| |
CX2SA > ARES 21.06.14 14:23l 488 Lines 27214 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 7088-CX2SA
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARES E-Letter June 18, 2014
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DB0ANF<CX2SA
Sent: 140621/1323Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA #:7088 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:7088-CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter June 18, 2014
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
ARRL Named NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador?
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Boulder County, Colorado ARES Supports
Bolder Boulder 10K
Reports: Hospital ICS Protocol Released with Job Sheet for Amateur Radio
CERT Volunteers: Download Disaster Reporter
TEMA AuxComm Spring Exercise in the History Books
Reports: National Hurricane Center Director Commends WX4NHC Ops, Test
Memorial Day Medical Emergency Supported by Massachusetts Amateurs
K1CE For a Final: Communications in Neighborhood Preparedness
ARRL Named NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador?
--------------------------------------------------
The ARRL has been accepted as a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador. The
Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador initiative is an effort to formally
recognize NOAA partners who are improving the nation's readiness against
extreme weather, water, and climate events. As a Weather-Ready Nation
Ambassador, the ARRL is committing to work with NOAA and other Ambassadors
to strengthen national resilience against extreme weather. Local ARES groups
can register and participate as well.
The NOAA Weather-Ready Nation website can be found here. More information
can be found at this site: Be a Force of Nature
Follow the program on Twitter @NWS. - Thanks, Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL
Emergency Preparedness Manager
________
The Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, Emergency Management (OCEM) has been awarded
a grant of nearly $3700 from Operation Round Up and the ECE Foundation that
will allow the agency to purchase an Amateur Radio-based location-tracking
system for SKYWARN storm spotters. ARRL Oklahoma Section Emergency
Coordinator Mark Conklin, N7XYO, and several area radio amateurs helped
county emergency managers in planning the project. More info here. -- ARRL
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Boulder County, Colorado ARES Supports
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bolder Boulder 10K
------------------
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, more than 52,000 runners and an additional
60,000 spectators gathered for the annual Bolder Boulder 10K race on the
streets of Boulder, Colorado. This 10K race, the largest of its kind, is
open to anyone who registered and is run in waves beginning with the first
wave of wheelchair contestants starting off at 6:55 AM followed by waves of
"Citizen" runners. There are 90 waves in all with the Elite 10K runners,
many of whom are from around the world, finally taking to the course around
11:15 AM. This meant that the Boulder County, Colorado ARES (BCARES) ATV
team had to be in place before 6:30 AM and for many, the morning started at
"Oh Dark Thirty" in order to pick up the large amount of equipment needed
and to reach their ATV vantage points before the crowds showed up.
All BCARES operators were on site and on the air transmitting seven separate
ATV pictures to the Incident Command Post before the first wave of
contestants ever approached the starting line. Supporting the Bolder Boulder
and their served agencies -- the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, the
Boulder City Police Department and the Colorado University Police Department
-- were 14 Amateur Radio operators from BCARES. Unlike most running and
bicycle race events, the primary mission for BCARES was not to support aid
stations or SAG wagons and/or supplement race course communications, but to
provide Amateur TV, or ATV as is commonly known, to the Incident Command
Post. This medium provided these agencies with unprecedented situational
awareness from the starting line in downtown Boulder to the finish line at
the Colorado University Stadium.
BCARES personnel relied on their vast experience, ATV skills and state of
the art ATV equipment obtained over the years from responding to emergencies
like the devastating 2010 Four-Mile Canyon fire and the 2013 Colorado floods
that hit Boulder County. ATV has been one of the primary tools in the
toolbox employed by BCARES for over 20 years. They are recognized as being
the "Go To" ATV experts within the State of Colorado and routinely offer
their personnel, services and equipment to the rest of the Colorado ARES
groups around the state as needed.
The members of BCARES, which represents Boulder and Broomfield counties as
Region 1, District 3 of Colorado ARES, used a combination of ATV, UHF,
microwave frequencies and social networking technologies to share their live
ATV pictures between sites over great distances during the Bolder Boulder.
Coordination of the ATV camera operators and communications to the ICP was
effected through a combination of VHF simplex and repeater frequencies.
Four cameras were on the air using traditional 70cm ATV transmitters and
camcorders. These cameras are backpack mounted and allow the operators to
roam freely and be in any place that they may be needed.
