The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
October 17, 2012
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
IN THIS ISSUE
- ARESŪ/RACES Back-Up Comms for GOP Convention
- 2012 ARRL SET Action Notes: Tests in Full Swing
- ARRL Public Service/Emergency Communications Training Program Changes
- Letters: Recruitment Challenges
- 2012 International Humanitarian Award: Nominations Open
- The Weather Channel to Begin Naming Winter Storms
- Letters: Perspective in the Post-Katrina Era
- Letters: More on Systems' Fallibility
- Letters: On ARRL HQ's Lessons Learned from Isaac
- Florida's Lake County ARES Supports Bicycle Festival
- K1CE For a Final
==> ARESŪ/RACES BACK-UP COMMS FOR GOP CONVENTION
Bill Williams, AG4QX, Hillsborough County (Florida) ARES/RACES
Operations Manager/Assistant Emergency Coordinator and the Greater
Tampa Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Liaison for the City of
Tampa was asked by the Tampa Office of Emergency Management to provide
emergency back-up communications for the City during the timeframe of
the Republican National Convention, August 24 through September 2,
2012.
This tasking required Amateur Radio at four primary locations: the
Tampa EOC, Tampa Fire Station #1, Tampa Fire Station #3 and the Tampa
Fire Rescue Training Academy and Police Training Center staging area.
Each location had ICOM IC-2820 radios pre-programmed with numerous
D-STAR and analog frequencies, all of which were tested and could be
used for emergency communications. Two training sessions were conducted
prior to the event to familiarize the operators with the radio
operation and the Incident Command System-compliant plans for the
Convention coverage.
The assignment was treated for the City as a CERT event, and for the
County, an ARES/RACES activation. Volunteer radio operators were
scheduled for 24/7 coverage at the four locations, plus the
Hillsborough EOC was available for any additional activations if
required.
Over 1800 volunteer hours were put in to prepare for and support the
city and county for the week-long operation. The city operated the
Consequence Management EOC, staffed and supported by the RNC, Secret
Service, FBI, State Warning Point, Hillsborough County and surrounding
counties' Emergency Management representatives. A Joint Incident
Command was established and operated nearby.
Even the threat of Hurricane Isaac did not interfere with the
operation. Under the county plan, ARES/RACES put out the call for more
operators to support Hillsborough County and the Red Cross shelter
operations, and the city operation support continued unfazed. The
county RACES Officer and ARRL Emergency Coordinator, Keating Floyd,
KC4HSI, called on operators from the Tampa Amateur Radio Club to run a
Resource Net until the storm threat passed. Hillsborough County
experienced heavy rains and flooding but only minor damage was
reported.
All facets of the Amateur Radio operation were undeniably successful.
The RNC went off with very few problems, and congratulations are due to
Williams for a job well done, along with all the CERT and ARES/RACES
members who supported him and the Tampa Bay community. -- Budd Johnson,
WB4J, Hillsborough County Assistant EC; Tampa Amateur Radio Club
Liaison; ARRL West Central Florida Official Emergency Station;
wb4j@verizon.net
==> 2012 ARRL SET ACTION NOTES: TESTS IN FULL SWING
The Hardin County (Kentucky) Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
group is participating in the annual national ARRL Simulated Emergency
Test
this month. Their SET message to your editor: "We currently have a
display set up at Home Depot's Safety Day in Elizabethtown. While at
Safety Day, this message is being sent from W8WN's mobile station
there. It is being transmitted by HF radio to an automated station in
another part of the U.S., outside the local simulated disaster area. It
then goes via one of five hardened servers located worldwide (for
redundancy), and then into the regular Internet, to be delivered via
e-mail anywhere that e-mail is available. Thus, if the Internet were
down locally or even regionally, by using the Winlink 2000
system, we still have some e-mail
capabilities. This is in addition to and separate from our usual local
and area VHF operations.
"As an additional test this year, two mixed-mode (voice and digital)
exercise nets were conducted at the end of September from a number of
agency locations around Hardin county and from mobiles in the field,
exchanging simulated ICS-213
and Red Cross Damage
Assessment ("street sheet") forms. [See K1CE For a Final at the end of
this issue for a link to a typical county damage assessment protocol
and forms -- ed.]
