The Community Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located in the Campo Fire and Rescue Station 46 in downtown Campo California. This communications center is the focal point for community emergency and disaster communications and support in the Campo / Lake Morena area and, if required, anywhere in East San Diego County. Manned by local Amateur Radio Operators and CERT Team Members, the Center currently has the ability to communicate within and outside of the area on the Amateur Radio 160,80, 40 and 20 Meter HF Bands, and the 144 MHz, 220 MHz and 440 MHz Amateur bands. Additionally the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services (OES) has provided us with Regional Communications System (RCS) 800 MHz public service radios. The Center also has portable radios capable of communications on the Family Service Radio (FRS) and "Red Dot" VHF frequencies. A laptop computer and printer provides Topo mapping information to coordinate our responses, Internet access to the World Wide Web, and the San Diego County Emergency Operations Center WebEOC. Internet access is provided by the Departments wireless high speed Internet system or phone modem backup. The entire room and all equipment is powered by 12 volt gel cell batteries totaling 400 amp hours.
Overall View of the EOC. (Old TS-130 HF radio shown, see below.)
Update 6/2009
Left to right. 800 MHz Public Service portable, charger, and base station. Our new/used Kenwood TS-430S Amateur HF Transceiver, MFJ cross needle SWR/Power meter, and LDG Z100 tuner. The TS-430S is connected to an inverted V dipole for the 160,80, 40 and 20 Meter bands, see below. If you are a HAM or short wave listener listen for us on Monday nights, 8 PM local time, on 3.960 MHz. This frequency is the Amateur Radio statewide emergency communications NET. Monday evenings all the California County EOC's check in with the State Office of Emergency Services EOC in Sacramento.
Left to right. Corner shelf, FRS and Bendix King VHF public service portable radios. Manuals for all radios and radiation detector. Radio shelf above the desk. Phone / FAX Modem lines, Portable and base scanners. Mounted under shelf. Amateur 450 MHz, FRS base station, Amateur 144 MHz and 220 MHz radios. Behind the desk is an Anderson Power Pole, DC distribution panel powered by 4ea, 200AH gel cells in series/parallel, charged by a Lambda 65 Amp switching Power Supply. 6/2009 I forgot to take an updated photo of our donated PC now sitting on the desk. It is connected to the Internet by 500Kb wireless Internet with modem backup.
Updated 6/2009
With our new/used Kenwood TS-430S we now have 160M. Above is our new antenna, a DXCC. The top wire is the stock DXCC for 160/80/40. The bottom wire is our home brew 20M dipole addition made from 12 gage house wire!. To the left our Comet 2M/70Cm.
Close up of the DXCC modified HF antenna. The spreaders to hang the 20M wire on are made from 1/2" PVC pipe. A pulley mounted to the top of the center mast allows us to pull the antenna up and down for tuning. If I want to put it in the classic NVIS, closer to the ground, all I have to do is lower it to 1/2 staff.
View of the end spreader to separate the 20M wire and the stock DXCC wire, there are 3 of them. I used dacron line to keep the 20M wire tight. You can see one of the DXCC loading coils laying in the background. No wait, that's my home brew coil from the previous antenna. Which is my point, when I bought this DXCC several years ago and noted it was made from PVC pipe, house wire and magnet wire I said, I can make that, and have done so since.
Holding up the center pole and one end is accomplished by dropping them in a fence pole. As in my home QTH Carolina Windom, the support poles are whatever fit together from the local hardware store to get the height I wanted. The center is about 30 feet, the ends around 20. Sort of an inverted V?
For the other end, I found this nifty bracket in a pile of dirt under the fence. I haven't the faintest idea what it is normally used for but a pair of them mount an antenna mast to a chain link fence like they were designed for the application!
Left to right. The department VHF antenna. Ham 220 antenna, Multi purpose discone. Department 800 MHz public service radio antenna with 800 MHz, wireless Internet subscriber unit mounted below. Our Comet 2M/70Cm antenna is to the far right out of the photo.