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CX2SA > ARES 21.09.16 12:51l 378 Lines 20821 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: ARES E-Letter September 21, 2016
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter September 21, 2016
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
* September is National Preparedness Month
* Spotlight: Georgia Mountains' District ARES Trains On Public Event
Communications Support
* Western Washington Section Manager Comments on June's Cascadia Rising;
See September QST Article
* Tech Tips: The North Country's Solar Powered APRS Digipeaters
* Letters: 12 Hour Shifts
* Get on Board the Simplex Contest Train!
* K1CE For a Final
ARES Briefs, Links
------------------
Amateur Radio Volunteers Needed to Support Marine Corps Marathon (9/14/16);
SKYWARN Youth on the Air Net Debuts (9/14/16); Mexican Emergency
Communication Net Activates for Newton (9/7/16); Tropical Storm Hermine
Gains Attention on the Eastern Seaboard, Hurricane Watch Net Secures
(9/2/16); ARRL CEO Urges New York City-Area Hams to Join Him as Marathon
Volunteer (9/1/16); Big Island ARES Districts Activate to Support Possible
Hurricane Response in Hawaii (8/31/16); SKYWARN Set to Activate in Hawaii as
Hurricanes Threaten (8/30/16); Nominations Open for the George Hart
Distinguished Service Award (8/29/16)
September is National Preparedness Month
----------------------------------------
Don't Wait.Communicate. Make your Personal, Family, CERT and ARES© Emergency
Plans Today.
September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), which serves as a reminder
to prepare, now and throughout the year, for the types of emergencies that
could affect us where we live, work, and visit - and certainly for ARES
(September also marks the beginning of the ARRL SET period, see below)
responses. For more information, including a social media toolkit, visit
www.ready.gov/september. In June 2003, ARRL became an official affiliate
program of Citizen Corps, an initiative within the Department of Homeland
Security to enhance public preparedness and safety. The Statement of
Affiliation makes ARRL an affiliate under the four charter Citizen Corps
programs--Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Community
Emergency Response Teams and Medical Reserve Corps.
See www.ready.gov/make-a-plan to help you make your plans. Also, in recent
Facebook posts and tweets from @ARRL_ARES, ARRL Emergency Preparedness
Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, gives tips on how to prepare ourselves and our
stations for emergency/disaster response. A recent post suggested
"communication becomes easier when you know what band fits your needs. Learn
how to determine the best band for getting the message to where it needs to
go." Follow the ARRL ARES© program @ARRL_ARES on Twitter. Follow National
Preparedness @readygov Follow America's PrepareAthon @PrepareAthon
Get Set for ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
The ARRL encourages you to consider this year's Simulated Emergency Test and
preparations for it as a demonstration of Amateur Radio's readiness and as
an active participant in National Preparedness Month. Click here and choose
the tab for this year's SET guidelines. SET is a nationwide exercise in
emergency communications, administered by ARRL Field Organization leaders
including Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency Coordinators, Section
Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers.The SET weekend gives communicators
the opportunity to focus on the emergency communications capability within
their communities while interacting with NTS nets.To participate in this
year's emergency test, contact your local ARRL emergency coordinator or net
manager. ARRL Sections, ARES teams and nets may conduct their exercises
anytime during September through December.
Spotlight: Georgia Mountains' District ARES Trains On Public Event
------------------------------------------------------------------
Communications Support
----------------------
The mountainous Northwest Georgia District ARES program supports four public
events each year as a public service and training exercises for its
operators. This month, the organization is supporting the Georgia Jewel foot
races of 35, 50 and 100 miles and the seven aid stations situated along the
course. ARES operators establish communication centers at each station and
track all runners for event safety and progress. The 36 hour event in the
mountains has only 5% cell coverage, hence the focus on Amateur Radio for
essential communications.
Last year, the DEC for the district and for the Georgia Digital program at
large, Frank Dean, K4SJR, moved the operation from a VHF/UHF FM voice
platform to Winlink Packet. Dean reported "We sent just under 400 messages
via VHF Packet -- it was so much easier than sending 150 runners'
information from station to station by voice." "From the start of the race
in Dalton, we had a complete spreadsheet of all runners and their locations
on the course."
