ON THE AIR with the Civil Air Patrol
March 1957 Popular Electronics

March 1957 Popular Electronics Table of Contents Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Popular Electronics, published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

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ON THE AIR with The Civil Air Patrol

Major, CAP

One evening last September a man slipped behind the wheel of his car in Albuquerque, New Mexico, switched on a radio receiver and transmitter, and before he could back out of the driveway was halted by the urgent call: "Thunderbird 39 to any Albuquerque CAP station."

A quick reply to the Thunderbird (Arizona CAP station) operator brought no response, so switching off the car, the Albuquerque Civil Air Patrol member beat a hasty retreat to his house, fired up a 75-watt fixed station and, contacting Thunderbird 39, learned that the Arizona operator was worried about a plane overdue in isolated Monument Valley in the Navajo Indian reservation, where there are no phones for a hundred miles.

Cadet operator works both high-frequency and very-high-frequency portable rigs at a practice mission. At top of page, another operator is shown handling traffic while numerous CAP personnel await further orders.

Control headquarters may be set up in any handy location to direct search and rescue operations. The workshop of a communications officer was utilized during a flood mission.

CAP member  is talking into a lightweight v.h.f. packset which he designed and built; his car is equipped with a high-frequency transmitter and receiver.

A typical father and daughter team; Cadet Carrie Hopkins of Albuquerque operates the radio while Lt. Col. Tom Hopkins makes a log entry. Anyone over 14 years of age can join the Civil Air Patrol ranks.

Moments later, this disquieting informa-tion crackled back to Thunderbird 39, and Albuquerque began preparations for an aerial search at dawn .... Yet an hour later, even as alternate airfields were being checked, the Monument Valley station came back on the air with the information that the pilot had landed at an emergency field and walked over the desert to his destination. Plane and passengers were safe.

Two-way radio plays a big part in the Civil Air Patrol, the organization which is charged with a large part of the search and rescue operations for missing aircraft. Some 10,000 stations, operating on frequencies "loaned" by the U. S. Air Force, are distributed over the 48 states, Hawaii, Alaska, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. By far the greater part of these stations are installed in cars and trucks. Many "fixed" stations exist at airfields, CAP unit headquarters, homes, and business offices. Not a few planes, either CAP-owned or private aircraft belonging to members of the organization, are also equipped with two-way radios operating on CAP frequencies. A number of walkie-talkie units are in the hands of ground rescue teams and prove invaluable in search operations to provide communications between aircraft flying cover, or to send information from a crash scene back to a base camp.

The radio equipment used in CAP activities varies from station-to-station and state-to-state. Some gear is supplied to the organization by the U. S. Air Force after it has been declared surplus. Other equipment is purchased by the various units from their own funds. Still more is the private property of individual members, not a few of whom are also "ham" operators.

In most cases power limitations are fairly low. A maximum of 400 watts output is provided for the one station in each state that is authorized to talk across state borders, while the various other units are allowed either 150 or 75 watts of power to the antenna. Most of the mobile units run from 10 to 50 watts, with center-loaded antennas being most common.

Seven frequencies are authorized as follows: Channel One, 2374 kc.; Channel Two, 2394 kc. (Freehold and Fort Monmouth, .N. J., area only); Channel Three, 4325 kc.; Channel Four, 4507.5 kc.; Channel Five, 4585 kc.; Channel Six, 5500 kc. (one watt only); Channel Seven, 148.14 mc. An eighth channel, which will be in the v.h.f. band somewhere close to the amateur two-meter frequency, is planned.

Until the last three or four years, almost all CAP traffic was carried on the high frequencies with Channels Four and Five predominating. Now the use of v.h.f. Channel Seven is encouraged and an increasing number of stations have added v.h.f. equipment to supplement the h.f. gear. This frequency is especially valuable where short-range transmissions and air-to-ground communications are needed.

Civil Air Patrol transmitters must be crystal-controlled. Their operators must hold restricted radiotelephone licenses or higher. The operation of the stations must conform to all of the FCC regulations concerning frequency tolerances, type of emission, etc. Accurate logs are required of each station's operation.

All Civil Air Patrol communications operations are carefully regulated. "Hamming" is discouraged and an excessive amount of idle chatter is not tolerated. Regular state-wide nets are scheduled at definite times each day during which traffic information is passed from headquarters to local units and between individual stations.

In case of an actual mission or an emergency, talking between states is permissible without the formality of using a state "control" station; but once such a mission is definitely established, a "redcap" is declared and all transmissions are handled through the control station. During the duration of a "redcap," all stations located in nearby states which might cause interference with the communications either secure or go to different channels.

Many CAP units, either Cadet or Senior squadrons, conduct courses in radio communications under supervision of competent licensed personnel. Membership is open to all persons 14 years of age or over. There is nothing compulsory about the organization. While it is an auxiliary of the Air Force, there is no obligation or arrangement for any Civil Air Patrol member or unit ever to be taken into the armed forces as a result of his or her participation in the CAP program.

Although Civil Air Patrol radio communications is not connected with amateur radio, many hams become CAP members and many CAP members develop an interest in radio and become hams .... Neither activity conflicts with the other.

Many varied adventures reward the CAP volunteer. All too often, search and rescue missions become necessary - several hundred a year. There are also practice missions, Cadet encampments at Air Force bases, state and national meetings. Any man or woman interested in radio Civil Air Patrol has a definite place to go to learn theory and actual operating practice on the world's largest network of two-way radio stations.

Posted 10/25/2011