GMRS northern ohio emcomm

[okinawanmon]

anyone interested in forming a emcomm GMRS club in northern ohio? please reach out. with all that is happening in north carolna and florida, and recently in parma ohio, with the tornado. i am looking for people to form a GMRS net for emcomm. please reach out. i can donate some gmrs radios or help with a repeater build or whatever for emcomm.

thanks 

rick, wrbn265 or ke8vrm

[tweiss3]

There is already a GMRS repeater in Brunswick. Also look into Medina County ARES https://ohioares10.ad8g.net/medina/. It would probably be a good idea to not duplicate efforts/protocols to increase the chance of making meaningful contact. Perhaps reach out to see about including GMRS as a secondary line of communication. 

[Crosswire3]

I see you are in Brunswick where you could probably reach a half dozen repeaters. I run a repeater out of North Canton that covers most of NE Ohio and would be up for chatting. I have considered organizing nets to get a bit more organization going. 
 

NorthCantonGMRS@Gmail.com

[okinawanmon]

@Crosswire3 thanks, ill reach out to you this week

 

[okinawanmon]

@tweiss3 thanks, i realize that there are repeaters in my area, im looking for a group to organize emcomm using GMRS as a way to communicate with family that does not have their HAM license. a lot of sad hams are making stupid comments about people using HAM radio to communicate in an emergency that dont have a license. Using GMRS is another way to help. we recently had a tornado drop down in parma, and there were not alot of hams communicating during the power outage. i think i was the only one driving aroung reporting damage to the area. im getting frustrated with the HAM community up here. we need family communications when a big disaster happens and i do not see any HAM orginazations up here co-ordinating an operation for such emergencies. 

[Crosswire3]

It is a mixed bag. GMRS can certainly be a good asset for families, but without a bit of radio knowledge you won’t get very far. That is where ham can help. They are both good tools and have their own uses. 

[WRKC935]

On 10/12/2024 at 10:02 AM, okinawanmon said:

@tweiss3 thanks, i realize that there are repeaters in my area, im looking for a group to organize emcomm using GMRS as a way to communicate with family that does not have their HAM license. a lot of sad hams are making stupid comments about people using HAM radio to communicate in an emergency that dont have a license. Using GMRS is another way to help. we recently had a tornado drop down in parma, and there were not alot of hams communicating during the power outage. i think i was the only one driving aroung reporting damage to the area. im getting frustrated with the HAM community up here. we need family communications when a big disaster happens and i do not see any HAM orginazations up here co-ordinating an operation for such emergencies. 

Well, you need to remember that HAM operations for EMCOMM are done for a served agency.  And ARES is a 'by request only' group.  Meaning if the local authorities / EMA doesn't request their services, they aren't required or wanted. 

Driving around after a tornado or other significant event isn't really the safest thing to be doing.  Especially if you aren't fully trained for doing it.  Downed lines, tree's in the road, flooding, or other issues can possibly strand or injure you and then all of a sudden you are a victim in need of emergency services for rescue.  The situation is created by someone's personal need to go out into an area with damage and assess that damage.  So are you trained in damage assessment?  Are you part of Public safety?  Have you even been to a CERT training? 

Who are you reporting the damage to?  Have they requested damage reports? 

 

I understand the want, need and desire to be able to contact family in a time of crisis.  The knowledge they are ok, and all is well can be important for your mental well being.  GMRS will do you well for accomplishing that goal.  If there is either LOS between your houses, or there is a repeater / repeaters that you both have access to that will bridge that gap.  Remember that if you are using another owners repeater that others may well be trying to do the same thing.  So keep communications brief.  Establish the health and welfare of all parties.  Make plans to communicate again at a specific time and clear the airways for others to use the repeater. 

Try to have multiple paths of communication available, and TEST those paths at least monthly. 

 

[okinawanmon]

On 10/13/2024 at 8:25 PM, WRKC935 said:

Well, you need to remember that HAM operations for EMCOMM are done for a served agency.  And ARES is a 'by request only' group.  Meaning if the local authorities / EMA doesn't request their services, they aren't required or wanted. 

Driving around after a tornado or other significant event isn't really the safest thing to be doing.  Especially if you aren't fully trained for doing it.  Downed lines, tree's in the road, flooding, or other issues can possibly strand or injure you and then all of a sudden you are a victim in need of emergency services for rescue.  The situation is created by someone's personal need to go out into an area with damage and assess that damage.  So are you trained in damage assessment?  Are you part of Public safety?  Have you even been to a CERT training? 

Who are you reporting the damage to?  Have they requested damage reports? 

 

I understand the want, need and desire to be able to contact family in a time of crisis.  The knowledge they are ok, and all is well can be important for your mental well being.  GMRS will do you well for accomplishing that goal.  If there is either LOS between your houses, or there is a repeater / repeaters that you both have access to that will bridge that gap.  Remember that if you are using another owners repeater that others may well be trying to do the same thing.  So keep communications brief.  Establish the health and welfare of all parties.  Make plans to communicate again at a specific time and clear the airways for others to use the repeater. 

Try to have multiple paths of communication available, and TEST those paths at least monthly. 

 

thanks for your comments, i will take it into consideration