An additional two cameras were employed on 1.2 GHz from the start line with
their pictures being relayed to the ICP via a 5.8 GHz microwave link to a
repeater located south of Boulder and relayed to the ICP.
Rounding out the cache of ATV cameras was a seventh PTZ remote-controlled
camera that was hard-wired to the video distribution box at the ICP.
All of the seven pictures were simultaneously being recorded
via SD memory sticks on the cameras and/or on solid state DVRs within the
video distribution boxes. The combination of all seven camera pictures was
distributed to the various agencies at the ICP via various flat screen
monitors. Additionally, a video link was uploaded via uStream that was
shared on the Internet with our State ARES Management Team and offered to
the ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Director and ARES managers at ARRL HQ to
view as well. The live uStream video streaming link was also embedded into
the BCARES web page for the rest of our BCARES personnel to monitor from
their homes.
After the event was over, there were a few medical emergencies noticed in
the stands where people had gathered, most likely from heat exhaustion.
Remote BCARES ATV operators were able to find the incidents quickly and get
their cameras on them. The incident management team at the ICP was able to
view the response by their EMS teams on their monitors and follow them
through to the eventual evacuation of the patients. These videos will also
serve as great training aids for future EMS teams. - Thanks, Jack Ciaccia,
WMG, ARRL Colorado Section Manager
Reports: Hospital ICS Protocol Released with Job Sheet for Amateur Radio
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fifth addition of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) 2014 was
just published. This document sets forth protocols for incident command
responses to disasters associated with hospitals -- internally or within the
community. Click here to view the document.
New for 2014 is a specific Job Action Sheet for the Emergency Amateur Radio
Operator. The Job Action Sheet is based on the one implemented by the
Western Washington Medical Services Team about a decade ago and updated by
the Kaiser Permanente Amateur Radio Network (KPARN). This document has now
been formatted to meet HICS criteria and will serve as an excellent starting
point for any Amateur Radio group supporting a hospital. Download it here.
Lisa Schoenthal, Chief, Disaster Medical Services Division, California
Emergency Medical Services Authority, announced the public release of the
Fifth Edition of the HICS, and said this conclusion of the multi-year
revision process is the culmination of extensive national stakeholder input.
The California EMSA thanked all participants in this endeavor that
"exemplifies unprecedented collaboration among both public and private
healthcare and emergency management partners from communities across the
local, regional, state, and national levels. This HICS, Fifth Edition is
offered to assist hospitals and the healthcare community nationwide with
their emergency management goals." -- reported by Duane Mariotti, WB9RER,
Westminster, California
[editor's note: The Kaiser Permanente Amateur Radio Network has an excellent
web site www.kparn.org with hospital communications information. Mariotti
reports "In my presentations (some are posted on the web site) I stress that
hospital communications are not shelter or EOC or like any other
communications -- hospitals already have patients that they are responsible
for taking care of when the crisis starts. When they need a patient
relocated, literally someone's life is at stake as a result of this
communications activity. Even the basics of what information is required are
unique. Hospital buildings do not move and the information that local
government, health departments, etc, all want is the same so you can publish
forms for use by all as part of planning." The webmaster also tracks Amateur
Radio organizations that are devoted exclusively to supporting hospital
communications.]
CERT Volunteers: Download Disaster Reporter
-------------------------------------------
A message from FEMA: A picture is worth a thousand words. As we kick off the
2014 Hurricane Season, help us highlight the CERT [Community Emergency
Response Team] program and demonstrate your capacity as citizens and trained
volunteers to provide accurate, on-the-ground situational awareness and
augment the capabilities of professional responders during disasters.
As a CERT volunteer, you play an integral role in disaster reporting in your
community. Administrator Fugate is calling upon CERT volunteers throughout
the country, including you, to download the FEMA mobile app, which includes
Disaster Reporter. Why should you use Disaster Reporter? Here are our top
four reasons:
1. It provides FEMA responders, local emergency managers, CERT volunteers,
and the public with greater visibility into disaster situations across the
United States. This can help expedite emergency response efforts.
2. It provides a reliable source for viewing disaster events around the
country.
