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CX2SA > ARES 21.01.23 17:30l 263 Lines 13772 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
BID : ARES012023
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Subj: The ARES E-Letter - 01/2023
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<N6RME<CX2SA
Sent: 230121/1627Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM #:22201 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:ARES012023
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : ARES@ARRL
=================
The ARES E-Letter
=================
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE January 18, 2023
- ARESİ Briefs, Links
- A Year-Long ARRL Operating Event Recognizing Volunteers - That's You!
- Contests as COMMEXs
- ARES/CERT Flood Preparedness Drills in Northwestern Washington
- ARRL ARESİ Section News
- ARESİ Resources
- ARRL Resources
ARESİ Briefs, Links
-------------------
Winter Field Day (WFD) is January 28-29 -- A communications exercise, WFD is
open to participants worldwide. Operators use the HF, VHF, and UHF bands and
are free to use any mode. Similar to the ARRL's Field Day, bonus points are
earned in several ways, including using non-commercial power sources,
operating from remote locations, satellite contacts, and more. Winter Field
Day is sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association, which believes that
operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter
environments, to help increase preparedness for disasters and improve skills
in sub par conditions.
In the latest episode of the ARRL On the Air podcast, Ginger Wilder, KI5TJE,
discusses her first time running an amateur radio net. Give it a listen and
get ready to be the next Net Control operator for your local net.
FEMA released the 2022 National Preparedness Report, revealing the impacts
that climate change and associated natural disasters continue to have on
emergency management capabilities and communities across the country. The
report focuses on:
The nation's changing risk environment, driven by climate change,
physical and technological vulnerabilities, and inequity;
Preparedness indicators and measurements of national capability levels;
and
Management opportunities that can assist communities in managing risks
and addressing capability gaps.
The report identifies the challenges that emergency managers face in
addressing a changing risk environment, and how they can meet those
challenges to help achieve a more prepared nation. Emergency managers and
whole community partners [including the ARRL ARES program - Ed.] across the
nation can look to this year's report to help support decisions about
program priorities, resource allocations, and community actions.
A Year-Long ARRL Operating Event Recognizing Volunteers - That's You!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As announced in the January 2023 issue of QST, ARRL is celebrating a
year-long operating event honoring all ARRL volunteers: Volunteers On the
Air. Read the Announcement In similar fashion to the 2014 ARRL Centennial
Celebration, and the 2018 International Grid Chase, this event will be
exclusively driven only by QSOs uploaded to Logbook of The World (LoTW).
Highlights of the event include:
Earning Points for contacting W1AW Portable Stations: There will be
week-long activations of portable W1AW/# stations in all 50 states, and in
several US Possessions/Territories, that will generate on-air activity to
earn points. Each state will be activated twice. The schedule of when which
states will be activated, as posted in the dashboard above, will be updated
as changes/additions occur. See the POINTS TABLE for the full list of points.
Contacting ARRL Volunteers or Members on the air: ARRL Officers,
Directors, Section Managers (and their appointees), Staff, and even Members
domestically (and DX) can be contacted for points. See the POINTS TABLE for
the full list of points.
Using Logbook of The World (LoTW -- see
http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world) as the QSOs data source, the 2023
Volunteers On the Air event features W1AW activations from all 50 states
(twice) and several territories during 2023. Weeks will begin on a Wednesday
and end on a Tuesday. Some weeks will be shown as off weeks to avoid other
major operating events.
Participants will work W1AW portable stations and ARRL volunteers to
earn QSO points.
Participants do not need to upload to, or participate in, LoTW. Uploads
to LoTW by W1AW portable stations and by the volunteers will feed the points
scoring system.
A Leaderboard will be activated after the event ramps up, and
Certificates will be available during and after the event concludes. Once
the year is completed, a final summary will be released.
Contests as COMMEXs
-------------------
ARRL VHF/UHF Contest January 21-23, 2023
The annual ARRL January VHF/UHF Contest begins at 1900 UTC January 21 and
ends 0359 UTC January 23. All Amateur Radio Service bands from 6 meters and
above may be used for the contest. Since most of the Blair County
(Pennsylvania) Amateur Radio, intra-county emergency communications support
uses the amateur VHF and UHF frequencies, this is a great contest to use as
your own personal communications exercise (COMMEX) for your home, mobile,
and/or portable VHF and UHF equipment.
There's even an FM-only category on 6 meters through 70 cm. So, you won't
need an all-mode radio to play. If you have an all-mode radio though, you'll
be able to make more, and more distant, contacts. Speaking of FM, you may
only use recognized FM simplex frequencies. Repeater contacts are not allowed.
Not a contester at heart? Use this contest to test your radio grab-and-go
and emergency supply kits. With the FM-only category, you could operate from
your home station or portable by setting up your grab-and-go kit in your
backyard, or on your deck or patio. How well do you and your grab-and-go kit
work over the duration of the contest, in the winter? Don't forget power.
Can you sustain operations during the contest without using commercial
power? Although using emergency power won't get you any extra points in this
contest, it's a way you can use the contest to exercise your EMCOMM
capabilities. Don't have an emergency supply kit? Go to Ready.gov to learn
how to prepare yourself and your family for small emergencies or large-scale
disasters. Remember, it takes a while for the government to organize a
response to a disaster.
