Communicating with Other Teams

• To prepare to make a direct contact with another team,
  1. Use your team’s FRS/GMRS standard channel number to look up the new Portland NET simplex UHF frequency in the Amateur Radio 70 cm band for your team in the table below. If you’re not sure which FRS/GMRS channel your team uses, this map.  
  2. Using the UHF Frequency Table, identify the 70cm frequency that corresponds to your team’s FRS/GMRS channel. The frequencies in the table are not the FRS/GMRS frequencies, they are Amateur Radio frequencies in the 70 cm UHF band that you can use to communicate with amateur radio operators on other teams or perhaps members of your own team.
  3. During and exercise or deployment you can propose direct communication with another team using the protocol described below.
  4. Note that the table gives an “alias” for each of the frequencies and indicates the channel numbers where the frequencies can be found in the new Multnomah County ARES templates.  Make note of the alias for your frequency and consider using a memory channel if you have programmed your radio using one of the new templates.
  5. Using a channel number is not required, however, because you can select VFO mode on your radio and select the simplex frequency directly.

• If you wish to make direct contact with another team, wait for a pause in the communication on your regional subnet and give your tactical call sign.  
• Be prepared for the possibility that another operator in your region will request a direct contact with you on a particular UHF frequency and accept that request if possible.
• When the subnet controller recognizes you, use something like the following script:
  1. You: I would like to make direct contact with <tactical call sign for another station that has checked in>
  2. SNC: Roger <Your tactical call sign>.  What frequency do you propose to use to make that contact?
  3. You: I propose to use <Frequency from the UHF Frequency Table> which is known as PNTMxx in the 2023 MCARES templates.  [PNTM is an abbreviation for Portland Net TeaM.  xx is a reference to the two digits in a particular channel alias.]
  4. SNC: Roger <Your tactical call sign>
  5. SNC: <Other tactical call sign> Are you prepared to move to the proposed frequency and make contact with <Your call sign>
  6. Other station: Affirmative Net Control.  I understand that I should go to <proposed frequency> when you release us.
  7. SNC: That is correct.  <Your call sign> and <Other call sign> please transition to <proposed frequency> and make contact if possible. After successfully or unsuccessfully trying to do so, please return to this frequency and check back in.
  8. You: <our FCC call sign> as <your tactical call sign> clear this frequency.
  9. Other station: <Other station’s FCC call sign> as <their tactical call sign> clear this frequency.
• Proceed to the UHF frequency you proposed and after a brief pause, hail the other station using their tactical call sign followed by your tactical call sign.  Note that UHF propagation can be different from VHF propagation so you may not hear the station as well as you did on your regional VHF frequency.
• If the frequency is already in use, return to your regional VHF frequency, report the problem and request advice on what frequency to use.
• Other teams may want to use the same frequency as you have chosen so keep your transmission power to a minimum. If the other operator reports they can hear you well, reduce your power and ask for another signal report. Help the other operator do the same thing.
• Keep your communication as brief as possible because you are risking missing important information being sent to you from the Portland EOC via your regional subnet.
• After successfully or unsuccessfully making contact, give your FCC call sign followed by the proword “clear”,
• Return to your regional VHF frequency and check back in using your tactical call sign.