OCRACES

County of Orange (California)
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service


Orange County Sheriff's Department
Emergency Management Division


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Emergency Communications Response Vehicle

The OCRACES Emergency Communiations Response Vehicle was decommissioned in December 2016. Until then, this van, which was maintained by the County of Orange, was available for response 24/7. This vehicle provided communications resources to the scene of an emergency, disaster, or special event.

Three workstations provided the ability to coordinate communications using both amateur radio and public-safety radio systems.

The first operating position behind the driver (for HF, packet, APRS, and visual communications) consisted of a Yaesu FT-100D amateur HF/VHF/UHF transceiver, a Kenwood TM-D700A amateur 144/440 MHz dual-band transceiver, a Kenwood VC-H1 visual communicator, and three video monitors. It could send and receive amateur and slow-scan television.

The second and third operating positions consisted of Kenwood TM-742A amateur VHF/UHF transceivers, Vertex Standard VX-4000 public-safety radios, and Motorola 800 MHz public-safety radios.

The vehicle had two cellular phones, a telephone switch, computer network with printer, and an on-board generator for emergency power.

The dimensions of this vehicle were:
            Length:  21 feet, 10 inches
            Width:  7 feet, 4 inches
            Height:  Approximately 8 feet, 8 inches (10 feet, 6 inches including antennas)

This vehicle did not have four-wheel drive and was not intended for off-road use.

In keeping with the role and mission of the County of Orange RACES program, this vehicle will eventually be replaced to benefit the Cities and County of Orange with an excellent resource.