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CX2SA > ARES 21.01.17 13:41l 379 Lines 20580 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: ARES E-Letter January 18, 2017
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter January 18, 2017
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
-Western Pennsylvania Group to Participate in Winter Field Day
-Oregon ARES/RACES: New On-Line Training Programs
-DMR Growing in Ohio
-Two-Meter Simplex Net Standard Protocol in Vermont
-Spotlight: Virginia Section ARES --Cooperation/Coordination Key to Success
-Letters: Noise in the EOC
-Letters: Clark County, Washington ARES Protocols; EYEWARN Program
-K1CE For a Final
ARES Briefs, Links
Ohio ARES Adds 6 Meters to its VHF Simplex Contest (1/13/17); Nevada ARES
Standing Down as Flood Threat Abates (1/11/17); FEMA Region 10 to Conduct
Monthly Interoperability Communications Exercises during 2017 (1/3/2017);
Philippines' Ham Emergency Radio Operations Net Activates for Super Typhoon
(12/28/16); FEMA Interoperability Exercise Deemed a Success (12/23/16);
Hawaii Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist Honolulu Marathon (12/19/16)
Just Ahead: Winter Field Day
Field Day is not just for summertime anymore. Winter Field Day, sponsored by
the Winter Field Day Association (WFDA), will take place over the January
28-29 weekend, and it can be a good time to prep for ARRL Field Day in June.
The annual event's stated purpose is to encourage emergency operating
preparedness in the winter, but it's also an excuse to get out of the house
and enjoy the great outdoors. According to the WFDA, getting ready for
emergency communication in a winter environment is just as important as the
preparations and practice that take place each June during ARRL Field Day.
Maintaining operating skills should not be limited to fair-weather scenarios.
The event, which got its start in 2007, is not restricted to North America.
All Amateur Radio operators around the world are invited to participate, and
there are three entry categories -- indoor, outdoor, and home. The rules are
similar to those for ARRL Field Day. The WFDA encourages both group and solo
operation. -- ARRL News
See below for the Winter Field Day plans of the Cumberland Valley Amateur
Radio Club of Pennsylvania.
New Year's Resolution for ARES members: Take the ARRL Emergency
Communications Training Courses
The ARRL Intro to Emergency Communication course is designed to provide
basic knowledge and tools for any emergency communications volunteer. The
course has 6 sections with 29 lesson topics. It includes required student
activities (mentor-assisted and evaluated), a 35-question final assessment
and takes approximately 45 hours to complete over a 9-week period. Students
have access to the course platform at any time of day during this 9-week
period.
The ARRL Public Service and Emergency Communications Management course
trains ARES and other operators who will be in leadership and managerial
roles organizing other volunteers to support public service activities and
communications emergencies. Topics include: preparing and organizing to
support local community events; working with governmental and other
emergency response organizations; and deploying services to provide
communications when needed in an emergency or disaster response.
Find more information for both courses, including registration, here. I made
two New Year's Resolutions for myself for 2017: first, to become more active
in my home (Volusia County, Florida) ARES program; and second, to take both
of these on-line ARRL training courses and report on my experiences. -- K1CE
Western Pennsylvania Group to Participate in Winter Field Day
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Cumberland Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) of Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, will be participating in Winter Field Day on January 28-29.
Radio amateurs have been setting up their stations in the great outdoors
every June for ARRL Field Day for decades; Winter Field Day is a new twist
on an old idea. Emergencies and disaster responses are not limited to the
other seasons. CVARC President Ray Smith, N3TWU, reports that following last
year's successful Winter Field Day, the members are ready to make this
year's event the best one yet. The public is invited, along with visiting
operators ready for possible cold and winter conditions. For more
information, visit the CVARC webpage.
Oregon ARES/RACES: New On-Line Training Programs
------------------------------------------------
Oregon ARES/RACES has launched new on-line training programs for Amateur
Radio operators, which have been very well received, according to John Core,
KX7YT, ARRL Oregon Section Manager. The Oregon training is conducted in
three parts. This is in addition to the required completion of the ICS 100,
200 and 700 courses and a required background check. Participants register
on line at the OregonARESRACES.org website before they start their training.