Even here in the United States, it can take 72 hours or more before any
government organized relief arrives in a stricken area. In the case of
disasters like Katrina and Sandy, some areas didn't see organized government
help arrive until weeks later. That's why it's vitally important we are
prepared to fend for ourselves at least during that initial 72-hour period.
Try operating during the contest with just the provisions of your emergency
supply kit. Because the food and water needs to be refreshed regularly
anyway, see if your kit will in fact sustain you during the contest. If it
doesn't, it means your kit will need to be reevaluated. If you do use the
contest for your own COMMEX, please take the time to write an article for
your local newsletter -- or QST! -- describing your experience.
Additional details about the contest can be found at the ARRL's January VHF
Contest web page. -- Blair ARES Alert!, the newsletter of the Blair County,
Pennsylvania, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (Emergency Coordinator: Kevin
Lear, W3XOX; Editor: Drew McGhee, KA3EJV)
ARES/CERT Flood Preparedness Drills in Northwestern Washington
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Flooding in Sumas, Washington and Abbotsford, British Columbia, November
2021 -- In that November, Whatcom County, Washington and southern British
Columbia experienced the worst flooding in 30 years. The Nooksack River
overflow significantly impacted the communities in the floodplain and
extended across the border into Abbotsford, BC, as well. Stream overflows
also flooded several major streets in Bellingham, WA, during the same
period. Cross-border damage caused by the flooding has been estimated in the
billions.
In the after-action review of the flooding, Fire District One (FD1) in
Whatcom County (which serves the flooded area) noted the lack of real-time
situation reports from the flooding areas. FD1 reached out to the county
ARES group, the Whatcom Emergency Communications Group (WECG), to develop a
plan for future flood events.
WECG had been using the mapping software Caltopo/Sartopo in conjunction with
county Search and Rescue. WECG put together an exercise using ARES and
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers in field teams to
demonstrate the use of the mapping app. Field teams reported hypothetical
flood situations via the Sartopo app or VHF and FRS radio. Situation reports
(road closed, area flooded, etc.) were posted in real time on the master map
at the EOC. In addition, some teams were able to provide drone footage to
the EOC. The FD1 chief and the chiefs from neighboring fire districts were
able to monitor the exercise as it progressed.
The City of Bellingham's ACS group has run a similar exercise using Sartopo,
mimicking the 2021 flood experience. In addition to the use of Sartopo,
radio and CERT teams also sent in digital reports and photos using Winlink
and fldigi.
Bellingham's Emergency Manager was able to follow the exercise live on the
EOC master map. See the final map indicating field team routes and reports.
Whatcom County has now incorporated the field team/Sartopo mapping approach
in to its flood preparedness planning. Cross border emergency managers have
also developed coordinated flood response plans. -- Jim McCabe, AE7UQ,
Whatcom County ARES Emergency Coordinator; and Jim Blattner, KC7JB, Whatcom
Emergency Communications Group [Photo and image courtesy of the author]
ARRL ARESİ Section News
-----------------------
Colorado
FOREST FIRE! -- Boulder, Colorado, Live ATV Video Feed to Emergency
Operations Center -- On Monday, December 19, 2022, a structure fire started
in Sunshine Canyon. It spread to the nearby forest. Strong winds of 40 MPH
made fighting the fire difficult and also prevented the use of firefighting
aircraft. The nearby mountain sub-divisions were under evacuation orders
from the Sheriff. The OEM activated the Boulder ARES group (BCARES). They
were requested to man the Red Cross evacuation shelter. Allen Bishop, K0ARK,
BCARES EC, requested that the Boulder ATV Club (BATVC) provide video
coverage for the EOC. Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, set up his TV camera on the back
deck?îof his QTH out on the prairie 15 miles away. Using the long,
tele-photo zoom he was able to see the smoke plume, but not the actual fire.
He sent his video to the W0BTV digital ATV repeater on 23cm. The repeater
then re-broadcast it on 70cm (423 MHz). Both Don Nelson, N0YE, and Bill
Eberle, AB0MY, activated their receivers and sent the video over the
internet to the BATC server in the U.K. Allen at the Boulder Emergency
Operations Center (EOC) picked up the video from the BATC stream. - Thanks,
Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, Boulder, Colorado ARES
ARESİ Resources
---------------
Download the ARES Manual [PDF]
ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF]
ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF]
ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word]
ARES Plan
ARES Group Registration
Emergency Communications Training
The Amateur Radio Emergency Serviceİ (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.
ARRL Resources
--------------
Join or Renew Today! Eligible US-based members can elect to receive QST or
On the Air magazine in print when they join ARRL or when they renew their
membership. All members can access digital editions of all four ARRL
magazines: QST, On the Air, QEX, and NCJ.
Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly,
features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA
Sprint and QSO parties.
Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published
bimonthly, 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 Letter (monthly public
service and emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest Update
(biweekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much
more!
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________
The ARES 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-letter.
Copyright ¸ 2023 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and
distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for
non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes
require written permission.
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* CX2SA 1978-2023 - Salto Uruguay *
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