In April of this year the Dubois County Office of Emergency Management in Indiana made the decision to migrate from analog FM to C4FM digital for their 147.195 repeater during activations. The change was made to reduce noise during operation and increase the quality of copy. According to Gary Fritz, WB9LIB, operations officer for the EMA, “Our new Fusion repeater system was thoroughly tested to confirm its superior performance when using C4FM.”
When the announcement was made to the Patoka Valley Amateur Radio Club, not all the club members were enthusiastic. Since some of them did not own a Fusion compatible radio, this decision would exclude them from emergency operations with SKYWARN.
Fritz told AR Newsline that the change has brought about the desired results in message quality, as proven by recent SKYWARN activation during severe weather. “We found that by using C4FM,...our units are now able to check in crystal clear from locations that were previously impossible.”
A number of local amateurs remain unconvinced regarding the move to digital. Reuben Montgomery, KA9RCM, told Newsline that his main concern is centered primarily on the lack of access to the emergency communications by hams without Fusion radios and by visitors who are passing through the area. With the variety of digital platforms, he also sees great difficulty in picking one mode to the exclusion of all others. Regarding participation, Fritz reported that the public and all amateur radio operators can continue to monitor net communications through audio streaming over Broadcastify.