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CX2SA > ARES 21.03.21 13:25l 406 Lines 22494 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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Subj: ARES E-Letter March 17, 2021
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The ARES E-Letter March 17, 2021
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
- Comm Academy 2021 Set for Next Month, Online
- Florida Emergency Communications Exercise For Agencies and Radio Amateurs
Participation Grows
- ARES North Carolina SEC Wins ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award
- Great Lakes Area Winlink Net Started
- Letters: Preparing for an EMP Incident
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Diverse Scenarios to Practice On
- Chattanooga-Area Hams Seek Community During Pandemic
- K1CE for a Final: Experience Gained in March 11 Winlink Thursday Red
Cross/ARES Exercise Ahead of May 8 Nationwide Exercise
ARES© Briefs, Links
MARS Volunteers Recognized with Gold-Level President's Volunteer Service
Award -- US Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) volunteers were
honored with gold-level recognition for the President's Volunteer Service
Award for 2020. They are Bob Mims, WA1OEZ; Ron Tomo, KE2UK; Mark Bary,
N4EOC; Billy Pearson, KO4XT; Dave Bock, W8OHS; Bob Baker, K5LLF; John
Monson, WB0PLW; Gary Geissinger, WA0SPM; Brian Handy, W8JBT; Bliss Wheeler,
W7RUG; Jim Hamilton, K4QDF, and Daniel Wolff, KA7AGN. Each award recipient
receives a letter signed by the President of the United States, a
certificate of achievement, and a presidential volunteer service lapel pin.
Volunteer awards are based on the certifying organization's recommendation
and the number of documented volunteer hours for the year. Read more here.
-- Thanks to Paul English, WD8DBY, Chief, Army MARS; ARRL News Desk
Amateur Radio Helping to Fill Earthquake Report "Donut Holes" -- An article
describing how radio amateurs can help fill the information "donut hole" by
providing post-earthquake "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) reports via Winlink HF
radio email appeared on February 22 in the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
magazine Eos. As the article points out, "Ham radio networks gear up to
provide real-time, on-the-ground information about earthquake shaking and
damage when other communication pathways are knocked out of commission."
Authors of the article were David J. Wald of the US Geological Survey
(USGS), Vincent Quitoriano, and Oliver Dully, K6OLI. Read more here. - ARRL
News Desk
ARES and Red Cross Cooperate to Assist Storm-Affected Residents in Texas --
ARES and American Red Cross volunteers joined forces in Texas under the
ARRL/Red Cross memorandum of understanding in responding to the situation
resulting from unseasonably frigid weather. Kevin McCoy, KF5FUZ, said the
Red Cross formally requested ARES activation in Texas to address the effects
of the natural disaster, which included a lack of drinking water, power
outages, fuel shortages, and frozen plumbing, among others. Red Cross in
Central Texas supported more than 60 warming shelters at the request of
governmental agencies. Read more here.
Tip: Setting up a local ARES VHF/UHF Winlink RMS server is a good way to
begin to add additional capabilities to a local volunteer ARES group. As
your "sysops" gain expertise, they may naturally migrate to also offering an
HF RMS server as well. When that's done properly, VHF users can get the
advantages of automatic HF ability to "jump out" of a disaster area even
when the local internet/cell phone is completely obliterated. More
information and tutorials from the March issue of the ARRL Northern Florida
Section newsletter.
From FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications News Clippings and Topics of
Interest Vol. 9 Issue 5, March 1 - 15, 2021: The Salvation Army organization
that serves Jasper and Newton counties, Missouri, celebrated the completion
of its new emergency disaster service warehouse in Joplin ... which will
serve as a central location that will help the organization respond more
quickly and more efficiently when a disaster strikes. The new building will
house the Salvation Army Canteen, an emergency response truck, essential
emergency response supplies and the SATERN Unit, which stands for Salvation
Army Team Emergency Radio Network [comprised of radio amateurs - Ed.] During
a disaster, it will become the headquarters for response planning. Full story.
Also from the same issue, was the following: During a local emergency or
natural disaster, communication is a priority to keep our community safe.
But how do you communicate safety information when power is out and cell
towers are down? A group of local radio enthusiasts have teamed up to answer
the call, volunteering their time and talents to help the community. The
Humboldt County (Kentucky) Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services' Auxiliary
Communications Team, or AuxCom Team for short, is a newly-formed volunteer
team of local amateur radio operators who can be activated during an
emergency incident where normal modes of communication are disrupted. Full
report.
