[ARRL-OK] Fw: The ARES E-Letter for November 19, 2014

[Mark Conklin via ARRL-OK]

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http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/?issue=2014-11-19November 19,2014Editor: Rick Palm, K1CEARES E-Letter ArchiveARES HomeARRL HomePage  |
| In This Issue:    
   - 120 Operators Support the 2014 Bank of AmericaChicago Marathon
   - Well-Known Eastern Mass SKYWARN Group Activated forNor'easter
   - ARRL Seeks Nominations for InternationalHumanitarian Award; Deadline December 31
   - Letters: More on Operating in Winter
   - SET 2014 Success Stories
   - Letters: On Formidable Footprint Exercises
   - Update on Hawaii Lava Flow "Slow MotionDisaster"
   - ARRL Partners: Safety Tips from Red Cross
120 Operators Supportthe 2014 Bank of America Chicago MarathonSunday, October 12, 2014 - One hundred twenty radio amateurs providedcommunications support for the 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and its 2000volunteer medical teams that work at 20 Aid Stations, two in-course field medicaltents and the main medical facility in Grant Park. New for this year, theteams also walked with the nine Triage units who attended to runners withinGrant Park. The hams communicated back to the ambulance company if furthermedical support was needed. Some of the ham operators on these teams walkedas many as nine miles in the Park.The historic andlong-running Bank of America Chicago Marathon is the pinnacle of achievementfor elite athletes and everyday runners alike. On race day, runners fromall 50 states and more than 100 countries set out to accomplish a personaldream by reaching the finish line in Grant Park.Most ofthe amateurs were deployed to the Aid Stations and helped the medical teamswith communication issues. This was the sixth year that the ham radiocommunity has supported this event. Operators came from four states and fromcities as far away as Madison, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Peoria andPittsburgh. Twelve local ham radio clubs were represented. One team has come fromPeoria every year for the past six years, and provides their own lodging andthen drives back at the end of the event.Six localrepeaters, and several simplex channels are employed. Many of the stations andcommunicators needed to be operational by 6:30 AM to let organizers knowwhen the medical teams arrived and to assure that their medical services andsupplies were in place and ready. Once the race begins, the hams continueto support the ambulance company and medical teams with information abouttransports and supplies.Eight operators worked at theForward Command tent, alongside event officials, Chicago City Services andother agencies, providing health and welfare traffic to the medical doctor incharge, the medical logistics teams and the ambulance company.An event that attracts more than 2.5 million spectators and 45,000runners only can happen with the support of many people. There were 12,000volunteers, for instance. The 120 radio amateurs are a relatively smallpart of the enormous operation but provide a level of redundancy to themultiple levels of communication systems the event organizers use. Rob Orr,K9RST, serves as volunteer Lead, and needs more volunteers for next year.Contact Orr at k9rst at arrl.net. - ARRL Illinois Section NewsTopWell-KnownEastern Mass SKYWARN Group Activated for Nor'easterWX1BOX, the Taunton (Massachusetts) SKYWARN Amateur Radio Club station thathas often served as a model of excellence for the rest of the country, wasactivated for a late September nor'easter storm that caused strong todamaging winds and heavy rainfall. Nationally-known SKYWARN figure Rob Macedo,KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts Assistant SEC and ARES SKYWARN Coordinatorreported "At the height of the storm, fifty thousand people were without powerand reports at one point were coming in as fast as one or two per minute."Rainfall of 2-5 inches, with isolated 7 inches, caused flooding during themorning commute. The WX1BOX Amateur Radio team was thanked for their effortsby the National Weather Service Taunton forecaster team. - EasternMassachusetts Section News[Check out the excellentwebsite of the WX1BOX SKYWARN program here. -- ed.]TopARRL SeeksNominations for International Humanitarian Award; Deadline December 31As Amateur Radio operators provide public service andpromote international goodwill and understanding, the InternationalHumanitarian award is dedicated to those amateurs who, through Amateur Radio, aredevoted to promoting the Welfare of mankind.The selectionof the recipient of the award is made by a committee appointed by thePresident of the ARRL. Any licensed radio amateur world-wide, or group ofamateurs, who by use of Amateur Radio skills has provided extraordinary servicefor the benefit of others in times of crisis or disaster, is qualified toreceive the award.Nominations for the award will beaccepted by the committee from a licensed radio amateur, governmental or anyother organization that has received