The elements are:
1. Completion of an on-line Amateur Radio Operator (ARO) knowledge-based
course done in Microsoftİ Sway. Sway is a highly visual environment; many
Internet-linked videos and photos of Oregon ARES members in action make the
course interesting. It includes six modules, two multiple choice exams and a
final exam. The course also includes materials on the use of the Winlink
system, critical frequency plans, ARES fundamentals, Oregon Emergency
Management, participation in Nets, antenna systems and many other topics.
Currently, 200 participants are taking the training and there are 54 ARO
element 1 graduates. It takes new ARES volunteers about 20 hours of study to
complete element 1. Experienced volunteers can complete it in one day. This
is an innovative approach to training as it is self-paced and can be done
from home. Significantly, changes to the training materials can be done
on-line and "on the fly" by the Training Administrator at no cost. Changes
are instantly available to all trainees the next time they log into the
system. Administrators use PollDaddy web based software for construction of
the exams and can easily track student progress as well as scores.
2. An 8-week proctored class in the Oregon ARES Digital Network (OADN) Forms
is conducted on-line using email and Winlink Express. This course teaches
operators how to properly fill out and use various ICS forms as well as
Oregon-specific forms for Disaster Declarations, Situation Reports, Requests
for Assistance and unit Activation/Deactivation reports that are set
statewide. Close to 100 people have now completed this course, which is
offered twice yearly and is very popular! The Oregon ARES Digital Network is
a statewide Amateur Radio system designed for emergency and disaster
response communications.
3. Completion of a Task List that is signed by the County EC certifying that
the participant has programmed their radios to local communications
frequency plans, is personally prepared for deployment, has various
on-the-air skills and has participated as an operator in an Oregon Simulated
Emergency Test.
Topics included in the courses are discussed on ARES Nets and at meetings on
an on-going basis. The entire three-part training program was launched in
late July 2016 and now involves volunteers in 20 counties and 200 trainers.
This month, Oregon leadership is presenting Basic Amateur Radio Operator
Certificates to the first 10 members that have completed all of the required
training. - Oregon Section News
DMR Growing in Ohio
-------------------
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) technology and activity in Ohio has witnessed an
upsurge recently. Fueling the activity is a wide selection of hand-held and
mobile radios available on the market today, with prices of DMR radios
within range of the budgets of most radio amateurs. As with any new
technology and new radios, Ohio amateurs are asking many questions to help
them climb the learning curve. "DMR-101" classes are popping up across the
state, thanks to eager, experienced operators conducting these classes,
hoping for even more activity and development. New operators are taking
advantage of their experience. Ohio DMR operators point to several useful
resources to help get amateurs new to the mode/network started:
DMR-MARC website
K4USD website
Amateur Radio Guide to DMR
Digitally Speaking (a great guide to DMR)
DMR Best Practice Guide
Amateur Radio Digital Hotspot Comparison
Tips
In Ohio, operators are purchasing radios such as the Tytera MD-380 or 390
hand-held product -- they are the same radio except that the 390 has GPS
capability. [There is a Facebook Tytera MD-380 users group on Facebook:
click here.] The radios will work right out of the box, but for best
performance it is advised to update the radio with the latest programming
and firmware available. The latest updates can be found here.
Operators must also register and obtain a Motorola Amateur Radio Club MARC
ID before accessing and using a DMR repeater. It can easily be obtained free
of charge through the DMR-MARC website. Registrants are advised to read all
of the information that is contained on this website before registering.
Readers can hear worldwide DMR communications here. [From its website, Hose
line is an online streaming platform for the DMR Brandmeister network. The
project is still under development and when I checked it out, it ran a
little roughly, but it works and readers can get a taste of DMR audio and
activity -- ed.] Also, listen to past transmissions on the Ohio Statewide
Talkgroup here. Just select a date that you wish to listen to. You can also
view activity from the K4USD C-Bridge here.
