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Subj: ARES E-Letter June 15, 2016
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : ARES@WW
The ARES E-Letter June 15, 2016
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
- ARES Supports Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach
- HDSCS Follows Up on Issues from Orange County Drill
- Before Deployment: Personal, Family Safety First
- FEMA Encourages Preparedness for the 2016 Hurricane Season; ARES Should
be Ready Now
- K1CE For a Final
ARES Briefs, Links
------------------
Do you like the ARES E-Letter? Can you think of anything to improve it? We
value your opinion! Please click to take a brief survey. Thank you for
subscribing to the ARES E-Letter! -- Your Editor, Rick Palm, K1CE
Pacific Northwest Earthquake Exercise Reaching for Realistic Response
Scenario; ARES/RACES Heavily Invested (6/6/2016); Colorado Creates Auxiliary
Emergency Communications Unit (6/8/2016); ARES Volunteers Take Part in
Search for Missing Plane (6/6/2016); Houston Area ARES Activates in Response
to Flood Emergency (6/2/2016)
The 2016 Florida Statewide Hurricane Exercise was supported by the state's
ARES and other groups' activities, conducted on Wednesday May 18, with net
operations on HF center frequencies of 3.950 MHz and 7.242 MHz, and on the
SARnet linked system of UHF repeaters. Propagation was challenging on both
the 80-meter and 40-meter bands; many relays were needed. But, with patience
and diligence, the exercise with coordination with the state EOC (SEOC)
yielded experience, practice and honing of skill sets for participating
operators. Test messages were sent to the state EOC station KA4EOC from all
three Florida ARRL sections. Many were delivered via SARnet. The SEOC KA4EOC
station was not co-located at the main EOC campus in Tallahassee, but
instead was situated at a remote military complex Camp Blanding, operating
from a communications unit, as a planned part of the hurricane exercise to
test the state EOC's Continuation of Operations Plan (COOP). The scenario
had the Tallahassee SEOC facility so severely damaged that the COOP had to
be initiated. - from an after action report by Northern Florida Section
Emergency Coordinator Strait Hollis, KT4YA
Early Reports from Pacific Northwest Cascadia Rising Earthquake/Tsunami
Exercise: Major Exercise, Major Success
The largest FEMA exercise of the year, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake along the
Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) and the resulting tsunami was the scenario
posed to emergency management, public safety and ARES/RACES officials and
volunteers in the Pacific Northwest, June 7 to 10. Cascadia Rising has just
concluded with a large showing by amateur operators, and after action
reports are just starting to roll in. Emergency Operations and Coordination
Centers (EOC/ECCs) at all levels of government and the private sector were
activated for this major effort.
Members of the Island County Amateur Radio Club (W7AVM) on Whidbey Island,
Washington, coordinated with local emergency officials and facilitated the
flow of radio message traffic from their homes, emergency operations centers
and field shelter sites during the four-day, multi-state exercise.
The local exercise scenario called for a temporary breakdown of commercial
communications facilities, creating an urgent need for amateur radio
point-to-point communications. Members also hoisted antennas and forwarded
Red Cross message traffic via voice and packet from a field triage site
located in a community church on the island.
The exercise activities scattered throughout Whidbey created keen interest
from the public about the value of ham radio operators to bridge the
communications gap immediately following any disaster. -- Vince Bond, K7NA,
Island County Amateur Radio Club PIO
Andrew Phelps, Director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, said
"Thanks to our amateur radio partners and Oregon ARES/RACES for your
participation! Vital to our success!" (from John Core, KX7YT, ARRL Oregon
Section Manager).
Bruce Bjerke, K7BHB, Oregon Section Emergency Coordinator, Oregon
ARES/RACES, reported that immediately following the exercise on June 10
during the hot wash with FEMA and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management
staff, State Communications Officer Terry Pietras, W7JOC, introduced the
ARES/RACES members of the State Amateur Radio Unit, highlighted their
contributions, and stressed that they are all volunteers having contributed
hundreds of hours in training and preparation for the exercise. Pietras also
recognized the importance and performance of the county ARES/RACES units
throughout the state. Earlier, the Director of the Oregon Office of
Emergency Management, Andrew Phelps, KI7SIY, visited the radio room to
personally thank operators.
Bjerke said "we operated the FEMA National Radio System (FNARS), HF SHARES,
60 Meter Interoperability Net, FEMA VTAC, CAP radio, four VHF Regional
Repeaters, the Winlink station, and the HF Net." One hour after the "ground
shook" at the beginning of the exercise June 7, more than 45 ARES/RACES
stations lit up the State ARES/RACES HF Net. Thirteen county EOC stations
had been activated for the first day of play, and as many more became
operational for situational awareness. Over the course of the next three
days, more than 22 county units would activate and operate for periods of
from one to all four days.
