Communication Equipment

Communications play a vital and important role in any rescue and it is no different in CRO whether it be below ground or on the fell.

In common with all other mountain rescue teams CRO now uses high band VHF radios for surface and vehicle communication. These give good reliable (just slightly better than line of sight) communications.

Duty controllers, vehicles and our Depot are also equiped with a strategic radio system which gives good radio coverage from road side locations throughout our area. It allows direct communication with the police and other emergency services if needed.

Callout of team members is achieved by pagers and increasingly by MDS text messaging, with the whole team being contactable in minutes.

For  underground to surface communication we use the Hey Phone a very low frequency radio system. This relies on aerials being stretched out and earthed along with the underground and surface sets being approximately vertically aligned. Once achieved good voice communication can be made.

Caver to caver communication underground is by use of military spec. waterproofed high band radios and headsets. These can provide underground communication over a considerable distance subject to various conditions. They are particularly valuable on wet pitches, long crawls etc. Within shallow caves they can even be used for underground to surface communication.