| |
CX2SA > ARES 21.02.13 14:58l 509 Lines 28282 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 3635-CX2SA
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARES E-Letter February 20, 2013
Path: IZ3LSV<IW8PGT<CX2SA
Sent: 130221/1358Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA #:3635 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:3635-CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter February 20, 2013
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
- Operation RADAR II: ARES© Role Elevated in Major Florida Interoperability
Exercise
- New England Walloped By Heavy Snow and Significant Damage in Blizzard of 2013
- 2013 National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Slate
- Letters: RACES in CERT, Too
- ARRL Board Considers Items of Interest to ARES
- Letters: Disconnect with Emergency Management and Hurricane Sandy Ops
- K1CE For a Final
Operation RADAR II: ARES© Role Elevated in Major Florida Interoperability
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise
--------
Florida's Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) undertook a huge effort to
design, conduct and evaluate a statewide interoperable communications
exercise entitled "Operation RADAR II," which was held February 4-8, 2013.
During the multi-day exercise, teams from numerous disciplines from state,
county and city agencies rolled mobile communications units to, and worked
from, the National Guard's Camp Blanding in northeast Florida. The plan was
to establish communications networks and pass messages testing connectivity
among one another and with county EOCs and Public Safety Access Points
(PSAPs) located throughout the disaster-prone state. The goal was to fully
integrate multiple communications systems into an effective emergency
communications network.
Objectives included the identification of shortfalls in resources, limits in
capabilities, and conflicts in planning for interoperable communications;
demonstration of the ability to communicate throughout the emergency
response community and establish interoperable voice and data communications
between federal, state, and local first responders; evaluation of response
partners' ability to share necessary, appropriate data in all environments;
and the demonstration that all response partners can effectively share
information between communication modes.
The scenario was an event that involved two hurricanes directly impacting
Florida, one from the Atlantic and one from the Gulf within ten days of each
other. The effects were catastrophic with numerous lives lost and widespread
displaced populations. All critical infrastructure was severely impacted
with much of the state without power, major transportation concerns, and
widespread communications breakdowns and failures. Regions 3, 4, and 5 were
hardest hit and needed interoperable communications support from the other
four regions, state and federal resources. The budget for the exercise was
$400,000, according to Bob Little, KK4OAI, FDEM's Communications Grant
Manager.
ARES played a major role in this exercise for the first time, thanks in
large part to the efforts of dynamic Northern Florida Section Manager Paul
Eakin, KJ4G, and ardent supporters of Amateur Radio on the staff of the mega
state EOC at Tallahassee. FDEM's Amateur Radio Unit, managed by Eakin,
served as the Command Post/Auxiliary State Warning Point and as the hub for
message and request routing and tracking via the state's Internet-based
Constellation system. Kimo Montague, K4IMO, a veteran state emergency
communications tech, ran this function from a position within the Amateur
Radio tent.
The interoperability aspect provided by Amateur Radio was manifested by
radio amateurs deployed with the various other teams and mobile units
situated at distant locations throughout the large military campus, and
around the state. Estimates of 50% to 75% of the field teams/units had
active radio amateurs handling traffic with the CP/ASWP Amateur Radio tent.
For example, a message originated at a county emergency management unit
could be sent by one of the agency's radio amateurs to the CP/ASWP tent via
any one of several frequencies and modes, and then a radio amateur there
would process it, log it, and send it to its destination unit via the
appropriate frequency and mode. Thus, the message crosses jurisdictional and
functional lines in a flash: Interoperability achieved, routing via Amateur
Radio.
The exercise was run under the NIMS Incident Command System, with COMLs in
charge of the Communications Units, and with all ICS log, message, and other
forms used. Several radio amateurs participated as newly minted certified
Auxiliary Communications (AUXCOMM) operators, including Jeff Capehart,
W4UFL, Alachua county's EC and RACES Radio Officer, who brought a mobile
crank-up tower and station. (The Auxiliary Communications course has been
developed and implemented by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of
Emergency Communications, for radio amateurs; one course has been given in
Florida so far).
If any player needed to communicate with the State Warning Point, they were
directed to contact the Amateur Radio unit, serving as the command post and
auxiliary State Warning Point. FDEM communications officers were in the
Amateur Radio tent for this purpose. Other inter-agency and/or
inter-function messages were handled in the same way. The primary
communications platforms were two HF stations on voice LSB, one on 3950 kHz
and the other on 7242 kHz; and an array of two-meter FM simplex frequencies
for direct, point-to-point locale coverage. NVIS dipoles were deployed for
the HF stations. The goal was communications redundancy, so several back-up
bands and modes were tested as well. A portable UHF FM repeater (KJ4G)
provided intra-site tactical communications for Amateur Radio Unit team
members. Five different 2-meter FM simplex frequencies were available for
inter-site communications, all with the call sign KA4EOC, the state EOC's
station call sign.
