THE NORTH SHORE EMERGENCY ASSOCIATION
OUR HISTORY AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Citizens' Band: The beginning.
The North Shore Emergency Association (N.S.E.A.) was
founded
in 1966 by a small group of CB radio operators interested in promoting
public service through the use of their personal two-way radios. The
group's
purpose was to create a network of qualified people to coordinate
individual
public service radio volunteers to: A) Provide 24 hour,
around-the-clock
monitoring of CB Channel 9 to answer emergency and traveler's
assistance
calls; B) Provide two-way radio communications assistance at pre
planned
events ("Projects"), such as parades, bike/walk-a-thons, golf
tournaments,
carnivals, holiday safety patrols, etc.; and C) Provide two-way radio
communications
assistance in emergency/disaster situations, such as "Operation
Skywarn"
tornado spotting, American Red Cross disaster communications, flash
flooding,
etc.
Soon there more than a dozen CB base stations and as many mobile
units
maintaining a 24 hour watch on the then very popular 27.065 MHz CH
emergency
channel. Not only were hundreds of routine calls for assistance handled
by NSEA participating radio stations in the Chicago north/northwest
metropolitan area every year but a number of lives were saved as well.
Though CB is no longer a primary focus for NSEA. today, many members
still monitor CB channel 9 from their cars and homes.
Class A Citizens' Radio/General Mobile Radio Service
(GMRS)
While 27 MHz Class D CB continued to be an important part of the operation, as CB channels became more and more congested in the late 60's and early 70's, NSEA members turned to the more sophisticated Class A Citizens' Radio Service in the UHF. band. This service was the first (original) "CB", but, because it was located in the U.H.F. spectrum, equipment was substantially more expensive and very few individual and personal users were making use of this band. By working together as a group, NSEA. members were able to buy and set up a U.H.F. Class A "Repeater" (mobile relay) station.
The Class A (G.M.R.S.) repeater brought high quality FM type communications to members as a highly reliable communications means over a substantial operating area. Not only are much smaller antennas required, but small, hand carried portable units are much more feasible. With the repeater a hand held is now as effective as a full fledged mobile. The higher UHF frequencies are much less prone to "skip" type interference, and the F.M. audio is nearly immune from weather related interference.NSEA members first began moving to the Class A UHF service in 1969 (KAA 7948), and the NSEA repeater went into service in early 1971 (KAA 8142). The giant leap from 27 MHz Class D to 462 MHz Class A (G.M.R.S.) was the single most important advance in the history of our organization, and this communications medium remains the cornerstone of our operations today. It is easier than ever to obtain and renew a GMRS license. Just go to www.fcc.gov and you can do it all there.
The UHF Repeater
In 1971, when NSEA members decided to commit to buying and installing a repeater system, very few radio systems in the Class A band were being utilized for personal messages. Due to the high cost of equipment and the necessity to obtain a favorable (height above ground) antenna site for a repeater, almost all of the systems then were being operated by businesses. In January NSEA placed the first cooperatively licensed all personal use Class A repeater in the United States in service on the top of a building at Willow and Waukegan Roads, in Northfield, Illinois.The repeater receives signals from NSEA mobile and portable units in the field transmitting on 467.675 MHz (the "input" frequency), and and simultaneously re-transmits these signals (at full power from the higher repeater antenna) on 462.675 MHz (the "output" frequency). All NSEA units actually listen to and receive these re-transmitted signals from the repeater station.
Repeater operation gave the group the ability to communicate
reliably
over a wide area in north/northwest metropolitan Chicago for a new
cadre
of volunteer and public service functions. In 1972 the repeater was
moved
to yet a more advantageous site on the top of Lutheran General
Hospital,
and the Park Ridge site continues to be a great regional communications
resource. One of the first major projects in which the repeater played
a pivotal role was the 1972 Western Open Golf Tournament, held at
Sunset
Ridge Country Club between Northbrook and Northfield. NSEA volunteers
provided extensive communications assistance to the tournament
officials
over several days, including both on-course as well as off-course
command
and control functions.
