Security Camera Share Program

This week we had the opportunity to tour the North AL Multi-Agency Crime Center that was hosted by the Community Relations Officers from the HPD South Precinct and the Huntsville Community Watch Association. This brief tour was very informative and highlighted the growth of digital forensics in our local police agencies. Most impressive were the statistics showing a significant increase in evidence collected through this effort that led to successful prosecutions of offenders in less time than traditionally needed. We were told that every crime nowadays has some kind of digital footprint, and the tools available to the crime center help collect and analyze this digital evidence. This has been a huge help to law enforcement given that most (around 83%) of the information collected from "eye witnesses" is simply incorrect and of little value. Digital evidence such as videos, as they say, doesn't lie.

And that's where you come in. Yes, you. 😀 We were reminded of the Security Camera Share Program set up by HPD to encourage residents to offer video from residential security systems in situations where HPD believes such video might contain important details for a given incident. But we were surprised to learn that HPD has only around 100 participants in this program across the city. Nowadays many people have security cameras of some kind, so the potential is huge compared to the current reality. Note that HPD has NO direct access to residential security systems even with this agreement, so the extent of the agreement is simply for residents to make available any pertinent video when requested by HPD for post-crime analysis. This seems like such a simple but powerful thing that each of us can do to promote safer neighborhoods.

Rocket City REACT encourages everyone with residential security cameras to consider joining this effort. The payoff is potentially huge with a negligible investment. Use the link above to visit the site and read more about the program, and to fill out a simple form to start your participation. We did it without hesitation and I'm hoping you will too.

Start a Neighborhood "FRS Network"

As mentioned in the FAQ, FRS handhelds ("walkie-talkies") can be very useful for more than just kid toys. Kids do typically have fun with them, but sometimes people overlook other opportunities to put them to use.

One suggestion from Rocket City REACT is to form a network of FRS users in your neighborhood. This could be in conjunction with an existing community watch team, or something completely new/separate. Radio is an especially good way to quickly communicate with multiple people at once, and FRS generally has good, reliable performance in limited areas like neighborhoods. Having a radio network of like-minded neighbors can provide an extra layer of safety similar to community watch, and support quick communication/coordination when something significant happens in the area. It also fosters closer relations and fellowship across the neighborhood.

This is similar in purpose to the Nextdoor website/app but doesn't rely on cellular/internet infrastructure, so it will always work even when other services go down. And there are no ads to wade through. 😁

So consider setting up a communication network for your neighborhood. If you do, Rocket City REACT is interested in coordinating with you and can act as a clearinghouse for people looking to connect with others in and outside of their neighborhood.

Year-End Team Report

With the year drawing to a close, I'm pleased to look back over the past few months since our team was chartered to see what we've accomplished. We started with 4 members and soon picked up a 5th, and spent some time just trying to get organized. By October our team was beginning to participate in charitable activities and logged a total of 68 volunteer hours spread across the following activities (not including hours spent monitoring the airwaves):

• Meals on Wheels deliveries

• Assembling boxes of food in the Food Bank warehouse

• Providing safety and scoring communications for the semi-annual Copper Top Farm equestrian show

• Providing safety communications on a single night for the annual Huntsville Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights event (with the help of some good friends and family)

While the first two activities have not (so far) required any communication expertise, our team feels strongly about helping these and similar charitable, non-profit services that benefit our community. This has the secondary benefit of helping spread our name and demonstrate that we are reliable and professional. The last two activities were our biggest events so far and both enabled our small team to utilize their radio skills. We were especially honored to help with the Galaxy of Lights on what turned out to be their biggest night in the last several years, with a total of 4,533 people and 300+ dogs doing the walking trail through the spectacular light displays. Alas, we were so busy that we didn't get any photos. 🙁

As we look to 2025, we plan to continue those activities while planning for new ones:

• Assist with the annual Panoply Arts Festival

• Plan and execute our first Coffee Break along I-65 (approval from ALDOT is still pending)

• Provide community watch for neighborhoods that currently have no watch groups

• Begin FEMA online training with the goal of completing the 4 core ICS/NIMS courses during the year (IC-100/200/700/800)

• Attend SKYWARN in-person training

• Begin Red Cross online training with in-person training to follow

• Continue to recruit volunteer-oriented people for our team

Two of our members have also recently joined the local Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla and we will explore the possibility of collaboration between the flotilla and our team.

We're excited to bring REACT back to Huntsville and Madison County, and will strive to make 2025 a great year for our team!

Repeater Usage Policy Updated

On behalf of our team I'm happy to report that our team repeater located in SE Huntsville is no longer restricted to just team use. While there may still be restricted times, the normal usage mode has been changed to an open policy that does not require special pre-approval (see the GMRS Repeater page for TX/RX tones). As long as the repeater is in this open usage mode, it will announce this along with the TX/RX tone at the bottom of the hour as a reminder.

Our repeater complements the other excellent repeaters in the area including HSV700 by providing good coverage of south Madison County and some parts of Morgan County. We are hoping to relocate sometime in 2025 to a spot with wider coverage.

Hams Wanted

Consider that a "help wanted" sign. 😀 So far I've put a lot of emphasis on bringing in GMRS and other radio service users to give those who are not licensed amateur radio operators an opportunity to provide the kind of community service that hams have done for years. I also hope that our team will be a stepping stone for those same volunteers to take an interest in learning more about amateur radio and getting licensed themselves.

But what if you're already a licensed ham? My goal for this team is to get involved in a variety of community service needs that complement (not compete with) existing ham organizations. To that end, licensed hams are welcome and invited to join us and help fill needs that may be outside the normal ham activities. Our small team has two licensed hams, plus one studying for the Tech exam, so our motto of "all inclusive" really means just that. I called attention to the "human factor" in my previous post, and that's no joke. We can do more when more are ready and able. You can make a difference.

Why?

Isn't that always the question? 🙂 Why this? Why that? Makes sense to raise (and answer) the question, "why create this new team?"

In short, my goal is to give as many others as possible the opportunity to serve our community through volunteer efforts with a focus on communication. From my earliest days in radio until now, my biggest interest has always been community service and emergency preparedness/response. The human factor is what makes things happen, but communication is a key ingredient. Today's modern tools give us a lot to work with that we didn't have when I was young. Smart phones, cellular networks and the Internet are a powerful combination that facilitates the kind of instant communication we've all grown to enjoy and rely on.

Radio still plays a vital role in community service and emergencies by providing a simple, reliable tool for coordinating between many people without relying on infrastructure that may not be available during a crisis or in a given location. Amateur radio has been a big part of filling that need and I've worked with some outstanding organizations here in Madison County like the Huntsville/Madison County ARES/RACES team that is involved in weather spotting and numerous other emergency prep/response events. Or the Huntsville Amateur Radio Club that assists with communications for the annual Rocket City Marathon, Cotton Row Run, and other local events.

With the formation of Rocket City REACT, I want others who might not have a ham license but harbor an interest in radio and community service to have the opportunity to join a community-oriented team and give something back. Our team will participate in training opportunities to become reliable weather spotters and be more prepared for a variety of emergency situations. At the same time, we want to help other organizations around the area when extra coordination is needed for an event or activity, or even just when some extra hands would be helpful. Communication is our focus, but community service comes in a lot of flavors and our goal is to help where help is needed.

This team is equally for the aforementioned ham operators who want to expand their efforts and work with users of other radio services to continue building out the quality communication network we are fortunate to have in Madison County and North Alabama.

If you have interest in any kind of radio service, we want you. If you aren't really a radio person but still want to help, we want you. Our team can obviously do more when we have more of what's important...the human factor.