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CX2SA > ARES 21.01.24 13:22l 393 Lines 22016 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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Subj: The ARES E-Letter - 01/2024
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=================
The ARES E-Letter
=================
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE January 17, 2024
- ARES© Briefs, Links
- Letters: USGS Thanks Winlink Amateur Volunteers for Shakeout Service
- National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC SKYWARN Recognition Day Operations
Successful
- FEMA: Results of 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness.
- Ham Radio Comms Trailer Decisions
- Florida Pair Travel to Serve New York City Marathon
- K1CE For a Final: Subscribe to The NTS Newsletter
- ARES© Resources
ARES¶© Briefs, Links
--------------------
The Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (DLARC) is now
archiving issues of QST NFL, the newsletter of the Northern Florida ARRL
Section. DLARC is a project of the Internet Archive, the not-for-profit
online library. DLARC is growing to be a massive online library of the past
and present of ham radio and related communications. It is funded by a grant
from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, a private foundation that exists
to support amateur radio and digital communication science and technology. -
ARRL QST NFL, January 2024 issue, Marty Brown, N4GL, editor [After more than
eight years as editor, Brown is retiring with the gratitude of Northern
Florida ARES and other amateur interest communities across the section and
state. Well done, thank you and good luck, Marty. - Ed.]
Orlando HamCation¶© -- the ARRL Florida State Convention -- is next month,
February 9 - 11, at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. There are a number of
forums and meetings of interest to ARES and other emergency communicators:
Disaster Response Communications and Auxcomm Florida; Training for Net
Operations; SARNET; ARES Forum; New Directions in MARS; and What is SATERN.
These forums are conducted by nationally-recognized leaders and
practitioners. See you at HamCation!
Letters: USGS Thanks Winlink Amateur Volunteers for Shakeout Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"We at the USGS really appreciate the work of the Winlink amateur volunteers
who contributed to the recent ShakeOut earthquake scenario exercise as well
as contributing to the USGS Did You Feel It? (DYFI) system since 2020.
Winlink volunteers have sent in more than 6,000 responses for exercises and
actual events. We anticipate that your contributions will help us provide
critical situational awareness in the minutes and hours after a significant
earthquake. You have a rather unique capacity to communicate after a
damaging earthquake. Hence, the connection between amateur radio operators
and the USGS' post-earthquake information tools is a natural yet impressive
handoff.
"I've been really impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of all
the amateur radio operators we've worked with over the past few years who
have been ready and willing to develop the interface to connect directly to
USGS via the DYFI system and to the many operators who have sent in felt
reports. Fantastic!
"Lastly, I also want to thank Vince Quitoriano (USGS contractor) for making
all the connections between Winlink and USGS work so smoothly." -- David
Wald, PhD, Supervisory Research Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey
National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC SKYWARN Recognition Day Operations
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Successful
----------
On December 2, 2023, Amateur Radio station WX4NHC operators at the National
Hurricane Center were on-the-air on HF (40 and 20 meters) for the SKYWARN
Recognition Day (SRD) event from 9 AM to 6 PM EST. WX4NHC was also on the
VoIP Hurricane Net on EchoLink WX_TALK Conference (Node 7203)/IRLP 9219 from
4 PM until 6 PM EST. WX4NHC has participated in this annual event since its
inception more than 20 years ago.
This event is sponsored by the National Weather Service (NWS) and is
excellent practice for ham radio operators as well as NWS staff to become
familiar with the unique radio communications available during times of
severe weather. The event was open to all stations in the US and worldwide.
WX4NHC total SRD contacts: 144
NWS Stations contacted: 19
Farthest stations contacted: Brazil (PY3BI)
Coldest Temperature reported: 15¶øF, AG9G, Wisconsin
Hottest Temperature reported: 88¶øF, 6Y5WW, Jamaica
WX4NHC station weather (in Miami, Florida): 77¶øF - 81¶øF and partly sunny
Radio amateurs who made contacts with the NHC station can receive a QSL card
documenting the radio contact. (Please send SASE to WD4R (QRZ address is
OK). - Thanks, Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant Manager, WX4NHC station at the
National Hurricane Center
FEMA: Results of 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since 2013, FEMA has conducted the National Household Survey on Disaster
Preparedness. This survey of people from across the United States gauges the
nation's disaster preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations. The 2023
survey conducted from February 1 through March 14, 2023 included over 7,600
responses. Results from the 2023 survey indicate that slightly more than
half (51%) of Americans believe they are prepared for a disaster and 57%
took three or more actions to prepare for a disaster within the last year.
