Ham and GPS Rescue

[+Cadence 0]

Hope this satisfies the requirements for being about ham radio and GPSr's! Being able to reach others in case of emergency - that's one of the major reasons I'm becoming a Ham.

 

From ARRL's site:

 

Ham radio key in California hiker's rescue (Jul 24, 2003) -- The San Diego Union Tribune's SignOnSanDiego.com Web news service reports that a hiker in the El Capitan open space preserve suffering apparent heat exhaustion was rescued July 19 after his hiking companion used ham radio to relay a message to authorities. ARRL member Rod Dinkins, AC6V, of Oceanside picked up the distress call from Tim Slaby, KG6QPL, of Spring Valley and alerted the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Santee station. Slaby resorted to his handheld transceiver after discovering that his cellphone wouldn't work in the wilderness. KG6QPL was able to raise the Palomar Amateur Radio Club repeater some 40 miles away, however. Slaby, who also carried a GPS unit, was able to provide the pair's precise location. A sheriff's helicopter crew rescued the exhausted hiker--identified as Thomas Sayer--and airlifted him to an ambulance, which transported him to a hospital, authorities said. He was treated for dehydration and released about four hours. "For hikers in need of help, Amateur Radio worked where their cell phone didn't," said ARRL Vice President (and former Southwestern Division Director) Fried Heyn, WA6WZO.

 

Cadence

(OddTodd and CheleBell)

FRS2,12GMRS22(WPXD965)

[+Desert_Warrior 0]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cadence (OddTodd & CheleBell):

Hope this satisfies the requirements for being about ham radio and GPSr's!

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A PERFECT example of the value of ham radio over most other services. Thanks for sharing.

 

Mike. Desert_Warrior (aka KD9KC).

El Paso, Texas.

 

Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom.

 

They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS!

[+Thomas & Dingo 0]

Cool, and of course rescuers love to have the exact coordinates. GPS and Ham Radios, the perfect marriage.

 

"We never seek things for themselves - what we seek is the very seeking of things."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

 

[continouswave 0]

Hello Cadence (OddTodd & CheleBell) Thanks for sharing this great story ! Here is another example of where a cell phone does not work and these folks had a Ham Radio and GPS unit with them Wow!!! Here is the important part,"Slaby resorted to his handheld transceiver after discovering that his cellphone wouldn't work in the wilderness. KG6QPL was able to raise the Palomar Amateur Radio Club repeater some 40 miles away, however. Slaby, who also carried a GPS unit, was able to provide the pair's precise location." I can relate to this since my son when hunting last December and he and his buddy got lost in a 30,000 plus acre place for five hours, We had four cell phones but no service and luckly I had a 2mtr 50 watt mobil Rig in my truck and also had my GPS. Ham Radio can provide relaiable communications and has when other sources cant. Also thanks to the Hams on the other end that took the call for help. Thanks again for sharing this story and I am glad it had a happy ending.

Happy Hunting

DE WV5V

Mississippi

[+Cadence 0]

I just sent an email to Tim, giving him the link to this forum so he can see we are chatting about him and we can get some more details. Since the guy has a GPS and a Tech license, thought he might be interested in Geocaching!

 

Here's hoping he doesn't delete it as SPAM!

 

Todd

 

Cadence

(OddTodd and CheleBell)

FRS2,12GMRS22(WPXD965)

[+SlabyFam 0]

Hello

My name is Tim KG6QPL

I am also a avid Geocacher our name is Slabyfam.

We Flagman(Tom Sayer) and I were on a geocaching mission when He had the problem. A link to the cache where the storys are is listed below. There are photos also! Thanks for letting me know about this thread

I will put it on my watch list. Feel free to e-mail me or post questions here

KG6QPL@amsat.org

 

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=73118

[+Cadence 0]

Thanks for the link! that tells the story of the victim, but what about you? Tell us your story... please?

 

Here's some starter questions -(feeling kinda 'Barbara Walter-ish')

1. When did you notice your fellow cacher was in trouble?

2. What's your radio unit and what freq. did you use?

 

T.

Cadence

[+Dave_CoombeAbbey 0]

I am a licenced amatuer here in the UK, as a member of RAYNET (The Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network) I rarely leave home without the GPS, currently a recently aquired Garmin eTrex Legend EU model. I use Mapsource UK Roads & Recreation for Street-Level mapping in the UK as well as UK MetroGuide. The nature of our duties often requires giving accurate coordinates of ourselves or other personnel to the emergency services. Having the locations of other personnel in the GPS means a rapid response to a scene if required. The ability to always know where you are is a great advantage when moving around large areas you mat not know. Several of our personnel locally also carry GPS for the same reason. Coming across the scene of an accident when carrying a GPS also means services can pinpoint your exact location, useful for Air Ambulances especially.

 

Dave

www.raynet-coventry.net

dave_coombeabbey

 

[+benjamin921 0]

quote:

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Originally posted by Desert_Warrior:

 

A PERFECT example of the value of ham radio over most other services. Thanks for sharing.

 

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