Emergency Communication Lessons Learned From Hurricane Helene

[@seraines]

I live in south Asheville and am unlicensed. I’ve had a UV-5R for a couple of years. Learned to program and listen on it. I intended to get licensed, but hadn’t found the time. Fortunately, I was otherwise prepared and got word to my Alabama family that we were ok via a very nice gentleman in SC on the Mt Mitchell repeater. We are very thankful to the operators here. Job well done. I’m testing on 11/16/24 for my Technician and General. Coming in hot!

[@keithsafford3056]

Awesome. Was in Newland, NC starting 10/12 to 10/18 helping. Vicky rocked on the Mt. Mitchell repeater. Good luck on your testing. Hope to make contact with you - KC3GBW, again, good luck.

[@seraines]

@keithsafford3056 Yeah man. Vicky is still rockin it! I’ve been up to Newland multiple times bringing supplies to the Volunteer FD and EMS. We also delivered a camper to Newland, insulin and supplies shortly after the storm to Elk Park and down 19E as far as we could go. Not far past Powdermill Baptist Church. Unbelievable destruction. Looking forward to connecting. I’m logging your call sign. Thanks for saying hi!

[@keithsafford3056]

@@seraines U bet brother. It was AMERICAN'S helping AMERICAN'S. Wish I could have stayed another week but had to get back to work. Made some lifelong friends on that trip both with my fellow preppers and the Red Cross volunteers.

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

I am in Asheville now on this disaster operation with a response agency. I have mixed thoughts on a lot of the comments and approaches here. I have been all through Burnsville and Relief and surrounding areas, on this operation. I am a comms tech on this and I cant really say what I think in here because of the flame wars.

[@seraines]

@@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW We were in areas around Burnsville again this week. Pensacola, Bee Log Rd community, etc. Very slow going. Lots of support needed.

[@tomKZ8TOM]

Josh, This was a TV broadcast quality interview. Thank you.

[@easternpa2]

Dan did such an amazing job without any previous training or practice as Net Control. I've watched a few other interviews with him and he is just so humble. A treasure to the ham radio community. His story is pushing me to get trained on ICS in case I ever find myself in his situation. I watched an old Winlink video of yours earlier, and I was pleasantly surprised to see all the ICS forms loaded up as templates for easy filling and sending. I can't imagine how much more of an impact Dan could have had if he had -- and was supported by people with -- ICS and ARES training.

[@TotallyDapper]

Listening to Dan running net control on the N2GE Mt. Mitchell repeater is what spurred me to go get my Technician license and a handheld. Hearing everyone working together to communicate and help each other was amazing, and I am thankful for your service to your community.

[@GoAmateurRadio]

Great job Dan and Thomas! Thanks to Randy and the Mitchell N2GE repeater!

[@Banjoman-p7t]

Real, Relevant, and Impactful stream says it all. 👍

[@neubert500]

Excellence! Great AAR! Thank you ALL!

[@potababe]

Thanks for having Dan and Thomas on to share this information. Some of us are taking notes and going to make sure we have equipment for emergency situations like this and know how to use it.

[@RobertoRubio-ij3ms]

Hi Josh. Thanks for this. We have been hit by massive floods here in Panama this last couple of weeks and I wish we had more hams or even radio enthusiasts to work this kind of comms networks. The gov here has not issued a license since 2018 and it seems exams are still far away. We practice with a local group using FRS, GMRS (our flavor of it) and MURS (our version too. This content is super enriching and it impacts beyond th U.S. God bless you and you wonderful guests from today.

[@Robert-sn7lt]

Thank you Dan and Thomas. I happened to get licensed in early September, but the hurricane confirmed why I was getting licensed and my goal of getting involved with my county ARES to give back to the community. Thanks Josh for the great channel and all of the great content.

[@bubbas3rd]

I wish I could have seen this live, but thankful for the replay. I was listening to this repeater from Florida everyday as well. Amazing community and experience. I learned a lot!

[@tjtrost1550]

I live on the opposite coast in a rural coastal town. Being cut off from services is a real thing in an emergency situation, floods, landslides etc, is a real concern. This is a great video to learn from. ❤

[@the1spyderryder]

I don't understand people throwing off on baofeng radios . I have 15 inexpensive baofeng and TD H3S and a ICOM 7100 I HAVE ONE BAOFENG BF F8HP THAT CAME OFF MY BIKE AT 45 MPH SLID ON THE PAVEMENT ABOUT 50 FEET AND CRASHED INTO THE CURB. I TURNED AROUND AND HAD TO LOOK FOR IT WHEN I PICKED IT UP, IT WORKED PERFECTLY FINE AND I STILL USE IT! Every one of my Baofeng radios still works! On the other hand, I bought two Icom Z1A portables when they came out they were over $400 each they didnt last a year the cases were flemsy and they just turned to junk. So that is my experiance with portables.😂

[@DerekMurawsky]

Exactly. They're pretty solidly built and are way better than any $20 radio has any right to be. I'll give these away to help and not worry about getting them back. There's absolutely a place for good, heavy duty radios, but don't knock the cheap ones just because. Though I do admit the spurious emissions problems are legit. Thankfully many of the Baofengs have fixed that problem.