Around the state, the activated county ARES/RACES units passed more than 300
Winlink and ICS-213 voice messages during scripted communications outages.
Many other ARES/RACES units in other counties created their own local test
elements, partnering with hospitals, the Red Cross, and other responders to
realistically train for anticipated challenges.
Oregon Section ARES/RACES members trained hard and realistically for more
than two years to prepare for this exercise. "Our last two SET'S were
particularly arduous," said Bjerke. "We asked our county units to operate
for 24 hours, from Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) locations/trailers,
and with emergency power only." "We scripted out mountaintop repeaters,
existing fixed-site antennas, and allowed HF Winlink operation only," said
Bjerke. In the end, our training protocols proved to be more demanding than
the actual exercise, but we were ready to excel at anything they threw at
us, and a great performance was the result." (Thanks, Bruce Bjerke, K7BHB,
Oregon Section Emergency Coordinator)
More on the Cascadia Rising exercise after action reports in next month's
issue.
ARRL 2016 Hurricane Preparedness Webinar July 21, 8 PM EDT
Registration is open now for the 2016 ARRL Hurricane Webinar, July 21 at 8
PM EDT. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a panel of experts on new
developments and preparations for this year's hurricane season, which runs
from June 1 to November 30.
New, 2nd Editon of Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio Now Available
Fully updated, the second edition of the ARRL publication Storm Spotting and
Amateur Radio is a valuable resource for the Amateur Radio operator who
volunteers as a trained storm spotter. This book includes information on
resources, training, equipment, safety, storm spotter activation procedures,
reportable weather criteria, developing a local storm spotter manual, and
the experiences of storm spotters from around the country. Purchase here.
ARES Supports Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach
-------------------------------------------------
The running of the 43rd Shamrock Marathon and Half-Marathon took place on
Sunday, March 20, 2016 and was a large, successful event. The amateur radio
community was out in force to help for the 37th year in a row and with their
planning and participation, a safe and well-staffed marathon was the result.
The Shamrock Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier marathon.
The Virginia Beach AmateurRadio Emergency Service (VBARES) has been in the
forefront of helping the organizers of this event with communications
services spread out over three days and five runs. On Saturday, the 8K run
and two children's runs take place. On Sunday, the 1ƒ_?2 Marathon and the
Full Marathon are run. 30,000 participate as runners, with thousands more
cheering the runners on. Many of the ARES volunteers have someone they know
in the races.
The amateur volunteers from the Tidewater area are placed at each mile
marker along the course, at all water stops, and at the medical tent. They
run supplies in vans, track the last runners on the course, provide a
liaison with the local emergency operations center, and transport runners
who drop out or request minor medical attention. A hotel room is provided by
the organizers for the VBARES team to manage ARES operations and control the
net. The Net Control team consists of six volunteers who spend the entire
weekend at the hotel monitoring radio traffic and relaying information to
the organizers.
The Shamrock Marathon began in 1973 with 59 runners and 38 finishers. It has
grown to be one of the favorite marathons in Virginia, with the course
passing along the beautiful Boardwalk and historic Cape Henry lighthouse.
Before 1979, as the number of runners grew, the organizers asked the local
Citizen Band radio community to help with communications. Demand exceeded
supply and in 1979, the function was turned over to the Dam Neck Radio Club
of Virginia Beach, starting an enduring partnership between race organizers
and Amateur Radio.
George Schmidt, WA4GDB, led the initial efforts. As a youth, he built an HF
radio to put on his bicycle, starting his mobile and public service careers
early.
Schmidt served the event for years, and turned over the reins to Al
Crawford, WA4TCJ, and Tom Moore, WS9B. Crawford and Moore continued in their
leadership roles through the years with a great support team from the
Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club (VBARC). Others have made significant
contributions to the event.
Planning
Planning for the event starts well before the March races. Recruiting
volunteers starts in September with pitches at VBARC meetings. Moore starts
to meet with organizers to listen to their concerns and offer suggestions.
Meetings are also held with the Public Service Committee of VBARC. A
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) handbook was recently drafted for the
volunteers/operators.
Once the volunteers have signed up for the Marathon/Half-Marathon,
individuals are assigned to specific locations on the course: 26 operators
for the mile markers for the full marathon and 13 for the half marathon;
others are assigned to the water stops, the EOC, as drivers and riders for
two pick up vans, two supply vans, and the "Tail End Charlie" vehicle, which
follows the last runner. Two operators are assigned as shadows for the race
directors. Rounding out the assignments is an operator at the start and
finish lines, and the operators who serve as net control stations and run
the APRS assets. A total of 66 volunteer operators support the marathons.
