[South Florida DX Association] ARES E-Letter April 22,2008

Wed Apr 23 09:14:16 EDT 2008

The ARES E-Letter
April 22, 2008
================= 

Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor

<http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=K1CE>,

===================================
ARES reports, other related contributions, editorial questions or
comments: <k1ce at arrl.net>;; 
===================================

+ The View from Flagler County

It's that time of year when hurricane season preparation ratchets up:
the National Hurricane Conference was held in Orlando earlier this
month, and state and county EMAs are currently checking plans and
assets. Now is also the time for ARES members to assess their
portfolio of communications equipment and disaster response
knowledge.

Monitor major HF hurricane networks during events this season. The
Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz, is one of several key players. It
serves either the Atlantic or Pacific during a watch or warning
period and coordinates with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in
Miami. Frequent, detailed information is issued on nets when storms
pose a threat to the US mainland. In addition to hurricane spotting,
local communicators may announce that residents have evacuated from
low-lying flood areas. Other amateurs across the country can help by
relaying information, keeping the net frequency clear and by
listening. See <http://www.hwn.org/>. The net works closely with the
hams at the NHC station WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.com/>

The SATERN Net (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network),
provides emergency communication support to the Salvation Army and
populations at large. They also handle health-and-welfare traffic.
SATERN holds high profile nets on 20-meters (14.265 MHz) during major
hurricanes, and has a long history of excellence, discipline and
service. Refer to the SATERN Web site <http://www.satern.org/>.

The Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) meets on 14.300 MHz and is
composed of hams who serve and assist those in need of communications
on the high seas. According to its Web site <http://www.mmsn.org/>,
the primary purpose of the net is for handling traffic from maritime
mobiles. The network is recognized by the United States Coast Guard
and has an excellent working relationship with that agency. The MMSN
has handled hundreds of incidents involving vessels in distress,
medical emergencies in remote locations and passing health and
welfare traffic in and out of affected areas. They also work closely
with the NWS and NHC by relaying weather reports from maritime
stations.

The VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Net operates by combining both the
Echolink and IRLP linked repeater networks, while handling critical
wide area communications during major severe weather and tropical
events. These operations have gained national stature in recent
years, and provide excellent service. Whenever tropical weather is
imposing a threat to the U.S. mainland and certain other areas of
interest, the VoIP WX-NET will be fully operational. See
<http://www.voipwx.net/>.

During hurricane events, there are usually two or three regional nets
(on 40 or 20 meters) that spring to prominence as major, key assets
to the disaster response on an ad hoc basis. Watch for these nets, as
well as the nationally-recognized networks above, this season. Don't
transmit on their frequencies unless you are absolutely sure you have
something substantive to add, and then only under the direction of
the net control station. 

--------------
In This Issue:

+ The View from Flagler County
+ ARES Confers at National Hurricane Conference, Orlando
+ National Hurricane Center Director Lauds Hams
+ "Digital Saturday" Provides Training in Digital Modes 
+ Red Cross Disaster Action Team Drill Turns into the Real Thing
+ Greater Bridgeport ARC (CT) to Support New EOC
+ Ohio ARES Teams Lend Support to Hepatitis Vaccination Clinic
+ LETTERS: Sending E-mail Via SMS (SMS Gateways)
+ FEEDBACK: SATERN Does Not Require Background Checks
+ LETTERS: Licensing Standards Diminished
+ LETTERS: FEMA Now Responsible for Mass Care; ARES Role More
Defined?
+ LETTERS: FEMA Disaster Assistance Employee Offers Perspective
+ RESOURCES: New EmComm E-Zine Available
+ RESOURCES: Tarrant County (TX) SKYWARN Video is Excellent
+ K1CE For a Final
--------------

+ ARES Confers at National Hurricane Conference, Orlando

National Hurricane Center (NHC) Amateur Radio station coordinators
John McHugh, K4AG, and Julio Ripoll, WD4R, discussed the interaction
and importance of Amateur Radio in the forecasting of tropical events
at the Amateur Radio Session of the National Hurricane Conference
earlier this month. McHugh also discussed the Caribbean Amateur Radio
Meteorological Emergency Network (CARMEN) program, outlining how the
program in its current stage can use revitalization and rebuilding to
provide improved information to the NHC. 

Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net Rob Macedo, KD1CY,
presented a detailed overview of the system that integrates EchoLink
and the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP). For the past few
years, this operation has been building to become another reliable
source of information for the National Hurricane Center. 

