The new long wheelbase Ford Transit van was more capable than its outdated predecessor — offering 12v and 240v power, solar, diesel and mains power solutions, starlink satellite communications and optional HF radio.
Project manager Glyn Saunders said the upgrade provided the Southland region with a modern emergency communications vehicle that would support the community for years to come.
AREC is the public service arm of the New Zealand Association of Radio Emergency Transmitters formed by mainly licensed amateur radio operator members whose skills enable essential communications to support search and rescue, disaster response and the community.
The van supported search and rescue calls-outs, coastguard, civil defence emergency management and community events.
It linked field communications into the incident management team for police via high frequency systems that were capable of linking into world-wide satellite systems or to shorter-range frequencies.
"We’re sort of like the command control link for the community."
Communication with widely spread search teams in inhospitable terrain could become complex, he said.
"It improves response time ... the sooner that information comes in, the incident command team can then assess that and change their operations and relayed out to the teams."
Some equipment was also transportable to allow it to be quickly deployed via helicopter to establish a forward communications hub.
The van would be manned by licensed radio operators who were legally allowed to transmit, Mr Saunders said.
The fit-out was only made possible via multiple trusts and members of the Southland branch of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters who contributed towards the upgrade project.\
By Toni McDonald