The most common actions people took to prepare for a disaster were
assembling or updating disaster supplies (48%) and making a plan (37%); the
least common actions were planning with neighbors (12%) and getting involved
in their community (14%). To review the survey results, download the summary
presentation.
Key Findings and Opportunities from the 2023 Survey
There were big shifts in the way people prepared for disasters in 2023
compared to the year before. There was a large increase in the percentage of
people who assembled or updated supplies (from 33% in 2022 to 48% in 2023),
but there was a large decrease in the percentage of people who signed up for
alerts and warnings (from 46% in 2022 to 36% in 2023). Emergency managers
should remind people that there is more to preparedness than just assembling
supplies. When meeting with your community, help people sign up for alerts
and warnings right in the moment. Walk them through the process of signing
up to receive local alerts while you have their direct attention, so they
don't have to remember to do it themselves later on.
Only 50% of people believed that that taking steps to prepare for a disaster
would help them in getting through a disaster and were confident in their
ability to take those steps to prepare. To increase preparedness efficacy,
trusted local and community messengers should provide outcome testimonials
to demonstrate the value of preparing for a disaster, especially for groups
with lower rates of preparedness efficacy.
There was a strong association between having awareness of how to prepare
for disasters and taking action to prepare.89% of people had read, seen or
heard information in the last year about how to get better prepared for a
disaster. People who had received information about how to prepare were five
times as likely to take at least three preparedness actions compared to
people who had not received preparedness information. Emergency managers
should focus their preparedness outreach efforts on communities with lower
awareness of preparedness information because the payoff could be big.
Provide tips and strategies for preparing based on a community's specific
needs, challenges, and environment. Leverage FEMA's preparedness resources
from Ready.gov.
There was a disconnect between the 60+ community's perceived preparedness
and their preparedness actions.People who were 60 years old and older were
about as likely as people between the ages of 18 and 59 to feel prepared for
a disaster (52% and 51% respectively). However, people ages 60 and older
were less likely to have taken many preparedness actions compared to people
between the ages of 18 and 59. To increase the preparedness of the 60+
community, emergency managers should develop preparedness programming and
materials that take into consideration the unique challenges facing older
adults and empower them to prepare.
Cost barriers may prevent people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged
from taking important preparedness actions.They were less likely than those
who are not socioeconomically disadvantaged to have taken higher-cost
preparedness actions but were about as likely to have taken low- or no-cost
preparedness actions. Emergency managers should leverage community resources
to help those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged overcome the cost
barriers to close the gap in taking higher-cost preparedness actions.
People living in areas at higher risk of flood and wildfire impacts had
lower levels of risk perception for those hazards. Only 43% of people
reported that riverine flooding was 'likely' or 'very likely' to impact
them, despite living in areas that are at higher risk of experiencing the
impacts of riverine flooding. For higher risk wildfire areas, only 49%
perceived their risk of being impacted by wildfires. However, hurricane risk
perception (96%) was much higher for people at higher risk of experiencing
hurricane impacts. Emergency managers should apply the tools and messaging
techniques that effectively communicate risk for hurricanes to build a
similar culture of risk perception for floods and wildfires in communities
at greatest risk.
Ham Radio Comms Trailer Decisions
---------------------------------
After studying the idea of a radio/video uplink trailer for some time in
early 2020, Doug Reed, N0NAS and I discussed at great length the use case
for such a rig. It would be for events where we needed an indoor, all
weather operating space for a day or longer. In COVID, a large,
multi-operator space (i.e., motorhome) was problematic.
On impulse I found a good deal in mid 2020 on a 15ƒ?ý Palomino hybrid
camper. The u-shaped dinette area was ideal for one or two operators. I
drilled a one inch hole under the dinette seat and put in a hinged cover.
The cables went in and out easily via the access door under the dinette
seats. It had a kitchen area, sink and a built in 12V and 120V power system.
It worked well at Field Day 2021.
Disadvantages were: It was big. Lots of drag/wind area. High fuel
consumption. My 300 HP tow vehicle was at times unhappy. It was wide: 8
feet. And tall: ten fet. And all the systems needed to be winterized. I
worried about the sun-worn rubber roof. It took up lots of driveway space.
