Mountain Rescue England and Wales

Mountain Rescue – England and Wales

Charity number 222596

Communications Sub Committee

Minutes of the meeting held at The Lancashire Constabulary Headquarters & Training Centre, Hutton.

Saturday 17th November 2007

Recorded by Peter Huff

1.Members attending

David Gough Vice Chairman

Jon Whiteley BCRCAndy Crossley NESRA

Alan George SWERAGordon Starkie LDSAMRA

Iain Nicholson MPSROJohn Hulse NWMRA

John Tomlinson PDMROPeter Huff YDRP

Simon Harris Chair of GPS/GIS Working Group

2.Apologies

Mark LewisChairman – MR Communications Officer

Mark’s partner is in hospital.

Observers attending

Peter BellPresident MR (E&W)

Bob KnottDorset Search & Rescue (SWERA)

Nikki KnottDorset Search & Rescue (SWERA)

Peter Howells OBE MSt.J Assistant Secretary MR (E&W)

4.Accept the minutes of last Communications Sub Committee meeting -

19th May 2007
The minutes were accepted

5.Matters arising not covered by agenda items

5.a[3.a] UKSAR Operators Group – CWG Web Site
The problems ofaccessing this web site incorporated in the DfT, are still occurring. Russ Hore, Honorary Chairman – OVMRO, "Web Master" UKSAR,has now temporary taken back the administrationof the to enable us to update it. Please send Russ the documents to be updated on the site.

5.b[3.b] Air Ambulance

Varying compatible radios fits in the helicopters. Individual crews choose not to contact teams. Educating the Air Ambulance crew and management is an ongoing task by Tom Taylor and Mark Lewis.

5.c[3.k] 406MHz Personal Location Beacon (PLBs)

Tom Taylor is still working on the paper.

6.Chairman’s Report

See report in Appendix 1, attached.

7.News from UKSAR Operators Group – CWG meeting 13th September 2007.

7.aHigh Band Licence

(i) ApprovedBorder SAR Unit – Repeater Stations

(i) ApprovedEdale MRT – Re-broadcast Unit

(iii) ApprovedWestern Beacons MSART - Repeater (Relay) Station
(iv) ApprovedBowland Pennine MRT – Repeater Station

(v) ApprovedCambridge SAR

(vi) Application Rejected Search Dogs Essex. This team is part of the Police response and comes under the co-ordination of the Police. Communications for search dog teams should be through the coordinating team.

GPS/GIS Working Group.

8.aSimon Harris, Chairman of the GPS/GIS Working Group gave his initial report to this meeting, a seven page document.

The GPS/GIS working group is not regionally represented or an elected body. It is here to provide the represented body in the shape of the Radio Subcommittee with a knowledge base research into search management tools and GPS tracking tools and where possible to look for a combined package or interfaced set of independent tools. It also provides the representative body with impartial advice and the options on any item referred to it from the perspective of our knowledge base. These functions can be changed by the represented body should it so desire

The first meeting was held on the 16th June 2007 and in summary: -

The ‘Lakes GPS’ project in terms of MRMap gives a good functioning GPS tracking system with a realistic enhancement program under development. This is available for free to all MRT’s. With GIS program development in Scotland already having cover many early issues in the program development and having seen a promising simulation of what this program could deliver it is our view that is worth waiting to see what the actual program gives us. As the information stands at present it is looking that these systems will be complimentary rather than competitive. We wait with interest the ACRRC comments on the possible use of memory map.

See full report in Appendix 2, attached.

8.bSponsorship

Goodyear are in the process of negotiations with MR(E&W), Tony Rich Hon Legal Adviser is viewing the contract.. The value of the sponsorship is £10,000 a year for the next three years, a total of £30k. At the last Executive MR (E&W) meeting Paul Horder proposed a motion, which was carried ‘for this sponsor money to be usedto purchase GPS mikes from Simoco’.

At this Comms meeting it was learnt that Paul Horder’s resignation took place before the GPS Working Group was established and before the first meetingever tookplace. Also at the moment LDSAMRA do not require additional funds for the equipment as it has already been purchased.

Dave Binks and Rob Brooks had developed their GPS/GIS system using Simoco equipment and only a small number of teams outside LDSAMRA have Simoco radios. The remaining teams have Tait, Cleartone, Icom and Motorola. The money would be well spent in developing generic systems on non VHF Simoco sets for the teams in England & Wales.

After much discussion to ascertain the facts the following motion was proposed and carried unanimously: -

‘To deliver to each team in MR (E&W) a generic GPS/GIS system over the next three years’.

The Vice Chairman, Dave Gough would report this issue at the main meeting seeking to overturn the decision at that executive meeting.

8.cUpdate

There is a generic microphone being developed by MR (E&W) based on the McKay mike that needs a PIC programming to utilise Simoco data format and polling.

Polish microphone has a battery fitted and last longer on interconnection and reprogramming including down loading GPS tracker at the end of an incident.

A large number of GPS microphones clustered around a patient can saturate the computer screen. It is recommended those radios that are surplus to comms log in and take radio off line and switch off.

Redstone ‘Follow Me’ Numbers

John Tomlinson asked the group if other teams use this system of telephone numbers for transfer to other controllers. The system has been crashing. No information to help John was apparent. It would appear other teams have similar systems such as Swaledale using mobile phones dialing one number to the first phone when timed out it dials the second and third and so on in the same manner.

SMS Block Texting

John Tomlinson asked the group if other teams use SMS Texting.

SMS Repeater systems are costly but the price is coming down at the moment it is approximately £250 - £300 per year. Pagers will eventually disappear. It was agreed to find out how many teams want to go onto this system. MR (E&W) to negotiate and teams already using SMS can transfer. Please report to the Comms Officer, Mark Lewis for those teams who wish to express an interest and details of existing users would be appreciated.

11.Ambulance Service Migration to TETRA

Andy Crossley gave a brief of the intention of Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) to change communications from VHF to TETRA in 2008. It will still retain VHF at the response centre for ERC, as it will still be used in other parts of the country. YAS is intending to provide a small number TETRA sets to the teams covered in the operating area. There will not be a gateway to VHF. There could be a talk group on the Police TETRA.

12.Airwave

(i)Airwave is now administered by Marquarie UK Broadcast Ventures as is Arqiva and Crown Castle Gridcom.

(ii)Raynet requested using Airwaves through the Police but was refused.

(iii)At the Gloucestershire floods Airwaves failed for a period of time due to demand of the system.

13.Any Other Business

13.aVHF Equipment

John Hulse offered Cleartone equipment to the Comms Sub Committee to be distributed to teams. Request to be made to the Comms Officer. Equipment includes 5 mobile repeaters, 6 repeater five sites – UHF & VHF. Mark Lewis to identify what channels that can be used by teams. For Rebroadcast a low band licence is required.

13.bInterference

Some teams in the South West and on the Yorkshire coast are experiencing interference from Dutch and French trawlers on the Band Plan channels.

13.c999 Calls

Mobile phones which loose their own service providers’ coverage can make emergency calls (999) on other networks if coverage is available. At the moment it is not possible for the emergency services to re establish contact with the caller whilst out of service with its own network.

14.Provisional date of next meeting

Saturday 17th May 2008

Venue: To be announced