Forsyth County volunteer radio teams win grant to build mobile communications trailer

Harlan Coburn, president of Forsyth County OxCom, told the county commission that volunteer amateur-radio operators played a critical role in recent disasters and will expand their capabilities with a new grant. "We received here in July a $50,000.80 grama from the Amateur Radio Digital Communications Foundation out of California," he said, describing plans to build a "unified interoperable operations communications hub in a trailer."

Coburn described deployments to Western North Carolina during Hurricane Helene, saying in some locations "radio communications was the only means of passing information." He said the trailer will carry HF, VHF, UHF voice and data modes, civilian bands (GMRS/MURS), and public-safety interoperability including state VIPER connectivity. The unit, offered to the county "at no charge" by the nonprofit OxCom, is intended to receive and retransmit calls from handheld civilian radios to public-safety personnel in the field, reducing emergency response time.

Commissioners thanked the volunteers and asked logistical questions about the club's annual operations; OxCom invited commissioners to a demonstration after the trailer is operational (anticipated in January). "We will definitely demonstrate it for anybody that wants to see it," Coburn said. The presenters emphasized the volunteer nature of the organizations and said the grant will allow them to buy organizational equipment rather than rely on members' personal gear.