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The ARES E-Letter March 16, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
Japan Earthquake
----------------
We've all seen the horrific images of the devastation in Japan. Our hearts
go out to the people of that country in their time of dire need. For
information on the Amateur Radio response: Japan Asks Radio Amateurs to Keep
Frequencies Clear As Country Goes into Recovery Mode after Devastating
Earthquake on the ARRL Web site.
In This Issue:
Japan Earthquake
2011 National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Activities
Twitter, Other Methodologies for ARES Alerting
N5FDL: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Grow Your ARES Group
Spectrum Management Bill Threatens Amateur Frequencies
Celebrated Tampa Bay Area EM Retires
Northern Florida Adds D-RAT Reflector
Help Wanted: Training Topics for N5FDL
ARES E-Letter Now in Audio Form
K1CE For a Final
2011 National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Activities
-----------------------------------------------------------
The National Hurricane Conference will be held April 18-22, at the Hyatt
Regency hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. There will be several Amateur Radio
activities going on during the week. The National Hurricane Conference
leadership recognizes the valuable contribution of Amateur Radio and has
again invited us to participate with two sessions. This is always a great
opportunity for Amateur Radio.
On Monday, April 18, from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm, the main Amateur Radio session
titled "Amateur Radio Training Sessions: Disaster Communications Before,
During and After Hurricanes" will be held.
On Tuesday, April 19, from 8:30 am to 10:00 am, an Amateur Radio session
designed for Emergency Management agencies titled "Amateur Radio Rap Session
--The Emergency Manager's Hidden Resource" will take place. All radio
amateurs are invited at no cost to attend these National Hurricane
Conference Amateur Radio sessions.
On Monday evening, April 18, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, the ARRL Southeastern
Division, the Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, Atlanta Radio Club, and
several local ARES groups will host an interactive, free "NHC Workshop" for
ARES and other interested Amateur Radio operators. Participants will be able
to meet other like-minded radio amateurs and the presenters of the Hurricane
Conference Amateur Radio sessions. The agenda: introductions, conference
presenters summarize the NHC Amateur Radio presentations, emergency
communications discussion, questions and answers, and door prizes.
Whether or not you are able to attend the conference during the day, you are
invited to this event to hear from and meet the conference presenters and
learn what went on at the conference. This workshop will be held on Georgia
Tech's campus at Building 167, the Molecular Science and Engineering
Building, in room G011. See the campus map.
For additional information see:
National Hurricane Conference
2011 National Hurricane Conference Brochure PDF
National Hurricane Conference Flyer
ARRL Southeastern Division
Hurricane Conference presenters are:
Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator,
National Hurricane Center
John McHugh, K4AG, Coordinator for Amateur Radio, National Hurricane Center,
WX4NHC
Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net and
ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator, Eastern Massachusetts
Dennis Dura, K2DCD, Assistant Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane
Net
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, ARRL Southeastern Division Director
We encourage you to visit all the activities you can, learn more about
Amateur Radio emergency communications and meet the people doing it. Hope to
see you there! -- Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, ARRL Southeastern Division Director
and Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director
Twitter, Other Methodologies for ARES Alerting
----------------------------------------------
South Carolina
Greenville County, South Carolina ARES has been using Twitter for group
alerts for a couple of years. County EC Johnny Allison, WD4DYH, and I set up
a greenvilleares account on Twitter for this purpose only.
There are a few things that must be done for this to work. Your group user
must NOT "follow" any other user so only YOUR posts are on the account's
page. Anyone interested in getting the alerts from your group on their cell
phone or other mobile device must set up a Twitter account and "follow" your
ARES group. In the Twitter setup, there is a "mobile" option that allows you
to receive alerts on your mobile device. You can turn this feature on or off
for the entire account or you can select which users you are following whose
posts will be forwarded to your mobile messaging. In my case, my wife's
posts and the ARES group posts are the only ones I elect to forward to my
phone. The options on the "mobile" tab are self-explanatory.
