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AE5ME > ARES 22.02.16 01:11l 38 Lines 6464 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: //WL2K ARES E-Letter February 17th Part 4 of 4
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Letters: More Tips for Net Controllers
I would like to add a few net control tips to those posted in last month's issue: Remember the 10 minute ID rule. It is NOT enough to ID with your call at the beginning and end of the net, especially when nets often run over 20 minutes. Announce the name of the net several times during the net - an easy way is announce it when you are calling the next list of check-ins. Remember, operators who are tuning around or who arrive after the beginning of the net will have no idea what net they are listening to and whether it is an "open" net if the name and type of check-in is not frequently announced. - Sherri Brower, W4STB, ARRL Southern Florida Public Information Officer
Model Emergency Communication Plan for a Retirement Community
Royal Harbor is a gated retirement community of 750 homes located in the town of Tavares, Florida in Lake County, 40 miles north of Orlando. This area features 2000 lakes of which 1400 have names. It's also Florida's hill country, with gently rolling hills, uncharacteristic of the flat land areas of most of Florida.
Hurricanes and tornados are not unusual to Lake County. In 2007 a tornado killed several people and caused much damage. In 2004 the county was visited by four hurricanes.
Five years ago the Royal Harbor Amateur Radio Club adopted an emergency ham radio program called Neighborhood Ham Watch. The idea behind the program was to provide emergency communications to the outside world through Amateur Radio operators who lived in Royal Harbor. The operators decided to prepare an emergency disaster communications plan for the retirement community.
The first Royal Harbor Communications Disaster Plan was presented to the Royal Harbor Home Owners Association board of directors in October 2012. After board approval, it became part of Royal Harbor's overall disaster plan. The plan was recently updated.
The plan makes clear from the very beginning that the members are to first ensure that their own families are safe and secure, before the rest of the plan is executed. In the event of a hurricane, tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings, members will already be on the area ARES frequency 147.255 MHz as part of a SKYWARN net, with the operation being easily converted to the activation of the disaster plan. An equipped operator will be dispatched to HOA office to provide a link to the net and/or the Lake County Emergency Operating Center (EOC) in Tavares, Florida.
Under a plan A, an operator will be assigned as the net control station from his/her home, and will maintain contact with the EOC on 147.255 MHz. The operator may be using generator or battery backup power. The NCS operator will conduct the net of other Royal Harbor amateurs using the simplex frequency of 146.580 MHz or other simplex frequency designated.
The operator at the Royal Harbor office will remain in contact with the net via the simplex link. One operator will be on a D-STAR link, while another is on HF, lending mode and frequency range diversity.
All Royal Harbor emergency operators will have VHF/UHF (V/U) capabilities in their personal vehicles if needed for mobile assignments. When it is safe to do so, the net control station may be moved to the lighthouse for better height above average terrain (HAAT). The repeater located in the lighthouse can be powered by a club generator.
Staffing critical locations will be conducted on a rotating basis; recruitment of additional operators from outside Royal Harbor may be necessary if the incident continues for more than 72 hours. There is an agreement for mutual aid with the Lake County Amateur Radio Association.
A plan B calls for NCS to be located in the Royal Harbor HOA office, among other changes. Operators should be available for deployment within Royal Harbor with mobile or portable radios for damage assessments. A plan C allows for more modifications to the plan/operation as conditions dictate. ARES will also maintain the ability to contact contiguous county EOCs under other plans.
These plans work well for this Florida retirement community and may be used as a model for other communities, expanded or contracted based on size and the ARES population of operators. Develop your own communications plan before it's too late. -- Ted Luebbers, K1AYZ, Lake County (Florida) ARESŪ Public Information Officer
Wind Storm Damages San Diego/Baja Amateur High Speed Data Facilities
A serious wind storm with gusts of 100 mph in the San Diego/Baja Mexico area at the end of January caused major damage to the facilities of the Radio Club of Baja California (CREBC, Tijuana, Mexico) just south of the US-Mexico border. Many San Diego ARES members use the facilities for repeater and packet communications as do mariners heading down the coast of Baja. The microwave communications backbone emergency group High Data Rate Emergency Network of San Diego (HDRENS) connects over a 50 to 100 Mbit/sec 12 mile path to the CREBC Cardenas tower, which was felled by the storm. Mike Burton, XE2/N6KZB, and CREBC officer Juan Tellez, XE2SI, started repairs as soon as the storm passed, getting systems back up over the course of three to four days.
The Cardenas 80-foot tower was exposed on a high ridge line above Playas de Tijuana, and was a Canadian-made free standing type with broad base, installed 27 years ago. It supported antennas for two Ubiquiti 5 GHz links, CREBC UHF repeater, an area police repeater, 3 area commercial customer systems, UHF and VHF links, 145.09 MHz repeater, and area Fire Department repeaters.
Sometime in the early morning when the gusts were strongest, two of the tower's three legs gave way and the tower collapsed. Corrosion was a contributing factor. On its way down, it missed a neighbor's house by a foot, tore the top security fence railing, damaging many other antennas. Electrical shorts caused site computer damage and damage to AC power lines inside.
Club members, Fire and Police personnel teamed up to get all systems back in service, place antennas on lower structure and remove the tower. Despite the lower elevation all systems functioned well and a new tower may not be needed.
Other sites suffered damage and were also repaired. Damages could have been greater and the fast response just shows that amateurs and public safety professionals can work together when needed in the public interest. -- Mike Burton, XE2/N6KZB (CREBC); and Ed Sack, W3NRG, San Diego ARES
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