3. It's a great free resource to download straight to your mobile phone.
4. Your support efforts in an impacted area will be displayed publicly on an
online map.
Learn more about Disaster Reporter at http://www.fema.gov/disaster-reporter
and http://www.fema.gov/disaster-reporter-terms-conditions. To download the
FEMA app, please visit http://www.fema.gov/smartphone-app.
In addition to the Disaster Reporter tool, the FEMA App also has
preparedness tips, an interactive emergency kit checklist, recovery safety
tips, open Red Cross Shelters, open FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, and FEMA
blog posts. The app is available for Android, Apple, and Blackberry. Don't
forget to check the latest CERT newsletter for other great resources and
stories. The latest edition is available at
http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-team-national-newsletter.
TEMA AuxComm Spring Exercise in the History Books
-------------------------------------------------
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) held its annual AuxComm
Spring exercise May 1-4, 2014 at the Tennessee Fire and Code Enforcements
Academy in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. The scenario for the exercise was that a
major cyber-attack had been launched against the US taking down the Internet
and critical infrastructure and resulting in civil disturbance and
casualties. Because the Internet was unavailable, all message traffic had to
be passed by radio-only Winlink messages. [Winlink 2000 is a global system
for sending and receiving e-mail formatted messages over radio, independent
of the Internet, which makes it attractive to entities needing to send
messages when disasters occur and the Internet is consequently down. Amateur
Radio and MARS are heavily invested in this system.]
There were four primary objectives of the exercise: (1) Training on the use
of the Winlink system in general and specifically on the use of radio-only
message transmission. Training also was provided on the Incident Command
System (ICS) and HF field antennas; (2) test and assessment of the Winlink
radio-only message transmission capability and capacity when stressed with
an intense traffic load; (3) test long-haul relaying of messages from
distant states (including Washington and Hawaii) via HF radio relay; and (4)
test interoperability between SHARES, military units, civilian agencies,
NGOs and individual participants.
Approximately 90 attended the exercise. There were 15 Winlink stations
on-site in operation simultaneously including stations in a dozen
command/communication vehicles. Many agencies participated on-site including
TEMA, the Tennessee Department of Health, the National and State Guard,
CUSEC, American Red Cross, Arnold Air Force, FedEx, Bridgestone Emergency
Response Team, and multiple county EMAs. In addition to on-site
participants, many agencies and individuals exchanged Winlink messages
within the exercise from off-site locations.
All objectives for the exercise were met and exceeded. Training was provided
both on-site and in Jackson, Tennessee. More than 880 radio-only messages
were reported to have been sent/received by on-site stations. In addition,
more than 400 messages were reported for the conventional (Internet-linked)
Winlink system. All received messages were reported with 100% accuracy.
Long-haul message relaying worked well with messages originating as far away
as Washington and Hawaii.
An additional burden was placed on the radio-only Winlink system by a major
Winlink radio-only exercise being carried out concurrently in Texas. The HF
footprint of the two tests had overlapped.
Automatic Relaying of Packet Messages via HF
A system was set up in the Williamson County EMA trailer to act as a
combined packet and HF RMS (Regional Message Server). Messages were sent to
this RMS via packet connections from local client stations, and the RMS
automatically forwarded the messages via HF to other RMS. This demonstrated
that a packet/HF RMS located in a position with good coverage can provide
wide-area (nationwide) relaying of packet messages via HF.
Interoperability Results
On the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) network, multiple messages
were exchanged between the Tennessee National and State Guard, various
civilian government agencies, NGOs and individual MARS members. On the
SHARES network, interoperability was demonstrated between multiple agencies.
Since the MARS and SHARES networks use different RMSs and radio frequencies,
messages were not directly transferred between MARS and SHARES stations;
MARS/SHARES interoperability was achieved by having a joint communications
center at the exercise. SHARES/MARS linking on Winlink could be accomplished
easily if policy so dictates. - Steve Waterman, K4CJX, Winlink Development
Team
Reports: National Hurricane Center Director Commends WX4NHC Ops, Test
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Hurricane Center's Amateur Radio station WX4NHC operators
conducted their annual on-the-air station test on May 31, 2014. This is the
34th year of volunteer public service by the WX4NHC group at the NHC. WX4NHC
conducts this event each year in preparation for hurricane season, which
runs from June 1st to November 30th.
