All of us depend on our cell phones for.... well EVERYTHING, especially for emergencies which requires cell service and a working phone. Don’t depend on cell service in the back country!
Why
Many times, our hobby puts us in places without service, phones break or go dead. I almost lost mine over a cliff once and have dropped it several times.
Recently, we had a Southern California SOTA operator take a very bad fall and break his leg in the San Gabriel Mountains. He lost his cell phone on the way down and couldn’t move, but given where he was, service wouldn’t have been available. In addition, a fall can result in breaking your phone.
I love using my cell phone to spot myself, navigate, and get the weather, but I normally can’t get service in the back country. Many times in Arizona and New Mexico I’ve had four bars and then zero (I have no idea why). BTW: If you use your phone for navigation, make sure you download maps for off-line use. (More on navigation in a later posting)
What I And Others Do
Try to call 911 if needed, even if your phone doesn’t have service. I’m told that if another carrier can hear your phone, they will service the call.
Carry a Garmin inReach or other Satellite communicator (and check to make sure it’s charged before you leave). The operator mentioned above had one of these but it was undercharged. I’ve tried to use mine a couple times, only to find it dead. I use mine to get spots, post spots, get the weather and I texted my wife when I got hurt. Make sure you practice with yours and check that it’s charged. There are plenty of stories where the Garmin inReach saved the day. Yes, it does need decent sky view to work but once it’s put into service, it doesn’t give up. It’s best practice to test it before you hit the trail just in case the phone app doesn’t work or some other glitch but you don’t need your phone to use it.
Carry a 2m HT. The operator mentioned above used his HT and called out for help on 146.52. Thankfully, another ham assisted him and he lived to tell his story. I carry a HT and try to program some repeaters for my area of operation as well. If you are in SoCal, you’ll have tons to choose from, like the Papasys.com group. They have a huge repeater network available to all SOTA operators. When in Arizona and New Mexico, I have several of the linked repeaters programmed in as well. If nothing else, if rescue knows you have an HT, they may try to call you on 146.52 if a search team is out.
Regarding the “wilderness protocol”: I can never remember the times (starting at 7AM at the top of the hour for 5 minutes every three hours) so I monitor 146.52 when I’m out hiking just in case the scenario above plays out.
Cell phone Satellite messaging? In the past few years, phones from Apple, Google and others have added the ability to send messages via satellite when cell service is unavailable. I have an iPhone that supports satellite messaging but haven’t had the patience to try it (you have to be in an area with no cell service to try it and I got tired of holding it a certain way). I’m told by others that it’s not nearly as reliable and easy to use as a dedicated satellite communicator like the inReach. In addition, Garmin has a dedicated service to handle SOS calls. If you want to depend on your phone’s capability, make sure you’ve practiced it.
HF Radio. Sure, most of us have an HF radio while doing the hobby, and if you can set it up, use it if you must. I’d recommend calling out on 14.300. The Maritime net runs on that frequency almost continuously. If you only have CW, go ahead and send your SOS there with your location. I’ll wager someone will hear it and knows CW or will find someone that does. Can’t get the antenna off the ground? Toss it on the ground and give it a try.
Bottom line, think about what you might do.
Visit HamNinja.com/safety for my safety article, and HamNinja.com/safetytips to see all the tips as they are published. I have more safety tips to come.
The Ham Ninja’s SOTA Safety Tips
SOTA Safety Tips is a weekly series of quick tips to remember to improve safety of the hobby. This was inspired by the SoCal SOTA group’s meetings on this topic and will be sourced from my own and others' experience. Don’t forget, you also need to support your group and others with this knowledge. I’ll keep these as short as possible. Send feedback to safetytips@HamNinja.com.
My Experience
I am not a safety or health professional, doctor, or other expert, just an amateur. Be careful out there and do your research. I’ve activated 817+ summits since Oct of 2017 in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and several other states. Over that time I’ve hiked 2,540+ miles and climbed 626,000+ feet. I don’t have skills beyond class 3 hiking and really, “scrambouldering” and light snow pack are my upper skill limits and my hikes are normally 2 miles, NTE 18 miles. I was an Army medic and was a certified EMT. I have received training on desert survival, and recurrent first Aid training in other roles. First Aid is a perishable skill, get training..
You can contact me at safetytips@HamNinja.com.
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