We run a test on the first of every month to make sure that the group is
receiving the alerts, and so far each time we have needed it for real
alerts, it has worked. Most alerts instruct the group to tune to our local
2-meter repeater, since you can't give a lot of info in 140 characters! We
do have a fairly small group, but anyone can follow @greenvilleares to see
how we operate it. -- Robert Martin, WA4HRK, Easley, South Carolina,
Greenville ARES
Other Alerting Methodologies
While Twitter is certainly the easiest of the social networks to use, it's
not the only thing going. Benefits of Twitter include NO smart phone
required, one SMS to the team (and the world), and tracking keywords, for
example: #Altus would get an SMS when that keyword #Altus is sent.
Google Latitude is great for tracking operators around the field (like APRS)
but with very limited messaging capability.
I like FourSquare because you can notify only your friends or your friends
and Twitterland or no one, when you update. I also use LOOPT for messaging
and tracking some of my family. You can use it (like FourSquare) without
setting up Twitter accounts. Loopt also works with Facebook.
Facebook, while I've had concerns about their ability to keep my data
secure, offers private pages that only members can join. Our SKYWARN group
here has a SKYWARN Page (search Altus SKYWARN).
Set up an e-mail list on YahooGroups or GoogleGroups. Have the user
subscribe. Let them decide how they want to get their information; for
example, by e-mail and/or text to phone. One e-mail goes to all 60 of our
subscribers. It's free of fees or charges. If you do this, have more than
one moderator. While the user can change their own information, my
experience shows that some won't.
One caveat to social media (and FourSquare) is that, if the team is using
it, the team must set-up one account for team use and another account for
personal use. In other words, the team must decide what service to use and
strictly use only it. When I start posting personal stuff on the team
account, it will quickly reduce the benefit.
I have used CallingPost, a prepaid service good for small groups. The
benefit for small groups is their pricing is under $25 for 200 calls. The
detractor is there's no way to call out from midnight to 0600. As a
volunteer, I have experienced only three times in ten years when that was a
problem. Register online and use the referral code 8002197092 for 10 free
calls. The referral code is the same as their tollfree number.
The City of Altus uses Blackboard Connect. If the ARES group would contact
their local emergency management office, it may be possible to piggyback on
the City or County users account. Blackboard may offer a competitive product
for small groups. Contact them at 800-213-7168. -- Lloyd Colston, KC5FM,
Director, Altus Emergency Management, Altus, Oklahoma
N5FDL: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Grow Your ARES Group
-------------------------------------------------
This month, I'll share some simple ideas for growing your ARES group. You
can probably implement most or all of them.
Location - Having a great location is one of the keys to success of ARES
groups. Among the most important things a served agency can provide to your
group is a place to hold meetings and events. Finding places to "do things"
was the most difficult part of getting our group started. Now that we are
established, it isn't a problem--but, we are careful to provide special
support to the groups that support our program by providing meeting locations.
Dinner Meetings - If you haven't considered holding dinner meetings, you
should. I was initially reluctant because of the expense to members. I
didn't want anyone to avoid our meetings because they couldn't afford an
expensive meal or would be unable to find something to eat at the restaurant
I chose. One way to handle this is to separate mealtime from program time or
select a restaurant that is OK with someone just ordering a cup of coffee.
This has not turned out to be a problem. Dinner meetings can keep groups
alive when non-dinner meetings will not.
HamCrams - Creating new, emergency-minded hams may be the best way to grow
your group and goes hand-in-hand with the next item. One-day licensing
classes don't teach someone how to be a ham, but the license makes someone
trainable and worth investing in.
Make Friends - I am a big proponent of linking ARES to Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) groups, church emergency preparedness, Scouts and
anyone else who we can help get a license. I don't expect these people to
become "ham first" volunteers, but they add significantly to the number of
trained persons we can call upon. And some really do get interested in
Amateur Radio as a primary hobby.
