Hoeft Repeater in a Comshel                                        Steelhead Repeater in a building

  Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, 
RADIO OPERATIONS & ENGINEERING

Updated July 2011

Our Mission

Provide and maintain a reliable VHF radio communications service for Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations personnel throughout the entire province of British Columbia. 

Overview

The Ministry of Forests,Lands & Natural Resource Operations, Information Management Group, Radio Operations, provides reliable two way VHF radio communications throughout the Province of British Columbia.  Ministry staff  use their handheld and vehicle mounted radios for "safety check-in's" when working in the forest,  fighting forest fires, for passing information back to the District Office and other personnel  working elsewhere in the district, and to call for assistance.  

The ruggedness of the Province of British Columbia presents a formidable challenge to provide reliable year round communications to people working in the field.  At this time, approximately 85% of the Province is adequately covered by the Provinces radio network.   The network consists of  about 331 mountain top repeater sites, arranged into district systems,  about 100 base stations and  6 Regional Fire Centers, each with multiple stations.  As the network is always undergoing changes approximate figures are given.  Most of the mountain top Repeater Sites are solar powered which restricts the type of equipment that we can use.  Also the transmitters are limited to 5 watts.  Our equipment is very reliable so failures are usually caused by natural forces such as: ice and snow blocking the solar panels and lightning strikes that destroy equipment.

During Fire Season (April to October), the radio network is heavily used by Wildfire Management Branch, to assist Fire Fighters in locating fires, directing equipment and personnel.  It is also used to direct Air Tankers on the fire.

Radio Operations & Engineering, maintains all of the MoFLNRO  radio network equipment.  The cost per user of this network, is quite high and would probably not be financially viable in the Private Sector, but is necessary for safety and exchange of information for MoFLNRO and other Provincial Government Personnel.  Occasionally nature destroys a site, as happened to Kellough.  See Photos in the Northern Interior Region, Prince Rupert area.  Repairing or relocating a site also adds to the operating cost. Satelite failures of Globalstar and Iridium systems have made satphones unreliable. Our network the only reliable, province wide wireless communications system that serves all areas of the province.

Narrowbanding
The Ministry radio network has been completely narrow banded, as required by Industry Canada, the Federal regulating body) to increase the number of channels available to other users in the 138 to 174 MHz band.   Narrowbanding of a current channel, allows another channel on either side to be used.  

The next round of narrowbanding is scheduled to begin in 2012.  We anticipate that our radio network will be changing over from analog to digital at this time. 


Contractors Please Note: Your radio equipment will not receive or transmit properly on MoFLNRO Channels if not narrowbanded.  Some or all of the messages may be lost and transmission will be choppy.  You will be held responsible for any damage, or injury to personnel caused by your failure to comply.  

Ministry of Forests Radios

Standard issue Forest Service portable radio is now the Icom F30GT.  The Icom F3 is being reserved for Fire Stock and Firefighters only.  While the F3 has only 32 channels, it can run up to 16 hours on its AA battery pack.  MInistry mobile (truck) radios have been replaced by the Kenwood TK780 and TK7180.  Ministry issued radio equipment is serviced and maintained by Radio Operations & Engineering staff.

For Radio Operator Training, see the Power Point presentation on the index page.  
The MoFLNRO Radio Communication Field Handbook also contains a wealth of useful information.

Other Ministries and Private Contractors, who provide services to Ministry, and have need, can apply to access the radio network by submitting the form FS 1109 (Application for Access to the MoFR Radio System).  This application should be submitted to the Forest District Manager or Fire Center Manager.  
 
Also, please refer to our policy manual at: www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/manuals/policy/mngmtsrv/ms9-1.htm.

Also Note: All radio communications in Canada are regulated and monitored by Industry Canada.

Radio Repeater Sites

VHF radio is "line of site" communications.  If the person that you want to contact is behind a hill or in the next valley then you need to transfer your radio signal through a repeater to contact him / her.  Our repeaters are linked into Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations District systems and Fire Centers.  This works like a "Party Line" and anyone in the district can receive and return your call.  We use "call signs" to connect with the correct person.

This is an aluminum housing that is used in some locations.

Messachi Repeater /2002

Sometimes we have to find it before we can fix it!  This is a Comshel (Communication Shelter) type repeater housing.  The Radio Tech's are digging their way down to the door just to get inside to repair the radio repeater.  Hard work at high altitude, plus the possibility of being stuck there if the weather changes quickly. 

FIRE REPEATERS

Fire Repeaters (designed and built by Radio Operations personnel) are quick deploy units that are used to temporarily enhance radio communications for fire fighters, where coverage in the area is poor. They can be linked into the MoFR network; or when additional radio channels are required, to work as a stand alone unit.  It consists of  the radio repeater (receiver, transmitter and duplexer) in the orange box, magnetic mount antenna (on top of orange box),  battery (in silver box) and solar panel (to charge the battery during the day). The duplexer allows the radio to transmit on one frequency and receive on another frequency at the same time.  See photo of a Fire Repeater in operation near Westbank (August 2003) in the Southern Interior Region (Nelson).  We now have two types of Fire Repeater.  The type A can be linked to others of the same "A" type to form a small independent radio network.  However the Type A Repeater cannot be linked into the MoFLNRO radio network.  The type B or "Rainbow" Fire Repeater uses Ministry colour channels and can be linked into the  District Network and the Fire Centers.

A typical fire repeater setup where there are no trees.

Maintenance and repair are vital to keep the system working reliably. This includes environmental testing of repeater equipment to confirm its operation between minus 40 degrees C. and plus 60 degrees C. (before installation or after repairs.)  When you are working out in the back country, sometimes alone, fighting forest fires and need to communicate or call for help, a fully functioning radio network is a must have service.

The Ministry of Forests Radio Operations Radio Tech's 2003

These are the people who service and maintain the B.C. Forest Service Radio Network.  You can tell by the smiles that they are true professionals and proud of their work.