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CX2SA > ARES 21.04.21 10:46l 424 Lines 21963 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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Subj: ARES E-Letter April 21, 2021
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The ARES E-Letter April 21, 2021
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
ARES© Briefs and Links
Radio amateurs were invited to take part in a MARS exercise on 60 meters
earlier this month in support of the US Department of Defense. The five USB
channelized 60-meter frequencies are available for interoperability
(communication between services). By convention, Channel 1 is designated the
calling channel. This convention is established to train the amateur radio
community to reach out on Channel 1 in times of national emergency, for
information from the federal government. The amateur radio community uses 60
meters on a secondary basis with federal agencies. This and similar 60-meter
interoperability exercises are conducted during the first full week of each
month. More information here. - ARRL News
Check out the New England ARES Academy channel on YouTube for a series of
excellent training videos.
Comm Academy 2021 Live Event Held April 10-11 A Success -- Comm Academy 2021
has been archived and is available as a YouTube playlist on the Comm Academy
YouTube Channel. Subscribe to stay up to date on extra content, and future
videos. In addition, all session slides and supporting material will be
available shortly on the academy's Archives Page. You can browse the
archives of previous Comm Academy events there also. Continue the
conversation year round in the Cascadia Radio Shack. Organizers thanked
attendees: "Thank you to all of our attendees! We have had an amazing
turnout and we couldn't be happier with how the event went."
St. Vincent Radio Amateurs on Alert During Volcano Emergency.-
ARRL News
National Hurricane Conference Slated for June in New Orleans; Amateur Radio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Workshop to be held Virtually
-----------------------------
June 14 - 17 are the dates for the 2021 National Hurricane Conference. The
event will be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, New Orleans,
Louisiana. According to organizers, "the primary goal of the National
Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response,
recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United
States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition,
the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local
officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency
Management."
Amateur Radio Session Scheduled for Tuesday Afternoon
The traditional Amateur Radio Workshop scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, June
16, from 1:30 to 5 PM will be held virtually, moderated by Rob Macedo,
KD1CY, Director of Operations, VoIP Hurricane Net, and will include Julio
Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant Coordinator of the National Hurricane Center's
amateur radio station WX4NHC. In 1979, the Miami Amateur Radio Public
Service Corps recognized Julio for his volunteer work for the EOC and Red
Cross during Hurricane David, and recommended him as the first coordinator
of the National Hurricane Center station for a 2-year appointment. Forty
years later, Ripoll continues as Assistant Coordinator.
Macedo has served as Emergency Coordinator (EC), DEC, and SEC for the ARRL
Eastern Massachusetts Section. He focuses on the National Weather Service
and the SKYWARN program and the relationship between Eastern Massachusetts
ARES and the Massachusetts EMA and FEMA. Macedo is the current SEC and has
served as SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Boston/Norton (formerly Taunton) since
1996.
National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Station Test is May 29
---------------------------------------------------------
The WX4NHC Annual Station On-the-air Test will be held on Saturday, May 29,
from 9 AM to 5 PM PM EST (1300Z-2100Z). A formal announcement will be made
soon. This hurricane season, WX4NHC operators plan to be working remotely
again. The National Hurricane Center is planning to maintain all CDC
pandemic protocols until the end of 2021. The National Hurricane Center is
allowing only the main meteorologist and staff to enter the building.
WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, said, "Last year's season
was an incredibly busy one, but the remote WX4NHC operations were
successful, collecting many important reports via the Hurricane Watch Net,
VoIP Hurricane Net, Winlink, the online hurricane report form as well as
many other means and modes." Ripoll offered his group's thanks to all who
helped collect, send, and relay hurricane surface reports.
Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 9-15, 2021
---------------------------------------------
Be ready for hurricane season. Determine your personal hurricane risk, find
out if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone, and review/update insurance
policies. Make a list of items to replenish hurricane emergency supplies and
plan how you will prepare your home. If you live in hurricane-prone areas,
you are encouraged to complete these simple preparations before hurricane
season begins on June 1. Adjust any preparedness actions based on the latest
health and safety guidelines from the CDC and local health officials.