On the Thursday before the race, the mile markers and timing clocks are
gathered from the race organizers and distributed to the hams per their
assignments. A pre-race meeting is held that evening to receive materials
and instructions, and be briefed on last minute changes. Materials include
maps, and clock instructions. Safety vests are distributed to all
volunteers. Event organizer J and A Racing provide handsome green jackets
with each volunteer's name and call sign sewn on them for identification.
On Friday morning, the vans are equipped for the race: the tail end Charlie
van and the two pick up vans are fitted with mobile dual band radios and an
APRS radio. Warning lights are attached to the vans, and water, blankets and
gloves are put inside. The two supply vans are also fitted with radios. The
lead vehicles have a radio and APRS unit installed on Saturday night. All
vans are secured for pick up on race day. On Sunday morning, the marathon
course is inspected for the proper locations of the mile markers and clocks.
Operators then head to the hotel room to set up the net control function.
The net control station equipment consists of two Yaesu FT-8800R dual band
mobile radios supplied by the local ARES group, with two Diamond antennas
strapped to the upper floor balcony. Two repeaters are used: one for north
end of the course and the other for the south end. The net control station
is located in the center of the course, yielding good coverage for the
mobile and hand held units. The APRS receiver is set up and tested; several
computers are booted up. Organizers give the hams a flash drive with
runners' data to be loaded onto the net control computer.
The day before, for Saturday's races, net control operators check in the
course operators and net control responsibility is transferred to the start
line operator who retransmits the countdown to the start, and then the
start, for all operators to hear. The start line net control operator
individual retains net control priority for several minutes. The operators
on the course record and report the first three male and female runners to
net control, along with any issues needing to be relayed to the race
directors. Minor medical issues are reported to net control and a pick up
van is dispatched to take the runner to the finish line or nearest medical
tent. In the event of a serious medical problem, all radio communications
other than the emergency communications are stopped, and the runner is
stabilized and evacuated. When the 8K is over, the VBARC crew supports the
other Saturday races.
Sunday activity starts at 5 AM with the operators and net control finalizing
details, and troubleshooting. Then, roll is called and on-course stations
are checked in. call. The start of the Half Marathon is at 7 AM with up to
10,000 runners, followed by the full marathon at 8:30 with up to 4000
runners. As the runners are on the course, net control and the on-course
operators track the runners, report injuries, watch for problems and try to
resolve any issues that arise. As the day wears down, radio traffic is
mainly runners' needs, supply issues at water stops, location of the vans
and securing a mile marker or clock location when the last runner has passed
through. The volunteer ham operator is free to leave once his station has
been secured.
Once the last runner has crossed the finish line, net control operators
secure their station, pack up and leave. Radios, lights and APRS gear are
removed from the vans, stowed, and the vans are returned. Race data is
collected for the hot wash and planning for next year, and the operators
head home.
Tom Moore, WS9B, compiles the collected data and files a report with the
race organizers. Moore accepts emails from the volunteers with
recommendations for changes for next year. Every suggestion is considered,
and results in the Shamrock Marathon radio communications being conducted
and coordinated very efficiently by the members of VBARES. Moore and his
committee spend hundreds of hours planning, talking to volunteers and using
the best in Amateur Radio practice and communication gear, to help the city
of Virginia Beach successfully pull off the Shamrock Marathon and other
races and runs through the entire year. VBARES members are especially proud
of the contributions that they make to the community, and the community
shares that pride with VBARES. -- Steve Isenmann, W0JTC, Virginia Beach,
Virginia
HDSCS Follows Up on Issues from Orange County Drill
---------------------------------------------------
The Hospital Disaster Support Communications System (HDSCS) antenna team is
starting its follow up at hospitals that exhibited problems during the
Orange County (California) Multi-Agency Spring Drill. The HDSCS is a group
of about 80 radio amateurs who have volunteered to provide backup internal
and external communications for critical medical facilities in Orange
County, whenever normal communications are interrupted for any reason. Last
year, the HDSCS celebrated its 35th year of service.
Most of the issues seem to be related to recent hospital remodeling or new
construction. A few hospitals though, are moving their command centers, or
adding an alternate command center, and now want HDSCS assistance to
determine the best locations for antennas on the roof and the most
appropriate locations for terminations of coax runs.
Later this month, the HDSCS Field Day team will operate Field Day at the
Huntington Beach Hospital, which is hosting HDSCS for the 13th year. This
year there is a new CEO and disaster coordinator to show what we can do in
setting up emergency communications in a major area wide disaster by making
use of existing structures, such as flag poles and exterior stairways. In
addition, hospital staffers deploy surge capacity tents and portable
generators for HDSCS use. With this collaborative effort, the hospital can
show accrediting agencies how they work with resources from the community.
-- April Moell, WA6OPS, District Emergency Coordinator, Orange Section ARES
Before Deployment: Personal, Family Safety First
------------------------------------------------
Prepare yourself and your family to ensure their safety and the protection
of your property well in advance of any possible activation; you may be
required to report to your assignment immediately without being able to stop
at home first. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
¶ú Your family needs at least three days of non-refrigerated food and
bottled water available.