"The ARES provides most of the SKYWARN severe weather spotters
nationwide. If severe weather were in the area, we would normally have
trained SKYWARN spotters out and a SKYWARN net in operation with direct
communications to the Louisville NWS, while standing ready to provide
interagency communications for the local government safety agencies and
NGOs. Thanks for your participation and for your interest in our
community." -- Shelby Ennis, W8WN - AAR4IJ, Hardin County, Kentucky
ARES Emergency Coordinator, w8wn@arrl.net
Southern Florida Section SET: Operation Solar Storm
The ARRL Southern Florida Section SET scenario: Operation Solar Storm.
"A once in a lifetime solar storm has impacted Earth. Similar in
strength to the solar storm of 1859, also known as the 1859 Solar
Superstorm, or the Carrington Event, a large solar flare caused a major
coronal mass ejection (CME) to travel directly toward Earth, taking
just 18 hours. (Such a journey normally takes three to four days.) This
took place just over 24 hours ago. Power companies and communication
satellite companies were caught off guard by the speed at which the
charged particles reached Earth.
"One of the largest recorded geomagnetic storms occurred as a result of
this CME. Aurorae have been seen around the world, even over the
Caribbean. People who happened to be awake in the northeastern US could
read a newspaper by the aurora's light. Unfortunately, a good
percentage of communications satellites have been damaged causing havoc
with telephone, cellular, and Internet communications. Even worse,
power lines acting as antennas absorbed the geomagnetic energy and
hundreds of transformers have been burned out throughout North America.
Over 90% of the United States (including all of Florida) and most of
the rest of the world have been in a total blackout for over 24 hours.
With limited inventory and relatively few factories to make replacement
equipment, the blackout is expected to continue for many weeks or
months for most areas.
"While most public radio systems are still operating, many are at or
near capacity. Significant portions of cellular service have been
disrupted and land line telephones will not last longer than a few days
as batteries drain and generators run out of fuel. The unprecedented
wide-spread blackout will hinder fuel deliveries to replenish
generators for many weeks. ARES has been activated by county Emergency
Management officials throughout the Southern Florida Section. CERT
teams have activated to assist their neighbors. Specal needs shelters
are being opened throughout Southern Florida.
"The mission of the Amateur Radio operators is to pass messages to
assist government and non-government agencies as their normal
communications are either reaching capacity or are not functioning
normally. Click on the Sample Messages
link for sample messages to pass.
For more info, visit www.sflset.org
Arizona SET
Arizona's SET is scheduled for November 3, 2012. Section ARES officials
report: "The emphasis has been placed on a more local concentration of
communication than some of our previous SETS . . . An attempt will be
made to incorporate digital exercises during the SET within each
district as well as attempts state wide. There are several digital
technical experts that have volunteered to assist those who are
digitally challenged with helpful information should it be needed. The
DEC of each district will essentially be in charge of coordinating
plans in the district and will likely ask for assistance with
coordination of adjacent counties, particularly where there are no ECs
in place. -- Kirk Seifert, W5KRK, Arizona SEC, w5krk@nwahams.com
==> ARRL PUBLIC SERVICE/EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING PROGRAM
CHANGES
Revised Field Instructor (FI) and Mentor Qualifications/Requirements
have been implemented for the ARRL Public Service/Emergency
Communications Training Program. Our continuing effort to improve and
adjust our training program to adapt to the role we play in public
service and emergency communications response with other local and
national agencies necessarily results in changes from time to time.
Based on feedback from individuals and leaders in our community and
changes in FEMA training we are making some changes to strengthen our
training program. Effective November 1, 2012 we are updating the
qualifications/requirements for those who wish to serve as Field
Instructors or Online Mentors for ARRL's Emergency Communications
training program. Changes to qualifications include the addition of
SKYWARN training and some changes in the list of FEMA training required
of instructors and mentors. Updated requirements include listing field
classes with the ARRL Continuing Education Program office, and filing
student rosters and student evaluations with the CEP office. We are
also adding a 3-year term of service to this appointment. You can
review the updated qualifications/requirements on the ARRL website at:
www.arrl.org/requirements-for-field-instructors
and
www.arrl.org/mentoring-online-courses
.
