[ARRL-OK] Fw: The ARES E-Letter for October 17, 2012

[Mark Conklin]

----- Forwarded Message -----


Subject: The ARES E-Letter for October 17, 2012
 

Preview
If you are having trouble
reading this message, you can see the original at:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/?issue=2012-10-17
October 17,
2012Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
ARES E-Letter Archive
ARES Home
ARRL Home Page 
In This Issue:
 
	* ARES®/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
ARES®/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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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.
Jim Ward, N4NCG, of Lakeland, Florida, and a member
of the Orlando ARES group, supported the communications effort for the Mount
Dora Bicycle Festival. 
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
________
ARRL --
Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information 
Join
or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most popular and
informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.
Subscribe to NCJ
-- the National Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly, features
articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and
QSO Parties.
Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications
Experimenters. Published bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction
projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and
communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the ARRL
Contest Update (bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news
alerts -- and much more!
Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur
Radio
Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs
not funded by member dues!
Click here to advertise in this
newsletter. 



 

________________________________
 
The ARES E-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 as described at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/.
Copyright © 2012 American Radio Relay League, Inc.
All Rights Reserved