[HIham] Simulated Emergency Test, Sat Oct 2 9:00 - 11:00 am

[Ron Hashiro]

To:  All ARES District/Local Emergency Coordinators

All Hawaii Amateur Radio Clubs

NTS, Section Traffic Manager

ARRL Section Manager, Pacific Section

All other interested participants



From: Kevin Bogan AH6QO, ARES SEC Pacific Section

      Ron Hashiro AH6RH, Hawaii State RACES Coordinator



Subject:  Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Civil Emergency Service

(RACES), coordinated Hawaii state-wide ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET)



PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO AMATEUR OPERATORS AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES THROUGHOUT HAWAII





ARES in coordination with State RACES will participate in the annual ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET).  A disaster scenario will originate from State Civil Defense (SCD), Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Oahu for the exercise.  The scenario will cover all area of Hawaii with a (simulated) developing natural disaster.  The announcement will be transmitted on amateur radio frequencies as part of the SET preamble to begin the test.  Participation by as many amateur radio operators, government and public service disaster relief agencies as possible will make this test more realistic and meaningful.

This year's scenario involves a direct hit on Oahu by a simulated Category 3 hurricane Yoza.

ARES DISTRICT and/or LOCAL EMERGENCY COORDINATORS:  Using any type of communication, please send me the following information as soon as possible:

1)      Advise me if your ARES group will participate in the SET.

2)      If so, inform me of the extent of your SET activities and the expected number of amateur radio operators who will participate in the exercise, and

3)      Send me a list of public service disaster relief agencies (government or non-profit) you plan to get involved for the SET.

4)      Use the 2000 SET guideline to assist you in organizing your SET activities.  See the following website for the guideline: http://arrl.org/field/setguide.html



AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS throughout Hawaii:  Please direct your club's emergency communications preparedness group contact me if they plan to take part in the SET.  Organize a team for the SET if you don't already have one, and use the guidelines above (in the previous paragraph) to coordinate your SET activities.  Please forward this information to me as soon as possible.



GOVERNMENT and/or PUBLIC SERVICE DISASTER RELIEF AGENCIES:  If you wish to participate in the SET, notify me directly.  I will put you in contact with the local amateur radio network in your area for further information.  I need to be contacted ASAP for your organization to be included in the exercise.  Any HSVOAD member is welcome to participate in the SET.



SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST SCHEDULE

Begin: 0900 hours, Saturday, October 2, 2004

Terminate:  1100 hours, Saturday, October 2, 2004



STATE-WIDE RADIO FREQUENCIES for the SET:

VHF (2-meter) frequencies:

Kauai - 147.040+ mhz

Oahu - 147.060+ mhz

Maui - 147.020+ mhz

BI/East Hawaii - 147.040+ mhz

BI/West Hawaii - 147.020+ mhz



HF (40/80 meter) frequencies:

Primary:  40 meters - 7.088 mhz ± QRM

Secondary:  80 meters - 3.993 mhz ± QRM  (This frequency will be used only if 7.088 mhz is not usable in the morning hours).



Other voice and packet frequencies and operation modes may be used for local SET communications.  Please coordinate these frequencies/modes with your local ARES/RACES groups.

As part of the check-in and scoring for the net, please advise net control:
*  Whether you are checking-in on emergency power
*  Whether you are licensed since 2000.


NET CONTROL STATION (NCS):

KH6HPZ - State Civil Defense EOC, Diamond Head Crater.



KH6HPZ will act as NCS and broadcast a simulated disaster scenario and begin the SET at 0800 hours on the state-wide RACES linked repeater frequencies and on HF frequencies.  Roll call will follow the preamble.  NCS will transmit SET updates and may receive and transmit and/or forward simulated emergency traffic throughout the exercise.  IMPORTANT: NCS will operate on SET frequencies as a directed net.  Therefore, stations should not transmit to other stations unless directed to do so by NCS.



ALL MESSAGES generated on amateur radio frequencies for the SET shall use standard ARRL message format.  Messages must be designated as:  "TEST EMERGENCY"  or "TEST MESSAGE".  Please do not fail to use the word "TEST" in your messages.





ARES DISTRICT and LOCAL EMERGENCY COORDINATORS and RACES GROUPS:

Please involve as many of your local public service disaster relief agencies as possible in this exercise.    In a real emergency, you may only have a few days or just hours to prepare for emergency and/or disaster communications.  Please underscore this clearly when coordinating this year's SET activities with your amateur radio volunteers and agency participants.



Organize your volunteers to set-up and operate 2-meter equipment and NVIS portable HF transceivers at a participating (government or non-profit) agency site(s).  During the SET, use the portable stations to communicate simulated emergency traffic, logistical and/or tactical messages on behalf of the participating agency to other participating agencies, and/or to the EOC.  Use standard ARRL message format when transmitting and copying messages.  Throughout the exercise, demonstrate to the participating agency members the effectiveness of amateur radio communications during an emergency.  At the end of the exercise, conduct a post-exercise meeting with your volunteers to evaluate the effectiveness of your SET activities as well as your interaction with the participating agency(s) during the exercise.  Follow the instructions to complete and email the EC SET report form to the ARRL.  You can find the form at:  http://arrl.org/field/forms/index.html#ec_set



PLEASE NOTE:

Radio amateurs who are not involved in an ARES or RACES group activity are welcome to check-in on the SET frequencies and transmit simulated emergency traffic during the exercise.



TO ALL PARTICIPANTS:


The purpose of the SET is to help amateur radio operators gain valuable experience in emergency or disaster communications procedures for our served agencies.  Your cooperation and assistance in this exercise will prove to be very beneficial to all parties involved in emergency preparedness operations.  The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test is an annual event conducted between the months of October and November by radio amateurs throughout the United States.  Have fun, and good luck to you all!