NSEA members were instrumental in bringing UHF technology
to other public service groups in CB, especially R.E.A.C.T. (Radio
Emergency Associated Citizens Teams). Beginning
in 1976 key NSEA members spent extensive time meeting with REACT
teams in more than a dozen-and-a-half different states, bringing a
portable
repeater, together with a number of mobile and portable units for field
demonstrations. NSEA members were able to obtain a
temporary/unspecified
license for the REACT national headquarters, which was utilized by
the various teams around the country for the NSEA demonstrations.
As a result, there are now over 200 personal use repeater systems (all on the same frequency) throughout the United States. In recognition of this trend of explosive growth the Federal Communications Commission formally recognized our frequency as the national emergency and traveler's assistance channel in the Part 95A Rules and Regulations. NSEA maintains a firm commitment to providing the maximum accessibility to our repeater for traveling "transient" operators from out of town. Our repeater is now tone access with 107.2 Hz (1B) being the primary NSEA tone for members and 141.3 Hz (4A) being the tone for associates and transient users.
The Downtown Repeater
Another major leap following the original Park Ridge Repeater was
the
addition of a new second super-wide area coverage GMRS repeater
operating
on 462.650 MHz. This powerhouse system was located on the Sears Tower
in
downtown Chicago and provided two-way radio communications coverage in
northeastern Illinois, northwest Indiana, southeastern Wisconsin and
southwestern
Michigan. Considered to be the most effective single G.M.R.S. repeater
in the Midwest, the 462.650 MHz repeater was a great asset for the
group
and is now out of service until a new site can be found.
"Operation Skywarn" Severe Weather Spotting
Use of personal two-way radio to assist the National Weather
Service
in early detection of tornados and other severe weather in the Chicago
area goes back to the very first days of CB radio in the late 1950's.
At
one time in the mid 1960's the Weather Auxiliary Reporting Network
(W.A.R.N.)
had over 600 participating CB stations in three states. NSEA was a
participating organization in this CB network, and has continued its
participation
in the current Weather Bureau "Operation Skywarn" program on U.H.F. A
direct
telephone link was established to the weather service which enabled our
trained spotters to report sightings using the repeater. NSEA has
sponsored
training seminars and lectures by N.O.A.A. personnel for members and
other
interested radio operators, and continues to assure that all interested
members have access to this training. Visit Current
Activities for training sessions
Key NSEA members were also responsible for involving the Chicago amateur radio community in Skywarn as well. One such member, Rich Casey (also a licensed amateur radio operator, WA9LRI), while serving simultaneously as a board member of NSEA and also as president of the Chicago FM Club, drew on his NSEA experience to promote Skywarn participation by area amateur radio operators as well. Today hundreds of such amateur radio operators also give generously of their time and equipment to increase the advance warning of severe weather in the Chicago area. Skywarn continues to be a vital part of area tornado detection and warning today, and many NSEA members continue as active trained spotters.
Project Communications
From the very beginning it was apparent that NSEA had much to offer other organizations such as the March of Dimes, the Diabetes Foundation, local police departments (Kenilworth and Winnetka), and the Chicago Marathon, to name a few. We have provided trained radio operators to coordinate bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, holiday safety patrols, marathon and other races, large parades and other events. Our group has become a recognized authority in command and control of event logistics, coordination, and even planning.Projects are now our single most active communications and
logistics
efforts. Some current projects include: the Evanston
Fourth of July Association parade and fireworks celebration, and
various
Walks and Bike-A-Thons for the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society involving thousands of participants. Our
largest single project is the two-day long "MS Tour de Farms" 150 K
bike ride in the DeKalb County area. We setup a temporary repeater on
.650 for the weekend to cover the large area that encompasses three
counties. Please
visit our Activities
page for current information.
Many N.S.E.A. members have been involved in Red Cross Disaster services, Civil Defense (E.S.D.A.), EMA and other municipal assistance groups. This led to N.S.E.A. helping out these folks in times of emergency or when disaster struck. The longest relationship has been with the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. N.S.E.A. has been deployed for communications in damage assessment of fires, floods and tornados. We have set up links between shelters, vehicles, command centers - where ever needed. We stand ready today to continue to participate in disaster drills and the real thing at a moment's notice. Recently some members have become involved in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Coast Guard Station Wilmette will soon have no full time Coast Guard personnel for a significant part of the year, and the station will be entirely run (including communications) by the Auxiliary.