5. 5
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.
6. Know Your Options
• Know what sites cover your intended
work/travel.
• What is their operational status?
• Alternative forms of communications.
6
7. 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.
7
9. Radio and Light Waves
• Radio Waves are Electromagnetic Energy.
• Light Waves are Electromagnetic Energy.
9
10. 10
• 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.
Similar Properties
12. 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.
12
13. 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.
13
15. 15
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.
17. 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.
17
19. 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.
19
20. 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.
20
22. Repeater
• They extend the coverage area.
• Received signals are repeated.
• Radio is installed for optimum
performance.
• Users hear both sides of conversation.
22
23. Repeater
• Operates on two frequencies.
• Squelch tail is present.
• Radio has no physical connection to
dispatch.
23
25. Repair
• Open a ticket in Remedy
• Document your radio problem symptoms
and what you have done to determine
problem.
• System outage contact Dispatch Office
25
26. User Responsibility
• Never change your antenna
• Insure you have an antenna
• Battery
• Keeping radio clean
26
27. 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 don’t typically use receive sub audible
tones on our portables and mobiles.
27
28. 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
28
29. 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.
29
30. Use Concise Common Terms
• Affirmative
• Negative
• Disregard
• Clear or Out
• Standby
30
31. 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.
31
34. 34
We will now go over the
radios by specific
manufacturer for the
types your group is using
(BK, EF Johnson,
Thales, etc).
35. 35
BLM
COLORADO
This concludes the Radio Communications
Basic Course
Spring 2008
For Questions, Comments, Ideas or Errors please contact
your local Telecommunications Specialist.
Editor's Notes
Course Objective
Radio Theory
Base Stations
Repeaters
Mobiles/Handhelds
Repairs
Emergencies
Individual radios
Derlete
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Add “Care of batteries.”
delete
This will take some expounding on
Base Stations
What do they sound like? No squelch tail and you only hear half of the conversation
Repeaters
Who uses them? Everyone can.
What are they used for? To extend the coverage area of your radio.
When are they used? 24/7/365
Where are they? On the top of mountains.
Why are they there? Location, location, location.
What do they sound like? You will hear a squelch tail and both sides of the conversation.
Delete
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Using the radio
R---Relax
A---Adjust
Radio volume
Radio channel
Microphone
D---Determine
What you are going to say.
Is it your time to talk?
I---Initiate contact (ptt then talk)
O---Over
In your Misc. Zone is a channel called NLEEC this is the National Law Enforcement Emergency Channel. This channel can be used for Emergencies “ONLY”! This is a frequency that will talk to Law Enforcement base stations, vehicles, and handhelds directly. Say “State Patrol” if no answer “any unit on this net this is” on , this is BLM employee ________ on NLEEC with Emergency traffic”. If no answer try higher ground. When answered give them your situation.