Now is the time to harden and prepare your station for power outages: have
multiple sources of backup power including batteries and gas-powered
generators. Test them now. Ensure your ability to take down and put back up
antennas quickly and efficiently when storms threaten your area.
Hurricane Season 2021: Nets to Know
-----------------------------------
Caribbean Emergency Weather Net - Meets daily at 1030Z and 2230Z on 3815 kHz.
Hurricane Watch Net -- 14.325 MHz, 7.268 MHz -- Activated whenever a
hurricane is within 300 nautical miles of expected landfall. Disseminates
storm information and relays meterological data to National Hurricane Center
via embedded NHC station WX4NHC. Also relays post-storm damage reports and
other relevant information.
Intercontinental Net operates from 7 AM to noon US Eastern Time on 14.300
MHz, providing a means of emergency communications to any location where
normal communications are disrupted.
Marine Maritime Services Net -- 14.300 MHz -- The network acts as a weather
beacon for ships during periods of severe weather and regularly repeats high
seas and tropical weather warnings and bulletins from the National Weather
Service and the National Hurricane Center.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) -- 14.260 MHz -- The
purpose of the SATERN net is to support the Salvation Army operations in
local, regional and international disaster situations. - ARRL US Virgin
Islands Section News
Florida Emergency Communications Exercise Combines Hams, Agencies, State,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
and NGOs
--------
"Whirlwind Boom," a 2-hour emergency communications exercise held on March
19 in Florida, was deemed "wildly successful," while resulting in 21
specific suggestions for improvement of issues recognized. Sponsored by
Florida Baptist Disaster Relief, a non-governmental (NGO) "served
organization," the exercise simulated a combined disaster of multiple
tornadoes crossing north central Florida, closely followed by a terrorist
attack on telecommunications, which took down large chunks of internet and
telephone service.
Pop-up situations, called "injects" by event planners, simulated instant
situations and hinted at even larger attacks designed to create possible
rumor issues. Multiple counties arranged for volunteers to help with the
simulation, working in shelters and transmitting status reports of
individualized disaster scenarios to county emergency operations centers
(EOCs). Volunteers directed by actual or simulated EOC officials aggregated
situational awareness reports and formulated status and resource request
messages, sent by voice or digital mode to a volunteer from the actual
Florida agency that handles disaster communications. Appropriate responses
were sent back by radio.
The exercise picked up additional support from multiple out-of-state
volunteers, who relayed traffic from voice to email and vice versa. Amateur
radio also conveyed simulated outbound welfare messages from survivors in
stricken cities and counties.
All told, 431 messages were passed, including 53 to the state and 31
replies. Messages were passed using digital email or radiogram.
Two of the seven exercise goals addressed interoperability between agencies
and volunteers. Agency emergency management and communications groups
participating included Florida Division of Emergency Management, Florida
Baptist Disaster Relief, the federal SHARES Southeast Regional Net, Alachua,
Columbia, Flagler, Madison, and Taylor Counties, as well as Homestead City.
Volunteer communications groups included the Northern Florida ARES Net,
Northern Florida Phone Net, North Florida Phone Traffic Net, and the
counties' ARES groups.
Multiple county emergency managers injected their own specific plans and
overlay exercises, as provided by the open-exercise design. Ross Merlin,
WA2WDT, director of the federal SHARES program, arranged for a 60-meter
interoperability channel to be made available, and leaders from the SHARES
Southeast Regional Net provided coverage that resulted in formal message
transfer. Florida net trainer Dave Davis, WA4WES, rounded up volunteers to
staff multiple voice nets, and he supervised a PSK31 net. Northern Florida
Section Emergency Coordinator Karl Martin, K4HBN, also took part.
Exercise planning was carried out as much as possible in accordance with DHS
Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) protocols.
Post-exercise feedback -- both through a 1-hour Zoom "hotwash" session and
an anonymous feedback form -- were very positive and also suggested possible
improvements. All are included in the detailed and candid After-Action
Report/Improvement Plan. - Whirlwind Boom press release
May 8 is World Red Cross Day: Participate in Nationwide Spring Drill
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Red Cross Emergency Communication Training Group is holding its
nationwide Spring Drill on World Red Cross Day, May 8. Individuals are
invited to participate.