On the digital mode side of the operations, several positions in the tent
were dedicated to different systems, including the Southeastern Emergency
Digital Associations Network (SEDAN), an extensive net on 145.77 MHz of
traditional packet radio nodes heavily invested in Florida. An Automatic
Packet Reporting System (APRS) node (N2DB) was active on 144.39 MHz,
tracking the movement and locations of most of the players on the exercise
field. A separate tent housed two Winlink (a global radio e-mail system)
stations, one on a VHF (145.63 MHz) network, and the other on an HF (3593
kHz) net, for sending and receiving e-mail-formatted messages. The SEDAN and
APRS modes were managed by Barry Isbelle, N2DB, and the Winlink stations
were run by Jim Winfrey, KJ4SBG, and Ray Cook, WD4SEN, the Assistant EC for
Clay county, Florida.
Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio (D-STAR) Reflector 46C and a
D-STAR "Ratflector" for D-STAR emergency text messaging using the D-RATS
platform, along with a Mesh node, were operated and managed by Assistant SM
Donna Barker, WQ4M, for all player communications, but especially for
communications with State assets, including the State EOC at Tallahassee,
and the rolling mobile back-up EOC that was deployed to the exercise field.
The State's mobile back-up EOC, packed with radios and computers, can
perform all of the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) when the hard EOC at
Tallahassee is taken out in a major disaster. Ms. Barker is a communications
and network analyst/expert.
Another Amateur Radio Unit tent station position was reserved for Red Cross
communications. John Reynolds, W4IJJ, Communications Officer for the Florida
Red Cross (state level), monitored and received messages via the tent's
2-meter Call Channel on 147.585 MHz, and then relayed the messages via
KGB-223 on the Red Cross frequency 47.42 MHz, which was also used to
communicate with rolling Red Cross van/units out of Jacksonville and
Gainesville. These van/units are used primarily for Mass Care and Feeding
functions for the Red Cross.
The content of all the exercise messages was not as important as the
connectivity: The goal was to have almost instant and reliable, effective
and efficient connections across an incredibly diverse universe of public
safety entities - from towns, cities, counties, the state, and the feds
(FEMA), for every conceivable function, including not only the usual,
traditional ones, but some that do not readily come to mind when thinking of
disaster management, such as mapping units (the Alachua County Mobile
Mapping Unit); radio shops (City of Jacksonville Radio Shop); Civil Air
Patrol (Florida Wings); Florida Department of Health - IT Security; Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Seminole Tribe of Florida; and mortuary
services - to name a few.
The exercise was highly successful, and Amateur Radio not only rose to the
challenge, but most certainly rose in the eyes of the professional emergency
management community it served during this massive exercise. I'll have more
on this exercise in next month's issue and in QST's Public Service column.
See also K1CE For a Final, below, for some parting comments. - K1CE
American Red Cross to Phase Out Emergency Communication Response Vehicles
The American Red Cross has made the decision to phase out and decommission
its Emergency Communication Response Vehicles (ECRVs), due to changes in
technology, as well as a new satellite system and other factors regarding
the vehicle fleet. "Retrofitting the decade-old vehicles with new equipment
is not a good use of donated funds, as the long-term strategy is to move to
more portable systems," American Red Cross Disaster Services Technology
Manager Keith Robertory, KG4UIR, told the ARRL. "This is consistent with the
trends in the telecom and technology industries."
The American Red Cross will be removing the Amateur Radios out of the ECRVs
as part of the decommissioning process. These radios will either become part
of the deployable inventory or provided to the chapter to build the local
capacity. Equipment that can be used by the American Red Cross will not be
phased out with the vehicle. According to Robertory, every communication
capability of the ECRV already exists -- or will soon -- as a rapidly
deployable kit that can be loaded on any vehicle that is owned or rented by
the American Red Cross, providing more flexibility in shaping its response
to match the disaster.
"From a radio perspective, the American Red Cross has a variety of different
kits for amateur, business and public safety bands covering HF, VHF and UHF
with portable radios, mobile units and base stations," he explained.
"Two-way radio remains a valuable tool, providing communications in the
initial days or weeks of a disaster, until normal communications is
restored. Each American Red Cross chapter should continue with -- and
improve -- the relationship with their local Amateur Radio operators. In a
disaster, Amateur Radio will be the fastest deployed radio network because
operators already live in the impacted communities."
