Founded in 1962, the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team [MMRT] are staffed by an entirely volunteer group all of whom live close to the Mourne mountains in Northern Ireland.
Based at the foot of Slieve Donard in Newcastle, a small town on the Irish Sea coast, the MMRT operate out of the PSNI station in Newcastle until their new operating base opens. On that point MMRT always welcome donations. As a registered charity they rely very heavily upon contributions to provide this vital service. To help fund the new operating base see the donation page at the link below.
During 2018 the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team dealt with 52 call outs and assisted 111 members of the public.
In order to carry out their role effectively the 36 team members have recently upgraded their radio system to a digital system from Simoco.
Simoco DMR Radio Solution
The new DMR system was supplied by system integrator Brabourne Communications and comprises 36 Simoco SDP760 DMR radio terminals each equipped with GPS and a suite of alarms including lone worker and man down.
The team operates a fleet of vehicles including 3 Landrover Defenders, a VW Transporter and a VW Crafter which is kitted out to operate as a mobile command centre.
All the vehicles are equipped with 2 radios, one is a Simoco SDM730 DMR terminal for team communications. The other is a Simoco SRM9030 VHF marine radio used for communications with the coastguard, coastguard helicopters and other rescue organisations . Due to space limitations in the vehicles the Simoco SRM and SDM series radios are remotely located from the control heads.
A Hytera RD965 VHF DMR portable repeater is also used to extend radio coverage up into the mountain range. This is carried in a back pack and is rapidly deployable with a temporary antenna.
All radios can be located via their GPS feature so the command vehicle always knows where their assets are and can coordinate a rescue in the most effective way.
A good example of this application can be found at https://www.brabournecommunications.com/case-studies-nationwide-secure-digital-radio-gsm-network-for-mexico/
Single Frequency Repeater
For the first time MMRT are experimenting with the single frequency repeater feature available on the Simoco SDP760 portable radio. This allows a team member to extend a radio coverage area quickly and without the need to deploy the team’s main repeater.
For more details see the Simoco SDP760 at https://www.twowayaccessories.com/radios/digital-radio/sdp750-760-digital-portable-radio/
Comments From Mourne Mountain Rescue Team
Dave Goddard, Chairman of MMRT commented “Brabourne Communications provided us with a very competitive quote which enabled us to make a complete upgrade to digital in one go. With their assistance the whole process was straight forward and saved a great deal of time and frustration.
We are looking forward to trying the single frequency repeater I believe they will be a tremendous asset. Communications in a mountain environment are extremely difficult and the SFR’s will do much to alleviate many of our problems. Thanks to Brabourne for getting them configured and ready to go.”