Don't Say No to People Who Want to Make You Look Good - If someone has an
idea that will make your ARES group look good, by all means let them. Good
judgment matters--the person has to actually be able to deliver, but make it
known you are open to good ideas that aren't your own. And bask in the glow
of their success. This is where future leaders come from.
Be more than just an ARES group - There is, I am led to believe, more to ham
radio than emergency stuff. We've licensed lots of HamCram folks and it is a
fair complaint that we don't teach them enough radio. So, I've developed
events that combine emergency training with other ham activities, like
antennas, DXing, and contesting. Just did the first one.
Stay in touch - I use a variety of tools to keep in touch with our members,
would-be members, inactive members, area clubs and other groups. I have
websites (sjham.com and n5fdl.com), multiple free Yahoo Groups and have
recently begun using a mailing service to distribute newsletters. I am using
madmimi.com, though mailchimp.com looks like a good option and offers small
mailings for free and a discount for non-profits (including ARES groups).
All handle subscriptions and unsubscriptions automatically.
Do Something - This seems obvious, but the more you do the more involved
your members will be and the more people you will be exposed to. You will
probably have to invest in some small events before attendance picks up.
Accept that it may only be you and three friends to begin with, but
consistency leads to growth. Take advantage of opportunities that present
themselves to tie-in with other people's events and turn them into your own.
Field trips to events in nearby cities are an opportunity to involve your
members. Training offered by other groups, such as ICS classes, are another
opportunity.
Watch for Inflection Points - This is when your program reaches "critical
mass" that presents opportunities to do things that were not possible
previously, such as adding served agencies or new programs. This deserves
more discussion in a future post. Just be aware when the "next big thing"
becomes possible. Think big.
This isn't a growth strategy per se, but it is often much easier to hold on
to an existing member or reenergize an inactive one than to bring someone
totally new into your group. Interest ebbs and flows. Accept this but always
remain in touch so that when someone's interest returns you're ready to
welcome him or her back. (Eventually this may happen to you - the topic for
a future essay).
How have you grown your group? Let me hear from you! E-mail: n5fdl@arrl.net.
Visit my blog at n5fdl.com. -- David Coursey, N5FDL, EC San Joaquin County
(CA)
Spectrum Management Bill Threatens Amateur Frequencies
------------------------------------------------------
On February 10, Representative Peter King (R-NY-3), Chairman of the House
Homeland Security Committee, introduced HR 607, the Broadband for First
Responders Act of 2011. The bill been referred to the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, which handles telecommunications legislation. HR 607
addresses certain spectrum management issues, including the creation and
maintenance of a nationwide Public Safety broadband network. As part of that
network, the bill provides for the allocation of the so-called "D-Block" of
spectrum in the 700 MHz range for Public Safety use.
The D-Block consists of two, 5 megahertz-wide segments of spectrum (758-763
and 788-793 MHz) that became available when the FCC ended analog television
broadcasts in June 2009 and reallocated the 698-806 MHz band for Public
Safety and commercial broadband. It was anticipated that the D-Block would
be auctioned for commercial use. There are several bills in Congress
providing for the allocation of the D-Block for Public Safety use, and HR
607 is one of those. But HR 607 uniquely provides for the reallocation of
other spectrum for auction to commercial users, in order to offset the loss
of revenue that would occur as the result of the allocation of the D-Block
to Public Safety instead of commercial auction. HR 607 lists the paired
bands of 420-440 MHz and 450-470 MHz among the bands to be reallocated for
commercial auction within 10 years of its passage. More here. - ARRL Letter
Celebrated Tampa Bay Area EM Retires
------------------------------------
Larry Gispert, KR4X, recently retired as the Director of Emergency
Management for the County of Hillsborough, Florida (Tampa Bay area). His
contributions have seen him take on leadership positions in regional, state
and national emergency management organizations. He has been a presenter at
major national conferences around the country and in Washington, DC.
The Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners recently presented Gispert
with a proclamation for his work. He was commended for his straight talk
approach when dealing with Emergency Management issues. The local media
regarded him as a jewel for real information. When the local world seemed to
be coming apart, Gispert could always be relied upon to be the calm in the
storm.