Robertory called the ECRV operators "the key to the success of the ECRV
program through the years. Their skills, dedication and flexibility have
made the ECRV one of the most visible aspects of the American Red Cross
Disaster Technology team. The ability to establish connectivity and
communications remains vital to the American Red Cross, and their skills
will continue to be needed as the American Red Cross implements new
technology strategy and tactics. The commitment and flexibility of
technologists -- including radio operators -- is what makes technology on a
disaster successful. Building our future path based on the lessons we have
learned is important to keep us all successful."
"This should not be seen as a setback for those radio amateurs who are
working with the American Red Cross," said ARRL Emergency Preparedness
Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. "In disaster response, adaptability is critical
and keeping up with new technology is essential. This all must be done with
a mind toward an effective and efficient response. Amateurs have played an
important role in assisting the American Red Cross with their mission and I
know we will continue to do so in the future."
Information about how to purchase these vehicles will be shared at a later
date when the details are firm.
New England Walloped By Heavy Snow and Significant Damage in Blizzard of 2013
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SKYWARN across New England was active for a blizzard that pounded the region
with very heavy snowfall, blizzard conditions, winds to hurricane force, and
significant tree and power line damage and power outages over southeast
Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Friday, February 9, extending into
Saturday, February 10, 2013. WX1BOX, the Amateur Radio station at the
National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts, was active for 28
continuous hours of operations.
"Our hopes to escape the 2012-2013 winter with nothing more than routine
winter storms ended when this blizzard came to New England, said Rob Macedo,
KD1CY, ARES© SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton and Eastern Massachusetts
ARES Section Emergency Coordinator. "Eastern Massachusetts ARES was placed
on stand-by on Friday, February 9, and that standby continues as of this
writing as we have ARES operators remaining active on Cape Cod providing
communications support for active shelters and for the Barnstable County
(Cape Cod) Mutual Aid Coordination Center (MACC)," Macedo said.
The WX1BOX Amateur Radio SKYWARN operation facilitated several hundred snow
fall reports, wind and wet snow damage reports and coastal flood reports.
These reports were sent to multiple agencies including the National Weather
Service in Taunton, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Red
Cross, other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as the media.
This provided critical situational awareness and disaster intelligence
information to all of these entities.
Snowfall totals of around 12-32" were recorded across Massachusetts, Rhode
Island and Connecticut with lesser amounts on Nantucket Island. Boston Logan
Airport recorded its fifth highest snowfall ever with this blizzard.
Moderate to major coastal flooding was reported with the most significant
coastal flood damage to roads and even shore structures recorded in Hull,
Scituate, Sandwich, Gloucester and Salisbury, Massachusetts. Damaging to
hurricane force wind gusts coupled with wet snow caused over 410,000 to be
without power largely in southeast Massachusetts with over 170,000 without
power in Rhode Island.
"The Amateur Radio mission in our region has really evolved into providing
information on damage, power outages, and meteorological surface
observations in situations such as this blizzard -- it isn't just about
'when all else fails' anymore," Macedo said.
The New England Reflector system on Echolink *NEW-ENG* node: 9123, IRLP 9123
was active and at one time had over 65 connections from stations within the
affected area of the blizzard. The VoIP Hurricane Net system on *WX_TALK*
node: 7203/IRLP9219 system was used as a listen-only system for those
amateurs who wanted to listen in on some of the blizzard operations. Many
local VHF and UHF repeaters were active with roll-call SKYWARN nets setup at
2 or 3 hour intervals. In Connecticut, the Hartford-Tolland County SKYWARN
Net alone had 8 nets and 181 total check-ins across those 8 nets including
nets run during the overnight period per a report from Hartford-Tolland
County Connecticut SKYWARN Coordinator, Roger Jeanfaivre, K1PAI.
Connecticut State SKYWARN Coordinator Steve Williams, K1SJW, commended and
thanked all of Connecticut's SKYWARN spotters and coordinators for the
fantastic job everyone did reporting weather information and storm damage
during the blizzard. Connecticut ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Wayne
Gronlund, N1CLV, and Connecticut ARRL Section Manager, Betsey Doane, K1EIC,
echoed these comments.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Region 1 WC1MAA Amateur
Radio station, and Region 2 WC1MAB Amateur Radio station were staffed with
RACES operators. Having operators in place to perform their functions at
these served agencies helped to provide auxiliary communications. When power
outages became so severe that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth,
Massachusetts had lost power, a roll-call was initiated on the state's VHF
network. The Region 2 office did not hear the roll-call and was notified by
the ARES sub-regional command center at the Acushnet EOC in Acushnet,
Massachusetts, WA1EMA, that the roll call was taking place and notified
Pilgrim that they would assist in making sure Region 2 contact was made.