The list of prerequisites for completion of the Public Service and
Emergency Communications Management for Radio Amateurs (EC-016) Course
has also been updated to reflect changes in the FEMA training program,
as well as other appropriate training for field leadership. Review the
updated list of prerequisites in the course description at:
www.arrl.org/online-course-catalog
. -- Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL
Emergency Preparedness Manager and Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, ARRL Education
Services Manager
==> LETTERS: RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES
I am retired here in mid coast Maine and active in consulting with
RACES operations in Knox County. This is the region that stretches
inland and along the coast from Camden to Friendship, Maine. The
county's comm group is supporting our RACES activities as part of their
emergency communications plan. We have a dedicated 2 meter repeater and
mobile trailer as the main assets for our activities. Homeland Security
has made Maine's EMA well organized with a need for more county
participation.
I'm trying to help out as a volunteer focusing on technical matters
associated with an upgrade to have the 2 meter simulcast FM repeater
system adequate enough to cover the entire county with just hand-helds
radios and operators. As a new member I find some challenges for the
Penn Bay Amateur Radio Club RACES function and seek suggestions on ways
to stimulate getting young members involved. Our club is made up of
older long term hams retired in the area. We need young blood to join
us so we have enough operators to support emergencies in the state and
county.
The membership has attempted to come up with ways to attract interest
by offering training for license exams but with poor results. We are
all getting older and not gaining new young members. Have you heard of
this problem before and do your readers have suggestions for getting
interest in this form of public service?
I came here to retire yet ended up working for the State of Maine's
Office of Information Technology as a field engineer for their
statewide Public Safety Radio System. That was following a thirty year
career in my own small business located in Silicon Valley. I employed
and trained young college graduate engineers for my systems integration
business centered on computer data acquisition and control and ATE.
Plus I represented RF/Microwave companies to the vast marketplace for
their products. Now I'm tasked with overcoming Maine's shortage of
technology geeks who should become interested and active in our RACES
group. I'm sure you must know of other regions of the country facing
the same problem and have possibly come up with solutions. Any
suggestions? -- John Lawrence, W1QS, Waldoboro, Maine; USAF
Communications Specialist Course Instructor; Penn Bay Amateur Radio
Club RACES; j123law@aol.com
==> 2012 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD: NOMINATIONS OPEN
Nominations are open for the 2012 ARRL International Humanitarian
Award. This award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who
demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international
understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual
prize to recognize those radio amateurs who have used ham radio to
provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.
As one of the few telecommunication services that allow people
throughout the world from all walks of life to meet and talk with each
other, Amateur Radio spreads goodwill across political boundaries. The
ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes the Amateur Radio
Service's unique role in international communication and the assistance
amateurs regularly provide to people in need. Read more here
.
-- ARRL Letter
==> THE WEATHER CHANNEL TO BEGIN NAMING WINTER STORMS
Beginning this winter, The Weather Channel will begin naming what it
calls "noteworthy winter storms." As The Weather Channel explained on
its website, "[a] storm with a name is easier to follow, which will
mean fewer surprises and more preparation. In addition to providing
information about significant winter storms by referring to them by
name, the name itself will make communication and information sharing
in the constantly expanding world of social media much easier." Unlike
the National Hurricane Center -- which has named tropical storms and
hurricanes since the 1940s -- the National Weather Service does not
name winter storms. Read more here
.
-- ARRL Letter
==> LETTERS: PERSPECTIVE IN THE POST-KATRINA ERA
Thank you for your work and efforts in publishing the ARES E-Letter.
The opening sentence of the September 19, 2012 letter caught my eye. I
hope that you will forgive me for being a bit sensitive about this
matter but in the last seven years all we hear is how Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans. I speak with people all over the country for business
and Amateur Radio. Few are aware that Katrina did not make landfall in
New Orleans. Katrina lingered far longer than usual and in doing so
piled water up into the shores, bays, rivers, and bayous of Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The massive amounts of rain inland
flowed down stream to meet the waters from the Gulf of Mexico. The
confluence of the two resulted in water depths that have not been seen
in one hundred years or more.