ARRL HQ's EmComm Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD, and Macedo offered the
final Amateur Radio presentation of the Conference, "Disaster
Intelligence and Situational Awareness Utilizing Amateur Radio." This
discussion went beyond the traditional uses of Amateur Radio into the
areas of damage assessment, infrastructure monitoring, communications
systems replacement and rapid situational analyses.

[The National Hurricane Conference has a long history of support of
Amateur Radio operators, waiving registration fees for those
attending its special session on Amateur Radio. For years, the
session has welcomed luminaries from the emergency management arena.
We thank the National Hurricane Conference for this support. -- ed.]

+ National Hurricane Center Director Lauds Hams

National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, KB5FYA, praised Amateur
Radio at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Florida,
earlier this month
<http://www.voipwx.net/local/Bill_Read_on_Ham_Radio_Hurricane_Confere
nce2008.wmv>. "Ham radio has always played a critical role in
emergencies," Read said. "What goes out when you have a high wind
event or major flooding is the communications system, so you lose
even cell phones, landline phones, commercial radio and TV. In those
cases, ham radio operators that can put up emergency transmitters and
antennas in the wake of a storm can give us reports that are
valuable. They also help in the search and rescue efforts in the
aftermath." The NHC has a dedicated amateur station on-site -- WX4NHC
-- and has worked closely with hams for decades.  -- Dan Musten,
KD4RAA, and John Van Pelt, K4JVP, AEC for Central Carolina Skywarn

+ "Digital Saturday" Provides Training in Digital Modes 

Georgia SEC Scott Royle, KK4Z, challenged the Section to increase
training and use of digital modes in 2008. Gwinnett County, Georgia
ARES was already active on digital modes with three digipeaters, a
Winlink 2000 node and a D-Star repeater. The weekly Training Net
takes Packet as well as voice check-ins. 

With new members coming onboard and others exploring digital modes,
Gwinnett ARES AEC for Digital, Ed Woodrick, WA4YIH, developed a day
of classes on various digital modes titled "Digital Saturday."
Twenty-five Gwinnett ARES members participated in training in APRS,
Packet Basics, D-Star Data, Winlink 2000, D-Star Operation and
Programming, and PSK31. Each of the hour-long classes provided
information on the topic as well as hands-on demonstrations of each
technology. An RMS Packet node setup onsite allowed e-mails to be
transmitted and received via Winlink 2000 and the Airmail client. 

Instructors for the classes included Gwinnett ARES members
experienced in specific digital modes and the Georgia ASEC for
Digital, Tom Olley, KG4VUB. It is hoped that Digital Saturday will
allow Gwinnett ARES members to become more proficient and use various
modes of digital communications. Presentations from Digital Saturday
are available on the Gwinnett ARES Web site,
<http://www.gwinnettares.org>. -- John Davis WB4QDX, Emergency
Coordinator, Gwinnett County, Georgia <wb4qdx at arrl.net>

+ Red Cross Disaster Action Team Drill Turns into the Real Thing

BRIDGEPORT, CT, February 2, 2008 -- The American Red Cross
Mid-Fairfield County Chapter held a drill to familiarize Disaster
Action Team (DAT) members with the territory serviced by the chapter,
gain experience in the use of GPS to navigate to a destination, learn
about the use of radio during a deployment, and compare the operation
of VHF/UHF amateur radios and Red Cross 47.420 MHz radios. The
Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club (GBARC) supports the Red Cross
with nine fully qualified and trained Red Cross Disaster Action Team
volunteers. 

The plan was to deploy five Red Cross vehicles to different
destinations within the ten served communities covering over 200
square miles. Each vehicle would deploy with a ham operator carrying
a handheld VHF/UHF radio and four of the vehicles would have a
permanently installed Red Cross 47.420 MHz radio. In order to gain
experience, only non-hams were to operate the Red Cross radios. A
base station would be situated at the Bridgeport chapter house. Two
amateur radios capable of simultaneously handling a total of four
amateur VHF/UHF frequencies and a Red Cross radio operating on the
47.420 MHz frequency were installed at the base. The amateur radios
would use repeaters located in Norwalk, Fairfield, Milford and
Bridgeport. There are no repeaters for the Red Cross radios in the
area. 

