EVCNB Receives Grant Award from ARDC
Amateur Radio Digital Communications Funds Emergency Communications Project
EVCNB President Margaret Steele & Repeater Grant Lead Bruce Maxwell with example of some of the equipment to be purchased & installed with the ARDC grant funds.
The Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay (EVCNB) has received a grant award in the amount of $34,101 from San Diego-based Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC).
The grant will fund the addition of a UHF ham repeater with a VHF link on Neahkahnie Mountain, not only allowing more reliable communications throughout Tillamook County, but improving the communication into Clatsop County through a linking arrangement with their repeater group. Funding will also allow the addition of batteries of sufficient capacity for emergency operation during commercial power outages and until backup generators are operational.
The grant will also allow the EVCNB to make emergency communications more robust by adding digital capability to the communications system. The ARDC grant supports the upgrading of the first 5 solar-powered, portable, digital ham radio GoBoxes, funded by a previous grant awarded by Tillamook PUD, with the needed laptops to make them WinLink capable. ARDC funds will provide fully-equiped GoBoxes for up to 10 more locations in North County. EVCNB plans to develop and deliver training and drills to ensure that all GoBox users can communicate both digitally and by voice in case of an emergency or natural disaster.
Last but not least, the equipment needed to add digital capability to the existing four Emergency Operation Centers (Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue, Manzanita, Nehalem, and Wheeler) can now be purchased, providing a much-improved ability to support our county's population in emergencies large and small.
The mission of ARDC is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote Amateur Radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology. Learn more at: ampr.org.
If you are interested in radio communications or would like to become better prepared, contact Volunteer Coordinator Logan Laity at volunteer@evcnb.org.