Communications Equipment

 

Pagers

Each full team member is issued with a pager. When a callout is initiated the Team Leader or Deputy will send a message to each members pager with brief details of the callout, and rendez-vous point. Our pagers will often work in areas that have no phone signal.

 

Mobile Phones.

We have recently added text messaging to our call out process that has so far proved very effective. We also carry mobile phones on the hill as they can sometimes provide direct communications between Team members without occupying our VHF band.

Handheld Radios.

Each full team member has a personal radio set that operates on Highband with licensed frequencies for Mountain Rescue - the range of the radios is 5-6 miles (but this is dependant on the terrain). As team members travel across the Lakes and operate with other teams, they are able to move between frequencies to communicate with the RAF, and other Teams..

Recently we chose to use GPS microphones attached within these radios which allows the controlling team to keep track of our movements during searches as long as individuals are within range of Base.

GPS's.

Team members rely mainly on DR navigation with map and compass - however, the GPS can be a useful tool when in bad weather conditions to pinpoint locations. It is never recommended to rely on a GPS.

 

Vehicle Radios.

Each of the three team vehicles is equipped with a high output radio to ensure they maintain communications with Base and Team members - often a Team vehicle will be used as a command centre when on callouts.
They also have the ability to ‘Rebro’, that is the capacity to relay a signal over a ridge, crucial if we are operating in any of the many ‘black holes’ in our patch.