[FADCA] Lessons Learned - Hurricanes Charley and Frances 2004

[bud thompson]

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH -
TELL HIM YOUR PLANS FOR TOMORROW[1]
or
HAM HERO TO VICTIM IN SIX HOURS

Lessons Learned from one Ham's experience with
Hurricanes Charley Aug 12-17 and Frances September 3-8, 2004.

L. E. 'bud' Thompson, N0IA
Deltona, FL

On August 12th I set up the vhf voice ham radio station at the City of
Deltona EOC in preparation for supporting on-coming Hurricane Charley.  At
noon on Friday August 13th I returned to operate the station until a relief
operator could be assigned.  Hurricane Charley would make landfall near
Tampa, about a hundred miles west of Deltona.  Our area in East Central
Florida would be flooded only with evacuees seeking shelter as well as some
rain and a little wind.  Within the next six hours, Charley made landfall
much further south than had been expected, thus bringing the projected path
right over my home, about 20 miles north of Orlando.  I was no longer a Ham
Hero - but a victim.  I went home at 1600 hours to prepare for the blow.

Hurricane Charley and three weeks later on September 4th Hurricane Frances
resulted in all counties in East Central Florida being declared disaster
areas.  Both events kept me at home with my wife and animals, unavailable to
provide any assistance to the outside community other than my immediate
neighborhood.  At home the two storms left my wife Sally and me without
electric power for a total of eight days and without cable TV/internet for
twelve days.  We were not alone-as many as a million people across Central
Florida were without power for one or both of the storms, some for more than
a week at a time.  Thousands of evacuees from the East Coast were in
shelters in East Central Florida where hams from several ARES groups
provided much-needed communications.[2]  The Deltona EOC and several
shelters lost phone line service at one time or another.  While I did not
participate directly in providing tactical service to either of the two
counties I support, the experience, nothing less than an epiphany after more
than 50 years of supporting ARES planning and participation, provided these
lessons learned.

I have not provided details - only recommendations - as this is a
broad-based report and not every reader will have application for all
lessons.  There is one underlying, overpowering and very basic lesson for
all:

We must stop talking about what we are going to do to get prepared and just
do it.

LESSONS LEARNED

Personal - When the ship hits the sand right over my home I will be home
with my family.  Otherwise, I will be available for callout to go anywhere
in the state where I may be of help.

Deltona City EOC - It is recommended that the Volusia County ARES commit to
having four or five ham volunteers pre-assigned / dedicated to the Deltona
EOC during activations of the EOC.  These hams can be trained to set up the
ham station at the EOC prior to activation and operate both voice and e-mail
services during activation.  Generally both setup and operation can be
accomplished by a single operator per shift.  These dedicated operators
could be more senior hams from SW Volusia County who are reluctant to travel
very far for callouts.  It is most likely these operators will not come from
existing Volusia County ARES rolls.[3]

My contribution:  I can train these hams for all necessary functions.

It is recommended that (1) the existing vhf/uhf antenna at the Deltona EOC
be replaced, (2) the equipment there be expanded to include a dual band
vhf/uhf radio, an HF radio, and an equipment cabinet, and (2) an EMCOMMs
PMBO and Telpac node be established there on a 24/7 basis.

My contribution:  I will work with the city representative on these items.

Seminole County EOC - Local building codes at the Seminole County EOC
prohibit antennas on the three-story building from showing above the roof.
This first eliminates an effective antenna for HF. More to the point, this
results in all VHF/UHF antennas being side-by-side on a single horizontal
bar - all antennas being aligned each within five feet of the next.  During
Paclink Beta testing, we did not operate voice comms concurrently.  During
the hurricane exercise it was discovered that mutual interference between
VHF packet and VHF voice was unacceptable.  Consequently the packet radio
was first reduced to low power, and from time to time used for necessary
voice comms or turned off.

It is recommended that this problem be thoroughly investigated and mitigated
such that packet and voice comms may be ongoing currently.

E-mail over Ham Radio (i.e. Paclink and Airmail) - While no surprise, the
limited local use of Paclink and Airmail after each of these storms showed
positively that the system works and can be of significant value in support
of EMCOMMs.  These back-to-back disasters caught us in advanced Beta
Testing; we did not have many ham radio digital stations and no clients
actually geared up to use the system (i.e. client computers on a LAN with
the Ham Radio Server computer.)  Sally and I were fortunate to have my Beta
test systems going at home and were able to use Paclink (VHF) and Airmail
(HF) for our personal H&W messages with family and friends.  Here is Sally's
contribution to this Lessons Learned:

"As bud's XYL I want to preface my comments-and say that I am not a HAM, nor
do I understand "ham things."  That said, I am completely supportive of his
hobby and am always interested to hear what he is working on.  That is,
until it begins to turn technical, at which point my eyes begin to glaze and
I to woolgather.