[@mrtechie6810]

I got a Baoefeng HT and it didn't work because I live near an FM broadcast antenna site. Bought a $50 Yaesu and it works great, and also transmits better!

[@DerekMurawsky]

@@mrtechie6810 that's not a reason to neg on a Baofeng, though. That's one of their weaknesses. For sub $20 it's a reasonable thing. I do agree that it's not as clear as it could be what their weaknesses are up front, but they're well worth the money.

[@tdhall81]

the Mt Mitchell repeater is pretty amazing, im in charlotte and have worked a station in Maryland through that repeater

[@Athreehourtour]

Fantastic stuff and thank you gentlemen I was up at Swannanoa at Generation church and HD during the the first week/s of the storm and I am 100% certain ur comms were helping us on side by sides getting supplies to folks God bless u dudes

[@weird1577]

Hi Josh, Dan & Thomas Well done for stepping up. That radio aspect is clearly the focus of the channel, but for me, the key to the situation was power. Having the ability the keep power on made the difference and can't be overlooked.

[@billloveless6869]

I just watched this video and thought it was great! A lot of good useful info was put out. If Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL and Dan Mark K2DMG put out a book about their experiences i would be glad to buy it. I would consider it a very useful preparedness book. You know, what I did before,what worked or didn't work and what would I do in the future kinda book. Keep up the good work and stay safe.👍

[@dana3179]

Great interview! There was a comment made about 2m being better than 70cm, my suggestion is to try them both if you have them. In our mountainous area - we sometimes see the 70cm far outperform the 2m over distance. But then the conditions change and the 2m outperforms the 70cm between the two same locations. We also get some extreme multipath fading/propagation - you would normally expect anything less than 1 meter or so wouldn't make a difference for a 2m antenna - but we see cases where moving the antenna 2 inches makes a huge difference. When mobile, creeping forward slowly until receiving the best signal works well - I call this "brake pedal antenna tuning". With handhelds move it around slowly - and also play with the polarization. As they said - getting experience using the equipment in the area is extremely valuable.

[@Iamdebug]

I did this a lot with 900mhz microwave links, it would go full scale to not registering within a 3' square on a roof, destructive and gain reflections sure showed up that day.

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

I wish I could have got in on this chat. I would have liked to have added a couple things. This is what I do for a living as well. I have been on the ground for several weeks. I am in Asheville now as well. This is an interesting interview, but I think its missing a few things from another perspective. I will be staying on ground here until about Christmas time and then my family has asked for me to come home, but I will be here supporting this community with their communications and support needs until then.

[@celebmrk9]

When I’ve travelled to see my family in Myrtle Beach, I’ve gone through this very area…it WAS beautiful, I can’t imagine how it is now… kinda sad thinking about it 😢…(from Nebraska)

[@mandytuning]

Also carry a slim jim roll off antenna, and a string attaching a big nut. Throw over a tall branch,will turn your Baofeng into a superhero.

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

I just set a Starlink system up for a SAR group in the Relief area, a couple days ago. I had to literally attach a WAP to a fallen tree limb strapped to a fallen tree as a mast to elevate it, because there was nothing taller then a tent around otherwise, This is the only way right now some communities are able to communicate. Had to do a similar system in Burnsville. If allowed I will submit a pic of the install. It has been cleared for any sensitive content for viewer's.

[@kdintheword1813]

God bless you guys! 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏

[@johnwalker9285]

Awesome Video.

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

Asheville will not have potable water until Mid December, Army Corp will have the filtration sys completed by end of Nov. ad then flushed by mid Dec.

[@charlierumsfeld6626]

I am in Michigan and have neglected my back up generator. Went to test it recently and found a circuit breaker on that killed the auto start battery. Couldn't get it to charge. Waiting for new battery. Don't ignore your back up equipment.

[@bwilson948]

Thank you

[@cyber_redneck8877]

Thanks!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

You bet!

[@ricdonato4328]

At home we have water filters used by hikers and campers, and the like. The filters we have are Sawyer Products, thus we can fill bottles with potable water.

[@the1spyderryder]

These guys were awesome!

[@virgilius68]

Great work guys!

[@daledervin3672]

Not familiar with the repeater being used, but during Florida hurricanes for hams not familiar with local repeaters, PL tones are a hurdle.

[@ModernSurvivalSense]

One thing to keep in mind regarding WiFi and internet… even if you do not have power, if your internet service provider does have power, you may only need to power your cable modem in order to have internet and WiFi calling on your cell phones. Having a small battery back up and a way to recharge it could be crucial to staying in contact. I was in Tampa without power for three days after Milton and I was still able to stay in contact because I could power my modem.