In February 2020, an organizing phone call was held with a dozen Red
Cross-affiliated radio amateurs to consider creating a nationwide radio
drill. By May, the group had more than 100 people on the team calls, and
more than 1,000 participated in that first Spring Drill. Synthesizing
lessons-learned from the first event, the managing group simplified and
narrowed the focus for a Fall Drill last November, choosing to concentrate
on Winlink involvement.
Red Cross forms are built in as templates in Winlink Express, and hams using
Winlink can also send messages to non-hams. The group's goal for the Fall
Drill was to attract as many hams as possible using Winlink at a basic
level. Over 1700 participated from over 40 states and a few foreign countries.
For next month's Spring '21 Drill, the goal is the same, but now the bar
will be raised in Winlink Proficiency, and, being World Red Cross Day, more
international participation will be solicited. The group has been holding
regular Winlink training sessions, with the last one occurring April 8.
Winlink Thursdays have been attracting over 500 participants. - ARC
Emergency Communications Training Group
ARRL Section ARES News
----------------------
Western Massachusetts Section
Western Massachusetts ARES is planning a Section-wide Simulated Emergency
Test (SET) early next month. Leaders are looking for volunteers with HF
station capabilities across several bands to enable an inter-county relay
system in the event of a major disaster. Localized preparation drills will
be conducted prior to the formal SET. Volunteer operators with VHF simplex
station capabilities will also develop a relay system based on these
capabilities. - Bob Meneguzzo, K1YO, Western Massachusetts Section Emergency
Coordinator
Santa Clara Valley Section
On Saturday, February 20, in California, the Half Moon Bay ARC and the
Coastside CERT organization (sponsored by the Coastside Fire Protection
District) conducted a successful test of 2-meter simplex (point-to-point)
communication along a 10-mile stretch of the northern San Mateo County
coast. The number of stations participating in this drill (37) roughly
doubled from last year. Simplex frequencies are tactical channels under the
Coastside Band Plan.
About half of this year's participating stations employed external antennas
(more than half were J-poles). After conducting last year's simplex test,
subsequent installation of these antennas greatly increased Coastside
connectivity and signal strength. Based on this year's results, the group
intends to repeat this strategy for the benefit of the area's rapidly
growing group of new hams.
Like many California coastal areas, the north San Mateo County coastside has
many ridges and canyons, which results in "dead spots" for 2-meter simplex
transmission and reception. One strategy for dealing with them was
dispatching a mobile station with a strong (20 W-50 W) transceiver up to a
high point along a ridgeline, which pulled out many otherwise inaudible
signals. As a result, for future emergencies the club will dispatch a
"highpoint relay" station and consider deploying a temporary mobile repeater.
The group used the California Amateur Radio Linking System (CARLA-32)
repeater on nearby Montara Mountain to call the roll of participating
stations, and then each station made a simplex transmission on 147.555 MHz
to be evaluated and reported on. For more information, email N1HEL. - Paul
Grigorieff, N1HEL, PIO, Half Moon Bay ARC, ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section
News
West Central Florida
In February, Section Manager Mike Douglas, W4MDD, appointed Norman Xanders,
WX4NEX, as Assistant Section Manager for liaison to the National Weather
Service Forecast Office in Ruskin. Xanders is Assistant EC for Polk County
and can be heard every week on the Polk County ARES and Information Net.