For this year's event, Dean added more communications tools at the net
control center on the summit of Johns Mountain (1880') including a 70 cm
repeater, six packet gateways with two VHF digipeaters, and a portable
D-STAR repeater for use with six area D-STAR repeaters. Systems new and old
have been tested twice in the last two months, with trials of different
antennas and modes at all aid station sites. Dean reports 100% reliability
of packet radio and D-STAR/D-RATS at all aid stations. They are ready to go
for this month's event.
Next April, Dean's ARES group will serve the Georgia Death Race - a 70 mile
route over 24 hours and 40,000 feet of elevation change, a serious
communications challenge.
Western Washington Section Manager Comments on June's Cascadia Rising; See
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
September QST Article
---------------------
Amateur Radio played a major role in the June 6-10 Cascadia Rising 2016 FEMA
exercise in the Pacific Northwest, discussed in the comprehensive, excellent
September 2016 QST article "Cascadia Rising 2016: Pacific Northwest Amateurs
Called to Serve" by ARRL Oregon Section Manager John Core, KX7YT, and
Western Washington Section Manager Monte Simpson, AF7PQ. The scenario was a
magnitude 9.0 earthquake and consequent tsunami, causing a blackout of all
conventional communication channels.
"Amateur Radio operators not only provided communications continuity for
Emergency Management agencies, they worked with the Washington State Patrol,
Washington State Guard, Washington National Guard, and the FAA," Simpson
said in his recent after-action report. Simpson is also Washington's State
RACES Officer. He said radio amateurs supported approximately 32 city,
county, state, tribal, and federal agencies during the event.
"We were able to support all our served agencies and clients," Simpson
recounted. "Volunteers were able to provide communications support on
location and during the planned participation period." He said US Amateur
Radio responders established cross-border communication with the emergency
operations center in Langley, British Columbia, which was holding its own
province-wide exercise, Coastal Response.
"Overall, our objectives of being able to communicate with external agencies
via voice and Winlink were achieved," Simpson said. "It was great to be able
to participate in an exercise of this magnitude to get a feeling for what it
would be like to have this many people trying to send and receive data. All
of our operators felt this was very beneficial."
Simpson said that including Amateur Radio as "an actual functional part" of
Cascadia Rising was a big plus, and that the participants felt they were
"actually part of the team and not some ancillary group that was just being
tolerated."
Among his recommendations, Simpson said there should be more standardization
on language and forms, as well as coming up with a method of establishing
contact with communities that lack communication if repeaters go down. He
also advised that ARES and RACES teams exercise their equipment on a regular
basis, to avoid unexpected outages and failures during a real-world event. -
Thanks, Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, ARRL Letter and QST Contributing Editor
Tech Tips: The North Country's Solar Powered APRS Digipeaters
-------------------------------------------------------------
While there are a few good mountaintop Automatic Packet Reporting System
(APRS) digipeaters in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, there are gaps in
local coverage -- many roads and towns are in valleys, shadowed by high
mountains on either side, blocking access to the digipeaters. Thus,
"fill-in" digipeaters are required, critical for support of large ðscale
public events such as the Prouty Century Bike rides. For this event, the
local Amateur Radio club deploys two dozen trackers, and employs several
fill-ðin digipeaters for local use and access to the mountaintop machines.
A recently introduced, compact, all-in-one APRS unit (receiver, transmitter,
and TNC) is easily incorporated in the fill-in digipeaters, easily
transported by off highway recreational vehicles or backpack, and capable of
operating for extended periods off the grid. A solar powered digipeater can
be employed for short term use as with our bike rides, or as a permanent
installation. Here are a few considerations we factored into our systems.
Basic Design
First, in selecting the components, economy was an important consideration -
theft or vandalism at remote sites is always a possibility. We used the
Byonics MTT4B 10 watt transceiver, packaged in a plastic case about the size
of two cigarette packs. The MTT4B draws about 50 mA in receive mode, and
1700 mA when transmitting. To conserve power, a system operator can program
fixed coordinates into the unit (a GPS receiver draws about 65 mA when
acquiring a set of coordinates). Alternatively, the operator can program
the MTT4B to turn the power to the GPS receiver on only long enough to get a
fix and transmit a position packet. By programming the APRS transceiver to
insert the call sign of the station into the packets it digipeats, the
operator can use infrequent position packets and still meet FCC requirements
for identification.