The station and operators were tested on many frequencies and modes,
including HF, VHF, UHF, HF WinLink, VHF/HF APRS, EchoLink/IRLP/All-Star,
email and an on-line reporting form. All radio equipment and antennas
performed well producing the most contacts made during this event in memory.
Other equipment tests and operator training were conducted on new modes, and
software was tweaked.
The WX4NHC test also provided good experience for Amateur Radio operators
worldwide, but especially significant for those in hurricane prone areas,
testing their stations' ability to contact WX4NHC should they need to during
a hurricane. The test also provided a good opportunity for NWS office staff
to become aware of the unique capabilities of Amateur Radio during severe
weather and disaster communications when conventional communication modes
fail.
For the first time, D-STAR/D-RATS reports were received at WX4NHC, which had
been proposed during the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Florida
this year by John Davis, WB4QDX, who organized and coordinated this effort.
Although WX4NHC does not currently have a D-STAR radio at the station, 51
Surface Weather Reports via the D-RATS platform were received at WX4NHC.
Operators are excited about the potential that D-STAR/D-RATS modes can
produce hurricane surface reports in a similar format that is used at
WX4NHC. These reports may some day fill in an important gap in surface data
during a hurricane that could not be received on other modes.
WX4NHC made a total of 308 contacts in 9 hours of operations. The contacts
ranged from local VHF/UHF stations in south Florida and the Florida Keys to
international stations as far away as Guam. Contacts and surface reports
were received from 25 US States, and countries, including Bermuda, Canada,
Cuba, Curacao, Guam, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras,
Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
Contacts were also made with the National Weather Centers in Norman,
Oklahoma; Broward and Marion counties, Florida EOCs; and the Guantanamo
Military Base in Cuba.
Operators were pleased to communicate with Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR,
president of the Radio Club of Haiti, as well as Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH
(FCC retired) who have both supported the efforts of WX4NHC for many years.
Contact was also made with Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, FEMA Administrator, on
EchoLink; thanks were expressed to him for his strong support of the Amateur
Radio volunteers.
WX4NHC operators are also thankful for all SKYWARN volunteers nationwide for
their continued efforts to help the NWS and NHC, and for the ARRL's help in
publicizing this event as they have done for many years. Special thanks went
to Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager. - Julio Ripoll,
WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator www.wx4nhc.org celebrating
34 years at the National Hurricane Center
The Director of the National Hurricane Center commended the WX4NHC effort:
"Thank you for conducting the test to make sure you're all ready for the
season, and I appreciate everything you and the community do for us." -- Dr.
Rick Knabb, Director, National Hurricane Center
Memorial Day Medical Emergency Supported by Massachusetts Amateurs
------------------------------------------------------------------
Amateurs in the Plymouth, Massachusetts area assisted with a medical
emergency over the Memorial Day weekend. Ron Smith, N1PXX, radioed over the
146.685 MHz repeater that he needed help; Smith had pulled over on the side
of the highway after he experienced a medical issue. Kevin O'Donnell, K1KOD,
responded. Obtaining Smith's cell phone number, O'Donnell used both the
radio and the cell phone to keep in contact with Smith while he called 911
and gave Smith's location to the State Police. He informed Smith of when the
police and an ambulance were en route. However, initially the police drove
by Smith's vehicle without stopping. David Ring, N1EA, also assisting,
placed additional calls to the police, and emergency services located Smith
and transported him to South Shore Hospital. The word is N1PXX is on the
road to recovery. -- KB1EVY, ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section News
K1CE For a Final: Communications in Neighborhood Preparedness
-------------------------------------------------------------
Let's take a moment to look at how the radio amateur down the street can
help support his or her neighborhood to meet its preparedness goals. A radio
amateur is ideal to call a meeting of his neighbors because of his expertise
and experience with communications, the first prerequisite for any
successful resident endeavor. Flyers announcing a planning meeting and
agenda can be dropped in mailboxes, followed up with telephone calls. A
community center or even a neighbor's home can serve as the venue for the
meeting. The initial meeting is an ice breaker for neighbors to get to know
one another in the context of possibly relying on each other in a disaster
response scenario. To start off the meeting, a review of the types of
hazards that face the neighborhood and history of events in the past can set
the tone and instill the gravity of the mission with attendees.
