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CX2SA > ARES 17.09.09 15:16l 420 Lines 22817 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: ARES E-Letter Sep. 16, 2009
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The ARES E-Letter
September 16, 2009
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
* The View from Flagler County
* Governor's $250,000 Grant to Amateur Radio Goes Online as Oregon Hams
Install New Winlink System
* GAREC 2009: Tokyo
* Kentucky Pandemic Flu and Terrorism Exercise
* Alabama Be Ready Day Success
* Mississippi Hurricane Action Plan Effected
* Indiana ARES Responds To Tornado
* SET October 3-4: Participate!
* COM-L Training
* Resource Typing
* Hurricane Bill
* Upcoming Conferences
* Blizzard of '78 Veterans: Stories Solicited
* Arizona SEC on Event Comms (EvComms)
* Letters
* Resources: ARES Resource Manual Available On-Line
* K1CE For A Final
The View from Flagler County
----------------------------
This month, the ARRL will be among dozens of organizations and agencies taking
part in National Preparedness Month. "The Ready Campaign," produced by the Ad
Council in partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is
aimed at making citizen preparedness "a priority for every city, every
neighborhood and every home" in the US. The ARRL encourages you to consider
this year's Simulated Emergency Test (see story below) and preparations for it
as a demonstration of Amateur Radio's readiness and as an active participant
in National Preparedness Month. Here are two key Web sites:
http://www.ready.gov/, and http://www.ready.gov/america/npm09/index.html.
Governor's $250,000 Grant to Amateur Radio Goes Online as Oregon Hams Install
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Winlink System
------------------
This month, Oregon ARES members will complete the state-wide installation of
Winlink, thanks to a $250,000 grant from Governor Ted Kulongoski. In 2007, the
governor was impressed by ARES ability to handle emergency communications when
severe winter storms wreaked havoc on Oregon's North Coast and flooded the
City of Vernonia, knocking out 911 services, Internet and phone service for an
extended period of time. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management said that
during the storms, the radio operators were "tireless in their efforts to keep
the systems connected." When even state police had difficulty reaching some of
their own troops, ham radio worked, setting up networks so emergency officials
could communicate and relaying lists of supplies needed in stricken areas.
Full Story - ARRL Web site
GAREC 2009: Tokyo
-----------------
Officials from the IARU and all three IARU regions, national IARU Member-
Societies and specialized Amateur Radio emergency communications groups from
around the globe gathered in Tokyo on August 24-25 for the Fifth Global
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC 2009). Hosted by the
Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL), GAREC was held in conjunction with Ham
Fair. More than 30 participants considered the statements from past GAREC
conferences -- GAREC 05 (Tampere, Finland), GAREC 06 (Tampere, Finland), GAREC
07 (Huntsville, Alabama, USA) and GAREC 08 (Friedrichshafen, Germany) --
discussing the progress made on the implementation of the recommendations, and
looking at recent experiences from exercises and actual emergency operations.
- ARRL
Kentucky Pandemic Flu and Terrorism Exercise
--------------------------------------------
The Kentucky statewide pandemic flu and terrorism exercise conducted August 3-
7 was an excellent test of Amateur Radio communications capability across the
state using both HF and VHF/UHF frequencies. The Amateur Radio equipment at
the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center, operating as KY4EOC, was staffed
from 8 AM to 8 PM the first four days of the exercise, and until 2 PM on the
final day. Kudos went to the many volunteers who worked diligently to keep
KY4EOC on the air for 54 hours of operation on a wide variety of frequencies.
Preliminary figures from the EOC indicate the operators completed more than
700 contacts with operators in 90 of Kentucky's 120 counties. Participants
were asked to submit an After Action Report. The AAR form is available as a MS
Word document; contact ky4z@arrl.org for a copy. - ARRL Kentucky Web site
Alabama Be Ready Day Success
----------------------------
The Alabama Department of Homeland Security, Governor's Office of Faith-Based
and Community Initiatives and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency held
Alabama Be Ready Day Thursday, September 3, 2009 in Lauderdale County at
McFarland Park in Florence.
The Muscle Shoals Amateur Radio Club set up a booth that included amateur
radio information and a VHF and HF radio. Alabama Section Manger Jay Isbell,
KA4KUN attended the event. Isbell estimated over 1000 people were in
attendance and that this was the largest Be Ready Day event where dozens of
emergency responders, NWS, American Red Cross, FEMA and ARES showed the
Alabama Governor, Alabama DHS Director, participating organizations and the
public their capabilities.
Be Ready Day is a day long event featuring emergency responders, many state
and local agencies and vendors. The State of Alabama encourages kids and
adults to attend. There was activities, games and information on how you can
be prepared for any type of disaster.
