|
Written by Reuben Wells
|
|
Saturday, 20 February 2010 16:57 |
|
This page gives some information for event planners.
If you are planning an event and think you need communications, there are a number of things to consider.
Do you need Raynet?
Raynet can provide radio voice and data communications over a wide area, in principle internationally! We can also provide radio related services such as automatic live position reporting of suitably equipped vehicles. To use Raynet you must have a User Service, typically one of the First Aid organisations. Please contact us for more details of this.
Can I run my event using mobile phones?
Possibly, but bear in mind you can only talk to one other person at a time so it can be difficult to disseminate information quickly. It can also be expensive!
What about CB or “walkie-talkies”?
Again possibly, depending on the area you need to cover. Walkie-talkies will cover a field quite happily but might be pushed to cover a whole town or village. CB has a better range, but is really only practical if mounted in a vehicle. It might also be susceptible to interference from foreign and other local users.
So why Raynet?
Amateur radio has a wide selection of frequencies available, so interference is never a problem. Our radios can be hand-held or vehicle mounted, with much greater power available to us than CB, so long ranges are practical. If necessary we set up repeater stations to either extend coverage, or get it into difficult areas. Within the West Kent Group we also have a number of four wheel drive radio equipped vehicles, with experienced off-road drivers.
What will it cost me?
Although in principle West Kent does not charge for its services, as a Group we have expenses and overheads to cover, so we do always ask for a donation to help out with our running costs.
What next?
Contact us, as soon as possible. The better the notice we have, the more likely it is we can get a good number of operators out on the day. We have a lot of experience in our area, so may be able to advise you about the coverage required. Please remember that we cannot act as marshalls or other officials for your event, our role is to support you and your User Service, not to do your job!
|
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 14:59 |
|
|
Written by Reuben Wells
|
|
Monday, 15 February 2010 12:53 |
|
RAYNET was formed in 1953 following the severe east coast flooding, to provide a way of organising the valuable resource that Amateur Radio is able to provide to the community. Since then, it has grown in to a very active organisation with around 5000 members, providing communication assistance on hundreds of events each year.
The primary aim of the organisation is to provide communications support in times of emergency and disaster. The Amateur Radio Licence has specific terms and conditions about what the radio amateur can do. Passing messages on behalf of third parties is not normally allowed, unless the third party is a “User Service”. These User Services include:
- The Statutory Services (Police / Fire / Ambulance)
- County / Regional Emergency Planning
- St. John Ambulance
- British Red Cross
- Any “Public Utility” This can include BT, Gas etc.
The support is achieved by providing a trained team of RAYNET members, together with a clearly identified set of resources at its disposal.
As well as planned events, RAYNET is available to user services on short notice callout, with teams mobilised typically within one hour. In many cases the use of RAYNET is written in to the “User Services” major incident plans, so that they may alert the organisation at an early stage.
If you think that all RAYNET members do is sit around and wait for something to happen, you would be very wrong! To ensure that our approach to an incident is professional and that the members have a good idea what is expected of them, the organisation is involved with many hundreds of events annually which, as well as providing help for User Services (most often St. John Ambulance and the Red Cross), provide valuable training ground for our members. These events can be public, such as marathon runs, or private, such as County Council Emergency Planning exercises.
West Kent Raynet is centered on the Tonbridge area and covers Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood, Sevenoaks, Edenbridge and the surrounding areas. We work with the other Groups to help out in their areas, or for county-wide events such as the Tour de France cycle race a few years ago.
|
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 March 2010 19:18 |
|
|
|
