On Sunday (2/25) morning, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue participated in a training and evaluation of a portable radio repeater system. Search teams set up the radio repeater in the Terraces/Turkey Flats area, south of Lake Havasu City – where we have had a number of searches for missing or injured recreationalists. Radio communications in this area (along with many other areas of the backcountry wilderness of Mohave County) can be difficult and at times, to non-existent. We have previously positioned personnel in certain locations to provide relay for radio transmissions from one area to another to allow continuous communications during the search or rescue mission. The use of the portable radio repeater provides the ability to set up and leave unattended, allowing that personnel resource to rejoin the search – especially when resources are shorthanded. During this training and evaluation, we had teams scatter through the area into the rugged terrain and the known poor communication areas while the portable radio repeater was positioned and activated. Search teams performed radio checks throughout the area and the repeater team moved the portable repeater to different locations to assess the performance. The portable radio repeater increased our ability to effectively communicate significantly – and quickly, in this entire area – increasing the range of our vehicle-based radios as much as 50 percent and added the capability of using handheld radios in this area! This training and evaluation was a huge success and we are excited to see how it will perform in other areas of Mohave County! Great job by everyone!