This was the fifth year for Be Ready Day. Previous Be Ready Day's have been
held in Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Mobile. -- Greg Sarratt, W4OZK,
ARRL Southeastern Division Director
Mississippi Hurricane Action Plan Effected
------------------------------------------
The Atlantic Basin is more active as we move up the steep slope to the peak of
hurricane season. In Mississippi, the state's Section Emergency Operations
Plan (EOP) is being reviewed by regional emcomm amateurs and mutual aid
partners. [The Mississippi EOP can be downloaded from the Section Web Site.]
Emcomm operators are focusing on Regional Communications, Section 5.4 in the
EOP.
Mississippi has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Arkansas, Louisiana,
and Tennessee to effect tactical communications during wide area storm events
by activating the Delta ARES Emergency Net on 3890/7275 kHz. Elbert Griffin,
Jr., K5BOC, is Net Manager. In addition, Mississippi has an MOU in place with
Louisiana and South Texas to provide assistance to the West Gulf ARES
Emergency Net (3873/7285 kHz) if the hurricane landfall is along the
Louisiana/Texas Coasts.
The Magnolia Section Net, and the Mississippi Section Phone Net have developed
a Joint Emergency Operation Procedure (JEOP) such that the frequency 3862 kHz
will be monitored during storm events. Their function is to handle primarily
health/welfare traffic, but will accommodate message traffic overflow from the
tactical net. - Malcolm Keown, W5XX, Mississippi Section Manager
Indiana ARES Responds To Tornado
--------------------------------
It seemed like just thunderstorms, but then it happened: A tornado developed
and hit Chesterton, Indiana, on August 20. Porter County EC Bernard Gawronski,
WA9TSQ, was there directing traffic and ARES units were working together well.
Photos can be viewed on the Indiana Section Web site. "Our thanks go out to
the hams that responded that night and performed the duties for which they
were trained," said Indiana SM John Poindexter, W3ML.
SET October 3-4: Participate!
-----------------------------
The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test 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. Many other Section Leaders like the Section
Manager and the Section Traffic Manager may have a hand in planning the
exercises and/or reviewing the results. ARES, National Traffic System (NTS),
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and other public-service
oriented groups can be involved. The SET weekend gives communicators the
opportunity to focus on the emergency-communications capability within your
community while interacting with NTS nets. Although the main SET weekend this
year is October 3-4, local and section-wide exercises may be held throughout
the fall season.
To participate in this year's emergency test, contact your local ARRL
emergency coordinator or net manager to find out the details. ARRL Sections,
ARES teams and nets may conduct their exercises anytime during September
through December. If you don't know who to call, please touch base with your
ARRL Section Manager for assistance. See page 16 of QST for contact
information or check the ARRL Web page. The URL to start with is
http://www.arrl.org/sections/. From there, you'll find links to ARRL section
home pages with names and contact information for your Section Leaders
including the Section Emergency Coordinator and Section Traffic Manager.
Whether you're a new licensee or an experienced radio amateur, the SET is a
golden opportunity to learn or practice useful skills in traffic handling, net
operation and emergency communications protocols and management.
The purpose of SET is to find out the strengths and weaknesses of ARES, NTS,
RACES and other groups in providing emergency communications, and to provide a
public demonstration--to served agencies such as the American Red Cross, the
emergency management agency and through the news media--of the value to the
public that Amateur Radio provides, particularly in time of need. Finally, SET
will help radio amateurs gain experience in communications using standard
procedures and a variety of modes under simulated-emergency conditions.
One of the first steps on the way to a successful SET is to try to get as many
people involved as possible, and especially new hams. In a real emergency, we
find amateurs with all sorts of varied interests coming out of the woodwork.
Let's get them involved in SET so they will know more about how emergency
communications should be handled. Promote SET on nets and repeaters, and sign
up new, enthusiastic radio amateurs. Many of those offering to help will be
inexperienced in public-service activities. It's up to you to explain what's
going on to them, and provide them with useful roles. They may like it so much
that they become a permanent fixture in your ARES or NTS group. For a review
of last year's nationwide Simulated Emergency Test, read the article in July,
2009, QST.
More information on the ARRL SET here.
Alabama SET: Operation Highball
Alabama's Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will focus on railroad emergencies,
Saturday, October 3, starting at 10:00 AM. A series of short training modules
are planned for ARES nets this week. Readers can find MP3 files of the
training, along with information about railroad communications, and other
handouts on the Alabama ARES Web site.
"Operation Highball" operators will coordinate efforts through reports to the
Alabama Emergency Management Agency station, KF4LQK. From there, Acting SEC
Mike Watkins, WX4AL will be gathering reports from around the state, and
passing that information along to served agencies.
