Barret HF radio assists Peru disaster relief

Barrett Communications has donated some equipment to the disaster relief effort in Peru.

The country is regularly affected by severe flooding, landslides and natural disasters, and a group of four-wheel-drive enthusiasts called Unidad 4x4 have come together to support those affected by disasters.

“We are not a search and rescue, healthcare or first-aid organisation, but we work with these organisations when they need external local logistical support,” said Aníbal Paredes, founder of Unidad 4x4.

“Our purpose is to provide humanitarian aid to people in emergency situations affected by phenomena of nature. Our attention focuses particularly in remote areas and areas difficult to access due to terrain, where 4x4 vehicles can get to.”

Immediately following a natural disaster, communication is vital to understand the situation and to assess the best way forward. With previous personal experience as a volunteer member of the Defensa Civil organisation rescue squad, Paredes recognised this need and also understood that high frequency (HF) radiocommunications is often the only viable mode of communication following a natural disaster, as it does not rely on infrastructure such as telephone towers or mains powers to maintain communication.

At a flea market organised by a local ham radio club, Paredes found a Barrett 2050 HF transceiver and negotiated a good price. On taking it home and powering it up, it was found that there were some issues preventing it from operating as expected. On contacting the Technical Support Team at Barrett Communications in Perth, they were able to update the latest firmware version and the Barrett 2050 HF transceiver is now fully operational.

On hearing of Unidad 4x4 and what they are achieving, Barrett Communications initially donated an ex-demonstration Barrett 2019 antenna and additional accessories to upgrade the vehicle installation. More recently further needs have been identified and Barrett is working to supply a permanent base station and other ex-demonstration communication equipment and accessories to allow Unidad 4x4 to expand the work they are already doing.

“Unidad 4x4 is providing support to these aid organisations and assisting many small communities in regional Peru. We are pleased we can donate our ex-demonstration equipment and assist them in making an impact in the lives of people who, in many cases, have lost everything,” said Greg O’Neill, managing director of Barrett Communications.

Barrett Communications works with many critical infrastructure organisations, including airports, health services, power and oil and gas distributors throughout the world to develop emergency communications systems to maintain voice, email, fax and text communication during and following man-made and natural disasters.

Image courtesy of Barrett Communications.

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