A new repeater has been successfully added to the SWCRS system in the community of Portal, located in Cochise County. This installation was made possible through the support and partnership of Portal Fire and EMS, which is hosting the repeater for the benefit of the local community.
The addition of this repeater provides residents of Portal with an alternative means of both emergency and routine communications—an important capability for an area where cellular and internet coverage can be limited or unreliable. In fact, during the same week the repeater became operational, the community experienced a significant two-day outage affecting both cellular and internet services, highlighting the value of resilient communications infrastructure.
Plans are currently underway to introduce members of the Portal community to General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and to provide information about its practical uses for local communication and emergency preparedness. As part of this effort, the Fire Chief has installed a base station at his residence and intends to monitor the channel as frequently as possible.
Special thanks are extended to David Adriaanse (K6DSA / WQVS960), the SWCRS technical lead, whose extensive work in testing the repeater and configuring the system’s IT control functions was instrumental in bringing the installation online.
This new capability represents a meaningful step forward in strengthening communications resilience for the Portal community.