Alabama ARES hopes to see other emergency communications groups such as
SKYWARN, ALERT, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, SATERN, and the Salvation
Army join in, and a special "EMCOMM Group" category has been created to
encourage their participation.
Last year, the Alabama Section was ranked fourth in the nation for efforts
during the Simulated Emergency Test, and they hope to do even better this
year. "All Aboard" for Operation Highball! -- Alabama Section Manager Jay
Isbell, KA4KUN
COM-L Training
--------------
[There was much interest in this item, which appeared in last month's issue.
Unfortunately, some links were busted, so the item is being reprinted here
with the links fixed. Sorry for the problems. - ed.]
The Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) is offering the "All-Hazards Type
III Communications Unit Leader (COML) Training and Implementation" course. The
OEC supports the ability of emergency responders and government officials to
communicate in the event of disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made
disasters. It works to ensure interoperable and operable emergency
communications nationwide.
COML is a position under the Logistics Section of the Incident Command System
(ICS). The course trains emergency responders to be communications unit
leaders during all-hazards emergency operations, significantly improving
communications across the multiple disciplines and jurisdictions responding to
an incident. COML responsibilities include developing plans for the effective
use of incident communications equipment and facilities, managing the
distribution of communications equipment to incident personnel, and
coordinating the installation and testing of communications equipment. For
information regarding the COML course or course dates and locations, visit the
SAFECOM program Web site.
Resource Typing
---------------
Many readers have expressed the need for Amateur Radio resource typing to
improve our capability to integrate into ICS, and to create uniform standards
for personnel and equipment. To quote the NIMS definition: "Resource typing is
categorizing, by capability, the resources requested, deployed, and used in
incidents. Measurable standards identifying resource capabilities and
performance levels serve as the basis for categories. Resource users at all
levels use these standards to identify and inventory resources." We have
received some suggestions informally over the past few years and would like to
formally solicit examples if resource typing has been applied locally in your
area. Our goal is to develop uniform typing standards for ARES, and your input
will greatly assist us in accomplishing this. Please send this material to
k2dcd@arrl.org
Hurricane Bill
--------------
Hurricane Bill affected New England and the Canadian Maritimes late last
month. To assist the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in tracking the storm,
hams with the Hurricane Watch Net and the VoIP Hurricane Net relayed traffic
and spotting reports to WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the NHC.
"For the second year in a row -- last year with Hurricane Kyle, and now
Hurricane Bill -- the Amateur Radio operators in the Canadian Maritimes proved
their skills at supporting the needs of the hurricane centers and in passing
information vital to the public's safety," said ARRL Emergency Preparedness
and Response Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD. "We know that should even more severe
tropical events impact that area, the hams will be ready with this increasing
experience of late, and we will be ready to support them."
The VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIP Net) activated at 4 AM EDT on Sunday, August 23,
wrapping up at 6 PM that evening. "Nova Scotia amateurs relayed a significant
number of reports to WX4NHC via the Net," said Director of Operations for the
VoIP Hurricane Net Rob Macedo, KD1CY. "They described tropical storm force
conditions and pockets of wind damage, including a few coastal road washouts
from storm surge but the region was spared hurricane force winds."
RAC Vice President of Field Services Doug Mercer, VO1DTM, told the ARRL that
he, Newfoundland Section Emergency Coordinator Rendyl Godwin, VO1RYL, and four
District Emergency Coordinators were "actively passing traffic hourly to the
Hurricane Watch Net since 1200 UTC [Sunday]."
Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager Dave Lefavour, W7GOX, told the ARRL that
they received an activation request from WX4NHC, their first activation of the
2009 hurricane season: "We opened the Net at 8 AM EDT on Sunday, August 23 on
14.325 MHz, and operated continuously until 7 PM. We had a successful spring
recruiting campaign that brought several new members to the Net, and Hurricane
Bill allowed us to introduce them to our Net protocols. It's one thing to read
about how we do things, but there is no substitute for experience. Conditions
on 20 meters were difficult, but with the additional members added to our
roster, we were able to maintain communications with our Canadian reporting
stations."
WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, thanked the hams who
supported the operation: "I would like to echo my thanks to everyone for
making the effort to support our friends in Canada during Hurricane Bill. It
was truly an international effort with Net Controls from many parts of the US
and as far away as Germany.
"Bill opened the 2009 hurricane season for us," HWN's Lefavour said. "We hope
that we are not needed for the rest of the year, but the peak of the hurricane
season is yet to come. We're ready." - excerpted from The ARRL Letter
Upcoming Conferences
--------------------
EmComm East, Rochester, New York: October 3, 2009
EmComm East is an ARRL-sanctioned Amateur Radio emergency communications
conference, where Amateur Radio operators involved in emcomm can attend
training sessions on technical topics, learn from served agencies, obtain VE
testing for license upgrades, and interact with other emcomm operators from
all over the area.
