[ARRL-OK] Fw: Help with the Shuttle Search

Wed, 5 Feb 2003 18:01:40 -0600

This amateur radio project may be of interest to you.  Please contact
John directly.

Lloyd Colston             Mayes County Emergency Management
Pryor, OK USA           http://www.geocities.com/mccem
        Don't let Yesterday take up too much of Today.

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "John Turner" <[email protected]>

The North Texas Section has advised me that they are in dire need of 
Amateur Radio Operators to assist in the Search efforts
in locating  Shuttle debris.All  Hams  that are able to assist should 
contact me by e-mail or Mobile Phone (listed below)and
advise me when you will be available and how long you will be able to
stay.   You should be well prepared with  personal items,including       
        sleeping nags warm clothes & ect, as Hotel & motel rooms are
few and far between.
The below is information that i will need from you  and i in turn  will
pass the information on to the control center in Texas
1 Name, Call Sign
   address  Cell Phone, Pager  & Home Phone
2. Radio Equipment you will have with you ,  2 meter, Dual band, 70 cmm 
Handheld  Power out put of each

3. What days you will be available  

4. Will you have 4wheel drive or a 4 wheeler

The following information by Jim Lawyer,  outlines the situation
and what you will need.
73
John Turner KA7GLA
ARRL Oklahoma Section
Emergency Coordinator

includes information from before and some new information. This will
get everyone up to date without having to send the entire series of
update messages.
New information will be highlighted with an asterik (*) for those who
have received
previous messages.

FROM DEEP EAST TEXAS RECOVERY OPERATIONS CENTER:

TYPE OF OPERATIONS:

We have now pretty well finished the search of the roads in the county.
But
that is only a small proportion of the county. The rest is in the forest
and
fields. What we now find we need most are people who can walk through the
forest, all day. In other words, we need hunter types. We also need
people with 4
wheelers who can bring them.

*There are still positions such as experienced Net Control and Liaison
Operators as well as various support operator positions that will be
available.*

This makes for an interesting situation on radios, because handhelds are
not
going to be strong enough to reach the repeaters in many cases. This may
be
a place we can use those folks who are not able to go into the field, by
stationing them at the nearest road, and working the folks in the field
on
simplex, and relaying to net control as required.

*Additional portable 2 meter and uhf repeaters with their own antenna and
supports are being brought in as well as at least one command van type
unit. *

HOW MANY OPERATORS ARE NEEDED:

San Augustine tells me they need 20 people each day for the rest of this
week. Nacogdoches had 27 people working today.

A number of people came in during the middle of the day, or the
afternoon.
Our ability to put these people to work   *in the field*   is very
limited,
as teams have already been assigned and are in the field. We really need
them on station
at 8:00 in the morning, and ready to be assigned.

HOW DO YOU VOLUNTEER:

Just make sure the operators know NOT to come unless called. We will
assume
that if they were listed as available, they will be on those dates. They
will be utilized somewhere in Deep East Texas, just not sure where (or
how).
If any have special needs (i.e.. cannot "ground pound") make sure and
include that. You might also include operating capability (i.e. ht only,
mobile, etc.). FYI - Have had no need for HF that I am aware.

*Please provide your information to us BEFORE you come. See the bottom of
this update for the information needed.*

Any with 12 channel parallel GPS capability please bring those. It has
been helpful on the teams. Some teams are comprised of FBI and/or FEMA,
other law enforcement, Haz Mat, some N.E.S.T., Ham, photographer, grunts.
In
many cases, since hams also had GPS,  they not only functioned as the
communicator but also GPS person. Having the proper type of  GPS is
proving
very helpful, but we really need them with people that can go into the
field.

*NOTE: If you are planning to use your GPS for identifying the locations
of
debri and not just for personal navigation, the GPS must be certified by
the lab in Nacogdoches and it can take half a day to get through that
process. If you arrive before noon on one day and get the GPS
certification taken care of you will be ready to go
at 8 a.m. the next. *

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

A new protocol will be put into effect at 9:00 AM tomorrow, Tuesday,
February 4. As a result of this, we are asking all Amateur Radio
operators willing to help in the Columbia Shuttle recovery effort to
bring:
a vehicle (4X4 especially welcomed),
mobile 2M FM,
GPS that is a minimum of 12 channel capable,
digital camera,
paper and writing instruments (pens preferred),
letter sized clip board  and a
cell phone.

Additional equipment that would be helpful but not required would be:
a lap top computer with StreetMapUSA or something similar loaded,
70cM FM mobile, and
binoculars.

If possible, everyone should be self-contained, with a bed roll and all
personal items they may require. Arrangements have been made to house
people
at the Expo Center in Nacogdoches, which means a cot in a common room.
Let Net Control know if you need a hotel room or RV hook ups since they
may have information for you regarding these. Food is available for all
workers involved in this project.

*Please keep track of your time and mileage each day. This should either
be passed to the net control station, or via e-mail to [email protected] .
This information will be submitted to the State, but we make no
guarantee that there will be any reimbursements.*

WHEN YOU GO:

*Report to Nacogdoches and check in on the 147.32 + (141.3) repeater when
you are in range (entering the county). Net control will direct you to a
staging area or general assignment. Mention that you need to certify your
GPS if it is during the day so you can be given directions to the
certification lab.*

*Frequencies are no longer being given over the internet since they are
dynamic so make sure that you can program your radio's frequencies and
Ctcss tone transmit if necessary*

NOTE: Operators should not under any circumstances go to the area and
begin
an independent search. Some of the debri may be hazardous and it is
imperative that debri be properly documented and handled.

VOLUNTEERS:

I am assisting the recovery efforts by taking volunteer information,
assisting with the coordination of scheduling and logistics and providing
update information to those volunteers via email. Please send me an email
if
you want to volunteer and include the following information and we will
contact you when you are scheduled into the area.

CALLSIGN
NAME
CELL PHONE
CAPABLE OF OPERATING IN FIELD ON FOOT FOR 4 HOURS: Y/N
4WD VEHICLE: Y/N
12 CH GPS: Y/N
DATE ON SITE:
LAST DAY ON SITE:
SPECIAL LIMITATIONS:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Thank you for being part of the solution!

Jim Lawyer,  aa5qx
Assisting the Hams in East Texas from Dallas

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