the benefits of the radio amateur'sextraordinary service within the last 3 years. In the event that nonominations are received, the committee may determine possible recipients ormay decide to make no award in a given year.Allnominations and supporting materials for a given year's award must be submitted inwriting in English to "ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 MainStreet, Newington, CT 06111," in sufficient time that they are received byDecember 31. A summary of the actions of the nominee that qualify therecipient for the award must be included, along with statements from at least tworeferences including names and addresses for verification. The award is toinclude the following elements: An appropriate plaque or medallion to bepresented to the recipient(s) at a home convention or event within the US, orthe ARRL National Convention or a mutually agreed upon arrangement to bemade with recipients residing outside the USA. An article describing theextraordinary achievements of the recipient(s) is to be written for use inQST, other ARRL venues and consumer magazines.TopLetters:More on Operating in WinterI appreciated yourarticle in the November 2014 issue of QST (Public Service column) onoperating in winter and the cold. I'd like to add several points: It'sbetter to travel in a small group (3 or 4 minimum) so that if one is hurt and/ora victim of exposure, an evacuation can be started immediately. Use thebuddy system, developed by scuba divers to ensure immediate rescue and lifesupport if indicated.Operators in the field shoulddress in layers, and have a personal thermometer and wind chill charts to havea realistic assessment of conditions, and thus risks. Batteries drainfaster in the cold so insulate yours for longer life. Have a personal heatsource such as chemical hand warmers not only for your hands, but tucked inshirt pockets under your jacket and/or pants pockets to keep the body's corewarm for better functioning and safety.Have acomprehensive knowledge of the area in which you are working, and carry a map andcompass (plus a GPS receiver), and know how to use them. Your eyes are amongthe mostimportant navigational aids that you have, soprotect them with ski goggles and/or sun glasses, approved for the demandingoperating environment (glare from snow, etc.). -- Frank E. Bonneau Jr.,N7WCFTopSET 2014 Success StoriesIdaho SET Sees Upswing in Participation for 2014Michael Meier, WB7RBH, is Idaho's Section Emergency Coordinator andPublic Information Coordinator, and is always looking for ways to get moreof the state's amateur community involved with public servicecommunications, including the annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Meier's ARESorganization plans for and participates in the SET, and tries to tailor theiroperation for the state's diverse geography, including mountains and plains.For the past three years, they've concentrated on message handling and theuse of recognized message formats, while tracking depth and breadth ofstatewide participation by message totals and origins. After-Action Reportshelped identify strengths and weaknesses.This year,however, was different, reported Meier. "One of the counties (Latah) wasplanning a county wide exercise, which involved 24 hours of operation and testingof almost all modes including voice, digital, and cw. Bill Ward, K9GRZ, theplanner of this operation, wanted to know if Meier could help him recruitother counties to give them more check-ins to lend more realism. So, SECMeier started a campaign to get the word out via numerous outlets, includingthe state's ARES website www.idahoares.info, and also through email, club notifications,and posted news.The SET plan developed legs, andinterest grew rapidly. Planners put a net control in a tent out in thewilderness, running nominal transmitter power, portable antennas, and purposefullyless-than-ideal operating conditions. "We wanted to simulate conditionsrealistically to hopefully see what would happen in the real world," said Meier.Stations in several counties were set up at the local EOCs, while othersteamed up and "went portable" like a Field Day operation.Starting on October 11, per a previously agreed upon protocol, stationsemployed HF SSB for the first 20 minutes of each hour, then digital PSK31for the next 20 minutes, and finally cw for the last 20 minutes. Stationsworking all three modes were kept very busy, with the operation continuingnon-stop for 24 straight hours. Local ARES groups and nets were alsoencouraged to take VHF-UHF check-ins and relay those stations into the largeroperation. Net frequencies and bands were changed smoothly on the fly aspropagation and conditions dictated.When all activity andmessages were tallied, Idaho had 1400 check-ins to the SET in 24 hours. On HF,619 SSB contacts were noted from 24 Idaho counties and eight other states,with 88 individual stations participating. There were 219 cw contacts madefrom all six Idaho ARES Districts, eight other states and by 24 individualstations. PSK31 was popular, with 127 