A plastic ammunition box (dry box) similar to a Flambeau fourteen inch dark
green plastic ammo box model is an ideal enclosure for this project. They
are watertight, even in a heavy downpour. We replaced the lift out tray with
a piece of 1/8" thick Masonite© pressed board, and attached the transceiver
to it.
Based on the experience of a fellow ham who operated a stealth digipeater in
the central part of the state, system operators can expect to have adequate
reserve power for night time and cloudy day operation with two 18 amp/hour
sealed lead acid batteries, although the batteries are too heavy to be
transported in the plastic dry box for any distance (the box bows when
carried by the handle). A luggage strap could support the box with battery,
or the batteries could be transported separately and installed in the box at
the site. Batteries should be kept charged with a 35 watt solar panel, which
measures about 18" by 26". A charge controller regulates the amount of
voltage going to charge the batteries; longer battery life results when
controllers sense and adjust the output voltage based on the chemistry and
type of battery.
The batteries are placed in the bottom of the dry box, wired in parallel,
and connected first to the charge controller, before the panel is connected.
We placed a small shelf to fill the gap between the batteries and one end of
the dry box, preventing the batteries from shifting and providing a
convenient mounting point for the controller. We employed the ARES/RACES
standard Anderson Powerpole connectors for DC power connections.
It was necessary to breach the sides of the dry box in two or three places
for wires and cable. Altech sealing glands (available at major national
electronics distributors and a network of regional distributors) can be used
to obtain a waterproof seal around the wires and cable. The solar panel
comes with two heavy gauge conductors: we used two sealing glands for the
power leads that bring the solar power into the enclosure. Alternatively, we
spliced a length of zip cord to those conductors and use one of the Altech
sealing glands for flat wire, reducing the number of holes in the enclosure
from three to two.
The remaining hole is for the coaxial cable run from the transceiver to the
antenna. Since the MTT4B incorporates an SMA connector for the antenna, the
builders purchased an SMA to SOð239 adapter cable made with a couple of feet
of good quality coaxial wire. With the proper Altech sealing gland, the SMA
connector will fit through the rubber seal of the gland and when tightened,
the sealing gland will close around the cable. The SOð239 connector is
connected to the PLð259 connector from the antenna, and sealed with coax seal.
There is a slot in one end of the Masonite© shelf. When placed in the
ammunition box, the shelf will be at about the same level as the sealing
gland for the coaxial cable, thus the slot is used to route the coax from
the MTT4B through the sealing gland without undue stress on the coax.
Installation in the Field and Results
Our first unit was installed near the height of land at a nearby farm in
2015. A JetStream fiberglass antenna mounted on a twenty foot pole completed
the setup. It has been in constant operation since then (including use in
one Prouty Century bike ride). The two batteries have more than enough
reserve power, even after several days of heavy overcast, rain, or winter
gloom for the amount of traffic this digipeater is handling. The solar
panel leans up against a tree with its bottom edge about a foot above ground
level. It is angled up at about 60 degrees from the ground and faces south.
While 60 degrees is more than optimal (45 degrees is preferred, depending on
the site's latitude), the steeper angle helps shed any snow during the winter.
The MTT4B transmits its telemetry data (voltage and internal unit
temperature) hourly so we can monitor its health remotely. It relays its
received packets to the APRS equipment at my home where they are forwarded
to the APRS servers by my Igate. - Bob Harris, K9UDX, Bath, New Hampshire
[Harris is a retired programmer for embedded systems. He volunteers for the
Prouty Century bike ride and serves as its APRS coordinator, helping the two
dozen hams on the road course use APRS. Harris works on improving the APRS
infrastructure in rural northern New Hampshire].
Letters: 12 Hour Shifts
-----------------------
Granted, long shifts and fatigue often cannot be avoided in emergency
operations, but it comes with a price. Numerous private and public studies
show that long shifts cause health problems and mistakes. Aside from the
wear on personnel, it has been found that errors increase. So as many
emergency responders and the military are often taught, "Rest your troops!"