EmComm East will be held on October 3, 2009, in Rochester, New York. The
featured speaker this year will be ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer,
WJ1B. Sign up for e-mail announcements or subscribe to an RSS feed, and keep
informed of new developments in this exciting opportunity.
$30 pre-registration is required, breakfast and lunch included, and seating is
limited. For more information or to register online, visit EmComm East, or
send an e-mail at info@emcommeast.org.
EmComm West 2010, Reno, Nevada: April 30-May 2, 2010
The 2010 edition of EMCOMMWEST will be held the first weekend in May 2010,
starting on Friday, April 30, and running through Sunday, May 2, in Reno,
Nevada. EMCOMMWEST 2010 news can be found here. If you are interested in
presenting at this upcoming event, please go to the Web site and send a note
to info@emcommwest.org.
11th Annual Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference: Oct 31-Nov 1, 2009
The conference will be held Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1,
2009, at the Hotel Mead and Conference Center, Wisconsin Rapids. Talk-in -
146.790 MHz - PL114.8. This year's conference is intended for everyone
interested in ARES/RACES, including EMs, NWS and other emergency/disaster
response personnel. Lunch/brunch and refreshments will be provided both days.
Saturday is the general conference and Sunday is designed for leadership
personnel. The Conference will be ghoulishly good this year, not only because
it is taking place on All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day, but we will take
advantage of the allegedly haunted past of the Hotel Mead and are working to
arrange an exercise/public service event built around Wisconsin Rapids' Trick
or Treating. -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES
Blizzard of '78 Veterans: Stories Solicited
-------------------------------------------
Where were you during the Blizzard of '78? Connecticut Public Television
(CPTV) wants to know, particularly if you have home movies and photographs. Do
you have images of yourself operating during the emergency? Do you have a
story about ham radio's role during the blizzard? This is one time when you
are encouraged to tell your story of a role you played during this storm. To
share your story and submit your photographs or video, contact CPTV at 860-
275-7253 or by email at blizzard78@cptv.org. -- Mary Hobart, K1MMH, ARRL
Development Officer
Arizona SEC on Event Comms (EvComms)
------------------------------------
For the southern part of Arizona, the event season is spooling up as the heat
ships out. Public Service events give operators an opportunity to hone skills
used in actual emergencies. Yes, they are scheduled. Yes, you can prepare in
advance. Yes, Event Coordinators get to make assignments in advance, but five
minutes after the event starts, it's a whole new ball game.
It's not about the radio; it's about knowing capabilities, coverage areas,
developing people and technical skills to manage any disaster. In Florida, the
landscape is redefined by high winds every four or five years and everyone
from Emergency Management to the ham population use every opportunity to
review, train and respond to emergencies. In Arizona, flooding is our biggest
concern, and the floods are largely short lived. That is not to say they can't
be devastating but it's not like rebuilding entire cities like they
periodically do in the Gulf states. To be prepared, we have to use any
opportunity to prepare, and public service events are a great way to discover
what ham radio can do for the community. -- Rick Aldom, W7STS, Arizona Section
Emergency Coordinator
Letters
-------
More Break Tags
When net communication gets heavy, someone may have a quick solution to a
problem that is taking up too much valuable airtime for discussion, but can't
break into the net to share it. The use of "Break Tags" is the way to deal
with such a scenario. We added three more break tags to the list that we find
useful. It not only allows us to use break tags during emergencies and such,
but the added three tags on the bottom really helped us with net efficiency. I
posted the tags on our Web site. -- E. Jonathan Hardy, KB1KIX, District
Emergency Coordinator - Region 3, Connecticut Section
Resources: ARES Resource Manual Available On-Line
-------------------------------------------------
The ARES Field Resources Manual is a quick, brief easy-to-read-in-the-field
resource booklet for ARES ops. Bookmark the link for quick access: ARRL ARES
Field Resources Manual
K1CE For A Final
----------------
On a personal note, I want to thank all of you wrote with sympathy concerning
the loss to lightning of my entire station, including an ICOM IC-756PROIII,
ICOM IC-2200H 2-meter FM mobile rig, and vintage Collins KWM-2 recently.
Florida is the lightning capital of the United States. So that readers can
perhaps learn from the hard lesson I learned, take a look at some excellent
lightning resources from the ARRL. If you are in an active ARES and/or SKYWARN
area, chances are your station is at risk as well. Check out the ARRL's
resources, and have a good ham radio insurance policy, like the League's
offering.
_____
Don't forget to support HR 2160 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Enhancement Act of 2009 -- the ARRL is asking its membership to contact their
members of the US House of Representatives with a request to become co-
sponsors of this significant piece of legislation.
See you next month! 73, Rick Palm, K1CE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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