"Amateur Radio remains the ultimate back-up and has a significant place in
providing situational awareness information for various served agencies,"
said Ed Caron, KA1RSY, District Emergency Coordinator for Southeast
Massachusetts and Acushnet Emergency Management Communications Officer. John
Miller, N1UMJ, was operating at WC1MAB to handle this traffic.
Cape Cod ARES was active and put in over 72 hours of continuous operation
during and after the blizzard. They provided SKYWARN reports of coastal
flooding, snowfall reports, wet snow and wind damage from around their area.
In Hyannis, George Correiro, W1GLC, recorded a wind gust to 84 MPH and in
the Marstons Mills section of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Cape Cod ARES
District Emergency Coordinator Frank O'Laughlin,WQ1O, measured a 75 MPH
gust. Wind gusts to hurricane force also occurred on Nantucket Island. Cape
Cod ARES staffed multiple shelters and EOCs within their region, as well as
the Barnstable County Mutual Aid Coordination Center (MACC).
"Cape Cod ARES rotated shifts to staff the shelters and the MACC. "I'm very
proud of all my people who have put in very long hours," said O'Laughlin.
Assistant District Emergency Coordinator Dan Howard, K1DYO, spent most of
the 3-day period at the MACC. Eastern Massachusetts ARES was on stand-by to
support Cape Cod ARES. - Source: Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts
SEC, and NWS Taunton SKYWARN Coordinator
2013 National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Slate
------------------------------------------------------
The National Hurricane Conference will be held March 25-28 at the Hilton New
Orleans Riverside in New Orleans, Louisiana. There will be several Amateur
Radio activities going on during the week. The National Hurricane Conference
(NHC) leadership continues to recognize the valuable contributions of
Amateur Radio and again invited us to participate with two sessions.
NHC Session #1: Monday, March 25, 2013 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, at the
National Hurricane Conference (NHC). This is the main Amateur Radio session.
NHC Session #2: Monday, March 25, 2013 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM, is designed
for Emergency Management officials titled Amateur Radio Rap Session-The
Emergency Manager's Hidden Resource. The presentations will be live streamed
on the Internet at www.nsradio.org/stream.htm and
www.voipwx.net/files/stream.htm
All hams are invited at no cost to attend the Amateur Radio sessions at the
National Hurricane Conference. For additional information:
http://www.hurricanemeeting.com
http://www.southeastern.arrl.org/2013NationalHurricaneConferenceActivities.pdf
https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=10994405
http://www.southeastern.arrl.org
http://www.voipwx.net
National Hurricane Conference presenters are:
John McHugh, K4AG, Coordinator for Amateur Radio, National Hurricane Center,
WX4NHC
Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator,
http://www2.fiu.edu/orgs/w4ehw
Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net and
ARRL SEC, Eastern Massachusetts
Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, ARRL Southeastern Division Director
We encourage you to visit all the activities you can and learn more about
Amateur Radio emergency communications. Hope to see you there! -- Greg
Sarratt, W4OZK, ARRL Southeastern Division Director
http://www.southeastern.arrl.org
Letters: RACES in CERT, Too
---------------------------
I was pleased to see your article The Future of ARES is CERTain in January
2013 QST. I am CERT trained and certified along with being a licensed
operator. In our group, half of us are ARES registered, and the rest are
RACES. I am a RACES operator. We wait for the Fire and/or Police officials
from our three cities to call us for deployment. Your article, I am sad to
say, did not mention anything about RACES. If you write a follow up it might
be a good idea to mention all the RACES operators. Thank you for your
article. -- Tom Perry, AG6GI, Pleasanton, California
ARRL Board Considers Items of Interest to ARES
----------------------------------------------
The League's Board of Directors met last month and considered several issues
of interest for ARES members. First, the Board set seven legislative
objectives for the 113th Congress of the United States. These are:
ú To seek legislation instructing the FCC to extend the requirement for
"reasonable accommodation" of Amateur Radio station antennas -- a
requirement that now applies to state and local regulations -- to all forms
of land use regulation.
ú To oppose legislation that would lead to the reallocation of amateur
spectrum or to sharing arrangements that reduce the utility of existing
allocations.
ú To oppose legislation that diminishes the rights of federal licensees in
favor of unlicensed emitters or encourages the deployment of
spectrum-polluting technologies.
ú To seek recognition of the unique resources, capabilities and expertise of
the Amateur Radio Service in any legislation that addresses communications
issues that are related to emergencies, disasters or homeland security.