Just minutes prior to the start of the drill, a real incident
occurred and the volunteers responded. Radio contact using the 47.420
MHz frequency was not possible once the vehicles were on scene at the
incident site four miles away in Stratford. This was due to an
intervening hill that prevented line of site communications. Amateur
Radio, however, performed flawlessly using repeaters in Bridgeport
and Fairfield. The variety of available repeater locations and their
antenna height provides the flexibility and capability to virtually
eliminate communications problems due to terrain or structural
interference. -- John Russo, KA1JXW, Public Information Officer,
Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club <russojg at snet.net>

+ Greater Bridgeport ARC (CT) to Support New EOC

BRIDGEPORT, CT, February 25, 2008 -- The greater Bridgeport
metropolitan area was just designated as an Urban Area Security
Initiative (UASI) site. This means Homeland Security funds will be
made available to Bridgeport and the surrounding area to enhance
prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to events involving
all natural and man made hazards, including terrorism. Senator Joseph
Lieberman (I-CT) along with Bridgeport Mayor Finch and Norwalk Mayor
Moccia held a press conference on February 25 to discuss this
designation at the new Bridgeport Combined Emergency Dispatch and
Emergency Operations Center (EOC), scheduled to open in September
2008. Bridgeport Director of Emergency Management, Scott Appleby,
hosted the event. The new center will house a combined emergency
dispatch center (911 Center) along with a state-of-the-art EOC. The
facility will withstand hurricane force winds, have multiple power
and other backup systems and includes the latest technological
advances to assure uninterrupted command and control during any
emergency situation. 

The center includes a room dedicated to Amateur Radio communications.
The equipment and antennas have been specified by the Greater
Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club, Inc. (GBARC) and purchased by the city
of Bridgeport. GBARC will supply volunteer operators for the ham
facility. Amateur Radio and GBARC are an integral part of the
Emergency Operations Plan for the city. -- John Russo, KA1JXW, Public
Information Officer, Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club
<russojg at snet.net>

+ Ohio ARES Teams Lend Support to Hepatitis Vaccination Clinic

When a hepatitis A outbreak alarmed residents of West Chester, Ohio
last month, local officials worked to inoculate more than 1200 people
who had eaten at a local fast food restaurant; an employee with a
confirmed case of the virus who worked at the restaurant in March may
have contaminated ice and other food items, health officials said.
Inundated with more people than expected, Butler County Health
Department and Emergency Management officials were overwhelmed with
traffic, communication problems and general logistics. When a second
hepatitis A vaccination clinic was scheduled for April 5, officials
called on local ARES to assist with communications, as well as
traffic and crowd control. 

District Emergency Coordinator Robert Spratt, N8TVU, reported
officials at the first clinic could not communicate on their cell
phones due to lack of coverage in the area. "Officials had only
planned for about 800 people to show up to get inoculated. When they
had more than 1200 people show up, they tried using their cell phones
to call and get more vaccine, but they just wouldn't work." Calls 
made to 911 for police back-up to deal with unruly persons also had
trouble getting through.  

At the second clinic, eight hams from both Butler County and Hamilton
County were on site and ready to assist. The clinic, located at a
church, was scheduled to run from 10 AM-4 PM. The hams were ready for
early crowds; at the first clinic, people were standing in line more
than two hours before the doors opened. 

"When the ARES team arrived, they established the parking lot area,
the traffic flow patterns into and out of the church area and set up
the required communications," Spratt said. More than 225 people
received hepatitis A vaccinations at the second clinic and ARES
members directed more than 1200 cars to their correct destinations on
the property. The Butler County Health Department officials, clinic
staff, the Butler County Emergency Management Agency, the West
Chester Police Department and church officials thanked the ARES 
team for a job well done.

Ohio District 4 ARES teams in Warren, Clermont, Hamilton, and Butler
counties have had prior Volunteer Reception Center and vaccination
clinic operation training that "helped greatly in understanding and
knowing what would be needed in the way of communications at the
clinic, as well as security, traffic control and crowd control." 

The Ohio Section Emergency Response Plan (OSERP)
<http://www.trac-online.org/Docs/oserp.pdf> outlines how ARES is
activated in the Section, who reports to whom and how communication
flows. Many ARES districts have participated with their Regional
Medical Response Systems in their assigned districts on tabletop
exercises, as well as actual call-up drills. In February, 
District 3, under the command of ADEC Fred Stone, W8LLY, conducted a
Pandemic Flu activation that extended over several days, including a
real-time snow storm which affected the drill. This vaccination
clinic this past weekend proved that ARES is vital to the emergency
medical community. -- excerpted from the ARRL Letter 

+ LETTERS: Sending E-mail Via SMS (SMS Gateways)

During Katrina, and recently the Nevada earthquake, traditional
cellular voice service was overwhelmed due to a combination of
damaged infrastructure and system overloads. In many cases, however,
it was noted that Short Messaging System (SMS or "text") would often
function when voice circuits would not. 