Comm Academy 2021 Set for Next Month, Online
--------------------------------------------
The 2021 Comm Academy is 2 days of training, talks, and information on
emergency communications. This year's theme is Disasters Here, There, and
Everywhere - Are We Ready? Comm Academy is an emergency communications and
amateur radio conference to be held April 10-11. Registration is completely
free, and you must register to gain access to the complete schedule and
academy materials. It is entirely virtual and hosted online.
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Comm Academy is attended and supported
by organizations including ARES; Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS); EOC
Support Teams; RACES; Civil Air Patrol; Coast Guard Auxiliary; REACT; and
CERT, among others. All interested in emergency and amateur radio
communications are welcome. Learn, network, and share your experiences with
others.
The Comm Academy steering committee says that the annual event has continued
to evolve by presenting keynotes and seminar tracks that engage beginner,
intermediate, and advanced users in technologies, served agency support,
volunteer management, self-preparedness, and how volunteer and professional
communications are used, adapted and improved. The leadership has reviewed
how it can preserve the direction and focus of the event while restricted by
the pandemic. The event is always focused on education for communications
leaders, volunteers, and professionals.
Florida Emergency Communications Exercise For Agencies and Radio Amateurs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participation Grows
-------------------
The Whirlwind Boom radio communications exercise takes place on March 19
(this Friday evening) sponsored by the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief
amateur radio communications team. The drill now has planned participation
from two Florida amateur radio emergency nets, the Southeast SHARES HF Radio
program communications net, five county-based ARES groups, two county
Emergency Management/EOC teams, the ARRL Northern Florida Section Emergency
Coordinator, Florida Division of Emergency Management, and individual
volunteers from neighboring Georgia. Documents and registration information
are available.
The 2-hour radio exercise includes everything from local county-based nets
with volunteers simulating formal structured reports relayed from deployed
volunteers at service locations within their county, through two state-based
nets, a multi-state regional net and two digital radio-email networks as
well as voice and data information transfers on multiple amateur radio and
federally-assigned frequencies. Both agency and individual survivor messages
will be flowing throughout the exercise.
Unexpected on-the-spot handicaps and emergencies injected into the exercise
add surprise to the radio communications as stations mysteriously disappear
or suddenly report new disasters and urgent needs for heavy equipment,
search and rescue teams, or other advanced resources.
A major goal is to bring together volunteers from many different groups, who
typically serve the emergency communications needs of a disaster area,
aiming to increase interoperability both in radio technique and personal
interactions of volunteers. Whirlwind Boom 2021 Sign-Up.
ARES North Carolina SEC Wins ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Brown, N4TAB, the ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator for North Carolina,
and the North Carolina Emergency Management's (NCEM) AuxComm Coordinator has
been awarded the ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award. He was initially
nominated by Marvin Hoffman, WA4NC, North Carolina ARRL Section Manager, and
liaison for the North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) auxiliary
communications efforts. Brown currently contributes to North
Carolina Emergency Management Agency's initiative as the COMC and AuxComm
Coordinator, which involves and promotes the use of amateur radio. --
Thanks, Steve Waterman, K4CJX, Nashville, Tennessee
Great Lakes Area Winlink Net Started
------------------------------------
A new Great Lakes Winlink Net has been started to promote the use of Winlink
and training on the various facets of the hybrid amateur radio data/internet
system. The net is open primarily to those states that border any of the
Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and New York, and the Canadian province of Ontario. However,
radio amateurs wishing to check in from other states or provinces anywhere
are welcomed to participate. This net is modeled on the Wisconsin ARES
Winlink net.
The net check-in process is as follows: Send either a basic, plain text
message, or use any of the forms templates on the Winlink Express platform
available that will allow you to include the following line of text in the
body of the message or in an appropriate part on the form you choose to
send: FIRST NAME, CALLSIGN, CITY, COUNTY, STATE, COUNTRY. For example: RYAN,
KB8RCR, REMUS, MECOSTA, MICHIGAN, USA.