After acquiring the ID, new operators will need to program their new radios
-- a "codeplug" is a solution. For a description of a codeplug, click here.
There are many codeplugs out there. For Ohio, a codeplug contains all of the
DMR Ohio users and repeaters, written by Andy Crowl, K4AWC. The operator's
DMR ID must be added to this codeplug.
What if there's no local DMR repeater available? You are not left out:
there's a solution called an openSpot¸ from Shark RF. Click here for
information on how to get it up and running quickly and easily. To make an
openSPOT¸ completely portable, click here. It's a way to access DMR, System
Fusion and D-STAR networks without having to purchase a repeater. DMR is
another tool for the ARES/RACES toolbox! - Ohio Section News; Ohio Section
Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY
Two-Meter Simplex Net Standard Protocol in Vermont
--------------------------------------------------
Vermont Section Manager Paul Gayet, AA1SU, has announced a 2 Meter Vermont
Simplex Frequency to be used as a central gathering point for potential
emergency/disaster response situations -- 146.490 MHz. The Central Vermont
Amateur Radio Club has been using this frequency to meet on after their
Sunday evening net on the local repeater. They have had great success with
it. The value of having a standard simplex frequency is to have a place to
go to in the event that local repeaters are off the air during an emergency
or disaster response. Vermont radio amateurs are being asked to program the
frequency into all 2-meter radios and use it/test it regularly with another
operator within range. Operators are also asked to program the frequency
into their radio's priority watch function if available. - Vermont Section
News
Spotlight: Virginia Section ARES --Cooperation/Coordination Key to Success
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virginia Section ARES and other groups have seen advances and successes this
past year. Learning from and building on the past, a goal for 2017 is to
elevate cooperation and coordination among ARES groups, other amateur public
service communications groups, and relevant local and state agencies. All
entities have rules and requirements for training and other components of a
successful program, and it's imperative that all members play by those
rules. Knowing and understanding the National Incident Management System
(NIMS) and the sections and functions of the Incident Command System (ICS)
is essential to any successful program. All groups and individuals need to
take this training if interoperability across the various disciplines and
jurisdictions can be realized during any incident, large or small. Groups
should be cross-trained in, or at least familiar with the Department of
Homeland Security's AUXCOMM protocols for working under that umbrella of
numerous entities when the need arises.
As another example of the importance of cooperation/coordination, technology
is an integral part of communications advances, usually adopted by some
groups, but only through cooperation by all stakeholders can the advances be
learned and subsequently used to their fullest extent by everyone
everywhere. Funding for these new technologies is also an important need
that can be addressed through cooperation/coordination with the agencies
that can fund them.
_____
Virginia Section Manager Dr. Joe Palsa, K3WRY, has been requested to be part
of the Virginia Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, representing
the state's Amateur Radio community. This committee is to provide
recommendations to the State Wide Interoperability Committee to determine
priorities related to Public Safety interoperable communications in Virginia
and surrounding states. In addition, Palsa was selected to be a member of
Radio Interoperability Best Practices Working Group, which is part of the
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, an ARRL national level
partner.
______
SKYWARN plays a critical role in all types of severe weather emergencies and
disaster responses. It is important to note that NWS' technical abilities to
forecast weather -- use of radar, satellites, etc. -- has improved our
warning and reporting, but no technology can beat a report from a live
observer on the ground. Thus, SKYWARN trained Amateur Radio
operators/observers are extremely valuable to NWS forecast offices and ARES
emergency coordinators. Last month's national SKYWARN Recognition Day was a
great success, with Virginia NOAA NWS offices participating.
