[FLARES] Statewide SET

[Keith Kotch]

-----Original Message-----
From: flares-admin@mailman.qth.net [mailto:flares-admin@mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of Ron Wetjen

> If this was such an important event, why didn't a WCF official pass
the 
> QNC on local repeaters?  I understand several people were looking for
a 
> WCF representative on "Big Stick" to pass drill traffic ... and there 
> were none to be found.  What's up with that?  I heard no mention of or

> drill traffic passed on "Big Stick" during the 2 hours I monitored.

This is a practice that I've desired in our area.  We started doing it
when I was SkyWarn Coordinator before becoming EC.  If we had a SkyWarn
activation we'd make announcements on other Seminole county repeaters
informing listeners of the net and it's purpose.

This is something that probably should be done in any EMCOMMS
activation.  At least initially, after the net is activated, have an
announcement made on other local repeaters informing the Amateur
community of what's going on and where to monitor or check-in.  Periodic
announcements that an emergency net is active on "such and such" a
frequency might be a good idea.  It helps spread the word.

When events are happening locally, say a weather event with warnings
being sent out by NWS or a large-scale event that's a "Breaking News"
event on local TV and broadcast radio, then Amateurs will probably turn
their VHF/UHF rigs on and start monitoring or start talking about it.
That's all well and good. Amateurs are self-activating when those things
happen.  When it's a "scheduled" SET, then people usually are somewhat
informed beforehand and you probably have a scheduled net activation
time announced.  While the details of the SET aren't usually given to
SET participants, and this SET was no exception, some local ARES
leadership have been involved in the planning process and do know.  In
the case of this SET, we were told to be ready for Saturday Oct 4.
Thursday, Oct 2 was a real surprise and in order to play along with the
spirit of the SET "rules", it was a struggle to try and notify amateurs
when there was nothing really happening to cause their own
self-activation.  You've got to assume that in such a statewide
emergency scenario phone circuits are going to be quickly overloaded and
mostly useless.  You would almost have to depend upon amateurs to
self-activate initially unless your EMCOMMS group had pagers on the
amateur frequencies.  You'd still have to depend upon your repeaters to
be on emergency power and operating.  Had ARES local leadership been a
part of the planning process for the SET, we may have had time to
coordinate with local emergency management officials and local repeater
sites to place things on emergency power.  If this SET surprise scenario
was to test ARES leadership as well, then I guess you'd have to say it
worked however I contend that leadership's participation might have been
tested using a paper exercise beforehand.

To me, the main things this type of SET scenario calls for is a test of
the HF and digital gateway systems for long-haul traffic and a test of
the local ARES group's emergency power capabilities.  Had more
pre-planning been done we (ARES leadership) could have made appropriate
contacts and arranged for some deployment to key locations that would
support our county's Dept of Emergency Management.  In this day and age,
you don't just show up on somebody's doorstep to play like there's some
major disaster that's just befallen us.  It doesn't take too much to get
people uptight.

Keith, KF4BXT
EC - Seminole Co. ARES/RACES