The net started on Wednesday, March 10, and each week on Wednesdays,
amateurs may send their messages or forms any time during the day using
Winlink in any mode available, RF or via Telnet. Send your message to KB8RCR
as the recipient on Winlink. - Ryan Lughermo, KB8RCR, ARRL Assistant Section
Emergency Coordinator for Data Management/Special Projects, Michigan
Section; and Official Relay Station
Letters: Preparing for an EMP Incident
--------------------------------------
With an increasing number of bad actors with EMP (electromagnetic pulse)
devices these days, the disruption of the country's electronic
infrastructure is tempting. Many veteran radio amateurs have older V/UHF/HF
mobile radios and handhelds; it may be a good idea to store them in a small
steel trash can, along with a roll of RG58, mag mount or other kind of
antenna, and light line to hoist the antenna into a tree. There is little or
no cost involved, and this puts older gear to potential use in an EMP
incident.
While not too likely, the military and other government entities do pay
attention to the possibility of such an incident that could cripple the
internet, power grid, copper pair telephone, and much of the sensitive
modern lower voltage circuitry.
Many hams licensed since the end of the cold war may have little or no
knowledge of what an EMP blast can do, and how difficult it is to protect
against. "When all else fails" means being prepared for the unlikely. --
Doug McCray, K2QWQ, Southampton, South Jersey
[Here is an info sheet on electromagnetic pulse from the Washington State
Department of Health--Office of Radiation Protection.]
Practice, Practice, Practice: Diverse Scenarios to Practice On
--------------------------------------------------------------
[In the January issue, Scott Reaser, K6TAR, of the Pacific Palisades
(California) Amateur Radio Emergency Group, wrote about his local 2-meter
net's check-in protocol: instead of the typical roll call check-in
procedure, the members now check in with imagined damage assessment data
following a disaster scenario. The net control employs a "quick look"
assessment form to enter the data. See the background story. Copying the
responses and reading them back keeps members alert and the net control
operator busy. Here are Reaser's follow-up suggestions for scenarios to
practice on. -- Ed.]
At the beginning of the net, a scenario is injected with net check-ins and
even the net control station not knowing what is coming in advance. Net
members then check in with made-up situation assessment data, and Net
Control writes the info down on the form 105 with a read-back confirmation.
Here are some scenarios to consider for your nets that may want to consider
a similar check-in protocol.
Water Supply Hacking Attack -- Supply pressure is run to excessive
value. Chlorination level runs up to a thousand times normal level.
Infrastructure and population to be impacted. [Hacking of Tampa, Florida
water treatment plant as reported in the Wall Street Journal, February 2,
2021, caught before contaminated water was released.]
Chelyabinsk Event -- Very large meteor strike, with population exposed
to light 60 times brighter than the sun and intense UV and X-ray radiation
exposure. Bow shock wave impacts Earth. [Russian event in 2013 implodes
buildings. Many injuries resulted, but no deaths.]
Carrington Event - Intense coronal mass ejection. Extensive electrical
infrastructure current overload, failures and fires. Digital world
disrupted. [Minimal wires/conductors existed at time of original event in
1857; however, telegraph stations exploded.]
Shallow/Surface Rupture Earthquake -- Structure damage/failure and
injuries or worse. [A common event.]
Internet of Things Attack - Terrorist hack of residential solar power
and energy systems. Fires and storage system explosions result. [The
"internet of things" refers to the network of physical
objects--"things"--that are embedded with sensors, software, and other
technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other
devices and systems over the internet.]
Wide-body Aircraft Engine Failure and Disintegration -- Engines are 10
feet in diameter and twice as long. Scattered heavy, hot pieces impact
ground at terminal velocity - about 200 mph. [History of two A-380 engine
incidents with neither occurring over populations. A DC-10 center engine did
disintegrate over Beverly Hills, California, with debris, missing people,
and damage to structures.]
State-Sponsored Coordinated Attacks on Residential Areas - Suicidal
terrorist in nature, with aim to sow fear in population. [Example is a
suicide bomber or active shooter, only larger in scope and intensity.]
Atmospheric River Event -- Three to four times annual precipitation
compressed into a short time frame. City infrastructure does not cope with
deluge. Widespread structure failures and casualties result. [Occur on
40-year average basis.]
Failures Of Dam Structures and Asphalt-Lined Reservoirs -- Many
installations are in use well beyond their 50-year design life and/or have
hidden fatal flaws. [Many such occurrences worldwide. 1971 Sylmar earthquake
came within seconds of collapsing a major earthen dam. Water release would
have resulted in mass casualties. Progressing failure of asphalt-lined
Baldwin Hills, California reservoir was identified in time to get residents
out of harm's way.]