Katrina came ashore at about the mouth of the Pearl River near
Pearlington, Mississippi, about 35 miles east of New Orleans while
moving due north. As you know, the storm surge, high winds, rain and
tornadoes occur mostly in the right front quadrant of the storm. The
vast majority of the damage to New Orleans occurred when a levee that
protects the Ninth Ward from Lake Pontchartrain, overtopped.
The reason that most Americans only know New Orleans in reference to
Katrina is the news media. Perhaps you heard so little about
Mississippi because we did what we always do: We quietly picked
ourselves up, helped our neighbors, and did what was necessary to make
it possible for others to help us.
Katrina damaged Perdido Key, Florida; Gulf Shores, Alabama; Dauphin
Island, Alabama; Bayou La Batre, Alabama; as well as the entire
Mississippi Gulf Coast. Most all of the small towns south of New
Orleans are extremely low and were wiped out and cut off but you never
heard a whisper about them. Please understand that we love our
neighbors in Louisiana including New Orleans and we wish for them the
best in this decades-long recovery. Most Mississippians simply ask that
the focal point of Katrina be where Katrina focused its impact and
destruction.
The stories of your fellow Americans doing simple and extraordinary
acts in the wake of this unthinkable disaster would make you cry. I
wish all of America could know what we know and have seen what we saw.
The pride that you hold inside yourself for this country would burst
forth in a flood of emotional patriotism. The people of Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana did remarkable things with the help
of citizens from EVERY state. We owe you all a debt that cannot be
repaid and you gave yourselves a gift of service that you cannot buy,
borrow, beg or steal.
I suppose Hurricane Isaac brought back these emotions when the Weather
Channel described us as "the land mass between Louisiana and Alabama."
The next day they produced a map that labeled Mississippi as Alabama
and vice versa. Again, we love our neighbors in Alabama and there are
many wonderful aspects of Alabama that we would like to emulate.
However, we are happy with our State name and I am sure that Alabama is
happy with their name, too.
My purpose for this message was not to hit you over the head for a
seemingly inconsequential statement but rather offer a more specific
perspective. Please let all know that we thank God for everyone's help
and kind thoughts.
I did not know it at the time but the Mississippi Coast Amateur Radio
Association (MCARA) club repeater was the ONLY form of communication
standing in the wake of Katrina including downed police, fire, and
ambulance communications services. The club staffs the Harrison County
EOC in Gulfport. My experiences in the aftermath called me to do
something, which turned out to be through Amateur Radio and MCARA. It
would appear that this turned out to be the largest, longest and most
effective real world use of Amateur Radio emergency communications in
this country in my lifetime. Let us plan as though it won't be the last
but pray that it will. Thank you for all that you do and thank you for
your indulgence. -- Chris Deaton, AE5TR, Events Director, Mississippi
Coast Amateur Radio Association; ae5tr@bellsouth.net
==> LETTERS: MORE ON SYSTEMS' FALLIBILITY
I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with W6APZ's comments in last
month's ARES E-Letter. As you well know from some of my previous
e-mails to you, I see the over-emphasis on digital technology and the
under-emphasis on direct communications to be a real problem. My basic
philosophy is that the minimum number of points of failure is the
foundation of effective communication. South Texas and a number of
Texas and other nearby sections conducted a drill last May that was
almost purely digital. It went better than I expected but still had a
number of issues related to the complexity of digital communications.
Our planned October 29 Statewide ARES exercise (ARRL South Texas, West
Texas, North Texas sections and others) will return to more basic
communications and should be a valid training exercise that covers the
full spectrum of our capabilities. - James Burrough, N5DTT, Assistant
Emergency Coordinator, South Texas ARES District 14 Hospital Liaison;
Bellaire, Texas
==> LETTERS: ON ARRL HQ'S LESSONS LEARNED FROM ISAAC
In the last issue, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey,
KI1U, said "Lessons learned has been a buzz word in disaster response
for many years and these lessons are important. However, what matters
is lessons applied." I heard this: The FAA defines ``learning'' as ``a
change in behavior [as a result of experience]." Sometime it's
qualified as a (relatively) "permanent" change. I was surprised to
discover that it's even true. See Chapter one in
http://fsims.faa.gov/wdocs/other/ps_handbooks/h_h8083-9.htm -- Alan
Martin, W1AHM, Westford, Massachusetts
==> FLORIDA'S LAKE COUNTY ARES SUPPORTS BICYCLE FESTIVAL
The Lake County (Florida) Amateur Radio Emergency Service (LACARES)
provided radio communications to support a three day bicycle event in
Mount Dora, Florida from October 12 through October 14, 2012. This
event was the 38th Annual Mount Dora Bicycle Festival sponsored by the
Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce. Excellent weather and moderate
temperatures meant there were no heat exhaustion. No ambulance calls
were necessary. This year there were around 600 bicycle riders from all
over the United States with the majority coming from Florida. For many
of the riders this has become an event they look forward to each year.
