Amateur Radio in the backcountry
A website to promote the use of amateur radio and the Wilderness Protocol among outdoorspeople.
Wild Radio is not related to Into the Wilderness USA or any other commercial radio station, nor is it related to the QRP transceiver vendor Wilderness Radio.
Contact “webmaster” or by callsign@wildradio.info
The Wilderness protocol (see page 101, August 1995 QST) calls for hams in the wilderness to announce their presence on, and to monitor, the national calling frequencies for five minutes beginning at the top of the hour, every three hours from 7 AM to 7 PM while in the back country. A ham in a remote location may be able to relay emergency information through another wilderness ham who has better access to a repeater. National calling frequencies: 52.525, 146.52, 223.50, 446.00, 1294.50 MHz.
ARRL Field Resources Manual, p. 87
By synchronizing listening times and frequencies, battery power can be conserved. By announcing one’s presence, the usefulness of the Protocol is reinforced to listeners.
If equipment for multiple bands is available, we recommend monitoring the 2m frequency in particular, due to its popularity.
To summarize:
A major limitation of ham radio for emergency purposes is that there is a good chance that nobody is listening.
A second issue is the need for synchronization; this necessitates use of an accurate clock. Realistically, it may even require using an alarm to avoid missing the relatively narrow time window for checkins. This, in turn, could be considered a disruption of the “wilderness experience” — didn’t we go hiking specifically to get away from that sort of thing?
Something to consider is strapping your radio in a convenient location at the beginning of the day, such that accessing it from time to time is not inconvenient. This could involve, for example, a belt clip, or clipping it to your pack and using an extendible hand microphone.
A published review article on Wilderness Communications (Worley, 2011) and analysis and commentary by Walter Underwood cover the advantages and disadvantages of various radio communication methods available to the hiker.
K0NR’s commentary on the Wilderness Protocol reminds us that local repeaters are likely to be more useful than simplex.
Stack Exchange: Is the Wilderness Protocol dead?
Stack Exchange: How do I report an emergency using ham radio?
This IARU web page lists HF emergency frequencies.
Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club reviews the Wilderness Protocol
Note: Most radio communication is inherently unreliable in the backcountry. Radio is, at best, an adjunct to all other appropriate safety measures, never a substitute for them. Never rely on radio communications for any safety-related purpose. Your best defense against dangerous situations is staying out of them via appropriate preparation, training, equipment, judgement, and common sense. See our disclaimer.
April 20, 2018
CB radio on 11 meters was immensely popular several decades ago. However, in recent years the FCC has created new citizens’ bands in the VHF and UHF frequencies.
Bands such as FRS (460 MHz), GMRS (460 MHz), and MURS (150 MHz) are available for use by non-hams — although GMRS does require payment of a license fee. Small, inexpensive FRS handhelds are now widely available for sale to the general public. These are limited to 0.5 or 2 watts depending on operating frequency.
However, only certified radios can be used legally on these bands (see §95.335). Unfortunately, your ham transmitter is undoubtedly not certified as such. Devices capable of operating outside of the GMRS and MURS bands are explicitly prohibited from receiving certification for these bands unless also certified for the other bands in which it is capable (see §95.655).
In its 2017 update to Part 95, (see also KM4FMK’s discussion), the FCC has continued to prohibit certification of most multi-band devices.
The FCC banned new certification (§95.561) and, in 2019, sale (§95.591) of FRS radios capable of operating out-of band. It’s not clear to me whether uncertified amateur transmitters that are technically capable of transmitting in the FRS band are affected; they were never legally authorized to transmit in FRS in the first place and thus may not be “capable of operating under this subpart.”
(The rules are a bit looser for GMRS, banning new certification of GMRS units able to transmit in the ham bands (§95.1761 and sale of combination FRS/GMRS radios §95.1791).
The FCC’s reasoning is explained in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (also see part C of the FCC’s final rule in the Federal Register.
However, hams may always use “any means of radiocommunications at its disposal to assist a station in distress” (§97.403). In a true emergency when no other communication is available, hams may also use any frequency available to them to “provide essential communication” (§97.403). So if your rig is technically capable of using FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies, one could consider programming one’s rig and monitoring them.
Public safety frequencies can also sometimes be accessed with amateur radio transceivers. Worley (2011) notes that, though use of these frequencies in an emergency is not prohibited at the federal level by the FCC, state and local laws may apply and have resulted in actual prosecution of amateur radio operators.
Gordon H. Worley (2011). “Wilderness Communications.” Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, Sept 2011, 22(3): 262–269.
In an emergency, you’re more likely to reach someone on a local repeater than on simplex. Make sure you have the local repeater frequencies programmed into your rig before you head out. Consider taking down the EchoLink node numbers and programming codes as well.
W6BXN 147.000(+), PL 100.0 Hz ref1, ref2
As discussed earlier, ham gear can’t legally be used to transmit on FRS bands. We believe that an exception should be made for Wilderness Protocol activities.
For hikers and backpackers, minimizing weight and bulk is critical. Having to carry two radios, one each for use on the ham bands and FRS, makes it less likely that either one will be present when needed.
The Wilderness Protocol is most effective when all parties are able to announce their presence regularly. Although hams are already permitted to use ham gear to contact FRS stations in an emergency, they are not currently allowed to announce themselves.
The FCC should therefore add a special exception to the law, permitting hams to briefly announce their presence on the FRS/GMRS/MURS bands using their existing, non-type-certified equipment.
Risks of harmful intererence would be low. Hams understand power and gain, and can easily comply with power limits on these bands. To help ensure compliance, hams using ham equipment could even be required to officially identify. Ham use of these bands could be time-limited via some sort of “minimum necessary” rule, to discourage ragchewing using uncertified equipment.
Facilitating emergency communication between hams and non-hams is in everyone’s interest.
Proposed rule:
Operators holding any amateur radio license shall be permitted to send brief transmissions on FRS/GMRS frequencies using equipment not certified under Part 95, subject to the following restrictions.
(a) The transmissions shall be for the purpose of announcing the operator’s identity, location, and/or ability or intent to monitor frequencies assigned to the FRS/GMRS bands.
(b) These transmissions shall not exceed 30 seconds in total length in any 30 minute period.
(c) Amateur radio identification requirements shall continue to apply.
(d) No such transmission shall exceed two watts ERP.
(e) Equipment capable of utilizing removable antennas is permitted; however, such transmissions shall otherwise comply with all technical standards established within Part 95.
(f) Amateur radio operators using such equipment are considered secondary users of the band, and as such must not cause harmful interference to stations using type-approved equipment.
While attempts are made to ensure correctness of the information on this website, Wild Radio does not and cannot provide legal advice, and makes no warranty regarding the accuracy of any information on this site. It is the sole responsibility of the user to obey all FCC regulations and other applicable laws governing radio use.
Radio communications are inherently unreliable and should never be relied upon for safety purposes. It is the sole responsibility of the user to take appropriate safety precautions, cross-check important information, and use common sense. Wild Radio accepts no liability for any accident or injury resulting from use or misuse of any information on this site.