contacts made from 12 counties, fiveother states, and 31 individual stations. On VHF, 424 contacts were made by96 stations.An overall total of 1389 contacts weremade by 239 stations. According to Meier, some 5.3% of Idaho Amateur Radiooperators participated, "which is outstanding," he said. "I am so inspired byour Idaho Amateur Radio operators and ARES," Meier concluded. "All of ourARES operators stepped up and conducted a fantastic SET 2014; this one isgoing to be hard to beat."TopSET 2014 - Operation Shaky Endeavor in MissouriThe morning of the fourth of October started cold with theforecast for a sunny but cool fall day. The page went out to operators at 9 AM torespond to a staging location near a major shopping mall in St. Peters,Missouri. The SET scenario indicated a severe earthquake in the New MadridSeismic Zone that had also triggered a large quake in the Wabash ValleySeismic Zone near the Illinois/Indiana border. These quakes resulted insignificant damage in the St. Louis metro area, including all surrounding counties.St. Charles County ARES responded to the page and about 20 volunteersarrived to assist in the damage assessment exercise.ARESoperated for and in four operations centers in St. Charles County andperformed damage assessment in areas throughout the county. Agencies including theNational Weather Service, St. Peters Law Enforcement, Mall Security, St.Charles County Sheriff's Department, four Emergency Management agencies andtwo hospitals were contacted, totaling 11 agencies in five communities.The St. Charles County Division of Emergency Managementallowed ARES to use their Mobile Command Center at the staging site and asthe location for operation of the simplex net. The higher level net wasoperated from the County Emergency Operations Center in downtown
| Dave Kampmann,WS0Z, and Shelley Lasater, KD0WAB, working the Logistics Net at Staging inthe County Inter-Agency Command Center. (photo courtesy N0PNP) |

St. Charles. The exercise concludedat 1230 hours and all participants were requested to meet at the County EOCwhere the hot wash was held and lunch was provided by the St. CharlesCounty Division of Emergency Management.The group was addressed by Bill Grimsbo,N0PNP, the St. Charles County Emergency Coordinator (who is also theMissouri District C Emergency Coordinator), Jeff Young, KB3HF, the MissouriSection Emergency Coordinator, and Capt. Dave Todd, Director of the Division ofEmergency Management. "Again this year, we learned much about what worksand what does not," said Grimsbo. "Next year, we will apply the lessonslearned to help us improve our disaster communications systems andtechniques."Lessons learned from last year's SET that were appliedthis year included: Separating antennas and getting the simplex netantenna up about 20 feet solved the communications issues experienced last yearwith coverage; ensuring there were at least three people at Staging at alltimes reduces the work load of the NCO; and mobile two-man teams is a mustto ensure the communications does not interfere with driving.Some areas to improve identified this year included: the EOC to EOCand Agency to Agency traffic should be restricted to the EOC net, nothandled at staging, which should handle only the traffic with the field teams;better logging of damage assessments is needed; reports and traffic atstaging was difficult to manage and it might be better to have the field teamsfill out damage assessment reports rather than reporting them over the air.Special thanks went to Dave Kampmann, WS0Z, and ShelleyLasater, KD0WAB, for the many hours of effort they put into exerciseplanning and to the ARRL for supporting ARES and providing this opportunity toparticipate in a nationally recognized activity like the Simulated EmergencyTest. − William Grimsbo, N0PNP, St. Charles County ARESEmergency CoordinatorTopLetters: On Formidable FootprintExercisesIn re your note in last month's issue on theFormidable Footprint exercises, there is NO CHARGE for participation in anyof the exercises. Not only are they FREE, the exercises are good. Locally,we used one to help Scouts get one of their merit badges. The Solar Stormexercise would be one Amateur Radio operators should do together and fortheir community. -- Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, Director, Altus EmergencyManagement, Altus, Oklahoma[For more information on theFormidable Footprint series of exercises, click here. From itswebsite: "A team of national, regional, state and local agencies and organizationshave undertaken an effort to develop, conduct and evaluate a recurringseries of disaster exercises entitled "Formidable Footprint". This series ofexercises serves as an opportunity for community and faith basedorganizations along with governmental agencies to assess their capability to preparefor, respond to and recover from a variety of natural disasters which affectcommunities and neighborhoods across the United States."