Item 5 - Travis County Amateur Radio Emergency Systems Presentation to Commission — original pdf

Backup

Local Radio Support for Emergency Communications Glenn Meter W5MTR Emergency Coordinator Travis County ARES 12/4/2025 AGENDA • Local Amateur Radio Emergency Service Organizations • Served Agencies • Why Amateur Radio • Local Infrastructure • Request: spread awareness • Greater Austin/Travis County Regional Radio System Amateur Radio Organizations • Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) • Serve non-government agencies • Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) • Government continuity • Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) • Support Department of Defense • All citizen volunteers • Many operators ”wear multiple hats” • Train on national Incident Command System (ICS) ICS used to coordinate response across multiple agencies • • Response escalates as needed: Local -> County -> Region -> State -> National • Communications falls under Logistics section • We connect people in the field with the command post • Activate when called. No self-deployments. ARES Served Agencies • Travis County: • Emergency response communications • National Weather Service: • SKYWARN (weather) nets (“ground truth”) • Military: • Critical Infrastructure (w/MARS) • Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC): • Hospital emergency comms • Red Cross & Austin Disaster Relief Network: • Shelter, response communications • National Multiple Sclerosis Society • MS-150 (Houston & Austin -> LaGrange -> College Station) • Ride to the River (San Antonio) • Austin Runner’s Club • Decker Challenge Why amateur radio • Amateur radios work without • Internet • Phones • Comms include • Voice • Data (e-mail, forms) • “Party line” (one to many) • Monitor the event, self-regulate the flow of information: • Hold “regular” traffic for “priority” and “emergency” traffic • Inter-operable: • By law, amateur radio cannot be encrypted • Anyone with an amateur radio (and license) can communicate with each other (* with band support, etc.) Why amateur radio • When cell phone and satellite communications keep improving • Comms stay up during SXSW, ACL, F1, etc. • Cells on wheels (COWs) deployed more quickly after disasters • Snowpocalypse: lost power for a week, still had cell service • Cell phones: • Cell phone service not as reliable outside of urban areas, major highways • Starlink: • Requires terrestrial internet to reach the ground stations • Each satellite covers ~10 mile radius • Urban areas can get congested/overloaded during land-based internet outages • Performance degrades in bad weather WHEN – “When all else fails” • Accidents • Backhoes and cables are not friends • Mother nature • Hurricane Harvey: one fiber line away from losing internet/phones to Houston (2017) • Hawaii wildfires took out cell towers (2023) • Amateur radio used in Hurricane Helene response (2024) • Humans • Cyberattacks: Hospital comms almost activated during Crowdstrike (2024) • Infrastructure/Geography • TCARES deployed to Gillespie County for solar eclipse (2024) • TCARES deployed to Kendall County after July 4th floods (2025) HOW • VHF/UHF bands (including ~144MHz; ~440MHz) • Point-to-point • Short distance due to curve of earth, hills, etc. • Repeaters: radios used to get longer range • Antennas put up on tall towers, etc. • Repeat transmissions over ~30 mi radius • Repeaters can be linked: regional comms • MS-150: Austin <-> Houston • HF bands (including ~3.5MHz; ~7MHz; ~14MHz) • Bounce off ionosphere • Antenna design & placement affects bounce direction • Regional (across TX) • Long-range (across the globe) HOW • Winlink: Global radio-based e-mail • Via VHF/UHF/HF • Connects with regular e-mail • Redundant AWS servers • Supports peer-to-peer connections for grid down • Forms: • ICS • Hospital • State of Texas Assistance Request (STAR) • … • Can be faster & more accurate than voice • Data encoded: more private • Some communication protocols optimized for weak signals Where • Repeaters • Mt. Buckman (TV towers) • Mt. Larson • J. J. Pickle Research Campus • TX State Operations Center (SOC) • Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center (CTECC) • American Red Cross (being rebuilt) • Hospitals • Emergency Communications Trailer • Onboard repeater • Diesel generator • Homes & vehicles Request: Spread Awareness • Re-building after COVID • Affinity with Maker, DIY communities • Point organizations that may need emergency communications our way: • Build relationships before a disaster • Support amateur radio in schools: • LASA club • College scholarships • National political issues: • Removing HOA restrictions (Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act) • Keeping bands reserved for amateur radio use • Continue to support emergency communications within the City Greater Austin/Travis County Regional Radio System (GATRRS) Greater Austin/Travis County Regional Radio System (GATRRS) • Created to provide highly reliable voice radio communications for public safety and public service organizations in Austin and Travis County • Now extends into surrounding counties and regions of Texas, covering more than 40 counties in Central Texas, extending as far away as Texarkana and the Rio Grande Valley • Currently managed by Austin Emergency Management, Austin Technology Services, and Travis County Communications • Locally, supports: • Austin Police Department • Austin Fire Department • Austin/Travis County EMS • Travis County Sheriff • University of Texas Police Department • Texas Department of Public Safety • Emergency Service Districts • Travis County Communications • Public Works (parks, waste, convention center, etc.) Greater Austin/Travis County Regional Radio System (GATRRS) • Used for • Operations • Public Safety (includes Emergency Responses) • Special Events • Uses commercial Project 25 (P25) radios • Supports encrypted and non-encrypted communication • Frequencies: VHF, UHF, 700 MHz, 800 MHz • Uses talk groups: must be programmed into the radios • National Interoperable Channels • Texas Statewide Talkgroups • Regional Talkgroups • • Subsystem/County Talkgroups (across services) Subsystem/County Servicewide Talkgroups (EMS, Fire, Police, Public Works) Internal Agency Talkgroups (individual EMS, Fire, etc.) • • Repeaters spread across the counties • Redundant paths for communication Contacts • Web: http://tcares.org • E-mail: dispatch@tcares.org