These are three-season campers, really. The fold out tent beds are useless
in winter. You cannot sleep and operate in the same trailer. An ideal camper
for ham radio - the Casita- 15ƒ?ý + fiberglass and similar brands - seems
good but rare and pricey.
Prices on new enclosed cargo trailers are crazy. I wanted a 5'x7ƒ?ý with
extra height to be driveway friendly. New these are $4000. Doug was arguing
for 6'x10ƒ?ý or so. A local club got a 28ƒ?ý - no.ƒ??Locally I found a
5'x7ƒ?ý at auction but is was very rusty. It did have a side door; 6ƒ?ü of
extra ceiling height; and about 5 feet inside height, which seemed good.
mobile radio trailer
Radio trailer [Photo]
I put in a forward laminated counter in the pointed nose. And one in the
rear. These are easily made from 1Ç?3 pine lumber, 2Ç?2 pine legs and
laminated 3ƒ?ý wide lumber yard shelving. We added an RV style translucent
roof vent and 20ƒ?ý Harbor Freight aluminum flagpole. It now has a Group 31
marine deep cycle battery (~100AH) and 20 amp marine shore power supply and
inlet. And a 100W solar panel and the smallest "SUV" awning we could find.
And some 12V LED lighting and a microwave oven. It worked well at Hams in
the Park 12/21 and numerous events since. It was towed out on the ski course
by a tracked ATV for the Loppet Winter Festival.ƒ??
For event/recovery deployment, it will travel with a pair of the 30ƒ?ý
diesel tower trailers.ƒ??This brings three towers, fully redundant 6KW
120/240 power and 120 hours of onboard diesel. - Erik Westgard, NY9D, St.
Paul, Minnesota [Westgard is a regular contributor to the ARRL ARES Letter].
Florida Pair Travel to Serve New York City Marathon
---------------------------------------------------
Gordon "Gordie" Beattie, Jr., W2TTT, and Nancy Beattie, N2FWI, ARES members
of rural northern Florida, traveled to New York City to help with race
coordination for the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5th. This is
a marquee training opportunity wrapped up in a live event where 55,000 elite
runners traverse the City of New York. Nancy and Gordon are part of an
Amateur Radio team that comes from ten states to volunteer for this event.
Years ago the first Amateur Radio Communications Director, Steve Mendelsohn,
WA2DHF/W2ML (SK) started to exchange talent with other Marathon teams from
around the country as a way to develop improved best practices for
communications support. While most of the volunteer hams are local to metro
New York/New Jersey, there are many who fly or drive in days before the
event to participate. They also participate and lead various key planning
roles remotely in the months leading up to the Marathon. It is an amazingly
complex event with a diverse social landscape, great people and awesome
experiences for anyone interested in contributing and honing their skills. A
few have participated since the 1970s, but most since the 1990s or early
2000s.
Each year there are new volunteers, so the team has depth, and is infused
with new ideas that keep it at the top of the game. The primary mission for
the hundreds of volunteer Amateur Radio operators along the twenty-six mile
course is the timely delivery of vital information to the Race Control
Center in Central Park via the attached Amateur Radio Communications Center.
They also provide backup should other systems go down. The NYPD has required
the integration of Amateur Radio volunteers for over forty years and with
the New York City Roadrunners engages the Amateur Radio community for this
and other events throughout the year as part of a layered strategy for
"observe and report" and backup communications functions.
The nets covering the course are hierarchical and layered for reliability
and capacity. There are separate DMR Talk Groups and sometimes repeaters for
the Start, Finish, VIP, Medical, Lower and Middle Course and Central Park
areas and functions as well as FM analog repeaters for backup snd overflow.
Additionally, each Mile Captain has a Simplex Net that is usually FM but may
also be DMR. Traffic is tactical in format and includes everything from
position reports to logistics requests, spot reports of runners with
unauthorized equipment or other gear, medical issues, runner drop outs,
course disruptions due to fire or EMS activity in a community, protests and
the presence of suspicious items or people near the course - the essence of
the "See Something, Say Something" protocol.