Until...Hurricanes Charley and Frances when I was unable to reach loved ones
scattered from Florida to Alaska.  They too were concerned for our welfare
and frustrated that there appeared to be no good way to keep in touch.  The
phone was out, cell phones could not be used for a while and things were
bleak.  Then bud mentioned I could use his ham radio email, a project he has
been beta testing for some time.  My ears pricked up and soon I was clicking
away.  While not "technical" I am computer savvy from the standpoint of
email and "googling." As part of the beta testing, bud had set this up in my
computer so that my "radio email" messages went out and responses came in
through the radio connected to his computer.  With our generator running I
just used Outlook Express as I normally do when we are on the Internet.

It has been such a boon-simple to use and I hope it will catch on with hams
and their families.  If you can use a keyboard you can use this valuable
tool."

The added value of e-mail for various support applications during and after
these storms best be considered and reported by hams that were deployed but
not yet equipped to provide e-mail to served agencies.  That said, here is
the only "War story" I will report of all the monitoring I did while holed
up at home:

A ham operator at a special needs shelter checked into the VHF voice net
with a priority message regarding the need of three shelter occupants for
dialysis treatment.  The NCS was prepared to copy a message in NTS format.
The other operator did not know NTS format, but was reading the information
in a basic intuitive format.  However, not being experienced, he was reading
much too fast.  The NCS, an experienced traffic handler, recovered nicely
and took the message in the basic format with a few repeats.  While this did
not add significant delays, the effort and time for the 19- (or is it 20?)
word message was far more than would have been required had the originating
3rd party at the shelter sent an e-mail to the receiving 3rd party.
Additionally, the ham operator at the shelter would have known how to use
e-mail if there were no served agency representative to do so.

Recommendations fall into three related categories: (1) committing to
establishing e-mail over Ham Radio capability on a massive basis in East
Central Florida, (2) improvements in Paclink capability, and (3) packet
network infrastructure.

1)            It is recommended that ARES groups in the East Central
District actively support including Paclink capability at County EOCs,
mobile command centers, served agencies, shelters, individual ham's homes,
etc, any place where detailed written communications may be of value.  A
24/7 EMCOMMs PMBO with a Telpac node should be in every County and City EOC.
It would be beneficial if there were at least one HF PMBO at a hardened site
in each ARES District.

We must band together those few hams that are interested in digital
messaging in support of EMCOMMs and who will make personal expenditure of
funds and time to set up a Win2000 or XP laptop for tactical use.  This may
be a dedicated, perhaps hi-tech group since there is more than an HT and
antenna involved, though I really believe it is not all that much of a
problem for those who are dedicated.  This group will learn a lot about
packet, networking, configuring Paclink AGW, configuring e-mail clients for
additional (tactical) accounts, etc.  Once an ARES group has three or four
such hams who are leading the way, others will follow and this leadership
group will mentor.  Not every ham who may be the control operator for a Ham
Radio e-mail Server on a callout has to be experienced in  packet  - but a
few in each ARES group will need to be.

ARES groups and ham radio clubs are encouraged to financially support and/or
sponsor switches/nodes on the packet network required to move the e-mail
over ham radio traffic.  Grants should be solicited, and will be welcomed.
Now that we know what it is like to be inside a large Last Mile, updating
the packet networks throughout the country is too critical a need to expect
a single individual or two to finance what is required at each switch/node.


2)            The known problems with Paclink/Telpac/WL2K can likely be
solved early as Beta testing continues after the WL2K programmers get back
on dry land.  The basic problem during this exercise was the erratic
'inactivity timeout.'  Additional suggestions that may be of interest are
discussed in Appendix 1.

3)            It is recommended that the Florida Layered Packet network be
upgraded/fixed/repaired to provide significant support for local EMCOMMs
work.  While these plans have been ongoing for several years, we must stop
talking about it and actually do it.  This will require some assistance with
funding and generally includes:

(a)    Add new switches/LANS to bring more ham radio communities into the
network.
(b)   Include 9.6kb user access ports on all LANs
(c)    Increase backbone radio data rates to at least 9.6kb.
(d)   There cannot be too many Telpac nodes on a given LAN.[4]
(e)    Switches and nodes should be at hardened sites with emergency power
available.

73, and best to all of us in getting ready for the next one.

