Codan Radio Transportable Radio Systems User Guide - Manual (Page 10)

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3.1.3 Search and Rescue in a Remote Area
An example deployment of Transportable Radios during a search and rescue incident in a remote area occurred in Butte
County California in December 2007. You probably remember the news story about Laci Peterson, who went missing
on Christmas Eve, 2002. During the months until Laci’s body was found, her mom, Sharon Rocha was impressed by the
work of the search and rescue teams. Much to Rocha’s surprise, most search and rescue in the United States is done
by volunteers and she was shocked at how little funding they receive. To rectify this situation, she created the Laci and
Conner Peterson Foundation
http://www.lacipeterson.com/ to provide grants to search and rescue groups. One of the
groups the foundation gave money to was Butte County Search and Rescue http://www.buttesar.org/ to purchase a
Transportable Radio Repeater.
Butte County’s Lt. Dan Newman explains the difference the Transportable Radio has made to his organization. “It’s
a real remote area. Our radios didn’t work,” he says noting that their searches often took them out of range of their base
station. In particular, he’s reminded of a search he was involved in during Christmas 2007. It was just outside of Chico,
near Paradise.
There was a father, 2 boys and a girl. They’d gone to cut down a Christmas tree but a storm came in and they got lost.
They weren’t prepared. They were just wearing jeans and instead of staying put they tried to walk back to civilization.
The problem was they kept walking in the wrong direction, further and further out of radio range. The next day, they
did the same thing. The next day, they walked even further. It wasn’t until the fourth day that the team of 100 searchers
fi nally located the family.
Without the Transportable Radio, the search would not have been as well coordinated and the family may not have
been found alive. “We’re using the repeater 2–3 times a month now,” says Lt. Newman. “This has defi nitely paid for
itself over and over.”
Butte County purchased a VHF analog 8 W Transportable Radio with an internal battery. For longer operations, they just
hook it up to a car battery. The radio itself is housed in a rugged polyethylene case and withstands extreme weather. “We
use it in all conditions,” says Lt. Newman. “We’ve been using it for two years and it’s been working great.”
3.1.4 Communications for Natural Resource Exploration
Establishing communications in areas not normally served by radio infrastructure can be a challenge, particularly
for remote camps that are hundreds of miles from the nearest community. Crews exploring large areas require the
teams to be in constant communication with each other for safety (government regulations – OSHA, WCB) and
logistics. As well they need to be able to communicate to head offi ce regularly to provide updates on their fi ndings.
An economical and easy to deploy communication solution is needed.
A Transportable Radio can be interfaced to a satellite telephone system (fi xed link or satellite telephone) allowing
communications to and from any telephone in the world. The transportable Land Mobile Radio (LMR) repeater is
housed in a waterproof case that is easy to deploy by a single person, consumes minimal current allowing it to be
powered by solar panels or batteries and is compact for ease of transportation via helicopter or ATV.
The LMR system provides communications for the exploration crews using standard LMR two-way handhelds over
the exploration area. When communication back to head offi ce is required, the radio user in the fi eld accesses the
satellite telephone by a DTMF sequence and then uses the satellite to dial out to any telephone. Other users can
access the LMR repeater from anywhere in the world by dialing into the satellite telephone system (a telephone
number enabled for the satellite telephone).
The LMR repeater with satellite telephone interface provides a complete communication solution in a single pack-
age. For applications requiring communications between radio users in the fi eld where no microwave or landline
links exist and head offi ce, a satellite interface (Iridium or Inmarsat) on the LMR transportable radio creates connec-
tivity, anywhere, anytime.
Satellite Telephone interface in a Transportable Case