Cruising down Lapeer or Baldwin, George Schutte might run across a friend, and sometimes he might even find someone from out of the county.
Schutte’s not out for a stroll. He’s an amateur radio operator with the OSCART group from the Orion Senior Center.
‘This is K8GEO,? Schutte will interject every few minutes.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that every licensed amateur radio operator give their call signal every ten minutes.
‘It gives us a responsibility to uphold,? Schutte said.
Schutte, a member of the Orion Township Amateur Radio Team (OSCART) is just one of many in Oakland County that has taken on amateur radio as a hobby.
According to Steve Iannucci, Emergency Management Specialist for the county, there are currently 225 members of the Amateur Radio Public Service Corps (ARPSC) in Oakland County.
To become a licensed operator, one must first pass a test from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
‘There are about 50 or so amateur radio operators in the greater Lake Orion area,? said OSCART member Mike Nebel (N8BEL).
Only a half dozen of these operators are OSCART members. Their group, made up of all volunteers, meets twice a month and takes great pride in the public service activities in which they routinely participate.
Amateur radio operators, for example, are often positioned along the routes of long races or big events.
Nebel and Schutte pointed to the Oak-Apple Run in Royal Oak, the Woodward Dream Cruise and the bicycle ride at Groveland Oaks as some of their recent service stops.
Their duty at these sites is to transfer along any messages or problems, and assist as needed.
‘All of this is good training for when there is an emergency situation,? Schutte said.
Though it is just one part of their mission as an organization, emergency response is something OSCART devotes much of its time to improving.
According to Schutte, there are 25 9-1-1 telephone answering points in the county, including one in the Village of Lake Orion.
None of these answering points have amateur radio connections to the county.
Even the small OSCART station at the senior center, where all of the equipment was donated, has the ability to talk to the county directly.
Schutte said that when the answering points get this equipment, their organization will volunteer to operate the radios.
For Schutte, who has volunteered time as a radio operator at hospitals and as a Skywarn member, knowing how the radio works is just part of the battle.
‘To be an effective emergency operator, you have to know more than just your radio,? he said. ‘You have to know what’s going on around you.?
Schutte also noted that radio operators are not there to solve the problem, but rather to communicate them to the appropriate sources.
When an emergency becomes to big for a city, township or village to deal with, they will declare an emergency to the county, which will step in and help as much as possible.
Iannucci has seen this process up close.
‘Amateur radio was here within 25 minutes after the blackout talking to New York and others,? Iannucci said, referring to the blackout from the summer of 2003.
‘The actual definition of emergency management includes four parts: To prepare, respond, recover and mitigate— so that whatever happened won’t happen again,? Iannucci said.
Both Iannucci and Schutte have seen great improvement in the two plus years since the blackout.
Schutte was volunteering in hospitals at the time and said that many volunteers used their cars to communicate.
This fueled the effort to improve radio situations in hospitals.
As Skywarn members, Nebel and Schutte assist in reporting bad weather.
When radar fails, having a trained eye on the ground is an important resource.
‘That’s where amateur radio fits in,? Schutte said. ‘They really treasure our eyes and ears, knowing what to look for.?
On the county level, Iannucci noted that Oakland County is one of the most prepared for any type of emergency.
The county has 4 HAZMAT response vehicles, one of two Mass Decontamination trailers in the state and is classified as a Storm Ready County by the National Weather Service.
This is all in addition to the state of the art media equipment stationed in Pontiac.
This includes freeway cameras, two sheriff’s helicopters with up- to-date recording technology and software that can assist in the creation of emergency- related web pages.
Even with all of these great communication tools, Iannucci and Schutte stressed that emergency response can take time.
‘Residents should always be prepared to manage on their own for 72 hours,? Iannucci said, pointing to water and batteries among the things needed in emergency situations.
The county also has a high frequency radio, allowing it to communicate long distances for help.
Even at the OSCART station, Schutte and Nebel have the ability to communicate across county lines. Other forms of amateur radio, such as CB radios, don’t have this power.
Nebel noted that CB radio operators aren’t licensed either.
‘We welcome anybody that wants to start a CB group,? Schutte said, ‘but that just doesn’t fit into our mission.?
OSCART meets on the first and third Fridays of every month and is always looking for more members. They are happy to assist anyone interested in the licensing process.
For more info, contact the Orion Senior Center at 693-2066.