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3 <br /> Orange County radio ,qmatcurs, Inc. <br /> 1914 New Hope Church Road, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514 <br /> Sir or Madam, <br /> I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a group of people in our <br /> community that have been active in helping the various 911 emergency response systems. In 1991 <br /> a local group of amateur radio operators (Hams)formed a group that became the Orange County <br /> Radio Amateurs Inc. (OCRA). <br /> OCRA has two main goals in the community.First, the primary task our club is charged with is to <br /> supply emergency communications services within the area for any agency that requests them. Our <br /> achievements in this area have been very satisfactory. We have successfully set up and maintained <br /> a common-channel communication service between the Chapel Hill Fire Department,Red Cross, <br /> and for the 911 emergency management teams on several occasions. We were first called out <br /> during the multiple downtown Chapel Hill fires in September, 1992. We were then asked to set up <br /> sites and services for the Red Cross during the November, 1992, Hillsborough tornado crisis. In <br /> June 1993, we were requested to set up a twenty-four-hour emergency communications system for <br /> a portion of Chapel Hill that had lost all phone service due to a construction worker cutting the <br /> trunk lines.These activities required the services of Hams who volunteered hundreds of hours of <br /> duty while they were needed. In appreciation for these activities in December 1992 we received a <br /> "Resolution of Appreciation"from the Orange County Board of Commissioners and in June, <br /> 1993, we received another Proclamation of"Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc.Day"from the <br /> Chapel Hill mayor. <br /> The second mandate the club is charged with is to maintain an ongoing training system for <br /> new operators. The continued success of this effort is reflected by the addition of over 100 newly <br /> trained Hams in the Orange County area since the program began. <br /> Although we have a problem with our service, we have found a way to solve it. Our <br /> problem is that once the system is set up we are unable to communicate into and out of buildings. <br /> Thus operators must relay information out to the radio operator in the street. The solution to this <br /> problem is simple.We need to install a radio system that will communicate through buildings. We <br /> have designed, built,and installed a small radio system in Chapel Hill to test this idea and it works. <br /> What we really want to implement for the community is a very reliable commercial-grade <br /> emergency back-up system that is capable of providing service for the entire county-wide 911 area, <br /> 24 hours a day,year in and year out. <br /> OCRA has initiated a county-wide effort to install a radio system that will communicate <br /> with the whole area. So far we have obtained over$3000 from members for purchase of the <br /> necessary equipment. <br />