-- ed.]TopUpdate on Hawaii Lava Flow "Slow Motion Disaster"Bob Schneider, AH6J, Pacific Section Manager, reports thefront of the Puna lava flow is still stopped. "However, there are nowseveral breakouts along the side and the first house has been destroyed. Thereis no forward movement as of today, November 12," he reported. "The resultof the side breakouts is that the flow is getting wider."In an ARRL news report dated October 29, amateurs were drafting plans incase they needed to activate in response to the Puna lava flow. Lava flowsare nothing new to many Hawaiians, said Schneider, who called it "aslow-motion disaster." ARRL deployed Ham Aid kits to Hawaii for a possible lava flow response.Schneider said DECs have been establishing area-specific ARES standardoperating procedures in the event of an activation. Conventionaltelecommunication systems were working and power to the area was still holding, he said.Hawaii Civil Defense authorities deployed a remote emergency operationscenter to the affected region in September.TopARRL Partners:Safety Tips from Red CrossBitter cold temperaturesand snow are hitting two-thirds of the country, exposing people todangerously frigid weather and causing home heating systems to work overtime tokeep everyone warm. The American Red Cross is urging people to use cautionwhen heating their homes in these cold conditions and offers way to stay safeduring the deep freeze.HOME FIRE SAFETY -- Seventimes a day, someone in this country dies in a home fire. Heating fires are thesecond leading cause of these fires which occur more often as cold weathersets in and people turn on their heating system. The Red Cross haslaunched a nationwide campaign to reduce thenumber of home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent over the next five yearsHeating a home can be expensive. Almost half of thefamilies in the United States use alternate heating sources such as spaceheaters, fireplaces, or coal or wood stoves to cut costs while staying warm.These supplemental heating sources can be dangerous if not used properly. TheRed Cross offers the following safety tips on how to prevent heatingfires:• Keep all potential sources of fuel likepaper, clothing, bedding, curtains or rugs at least three feet away from spaceheaters, stoves, or fireplaces.• Don't leaveportable heaters and fireplaces unattended. Turn off space heaters and makesure any embers in the fireplace are extinguished before going to bed orleaving home.• Place space heaters on a level,hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs orcarpets or near bedding or drapes. Keep children and pets away from spaceheaters.• When buying a space heater, look formodels that shut off automatically if the heater falls over.• Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.• Use a glass or metal fire screen to keep your firein your fireplace. Make sure it's large enough to catch sparks and rollinglogs.• Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces,chimneys, and furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned once a year.WINTER STORM SAFETY -- Wear layers of lightweightclothing to stay warm during cold weather, as well as gloves and hat. Other safetysteps include the following:• Bring petsindoors. If that's not possible, make sure they have enough shelter to keepthem warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.• If you lose power, go to a designated public shelter to stay warm.• Avoid driving in sleet, freezing rain, snow ordense fog. If you have to travel, keep a disaster supplies kit in the car.• Check on your elderly neighbors. Help thosewho may need special assistance, including people with disabilities andchildren.• Before tackling strenuous tasks such asshoveling show, consider your physical condition.• Know the signs of hypothermia - confusion, dizziness, exhaustion andsevere shivering. If someone has these symptoms, they should get immediatemedical attention.• Watch for symptoms offrostbite including numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skindiscoloration, numbness or waxy feeling skin. -- American Red CrossTopARRL -- YourOne-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and InformationJoin or RenewToday! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most popular and informativejournal, delivered to your mailbox each month.Subscribeto NCJ -- theNational Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly, features articles bytop contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSOParties.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 communicationsprofessionals.Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter(monthlypublic service and emergency communications news), theARRL ContestUpdate (bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- andmuch more!Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.ARRLoffers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur RadioDonate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not fundedby member dues!Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject toavailability.Top | 



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