Finding Our Way--The 2 Meter FM Wilderness Protocol
The Sojourner
In February 1994, QST magazine published an article by William Alsup, N6XMW, entitled, "A Wilderness VHF FM Protocol," (page 99). In his article, he proposed a "wilderness VHF FM protocol for effective simplex use of handheld VHF and FM transceivers in the backcountry."
Outdoor enthusiasts typically explore rough, mountainous terrain, canyons, and remote areas. Many times, these areas are out of range of a repeater. Therefore, Alsup's suggestion was to monitor the national simplex calling frequency at certain times of the day.
His article generated a large response and Brian Battles, WS1O, QST Features Editor, published reader's comments in the April, 1994 (page 109) and May, 1994 (pages 103-104) issues of QST. The result was an official declaration by the ARRL to adopt the "Wilderness Protocol."
This protocol suggests that hams outside of repeater range monitor national simplex, 146.52 as a primary frequency and 52.525, 223.5, 446.0, and 1294.5 as secondary frequencies. The times to be monitored are 7a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. for a duration of 5 minutes. Therefore, one would monitor from 7 to 7:05 a.m., 10 to 10:05 a.m., etc.
As an option, the backcountry hiker or camper can announce his or her callsign and location at those times. That way, another ham can continuously monitor their progress and have an idea of where to look should something go wrong.
At Mount San Jacinto State Park in Southern California, there is a volunteer program called the "Wilderness Monitors." These volunteers are ham radio operators who are also RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services) members that have agreed to monitor various repeaters (depending on their location) and the Wilderness Protocol simplex frequencies.
If a volunteer hears a call for help, he or she telephones the ranger station. The program has been highly successful and numerous people have been recovered from the wilderness in a timely manner and lives have been saved.
The program was developed by Ranger Eric Hanson, AC6YB, who presented it to Riverside County RACES. RACES liked the idea and made it part of their program. State Park employees give an annual Wilderness Monitor training class to RACES members who wish to become volunteers.
In the Eastern Sierras of California, Silver Peak, a broad-coverage repeater, holds a nightly backpacker's net at 9 p.m. to allow backpackers to check in and chat with others. It also gives backpackers a chance to report on trail and backcountry conditions.
The Wilderness Protocol is a wonderful system but will only be effective if we all participate.
Let your fellow hams know about it and try setting up skeds with other hams when you are planning a backcountry adventure.
I recommend reading the QST articles regarding the protocol. Also, if you happen to have a 1998-99 edition of the "ARRL Repeater Directory," you'll find some information on page 35.
You may want to approach your local emergency services and see if such a program can be adopted into their area of communications. I'm sure there are many programs throughout the U.S. and it would be nice to see more.
Even better, would be that those programs be widely publicized so people are aware of them and can put them to use.
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Lorraine Y. Aubert, AC6XK, outdoor editor of The ARS Sojourner, is a seasonal park ranger and expert on wilderness search and rescue operations. She lives in Hemet, CA.