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You are here: Home / Home Top List / HAM Radio Operators and Neighbors ~ The CARLA Repeater Reaches Montara to HMB

HAM Radio Operators and Neighbors ~ The CARLA Repeater Reaches Montara to HMB

September 18, 2019 by Michelle

ARTICLE/ LINKS. From local HAM Radio Operator, Lee Copeland.

Our awareness of the C.A.R.L.A. repeater system is a case of pure Serendipity. Within the span of one week, three HMB HAMs became aware of the CARLA system. Two of us were discussing it over the TOW repeater. Mike Herbert (WB6JKV) popped into our conversation saying he did a lot of the rework on the CARLA transmitter up on Montara Mountain right next to the TOW repeater. He is the current moderator for that repeater. I wrote an email to him asking if our club could use it for Club Nets and event traffic. He replied we could at no charge. Mike does a lot of technical work with the major networks.

There is a Web site detailing the CARLA system at: www.carlaradio.net. The system links repeaters up and down California and parts of Western Nevada. Each repeater has two PL Tones. Using one tone will give you access to just the local repeater while using another tone will connect your transmission to all repeaters on the system. Our plan is to use the local PL Tone as our new CMD11 repeater for Branch 1 and 2 (Montara to Frenchmans Creek to Tunitas Creek).  The terrific bonus is that it offers coverage of Montara and Moss Beach. In fact, it works well down to Tunitas Creek.

I have been working to work out a HAM connection between the various airports used by the DART (Disaster Airport Relief Team) pilots. The HAM working the Watsonville airport suggested we use the system-wide capabilities of CARLA to pass traffic between airports.

CARLA System 32 has the same coverage as the TOW repeater.

CARLA System 7 covers much of the south bay and San Jose.

CARLA System 10 looks over the coast from Monterey north to Santa Cruz.

After some false starts, we got the system to work.

See how far it reaches?!

Literally, the missing link for Coastside HAM communication.

Check over http://www.carlaradio.net/thesystem/ and click on the name of any given repeater to see the specific details about it. Check out http://www.carlaradio.net/thesystem/printable_system_list.pdf for a sketch of the repeater locations along with frequencies and PL tones. If you add additional CARLA repeaters to your radio name them CAR32L for local coverage and CAR32S for system-wide coverage. For continuity I will keep the CMD11 name  in our band plan and move the existing CMD11 frequency to CMD13.

In our search for connections between the various airports we found another linked repeater system in Felton (http://www.wb6ece.org/). It has towers above La Honda and in the hills down to Monterey. In fact it has a better signal between Watsonville and HMB airport. Problem is it does not offer much coverage to other key airports. I will add it to the bottom of our list as a resource connection to Santa Clara County.

I have no idea how the route to the repeater would be affected by the recent closures up on Montara Mountain. I don’t know if KHMB has a chance to get up there or not? Given the difficulties the Pacifica Club is having replacing the TOW repeater, I doubt it.

The club has pitched in to support our Pilot’s Association’s DART program. This is a plan to use general aviation aircraft to provide emergency transport to the coastside in the event of a major disaster. This effort is patterned off of the airlift efforts to maintain delivery of essential supplies and staff going to Watsonville during the aftermath of the 1989 earthquake. Roads to Watsonville were cut off for days as a result of that quake. The local pilots in Watsonville and San Martin pitched in to ferry essential goods and people until normal lines of transport could be restored.

This repeater covers the entire area of Branches 1 and 2. This solves our dilemma for providing a radio link to the designated Shelter site at Farallone School. It also offers good coverage of the Montara and Moss Beach communities.

 

Long shot from Google Earth. There is a lot of land out there.

September 2019 Changes to the Coast Side HAM Radio Band Plan

This is an index of the changes to be entered into your radio’s memory.

Announcing Changes to the Coastside Band Plan

San Mateo County Coast Side Coordinated Amateur Radio Response Plan

Coast Side HAM Band Plan 2019-09-10

September 2019 Revision of the Coast Side HAM Radio Band Plan

CMD11 is now the Band Plan name for the CARLA System 32 Repeater co-located with the
146.925 (TOW) repeater on top of Montara Mountain.

September 2019 Changes to the Coastside Band Plan

 

 


More Coastside Disaster Prep

HAM Radio Technician License Videos ~ Start Learning Today

FRS/GMRS Radio (WalkieTalkies) Basic Training ~ Learn How to Communicate in a Disaster, Part 1

 

 

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Filed Under: Coastside Disaster Preparedness, Coastside Fire Protection District, Half Moon Bay City Council, Home Top List, Podcasts, Public Agencies Tagged With: 2019, City Council, Coastside, disaster, earthquake, Education, emergency, emergency prep, fire, Half Moon Bay, Half Moon Bay Fire, ham radio, HMB, planning, san mateo county

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Coastside CERT

We are an emergency preparedness volunteer organization focused on creating a ready and resilient community along the San Francisco Bay Area coast from the southern side of the Tom Lantos Tunnel (Devil’s Slide) to Tunitas Creek Road.

Emergency Prep Resources

The average Coastsider may not be aware of the many emergency preparation resources available to us! Here’s a list of many of those resources.

KHMB LOGO AM-FMKHMB AM 1710 and FM 100.9

KHMB Radio AM 1710 and FM 100.9 is our local Emergency Radio Station. You would still want to tune in to KCBS for Bay Area wide emergency news.  Make sure you have a radio!
Go to: KHMB or KHMBRadio.com to tune in.

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From Waddell Creek to Devil’s Slide and up to Skyline are 4 Branches of emergency prepared coastside citizens that are forming. They include many emergency disciplines.
Go to: CEC Portal

CERTCERT Teams – Community Emergency Response Team

Trainings are offered a couple of times per year up and down the coast CERT volunteers are forming Neighborhood Watches to help their neighbors get prepared.
Go to: FEMA page on CERT

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CEAP

Charise McHugh of the Half Moon bay Chamber of Commerce has worked for several years to organize businesses on the coastside in an emergency via the Coastside Emergency Action Plan). If you are a business and have not already participated, please contact the Chamber. In an emergency we need to know where our resources are and how to deploy materiel, and how to get refunded by FEMA.
Go to: HMB Chamber Page on CEAP

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SMC Alert

It is a free alert system that will come to your cell phone, your tablet or computer, or all three. There is no charge, although your carrier may charge for texts. This is the best way to stay on top of traffic accidents.
Go to: SMCAlert.info to sign up

mrcMRC – Medical Reserve Corps

Doctors and nurses work together to become the backbone of an emergency medical situation. Coastside Emergency Experts will tell you that the Coastside will be on its own in a major earthquake disaster for 5-7 days. And we no longer have a Medical Reserve Corps on the Coastside! Contact mdragony@coastsidebuzz.com if you are interested in creating a new chapter.

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ARES—Amateur Radio Emergency Service—of Half Moon Bay
Go to: their website

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We have several Red Cross trailers on the Coast. Take a Red Cross class so you can help in one the shelters during a disaster.
Go to: Sign up for a class or Contact Local Red Cross volunteer Jim Holley

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Have you signed up with Next Door? Next Door is a great social media tool that will help you stay up to date with what is going on in your neighborhood and other neighborhoods on the Coast.
Go to: NextDoor.com to sign up.


michelleMichelle Dragony, founder of CoastsideBUZZ.com, is also a civilian CERT trainer working with Dave Cosgrave, Cal Fire Battalion Chief of Half Moon Bay, and Ari Delay, Cal Fire Battalion Chief of La Honda. Email here at mdragony@coastsidebuzz.com if you have any questions.

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