SC HEART There have been some changes !!
NOTE: The SC HEART linked repeater system is for the use and benefit of all FCC Licensed Amateur
Radio Operators.
NOTE: In the event of an emergency, operation of the linked repeater system will be under the
control of ARES - SC SEC Charlie Miller, AE4UX, and or a designee. At all other times, the system
will be open to normal Amateur Radio operation.
NOTE: Please coordinate net schedules (ARES, Skywarn, local, etc.) or onetime public service event
projects (parades, races, etc.) through SC SEC Charlie Miller. All the cooperating groups in the
SC HEART project are interested in how and how often the linked repeater system is being used for
public service.
The SC HEART system is the result of the cooperation of the Amateur Radio Emergency System, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency System, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, SC Educational Television Network, SC Emergency Management Division, the SC Hospital Association, USC Center for Public Health Preparedness, and York Technical College.
South Carolina Healthcare Emergency
Amateur Radio Team (SCHEART)
SCHEART is a statewide initiative to establish a redundant communications system using amateur radios to support the hospitals in South Carolina. These facilities will be linked through a network of "repeaters" that amplify communications signals. The repeaters will be strategically located and linked together to form a statewide emergency communications network. This redundant communications network would be located at broadcast and microwave towers owned and operated by the South Carolina Educational Television Network (ETV), using the ETV microwave network as a communications backbone. ETV would co-own and maintain this emergency communications network for the benefit of the SCHEART initiative.
This project has been approved and the funding for this project will provide for all the equipment necessary to install seven repeaters in the state. These repeaters would reach the majority of the sixty plus hospitals that receive funding and support from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response under the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP). The project manager's goal is to have the network completed by the beginning of the 2007 hurricane season. The installation will occur in three phases. Phase one will begin on the coast with Beaufort, Charleston and Conway. After testing and commissioning these sites, phase two will include Columbia, Florence and Orangeburg. Phase three will finish up in Greenville (Paris Mountain). Once Greenville is completed the entire system would be tested and commissioned. The deadline for completion of the project is August 30, 2007.
To support the SCHEART project, the USC-CPHP conducts Ham radio training classes and recruits radio response team (RRT) members. These teams will become active participants in our communities serving at state and local healthcare facilities. Our goal is to provide the expertise at each hospital facility to support the SCHEART communications network. In 2005 the center implemented a facility assessment program in partnership with the state Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) organization. This program provides recommendations for the purchase and installation of Ham radio equipment. In addition, the Center coordinates the participation of Hams in state and local training exercises. For more information about the SCHEART project, facility assessments, and training classes, please contact Bill Dease,
deasew@gwm.sc.edu.