L. E. 'bud' Thompson N0IA


APPENDIX 1
SUGGESTIONS FOR PACLINK

As we continue promoting more ARES - minded hams to get into digital
messaging in support of EMCOMMs, we must face a fact:  There are few who
have had recent packet radio experience, if any packet experience at all.
Extending this to packet networking experience, there are likely fewer than
2 or 3 out of 50 who might otherwise see the value in e-mail over Ham Radio
that will have any idea how to navigate through X1-J, TheNet, NET/ROM, KA
nodes or ROSE, FPAC, TexNet, PC/FlexNet, etc.. This is akin to the
increasing number of newly-licensed hams yet to have much on-the-air
experience with HF digital modes or propagation on HF, but start right out
with WL2K messaging from sailboats or RVs.  The difference is that the HF
e-mail client Airmail has remarkable capability built in to make e-mail over
ham radio easier for the HF neophyte.  The program tells the operator which
bands are most likely to work at this period of Sun activity and time of day
between his/her location and any of the PMBOs on the master list.  Once the
operator selects the target PMBO, the program puts the HF radio on the
frequency selected by the operator.  The operator only has to use the mouse!

Adding to the problem with terrestrial packet operations is the myriad of
packet network implementations that exist from one area to another.  This
makes Mutual Aid Communications (MAC) more complex as my taking the Yellow
Thingy http://www.winlink.org/stations/N0ia.htm  into a TexNet exercise
would leave me lost until I learned how to navigate.  What Telpac nodes
should I use?  What are the frequencies of the network LANs/ nodes?  How
about mycalls? How is navigation accomplished? Where are these nodes
relative to my assigned location? ("I'm a stranger here myself ."-
accredited to W.C. Fields.)

At one time during the Hurricane Charley aftermath, I was asked to supply
information on the status of packet networking in my area.  A team from
outside the state was considering providing MAC with a totally
self-contained RV (which is the only way to go!)  The team had HF Airmail
and vhf/uhf Paclink capability.  I had to draft a virgin e-mail response
with the details as they are not presently available all  in one place.

Solution:  Another computer program for the Paclink/WL2K mix.

Using the Florida Layered Packet Network as a model -
http://www.fadca.org/map/index.html .

1.  Basic network parameters need to be on a readily-accessible Internet
data base that is updated frequently:
FPAC/ROSE network switches:
Switch/node/digi mycalls
LAN address
Switch location (lat long)
LAN frequency
Status of switch (working/not), and date of update.
Baud rate
What else?

Telpac (and PMBO) packet nodes in the state
Mycall, quick connect
Digi call
Location (lat long)
Frequency
LAN address
Status (working/not)
Closest Network switch on the frequency
Baud rate
What else?

2.  A scheme is established similar to Airmail catalog / updating of
frequency lists whereby the Paclink user periodically and automatically
obtains the information contained in the data base above.  This would be
especially important to be updated just prior to a local callout or making a
300 mile trip to offer MAC.

3.  A program associated with Paclink could automatically provide the proper
information for the tactical Paclink user to know the following for any
lat/long where the Paclink may operate:

Prioritized user frequencies and baud rates that can likely be used from
that location.
LAN/switch information for each frequency
Prioritized list of Telpac nodes within "n" network links.
Telpac node information for each.
Prioritized list of connect scripts for five Telpacs
What else?

This would minimize the local experience required to navigate the network
from anywhere the network covers.

4.  The information in 3 above could be used to automatically update Paclink
Channel information for a given exercise lat/long.

5.  While few vhf/uhf voice radios now used for packet can be computer
controlled as can HF radios for Airmail, once such radios are available, the
needed information will be at hand to integrate all this into Paclink.

COMBINING PACKINK AND AIRMAIL CAPABILITY

I had to use both vhf packet (Paclink) and HF pactor (Airmail) during our
power outages in order to keep H&W e-mail flowing.  While fun (I really like
HF digital), the two systems are not compatible at the user level.  Paclink
uses the familiar e-mail client and Airmail uses a very good look-alike.
While both system work exceeding well, the messages are not managed in the
same data base on the user computer. This is a serious operational concern
which I assume will be solved with the advent of SCAMP and/or a Paclink
driver for the SCS PTC-series of data controllers.


bud N0IA

Footnotes:

[1] Proverbs 16:1 - Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.
[2] There were far too few hams available for mobilization in either county,
a topic for Lessons Learned from other sources.  However, one point was made
clear.  To their credit, many well-meaning hams did "come out of the
woodwork" when the disasters hit.  However, their lack of training with the
more active group might render their volunteering less valuable in some
cases.
[3] In this part of Florida (and likely elsewhere) there is a large Amateur
population who is retired. Hams under 35 are few and far between.
[4]   Telpac nodes may be at less than hardened sites such as a ham's QTH -
anyplace where a packet radio, TNC, and a computer with internet access may
be left running 24/7.  If there are sufficient Telpac nodes on a LAN, the
chance of total loss of internet access for LAN users over large areas is
minimized.