Chattanooga-Area Hams Seek Community During Pandemic
----------------------------------------------------
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that in the wake of the deaths of
two radio amateurs, the Lone Ranger Wellness Net was established to check on
members each evening. The system of nightly radio checks gives affected hams
a way to signal if they need help. The net meets every evening at 7 PM
local, 7 days a week. Jim Gifford, KM4MPF, a 44-year-old Chattanooga
businessman, said the Lone Ranger Net was established after one elderly
radio operator died of natural causes and another died at his home due to an
accident. In both cases, their deaths were not immediately known to friends
and family members, he told the newspaper. "Now, if someone in the Lone
Ranger Net fails to check in on any given night, they get a text, a phone
call, or even a knock on the door to make sure all is okay," Gifford said. -
ARRL Letter
K1CE for a Final: Experience Gained in March 11 Winlink Thursday Red
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Cross/ARES Exercise Ahead of May 8 Nationwide Exercise
------------------------------------------------------
I participated in the March 11 "Winlink Thursday" (WT#6) to gain some more
experience with Winlink Express, its message and other form templates,
attaching jpeg files to messages, and using the VARA HF high-speed (thanks
to my purchase of the full-feature unlocking key) mode, to be prepared for
the May 8 nationwide American Red Cross/ARES drill. The objective for the
March 11 WT was learning how to use and make the Winlink Express Check-in
form a Favorite form for easy and quick access to it, and saving the data
entered into the form for ease of loading the next time for quicker
generation; and second, learning how to attach a jpg picture file to the
Winlink message after resizing it to keep it under 25 kb, the limit for
Winlink jpg files.
I found the single page of instructions provided by the organizers to be
clear and easy-to-follow. It took me about 20 minutes to accomplish the
above, and post the Check-in form message and attached jpg file to my
Winlink Express outbox. The total size of the message file was a little over
26 kb. The packaged message was addressed to ARCSOUTHEAST - the American Red
Cross Southeastern Divisional Clearinghouse for the Winlink Thursday sessions.
The next step was to send my message. I started my Winlink Express program,
connected to my area's 7 MHz Radio Mail Server (RMS), which had path
reliability and quality predictors in the upper 90s. It took about 35
minutes to complete the message/photo transfer for an average data transfer
rate of about 750 BPM. That rate seemed a bit slow to me, but the channel
was busy, possibly with other stations trying to send their messages at the
same time, and my signal-to-noise ratio was low, as indicated by the S/N
meter on the VARA HF dashboard.
The point of this editorial is to encourage you to try these excellent
Winlink learning exercises. I am not an especially gifted data mode
operator, to say the least. In other words, if I can do it, you can do it!
The next Winlink Thursday is April 8, and is the last one before the May 8
nationwide exercise. Get the complete information and instructions. The
American Red Cross is a longtime, key ARRL served partner. It's important to
know how to operate the modes and systems that the Red Cross needs for
emergency communications for its shelters and regional offices for when a
major incident occurs.
Next month, get on Winlink Thursday for April 8, and be prepared for the big
nationwide drill on May 8! It's great training in using a premier data
platform for public service, and it's just plain fun! - K1CE
[The Spring Drill 2020 had more than a thousand participants from 40 states
passing Red Cross traffic (ARC Red Cross Message Form 6409) over long
distances with no internet, using Winlink. The Fall Drill 2020 took place in
November, with more than 1500 participants from 47 states and Puerto Rico,
Canada and Venezuela, passing ARC-213 forms for practice. For more
information, organizers have established a groups.io mail list with 1600+
interested parties, regular weekly and monthly on-the-air digital training
sessions, and a website. Join the drills and see what hams can do for Red
Cross in disasters when there is no internet, cell service or even
electrical power.]
____________
ARES Resources
ú Download the ARES Manual [PDF]
ú ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF]
ú ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF]
ú ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word]
ú ARES Plan
ú ARES Group Registration
ú Emergency Communications Training
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service© (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs
who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with
their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service
when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in
ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for
membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully
in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because
ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible
for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable,
but is not a requirement for membership.
How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form and submit
it to your local Emergency Coordinator.
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_________
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