Steve Crow, KG4PEQ, was named SKYWARN Coordinator for the NOAA NWS Wakefield
office in 2008 and developed the Wakefield program covering numerous
counties in central and southeast Virginia and North Carolina. Crow is
retiring, and is credited with developing one of the most comprehensive and
successful programs in the country. Crow is also credited with partnering
the SKYWARN program with ARES programs around the state. - Virginia Section
News
Letters: Noise in the EOC
-------------------------
I'm in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas valley), and a member of ARES and Air
Force MARS. The issue of noise in the EOC came to light for us in 2014 when
four MARS operators including myself were invited to Nye county, Nevada, to
participate in a statewide, multi-agency earthquake disaster drill. The
first problem was the RF noise created by all of the public safety radio
systems' antennas mounted on the roof of the EOC within a few feet of the
two HF antennas, making it impossible to hear any incoming HF signal less
than 20 dB over S9. It rendered impossible communications from Pahrump to
the Carson City area. The solution was to use VHF Winlink packet
peer-to-peer and VHF voice from the EOC to the training center two miles
away. The center operators would then take the traffic and relay it on HF to
Carson City. Traffic followed the reverse path, of course, back to the EOC.
Expediting written traffic handling was accomplished using thumb drives. We
provided ICS-213 and Radiogram templates on a thumb drive to the ICS scribe,
who filled in the blanks and brought the thumb drive from the EOC command
room to the EOC radio room. We simply copied and pasted messages from the
thumb drive to Winlink for packet transmission to the training center site.
It was received via VHF then copied and pasted to their thumb drive. The VHF
operator handed the thumb drive to the HF operator where it was copied and
pasted into Winlink for PACTOR HF relay on a MARS or state authorized
frequency. When the PACTOR link failed, they switched to HF WINMOR.
Having had the above experience in 2014 has proved valuable as we have since
deployed for numerous exercises and actual events where we have had the same
RF noise problem at all of the half dozen EOCs in our area. For in-house
ambient noise, we have opted for headsets on each radio.
Our Multiple Agency Coordination Center (MACC) is currently located in a
high electrical noise environment and is treated the same. We do have,
however, an Incident Command Post vehicle that is parked outside the MACC in
the parking lot that can be used for packet, voice, and sound card digital
modes. This is a former fire department command post and has five operator
positions built in.
On another point, advance-of-incident coordination with agencies is
critically important: We have about a dozen organizations that now work
together and know what ARES/RACES/MARS can do. MARS and ARES work hand in
hand in our state. Also, we have about a dozen operators with deployable
go-boxes that include VHF/UHF/HF capability for voice, packet, and sound
card modes. We are currently training on Winlink modes to allow
faster/easier interface with the National Traffic System, after experience
in Cascadia Rising 2016. - Jim Bassett, W1RO, ARRL Nevada Section Traffic
Manager
Letters: Clark County, Washington ARES Protocols; EYEWARN Program
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In our county (Clark County, Vancouver, Washington) ARES operators are
deployed on command by the county's emergency management agency (Clark
Regional Emergency Agency) to various locations in support of first
responders and entities such as hospitals, and the Red Cross. We have about
1700 hams in Clark County and approximately 100 members in ARES. In a
disaster, our EYEWARNİ visual situation reporting program, sponsored in the
county by the Clark County Amateur Radio Club, operators collect damage and
injury information from any ham radio operator in the county. We have
multiple modes (digital and voice) that are used for reporting. EYEWARN
program members self-activate at the start of a disaster with reports going
to the EMA office. The primary mission and objective is for the EYEWARN
operator to "report what we see from where we are." There is no deployment,
per se.
EYEWARN and ARES work cooperatively, communicating damage and injury
assessments from EYEWARN to the regional EMA. ARES has a team and radio room
instantiated in the EOC - "Team 9." We contact the ARES NCS and request
communications with Team 9. While ARES supports the first responders and
institutions, EYEWARN is responsible for data collection and reporting.
See the EYEWARN website for more information. EYEWARN addresses the issues
mentioned above in a unique and direct way. -- John Gaynor, NO7DE,
Vancouver, Washington
K1CE For a Final
----------------
I plan to attend the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention in Orlando,
Florida, Hamcationİ 2017, on Saturday, February 11, and would enjoy meeting
readers. Hope to see you there! -- Editor, Rick Palm, K1CE, Daytona Beach,
Florida
_____________
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