ú To support the complementary legislative objectives of other
radiocommunication services -- particularly the public safety and scientific
services -- that require spectrum access and protection from interference
for non-commercial purposes that benefit the public.
ú To oppose "distracted driving" legislation that does not clearly exempt
two-way mobile radio transmitters or receivers used by FCC-licensed radio
amateurs.
ú To support legislation authorizing FCC Commissioners to appoint an
electrical engineer or computer scientist as an additional member of their
staffs to ensure that Commissioners have adequate access to technical
expertise when making decisions.
These objectives affect all of us as ARES operators and leaders to varying
degrees. As related measures come up on the Congressional docket this year,
make sure to support them with your lawmakers. Related new laws can greatly
facilitate our ability to provide professional-grade emergency and disaster
response communications.
ARRL International Humanitarian Award: John Bush, KH6DLK/V63JB
The ARRL Board of Directors voted to bestow the 2012 ARRL International
Humanitarian Award upon John Bush, KH6DLK/V63JB, of Hilo, Hawaii and
Federai, Ulithi, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. Bush was recognized
for his promotion of the development and welfare to the population of the
Island of Federai in the Ulithi Atoll of the Federated States of Micronesia.
In addition, he was acknowledged for his efforts in the development of an
electronic infrastructure on the island, including electronic technologies
and Amateur Radio. The ARRL has established the ARRL International
Humanitarian Award to recognize those who have used Amateur Radio to provide
emergency communications on an international level.
George Hart Distinguished Service Award: Marcia Forde, KW1U
The Board also voted to bestow the 2012 ARRL George Hart Distinguished
Service Award upon ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Traffic Manager Marcia
Forde, KW1U, of Concord, Massachusetts. Forde was recognized for her
dedication to the National Traffic System (NTS). Since the early 1980s, she
has held many positions within the NTS, including serving as Section Traffic
Manager for the Eastern Massachusetts Section, Net Manager for the Eastern
Area Net and as a Director of the Trans-Continental Corps. Forde, who has
run various digital message systems -- from a packet node to a Winlink
classic node -- is active in recruiting volunteers for all levels of the
NTS. The Board created the George Hart Distinguished Service Award at its
2009 Second Meeting. It is presented to an ARRL member whose service to the
ARRL's Field Organization is of the most exemplary nature.
Letters: Disconnect with Emergency Management and Hurricane Sandy Ops
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the excellent write up (QST, February, 2013) on ARES operations
during Super Storm Sandy. You can imagine my head scratching as I read the
article from Emergency Management entitled "Sandy Created a Black Hole of
Communication"
--http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Sandy-Black-Hole-of-Communication.html
I was wondering if the ARES/RACES operators ever crossed paths with the
general population in the impacted areas. Surely there was someone who
remembered Amateur Radio as playing an important role, but apparently not. I
would propose that we contact the writer of the article and determine why we
were not mentioned. This could lead us to some additional after action
activities.-- Fritz Bock, WD9FMB, Peoria County (Illinois) ARES EC
K1CE For a Final
----------------
I'd like to commend Mr. Paul Eakin, KJ4G, Northern Florida SM and his
incredibly talented team of radio amateurs who successfully managed the
Command Post/Auxiliary State Warning Point function at the gargantuan
Operation RADAR exercise held in the woods and fields of Camp Blanding in
northern Florida earlier this month. I'd also like to thank them all for
inviting me to participate and observe, and for arranging for me to have
access to the military base for these purposes. It was one of those rare
moments in life where you just bubble over and beam with pride in seeing
something that you have invested so much of your life in come to such a
fruition and pinnacle of achievement. To see Amateur Radio have such a seat
at the table at this level was simply amazing.
I'd also like to note the contributions of other ARES, RACES and auxiliary
communications groups that employ Amateur Radio that participated in this
exercise either on site, or from their home facilities. These included
groups from across the entire state, who participated from their home shacks
or EOCs. In looking over the list of exercise participants, it was very
heartening to see so many Amateur Radio emergency communications groups
named. Bravo.
A pitfall of being a writer/editor of a newsletter like this is that you end
up as a pencil-pusher, relying on the reports of others who are actually
performing the work in the field. For me, in the case of this exercise, it
was good to "get out there."
_____________
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most
popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.
Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly,
features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA
Sprint and QSO Parties.
Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published
bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and
other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter(monthly
public service and emergency communications news), theARRL Contest Update
(bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much
more!
Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur
Radio
Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member
dues!
Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ARES E-Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data
Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/ares-e-letter.
Copyright ¸ 2013 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