Granted, sometimes you may only have two operators to rotate and cover a
position all day every day for a week, but everyone needs at least one
six-hour "great sleep" every 24 hours, to avoid excess fatigue. And almost
no one can really focus for more than two hours at a time, meaning that even
an eight hour shift is too long if there are no breaks. Better to rotate in
shorter shifts, or at least ensure the personnel literally get up, get out,
and stretch their legs every hour or two. Twelve hour shifts are a good way
to cause bad things to happen.
Get on Board the Simplex Contest Train!
---------------------------------------
Last month, we solicited information on locally oriented simplex contests
across the country, and the readership came through. Here are a few examples
that may serve as models for local ARES and other groups interested in
exercising and enhancing their capabilities.
The Wireless Society of Southern Maine conducts its 2 Meter FM Simplex
Challenge each February. Originally, the Challenge was created to allow all
classes of licensees an opportunity to participate in a contest. It was
quickly discovered that a great deal of information could be gained about
VHF simplex paths in the State of Maine to aid in emergency communications
planning. The inspiration for this contest came from the Plano Amateur Radio
Klub, of Plano, Texas. -- Frank Krizan, K5HS, Founding President, Wireless
Society of Southern Maine
I wrote an article in April 2014 QST "The 2M Simplex Sprint - a Contest for
Everyone". The contest inspires and boosts membership, garners knowledge of
2-meter simplex operation and capabilities, and promotes creativity with
height, power, and antennas to develop communications strategies and getting
to know and network with local and regional like-minded operators. Plus,
it's just plain fun.
Last year was our banner year for participation and results. Just like the
key to house-buying is location, location, location, so goes this contest:
You have to communicate, communicate, communicate. For more info, click
here. -- Paul Lusardi, N0VLR, Corvallis, Oregon
The San Francisco Radio Club (in its 100th year, W6PW) held its second
annual 2-meter QSO Party in August. More info on the event here. -- David R.
Dull, KK6JKC, San Francisco, California
The Aulani Hui Amateur Repeater Club sponsors the Hawaiian Islands Grid
Madness, an event for all hams in the State of Hawaii. This event is
designed for fun and to test equipment, coverage and operating skills using
simplex FM on 2 meters and 70 cm. The idea is to contact as many stations in
as many Grid Squares as you can, using simplex only. More here. -- Stan
Froseth, AH6KO, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
The Huntsville (Alabama) Amateur Radio Club engaged two Simplex Sprint
contests in 2015 and again in 2016 with another scheduled for next year on
June 17, 2017. For complete information about the event, including rules,
simplex frequencies, past winners, scores, etc., see the club's website
here. A custom logging program is available to assist with scoring. All
contacts are multiplied by the power level, and then the number of unique
zip codes the operator has logged at the end of the 3-hour sprint. We sure
found out how far a 5 watt HT can get out with simplex with some antenna
height and elevation. -- M.D. Smith, WA4DXP, Huntsville, Alabama
K1CE For a Final
----------------
I rode out Hurricane Hermine in a cabin in the Suwannee river (northern
Florida) basin, to the east of landfall, with emergency supplies, water, and
battery-powered station and antennas. During the day, September 1, prior to
the storm's arrival, I charged batteries and monitored area repeaters and
the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz. Later that evening, I checked into
the Columbia (county) Amateur Radio Society emergency net on the group's
Lake City NF4CQ repeater on 146.94 MHz, listening to weather reports from
operators in the coverage area. After the net closed, I checked into the
Alachua County ARES/RACES net on Gainesville's 146.82 MHz repeater. Both
nets were controlled by excellent net control stations; the nets ran
efficiently and effectively. After that net closed, I scanned area
repeaters, and listened to NOAA weather broadcasts. At 1 AM the wind rose,
sounding like a freight train; trees and limbs hit the ground. Power mains
went out, but on battery power, I monitored my radios for information.
Thanks go to the Hurricane Watch Net and the area ARES groups and nets cited
above for a job well done.
_______
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