Gispert's four years as a Radioman in the U.S. Coast Guard made him an avid
CW operator. He is a member of the Radio Association of North Tampa (RANT)
and the Tampa Amateur Radio Club (TARC).
Professionally, Gispert had fully integrated Amateur Radio into all aspects
of the EOC's operations. He was in the vanguard of implementing digital
emergency radio networks in Florida. In retirement, Gispert intends to
remain radio active, operating and experimenting. Here is a YouTube video
about Gispert. - Pete Kemp, KZ1Z, Wesley Chapel, Florida
Northern Florida Adds D-RAT Reflector
-------------------------------------
A new D-RAT reflector has been added to the digital emergency communications
assets of the ARRL Northern Florida section, reports Section Manager Paul
Eakin, KJ4G: "We are happy to announce that in Tallahassee, a team of
amateurs have installed the D-Rat reflector for ARES use in emergencies and
for general amateur use at all other times." The new system is set up for
use on the Internet and over the air on the K4WAK D-Star repeater.
The asset provides both mobile and Internet operators with the ability to
communicate among one another, along with the Florida State EOC station. In
the next few weeks, an e-mail function will be established to coincide with
Winlink 2000 systems for both mobile operators and Internet users. The file
transfer function is available now.
Two servers were installed, one being made public and a back up that can be
activated if needed. The Florida EOC is equipped to handle full time service
both on the local D-Star repeater and on the Internet with local ARES
volunteers.
This system augments other data assets in the northern part of the state:
APRS, SEDAN, and W2K.
The multi-server system is being made available to all three ARRL sections
in Florida and to neighbors in Georgia and Alabama for mutual assistance
planning and operations. In an emergency, any section or district outside of
the three states can notify the administrator of their needs and use the
reflector.
The system employs the latest version of D-Rats found at
http://d-rats.com/download/beta with this version to be used:
d-rats-0.3.3b5-installer.exe.
Eakin thanked the Florida State EOC staff for their support and
contributions to this project, as well as others who have made it possible.
Special thanks went to Dan Smith, KK7DS, for his hard work in the design and
implementation of this service.
Help Wanted: Training Topics for N5FDL
--------------------------------------
I have been wanting to do some short recorded and scripted "training topics"
that people could use on ARES nets. I want to call them "The ARES Minute"
and have them run about two minutes. I have been stuck on what topics I
should do in the first batch of ten programs. Can readers suggest ideas that
I can get started on? Each needs to be easy to describe in one sentence and
teach in 90 seconds. Help! - David Coursey, N5FDL, EC San Joaquin ARES,
California
ARES E-Letter Now in Audio Form
-------------------------------
The ARES E-Letter is now available in audio form. There are three editions
currently available, including the most recent recording of the February 16
ARESİ E-Letter. Edited for audio by Al Brown, KZ3AB, the ARESİ E-Letter is
voiced by Tony Riggs, W1FHN. Brown was licensed in 1966. He was a member of
the White House Press Corps before retiring from the International
Broadcasting Bureau/Voice of America (IBB/VOA). Licensed since 1955, Riggs
has worked in both the commercial and public broadcasting venues. He retired
after 21 years as a staff announcer and news anchor with the VOA. With more
than 35,000 subscribers, the ARESİ E-Letter is written by Rick Palm, K1CE
and is published each month. Click here for the audio version of the ARESİ
E-Letter. - ARRL Letter
ARES/EmComm Survey
The first ARES/EmComm Survey (from last month) has garnered nearly 900
resposnes. This particular survey is still open! If you haven't checked it
out yet, please access the poll by clicking here
http://www.arrl.org/ares-e-letter-audio-version
ARRL Headquarters will be reporting the results soon.
K1CE For a Final
----------------
It's T minus 3 months and counting to the launch of hurricane season --
'nuff said! 73, Rick K1CE, Flagler County, Florida
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