¶ú Have a medical kit available and make sure your family knows how to use it.
¶ú Have fire extinguishers at home; make sure your family knows how to use
them.
¶ú Make your family aware of escape routes from the immediate area. Give
them a map.
¶ú Pre-designate a place for them to go: a friend's house or alternate
agreed-upon meeting place.
¶ú Have phone numbers in your wallet/purse for your family's alternate
shelter(s).
¶ú Have alternate means of communication should cell/landline phone systems
be down.
¶ú Consider registering with the Red Cross's Safe and Well service.
¶ú Keep valuable documents in a safe place or take them with you.
¶ú Have cash on hand for you and your family as ATMs will likely be down.
These are just a few ideas; there are many more. Study FEMA's Ready website
for more. The above list was adapted from the Department of Homeland
Security - Office of Emergency Communications - excellent reference guide
Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG).
FEMA Encourages Preparedness for the 2016 Hurricane Season; ARES Should be
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ready Now
---------
FEMA, an ARRL partner, is calling on individuals and families across the
nation to prepare for the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season, which began two
weeks ago and runs through November 30. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center
outlook for 2016, released at the end of May, states the season will most
likely be near-normal, but uncertainty about the formation of Atlantic
storms makes predicting this season particularly difficult.
ARES operators should already have plans and procedures, protocols, and
frequencies in place, ready for emergencies and disasters spinning off from
hurricanes. Inland ARES groups should also be prepared as severe weather
generated by hurricanes can impact communities hundreds of miles inland.
When a hurricane hits, it can bring high winds, heavy rainfall, coastal and
inland flooding, rip currents, and even tornadoes. Storm surge produced by
hurricanes poses the greatest threat to life and property along the coast.
"The United States has not had a significant impact from a hurricane or
tropical storm since Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012," said FEMA
Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ. "But luck isn't a strategy when it comes
to being ready. If you live in a potentially affected state, you are at risk
for storm surge, extreme winds and flooding during a hurricane. Now is the
time for you to learn your evacuation routes and develop a hurricane
evacuation plan. Prepare now and enjoy the summer with confidence that if a
storm threatens you'll be ready."
Monitor Pre-Planned Hurricane Emergency, Disaster Frequencies
On HF, monitor the activity of the venerable Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325
MHz. The Net is a group of amateur operators, trained and organized to
provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center.
Net members are dispersed throughout North America, the Caribbean, and
Central America for communications coverage from storm-affected areas to the
forecasters at the NHC.
Reports are relayed from the field to the National Hurricane Center amateur
station WX4NHC. The primary mission of the Hurricane Watch Net is to
disseminate tropical cyclone advisory information and collect observed or
measured weather data from amateurs in the storm affected area as well as
any post storm damage, and convey that information appropriately. The
Hurricane Watch Net activates whenever a hurricane is within 300 miles of
expected landfall. When activated, the net runs on 14.325 MHz during the day
and 7.268 MHz at night.
The VoIP SKYWARN/Hurricane Net combines both the Echolink and IRLP linked
repeater networks for handling critical wide area communications during
major severe weather events. The weekly VoIP SKYWARN/Hurricane Preparation
Net meets every Saturday evening at 0000 UTC Sunday. Use the EchoLink
*WX-TALK* Conference server Node #:7203, which is integrated with IRLP
Reflector 9219.
K1CE For a Final
----------------
Have a fun and safe Field Day!
ARRL Field Day remains the mother of all emergency/disaster/public event
training exercises. Miss it at great expense to your annual training
regimen. It's in two weeks! It is always held annually on the fourth weekend
of June - this year, June 25-26.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular (and in my opinion, the most fun)
on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. More than 35,000 radio
amateurs gather with their clubs, ARES groups or simply with friends to
operate from remote locations, ideally outdoors in a true field somewhere.
The experience and training gained from transporting your radios and
antennas to the field, setting them up, using them as you would in an
emergency/disaster/public event, troubleshooting problems, deriving
efficiencies and effectiveness, and learning lessons and fixes to be applied
for the next time, are arguably more valuable than any other training
exercise, class or manual.
Activate for this month's Field Day and make yourself a better public
service field operator for yourself, your ARES member-teamates, and the
public safety agencies and public event organizers and managers we work with
during the rest of the year.
I'll be operating Field Day with Eliot Mayer, W1MJ, from the summits of the
beautiful and rugged White Mountains of New Hampshire, on emergency power,
of course! Look for W1MJ and give us a contact! I hope all readers have a
great Field Day, the mother of all emergency/disaster preparedness training
exercises! -- 73, Rick Palm, K1CE, Daytona Beach, Florida
__________
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