Nancy is a net control for one of the many nets including the very early DMR
VIP Net starting a little before 5 AM and then she shifts over to one of the
FM nets until about 8 PM. She, along with others, have a long day. Gordon
manages the AREDN Mesh-based network and cameras. All the cameras are
supported by a Windows-based Blue Iris video server sitting in New Jersey
supported by two separate broadband providers. From there, remote viewers
can access all the cameras in the network. The video feeds come from key
points of interest and are fed into the Race Control Center and to hams who
are assigned to NYPD's Operations Center in downtown Manhattan at One Police
Plaza. An additional local instance of Blue Iris is also monitored by Gordon
and others in the Amateur Radio Communications Center In Central Park.
Because cellular network overloading along the race course can cause video
stream dropouts, an ARES¶© team from Connecticut deployed a Starlink
Terminal to backhaul their AREDN Mesh-based video traffic from the 59th
Street Bridge area into the Internet.
Using APRS, Gordon tracks and displays the whereabouts of the Race
Precursor, Lead Female and Male Runner, press vehicles and the Runner
Drop-Out buses. These are all equipped with APRS trackers built by Dave
Henninger, N3UXK. Additional trackers built by individuals are also on the
course and help to refine our overall operational picture from Central Park.
Further, some of our ham volunteers run the APRS.FI application on their
phones or other devices. We have specified a message format for both RF and
cellular trackers and use the logs to determine coverage gaps in both the
APRS and cellular networks. Our beacon message format indicates Amateur
Radio RF or which cellular carrier is in use which enhances our post-event
analytics. -- J. Gordon "Gordie" Beattie, Jr., W2TTT, QST NFL, January 2024
issue
K1CE For a Final: Subscribe to The NTS Newsletter
-------------------------------------------------
The ARRL National Traffic System has a long, proud history (75 years) of
serving the public by originating, relaying and delivering formal written
messages via a formal network of trained operators across the country.
Recently, energetic working groups of experts have been updating and
invigorating the League's traffic handling program - the NTS 2.0 project --
which dovetails with the equally historic and important Amateur Radio
Emergency Service¶© with an emphasis on moving routine, priority and
emergency messages to their destination recipients. NTS 2.0 will not
supplant the existing National Traffic System. Rather, it seeks to improve
and expand upon the ways in which we deliver and originate radiogram
messages. It also seeks to restate its purpose to the general public and
served agencies. NTS 2.0 will devise tools and methods to allow our network
to expand its current capabilities to provide wide-area message
communications services for ARES, SKYWARN, RACES, and other served agencies.
For example, in an article in the new The ARRL NTS Letter, Jonathon Taylor,
K1RFD, writes about a project called The Radiogram Portal, a website that
introduces Radiograms to the public and provides an easy way for members of
the public to submit messages to be entered, relayed, and delivered by the
NTS traffic handlers. This introduces a means of communicating in a disaster
situation for the public, and generates messages to exercise the system and
improve the skill sets of its operators for competent service. More
information can be found in the current issue of The ARRL NTS Letter, which
contains a wealth of news and information on the National Traffic System.
You can found archived editions of the new newsletter here. The NTS Letter
is published monthly and is free of charge to ARRL members. Subscribe:
arrl.org/opt-in-out Veteran traffic handler Marcia Forde, KW1U, Section
Traffic Manager of Eastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and Rhode
Island - is the editor. Sign up, and get the newsletter.
Orlando HamCation¶© (the second largest ham radio convention in the world) -
I hope to meet and greet many ARES Letter readers at this spectular event!
See you there! - Rick, K1CE
___________________________________
ARES¶© 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 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.
Support ARES: Join ARRL
ARES is a program of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio¶© . No
other organization works harder than ARRL to promote and protect amateur
radio! ARRL members enjoy many benefits and services including digital
magazines, e-newsletters, online learning (learn.arrl.org), and technical
support. Membership also supports programs for radio clubs, on-air contests,
Logbook of The World¶©, ARRL Field Day, and the all-volunteer ARRL Field
Organization.
Join ARRL or renew today! arrl.org/join
The ARES Letter is free of charge to ARRL members. Subscribe:
www.arrl.org/opt-in-out
Find ARRL on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X (@arrl and @arrl_ares), and
Threads
ARRL Store: arrl.org/shop
Support programs not funded by member dues! arrl.org/donate
Contact us to advertise in this newsletter (space subject to availability):
ads@xxxx.xxx
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 at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright ¸ 2024 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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