[@mrtechie6810]

WARNING: For use around other transmitters, do NOT get an unfiltered HT! I got a Baoefeng HT and it didn't work because I live near an FM broadcast antenna site. Bought a $50 Yaesu and it works great, and also transmits stronger! ❤

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

@@mrtechie6810 it's all about the filters, and delivery of power to the proper frequency, not spreading it out across spurs and other unwanted spikes of garbage!

[@wd8dsb]

One comment from me regarding HT's. I make sure that the HT I buy has an optional AA battery case so I don't have to rely on charging the radio during an emergency or public service event. I always keep a good supply of Alkaline AA batteries in addition to low self discharge NiMH batteries for use with my HT's when the rechargeable battery pack that came with the radio dies.

[@jeffb5781]

Excellent discussion Josh. Question - USB-C for power delivery for HT? How does that work? None of my Yaesu's have ports for that.

[@ChrisRobinsonKF6NFW]

I also responded to Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, that can be researched in the QST magazine Oct. 2005 along with a list of others that operated. I am not surprised that the cells went down. as a communications manager, I have been saying for the last 2 decades that folks are underestimating their vulnerability, and overestimating their capabilities. While I am in the WNC area, I have experienced even Sat Phone failures because of the extensive tree canopy. Even today, while I was in Burke county, I had to explain to a couple of teams why they are unable to make calls and what they need to pay attention to, This is a standard issue across country, not isolated to here, but is a very noticeable situation right now on the narrow roadways in the mountainous regions.

[@Thomas-pe8th]

Count me in as another one that got their technician license due to listening on broadcastify.

[@jakescarlett8311]

Is there a place to go back and listen to the repeater traffic from the hurricane? I would love to listen through some of it.

[@appalachianmagic6370]

The biggest issue facing the area's water supply is that Halliburton's Chemtronics holding facility on Old Bee Tree Road flooded into the creek, river system and the upper French Broad watershed. The aquifer system under the area was also contaminated due to the weight of the water on it in Swannanoa, still is ... this is not being addressed by the local authorities yet other than the Corps of Engineers/contractors working hard to contain the breach (they are still there).

[@FreeER]

As far as hand\keypad programming, yes it's a great skill to know but have you heard of the tidradio wireless programmer? If your radio is supported it's great to be able to pull out your phone and program it through the app. Now if it could just make it easy to program different radio models to the same channel sets it'd be pretty amazing 😆

[@daledervin3672]

The ARRL would be completely remiss in not honoring these two in some way.

[@davidherrera6885]

I just went to check broadcastify's archive and it's missing 9-27 to 9-30.

[@jeffb-jbq]

Interesting to hear he was using an old Icom and it was still better than his county EOC station.

[@Trey2025]

Thank you for doing this video. There is great information in this! I love that Dan and his wife delivered supplies to stranded hams. That's just awesome! I have wondered about the 20 watt repeater on Mt. Mitchell and its 5 watt output. I think we all owe a huge thank you to Franklin Graham.

[@prepperdan]

does NC emergency management have HF comms? the towers shouldnt have affected any of that

[@minutemaidification]

"we didn't get any help from the government" x100 and then "our repeater was on a secure government location"

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

That is interesting. I assumed they meant specific orgs within the gov.

[@minutemaidification]

​@@HamRadioCrashCourseI think it's a really bad sign that disaster response is being politicized so heavily. I think it started with Katrina. I do think people have real and valid reasons to mistrust government and institutions but there's this kind of throughline of AUXC being part of the microchipping at Walmart FEMA camp stuff. It's really disheartening

[@bageldad]

They didn’t throw people off the air because ITS THE LAW! During an emergency ANYBODY CAN USE THE AIRWAVES - so you can tell people to “get off the air” but nobody has to listen to JUST YOU. You don’t need a damn radio license in an emergency!! Can’t believe you guys didn’t say that…. I now have my GMRS due to That emergency - I am studying for my Technical now and want to get people involved here in tornado alley (Southern Illinois - Murphysboro) I had ZERO radios (I now have 8) I am all in on GMRS and trying to learn antennas. All due to this hurricane….. So yes many many people have tuned in (get it!) to ham and GMRS now.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

I have mentioned in an emergency you can transit over and over on this channel. I was most specifically concerned with the rumors that had taken over that hams were kicking people off the air. The guests didn’t experience that. That was the point.

[@appalachianmagic6370]

Also, the bad faith traffic occured not on N2GE or the Charlotte repeater, but on the more local repeaters, one of the SC ones and simplex channels that were not on broadcastify or echolink. N4MTC (he's a star on the Grumpy Old Hams youtube channel - so not a call out and pretty sure it was him because he's on youtube) and some other bad apples were giving people issues trying to get help. Heard this myself until some cooler headed hams stepped in and let them traffic. Wish I recorded it - it wasn't a rumor. But hey, we were getting hit by a bunch of stuff during those days, so it was not a priority to record and the power was out besides the generator. People heard it happen - that's the reason they are saying it.

[@ronpetroski7203]

Fema failed incident command basics. Relied on a ham operator