Domestic Civil Defence - No Phone !

Annex E : Your Mobile in a Crisis

Introduction :

The mobile phone is a very good way of passing messages, except when mobile relays and base stations fail through damage or power failure. There can also be serious problems of overloading the relays when the disaster occurs. The sending of SMS messages may use less time and power than speech, but they must be correctly written.

Those using mobiles in a crisis will need to avoid wasting power in the mobile and in the limited battery supply available at the relay masts. Unfortunately, human reactions are to reach for the phone in every unusual situation - generally to talk to friends or relatives, less often to contact emergency services, employers, local government departments and the news media.

A Few Technical Points :

• CB is a comparatively short-range radio system able to transmit voice messages distances of 1/4 mile to 10 miles, depending on aerial length, set power and the openness or otherwise of the local landscape. In an area with high hills or high buildings, ranges can be as short as half a mile - unless someone on a hill or a tall building can receive your message and relay it elsewhere.
• CB is restricted to 40 channels (legal FM sets) or with up to 120 channels (illegal AM sets). This means that messages will have to be brief and to the point, sent between identifiable sites. Channels in use by truckers and others (usually 14, 19, 33 and 36) should be avoided.
• 27 Mhz radio systems have an antenna wavelength of 11 metres. This is not usually possible to achieve, so half-wave and quarter-wave antennae are usually used, with a 'loading coil' at the base to replicate (in theory) the necessary length.
• More technical and legal advice is on the CB Radio Licence Conditions.

A CB Radio licence costs £15 a year. They are no longer available from the Post Office. Write to:-
The Radio Licensing Centre, SSL, PO Box 884, BRISTOL, BS99 5LF. for a licence form.

Getting it Ready :

A CB can be powered by a rechargeable battery, or from a car cigarette-lighter socket or by a 'clean' transformer power supply plugged into the mains. The writer has used all three systems. The best for emergency use is probably a car-based system that automatically recharges the battery. Alternatively, rig a battery-charger to float-charge a small car battery from a mains socket. With either system, set your antenna on as high a position as possible, but in such a location where it is not easily seen. Above all keep your system LEGAL.

On its own, your CB is not much use. Establish informal networks with other people you can trust. Try sending messages between yourselves at agreed times. If one of the people in your net is in the local town where the Police HQ or the local authority HQ is sited, so much the better.

Contact your Community Policeman and explain what you want to do in a crisis. Either the Police or the local Emergency Planning Unit will advise you further and may assign you a crisis callsign for use on a set channel.

Basic Message Procedure :

It will help you to know four things :-

1. How to use a Message Form.
2. How to use the Phonetic Alphabet.
3. How to operate in poor radio conditions.
4. Interference - unintentional and otherwise - and 'Hopping It'

1. How to use a Message Form :-

A message form is nothing more than a special memo or letter layout for use with radio and telephone voice messages. The Police and Armed Forces use them by the pad.

The essential parts of a message form are as follows :-

1. To (the organisation, department or official RECEIVING the message)
2. From (the organisation, department or official who originated/drafted the message)
3. Copy To (other organisations/locations who need to know the content of the message)
4. How / When Sent (e.g. CB Radio, Date and Time)
5. Operator Name or Callsign
6. Time Confirmed Received
7. Message Content (What the message has to say - the biggest part of the form)
8. Signature of the Official drafting or authorising the message

Most operators will be content to use plain paper and add the necessary headings.
On one occasion the writer used Izal toilet paper, just to show how anything could be used.

2. How to use the Phonetic Alphabet :-

The NATO phonetic alphabet is an officially recognised way of spelling out unusual or difficult words, as well as helping to spell words when conditions are difficult. Generally preceded with "I spell" with either "Letters" or "Numbers", eg. :-
"Dalbeattie to Dumfries road A711, I spell letters Alpha, numbers Seven, One, One."
It is particularly useful for National Grid map references and for spelling the names of individuals.

3. How to operate in poor radio conditions :-

There are a few basic rules :-

• Start by calling and identifying the other CB user you wish to contact, at a pre-arranged time.
  "Market Town, this is Duster, do you copy ? Over."
  "Duster, this is Market Town. I copy you [loudly, clearly, poorly, barely readable - according to conditions. If clear enough, continue.]
  "Go ahead, Duster, over."
  "Roger [OK] Market Town. I have traffic for you. Are you ready ? Over"
  "Roger, Duster. Ready for message. Over."
• Continue by sending the message (or messages)
  "Market Town, this is Duster. Message begins...
  
  • Read ouit the message slowly and clearly, in groups of three or four words, to give the other operator a chance to copy the message accurately.
    e.g. "Flood now three metres deep" "Roger, next." "Need more sandbags soon." "Roger, next."
  • DO NOT try to make a message shorter or longer by skipping or adding words. Read it as it is.
  • If sending a SITREP or other message in sections and headings, read each one out in turn.
  • Be ready to use the Phonetic Code to spell out difficult words, or to make numbers clear, especially when reception conditions are poor.
  • If the other operator says "Please repeat last." repeat the last few words you said. Be as patient with the other operator as you hope the other operator will be with you.
  "...Message ends. Next message [Assuming you have several]. Are you ready, Market Town ?"
• Messages go both ways :
  "...Message ends. Any traffic, Market Town ? Over." "Ten messages, Duster. Are you ready ? Over."
  In which case, the operators swap tasks until the messages have been sent and received.
• End by closing the contact, either then going to reception/listening mode (Standby) or turning off (Closing Down till next scheduled transmission)
  "Market Town, this is Duster. Going to Standby / Closing Down until next contact. Out." "Roger, Duster. Market Town to Standby."

Note that in this example, Market Town is assumed to be some central control centre, whilst Duster is in an outlying community. This is a rudimentary version of the kind of message procedure used by Radio Amateurs assisting at disasters. It reduces chit-chat whilst getting as many messages through as possible.

4. Interference - unintentional and otherwise - and 'Hopping It' :-

CB radio is very much the radio of the citizen. In the 1980s, the radio channels were as full of chat as the mobile SMS systems are now. Unfortunately, this popularity may still mean that some of the 40 channels will be almost unusable. The 10-mile range of CB in flat ground is rapidly reduced by high buildings, hills, trees and high metal objects. Market Town and Duster may have to hop from one pre-selected channel to another to avoid interference from the curious, the malicious or the desperate. For instance, "Hop Bravo" could be used to change channels (channel hop) from, say, Channel 27 to Channel 34. Other channels could be given "Hop" codes at random, forcing a troublemaker to search 40 to find the one Market Town and Duster might be using in a given minute.

Some genuinely desperate soul in need of help could be gently guided to Channel 9, which is a traditional assistance channel. Truckers generally operate on Channel 19, whilst Channel 14 is the unofficial 'Breaking Channel', a bit like a net chat-room from which one goes to private e-mail. To monitor Channel 9 in a crisis might in fact be a worthy community duty, as an interface to official assistance.

Effective Communication Operations :-

[Using a CB Radio Effectively] [Writing Official Situation Reports (SITREP)]

© Richard Edkins 2003.
Site created 23^rd March 2003 and last updated on 23^rd May 2003.