Xanders has been a storm chaser for over 20 years in central Florida. He has
served Polk County ARES as net control operator, Assistant Net Manager and
Net Manager for the county's ARES Net. Xanders also serves as a net control
station for the National Weather Service SKYWARN Information Net. -- WCF
Presser, March/April, 2021 issue
Ohio Section
The Ohio Section's Buckeye Net was working in regular daily 60-meter
operation on February 27 while MARS COMEX 21-1 was running. During call-up
by Steve Judd, WB8YLO, government stations entered the net from the DOD MARS
and DHS SHARES services and exchanged traffic, supported by amateur
operators. ARRL Ohio Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator C. Matthew
Curtin, KD8TTE, recorded the net to pick up audio clips for training, and
made a video for demonstration of 60-meter interoperability and training for
amateur operators working government stations. The Buckeye Net typically
operates on 60-meters during National Traffic System Cycle Two because it
provides the best quality path for stations from across the entire state. -
Thanks, C. Matthew Curtin, KD8TTE, Assistant SEC, ARRL Ohio Section
Indiana Section
Indiana Section Emergency Coordinator Jim Moehring, KB9WWM, reported on the
great turnout for the March 16 Indiana Statewide Tornado Drill. Moehring was
recently contacted by the State RACES group, which is reinvigorating the
State Operations Center. The group will also be restarting the Statewide Net
on HF and VHF/UHF in the near future. FEMA Region 5 contacted Moehring and
has joined the group that is organizing the region's communication
recommendations. - Indiana Section News, Jim Moehring, KB9WWM , Indiana
Section Emergency Coordinator
Northern Florida Section
On April 8, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the Tallahassee,
Florida, Weather Forecast Office of the NWS requested activation of radio
amateurs for a "major squall line that will sweep across the region" over
the weekend. ARRL Northern Florida Section ARES Net Manager Dave Davis,
WA4WES, promptly notified Emergency Coordinators and NWS Chat members of the
activation and called for stations with weather reports -- high winds,
flooding, downed trees or power lines, etc., -- to call in the reports on
the Tallahassee Amateur Radio Society 147.03 MHz repeater. Pat Lightcap,
K4NRD, EC for Madison County (east of Tallahassee) ARES, notified his ARES
team members and monitored the SARNET and area repeaters, including 147.03
MHz.
Oregon Section
ShakeAlert went live on March 11 - providing early warning of seismic events
in Oregon. No sign up is required to receive ShakeAlert notifications, and
no action needs to be taken other than enabling emergency alerts on cell
phones. [The Cascadia Subduction Zone passes through Washington and Oregon,
with major cities including Portland and Seattle potentially affected. Radio
amateurs have been involved with Cascadia Rising, a multi-state effort
involving agencies from the federal, state, local, tribal, international and
private sectors in a set of exercises centering around a subduction zone
earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. See Cascadia Rising 2016: Pacific
Northwest Amateurs Called to Serve, September 2016 QST, pp. 65-68.]
North Texas Section
The ARRL North Texas Mentor Fest scheduled for April 24 will be held
virtually. Seven presenters will cover diverse topics including Winlink by
KF5PFP and Portable Emergency Communications by N5REG. It will be hosted on
The ARRL NTX YouTube Channel.
K1CE for a Final: My April 8 Red Cross Winlink Thursday Experience
------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the goals for the April 8 Red Cross/ARES Winlink Thursday Drill was
to send a message via Winlink to a Red Cross clearinghouse while operating
on emergency power. I drafted the check-in/location with GPS
coordinates/comments message as prescribed by the drill designers, and
uploaded it to my Winlink Express outbox. I found an RMS station with a good
(green) path reliability and quality estimate, and after a few tries, I was
connected and sent my message to the ARCSOUTHEAST clearinghouse tactical
call sign, with a copy to the mapping application email address. The channel
had some congestion, perhaps busy with other drill participants trying to do
the same thing: total bytes sent were 1,323, time it took to send it: 09:32,
for a transfer rate of 139 bytes/minute. The signal-to-noise ratio was poor,
in the red zone as indicated by my VARA HF dashboard, but my message
transfer was successful.
The primary lesson learned for me was that my 12 V batteries (two in
parallel) were not enough to power my transmitter at a reasonable RF output,
which reportedly likes a nominal voltage of 13.7 V. I switched to my
gasoline-powered generator and that did the trick. I will look into
procuring a battery voltage booster.
Congratulations to the American Red Cross Emergency Communications Training
group for another good exercise. See you next month for the May 8 nationwide
drill, which is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day 2021. - Rick Palm, K1CE
_______________________
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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