A roundtable discussion can be held with introductions of individual
neighbors, noting their personal and professional experience, and interest
in fulfilling preparedness functions. Initial assignments can be made, and
then changed or modified in future meetings as necessary.
The radio amateur is the obvious choice to lead the communications function,
and accordingly able to overcome the effects of isolation of the
neighborhood in a post-disaster environment. Amateur Radio is the most
versatile radio communication service available to the average citizen and
neighborhood. The radio amateur is the most experienced in radio
communications principles and practical applications.
The ARRL's Mike Corey, KI1U, says "there has been a lot of research on the
issue of a lack of trust between the issuers of warnings and the public that
receives them. Amateurs are a good way to bridge the trust issue as we can
put warnings in terms that our neighbors can understand."
Communications functions also involve the immediate safety of life and
property in the aftermath of a disaster, getting the neighbors to
communicate with one another to activate the neighborhood plan and establish
reliable communications with the outside world to convey situation reports,
critical needs and delivery of critical supplies.
Health and welfare messages on behalf of neighborhood members can be
transmitted to the outside world (which might be only a few blocks away) to
concerned friends and family members. There is no underestimating the need
for radio communications, not only for critical needs, but indeed for the
morale of the potentially psychologically stressed, devastated neighborhood
families.
The radio amateur could also maintain portable electrical generators and
docking stations for rechargeable batteries, perhaps in his garage, for
neighborhood use as required when normal power is out. Hams are experts in
the use of alternative power sources.
Many radio amateurs are trained in search and rescue (SAR) techniques and
protocols, and Amateur Radio has a longstanding history of serving
searchers/rescuers with radio communications. SAR has been linked with
Amateur Radio for decades. There are numerous environments for SAR, and one
size does not fit all. The person in charge of this neighborhood function
should be aware of, and trained specifically for, the kind of SAR
environment he/she will face: urban SAR, for example. Communications for
this function is critical, when neighbors are missing and potentially injured.
The neighborhood team concept can potentially save the lives and properties
of some of the most important people you hold dear besides your family and
friends - your neighbors. Amateur Radio is a critical component of the
team's assets.-- K1CE
Next Month's ARRL Centennial Convention, Banquet and Public Service Forums
-- See You There!
As noted in a previous issue, I am excited about attending next month's ARRL
Centennial Convention, which will feature a banquet with keynote speaker
FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate, KK4INZ. The banquet will be held on
Friday night, July 18 in Hartford, Connecticut. The event is among the
highlights of the ARRL Centennial Convention July 17-19 at the Connecticut
Convention Center. Prior to becoming FEMA Administrator, Fugate served as
Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Fugate has been an
Amateur Radio licensee since 2012.
On Thursday, you can attend the Public Service Communications Academy,
conducted by ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. Speakers
represent several of our national partners; Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications,
National VOAD, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, American
Red Cross, and Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Confirmed Speakers:
Ted Okada, K4HNL, Chief Technology Officer - Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA)
Ralph Haller, N4RH, Chairman - National Public Safety Telecommunications
Council (NPSTC)
Keith Robertory, KG4UIR, National Disaster Services Technical Manager -
American Red Cross (ARC)
James McGowan, Senior Director Strategic Initiatives - National Volunteer
Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD)
Sid Caesar, NH7C, Chief - Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA)
Other public service-related forums and presenters include: International
Disaster Response: Lessons Learned (Jay Wilson, W0AIR); National Hurricane
Center WX4NHC Amateur Radio (Julio Ripoll, WD4R); Best Practices of the
National Weather Service's SKYWARN Program (Robert Macedo, KD1CY); Boston
Marathon Communications - Before, During and After (Robert Macedo, KD1CY);
Public Service Communications-Maintaining Readiness When Nothing Bad Is
Happening (Ross Merlin, WA2WDT); Broadband Mesh Networking and Amateur Radio
(Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT); DHS-OEC - Training Resources Available for the
Amateur Radio Operator (Dept. of Homeland Security - OEC Staff); and more!
I hope to see many readers of the ARES E-Letter there, for what is sure to
be one of the seminal events in the history of Amateur Radio, and especially
ARRL! -- K1CE
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 2014 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