This is not a competitive race but a series of 14 separate bicycle
tours through Florida's Lake County scenic countryside.
The LCARES group had 23 volunteer radio operators helping to keep the
riders safe and secure by manning rest areas, providing mobile SAG
wagons and mobile patrol vehicles for three days. This year we added a
three wheeled motorcycle and a motor scooter to the vehicle list. Both
of these were equipped with 2 meter radios and the operators had
microphones and headsets attached to their helmets. All vehicles were
directed by the net control station N4FLA, which had its mobile command
trailer set up in Mount Dora next to the Chamber of Commerce building.
Mobile units and radio operators at rest areas were able to communicate
with the command center using our repeater on 147.000 MHz. We also used
APRS to track several of our mobile radio operators out on the course.
To prove the flexibility of ham radio operators we were able to
continue operations despite the breakdown of two of the 2 meter radios
within the trailer by moving the net control operator to his personal
mobile radio in his car until a replacement radio was made ready to use
in the trailer.
A total of 10 riders and their bicycles were transported back to the
Mount Dora staging area due to mechanical breakdowns, minor injuries or
just plain getting tired out.
Lake County ARES has been providing on course radio communications for
the Mount Dora Bicycle Festival for close to twenty years. They use
events such as this to train their members to be ready to deploy and
setup emergency radio equipment in case of natural disasters such as
hurricanes or tornados, which are not unusual in this area. They also
get training on how to properly communicate on emergency radio
networks. LCARES may be called upon at anytime to help support local
first responders in the event of an emergency. For more information
about Amateur Radio in Lake County, Florida, check the following web
sites: www.n4fla.org or www.k4fc.org
-- Ted Luebbers, K1AYZ, Tavares, Florida
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL
For a good look at a typical county's damage assessment protocols and
forms, including a Red Cross Damage Assessment form, click here
for the "damage
assessment/intelligence annex" of Effingham County, Illinois. The
reader should come away with a deeper understanding of this aspect of
disaster response. ARES operators are often deployed with damage
assessment teams.
_____
It was a pleasure to participate in the teleconference of the ARRL
Emergency Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC) earlier this month.
Chairman Jim Cross, WI3N, Maryland/DC Section Manager runs a good
meeting, and garners good participation and input as the committee
wrestles with many current and demanding issues facing us as Amateur
Radio emergency and disaster response communications planners and
operators. The ARES community and greater public service community at
large is being well served by this generally under-recognized group of
experienced experts from around the country. Here are your ECAC
members. Thank them the next time you get a chance at a club meeting or
hamfest.
Chairman Jim Cross, WI3N (Atlantic); Brad Pioveson, W9FX (Central); Jim
Zahradnicek, KD0S (Dakota); Jim Coleman, AI5B (Delta); John McDonough,
WB8RCR (Great Lakes); Jim Mezey, W2KFV (Hudson); Reynolds Davis, K0GND
(Midwest); Dave Colter, WA1ZCN (New England); Gordon Grove, WA7LNC
(Northwestern); James Latham, AF6AQ (Pacific); Charlie Miller, AE4UX
(Roanoke); Jeff Ryan, K0RM (Rocky Mountain); Rick Palm, K1CE
(Southeastern); Grant Hays, WB6OTS (Southwestern); Glen Reid, K5FX
(West Gulf), and Doug Mercer, VO1DTM (Radio Amateurs of Canada). The
Board liaison is Kent Olsen, KA0LDG, and the ARRL HQ liaison is
Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U.
See you next month! 73, Rick Palm, K1CE, Daytona Beach, Florida
________
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