now go over the radios by specific
  manufacturer for the types your group is using
  (BK, EF Johnson, Thales, etc).

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This concludes the Radio Communications Basic
Course
BLM
COLORADO
For Questions, Comments, Ideas or Errors please
contact your local Telecommunications Specialist.
Spring 2008