It's also possible to send these SMS messages via e-mail in most
cases, using SMS Gateways. If you are deploying ARES team members
into an affected area, you should test their cell phones for this
capability before they leave. It's also important to limit the
message length, since most carriers restrict SMS messages to 160
characters. Below is a list of the major carriers in North America
that offer SMS gateway services. Others can usually be found using
search engines. 

An SMS gateway provides an easy way for you to communicate with
deployed ARES team members, family members, or anyone whose cell
phone number and carrier you're sure of. In many cases, we were able
to help people outside the affected area reach their loved ones more
quickly using these gateways.  

Also, before deploying in approach of Katrina and Rita, we purchased
inexpensive pre-paid cell phones at Wal-Mart for two or three of the
other major carriers (we carry T-Mobile phones). These included
Verizon, Cingular (AT&T), and Spring. Even in some of the worst areas
impacted by the storms, we were usually able to communicate on at
least one of the phones we had with us. This adds an important degree
of team safety. -- Les Rayburn, N1LF, Shelby County, Alabama
Emergency Coordinator NCS-SHARES NCS-047

Alltel
[10-digit phone number]@message.alltel.com
Example: 2125552555 at message.alltel.co

AT&T Wireless (now part of Cingular)
[10-digit phone number]@mmode.com
Example: 2125552555 at mmode.com

Boost Mobile
[10-digit phone number]@myboostmobile.com
Example: 2125552555 at myboostmobile.com 

Cingular
[10-digit phone number]@mobile.mycingular.com OR 
[10-digit number]@cingularme.com
Example: 4152555555 at cingularme.com

Nextel (now Sprint Nextel) 
[10-digit telephone number]@messaging.nextel.com
Example: 7035552555 at messaging.nextel.com

Sprint PCS (now Sprint Nextel)
[10-digit phone number]@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Example: 2125552555 at messaging.sprintpcs.com 

T-Mobile
[10-digit phone number]@tmomail.net
Example: 4252555555 at tmomail.net

Verizon
[10-digit phone number]@vtext.com
Example: 555255555 at vtext.com

Virgin Mobile USA
[10-digit phone number]@vmobl.com
Example: 5552555555 at vmobl.com

+ FEEDBACK: SATERN Does Not Require Background Checks

I would like to clarify and correct a statement that Gary Wilson,
K2GW, Southern NJ SEC, made in his letter published in the March ARES
E-letter: "SATERN also requires background checks on its volunteers."

SATERN is a national program of The Salvation Army and as such would
neither be likely nor authorized to request background checks. There
is NO background check required as a condition of membership in
SATERN. If an individual would like to become a Salvation Army
Emergency Disaster Services Volunteer and work with a local Salvation
Army unit directly helping survivors of emergencies, whether as a
SATERN member or not, a character background check is usually
performed by The Salvation Army as part of the vetting process of all
Salvation Army Volunteers. However, there is no requirement for
submission of one's Social Security Number nor is there any financial
background check performed.

Many SATERN Members provide very valuable and much appreciated
assistance during emergencies from their home stations, hundreds,
even thousands, of miles from the actual site. -- Richard Montgomery,
N3DV, Eastern Territory SATERN Coordinator

+ LETTERS: Licensing Standards Diminished

In response to last month's item by Bill Stietenroth, K5ZTY, Houston,
Texas, and a previous one by Steve Fleckenstein, N2UBP, I couldn't
agree more. I originally was licensed while in high school in 1952.
My primary interest was the technology involved (I had previously
built two-way radios in cigar boxes using filament miniature vacuum
tubes). I thus enjoyed designing and building my own equipment (I'm a
retired aerospace electronics design engineer) and talking with it on
the air with similarly oriented hams.

However, by 1968, there seemed to be few hams who knew (nor cared)
about the technical aspects, so I let my license expire. But
recently, the local Red Cross advertised for a ham to organize the
hams in this county and set up an emergency communications network in
this mountainous, line-of-sight communications area. I took all the
tests again (and was amazed at how easy they were as compared to
those of 1952!) and went on to obtain my Extra Class. I then taught a
class of several months and graduated seven new hams. We've since
added several more.

However, I made them suffer! The classes were based on the ARRL
publication "Now You're Talking," but went well beyond that material
from a technical standpoint.  We had detailed discussions on
electronics mathematics, circuits, construction projects,
troubleshooting, etc. 

Today, we've received many kudos for our emergency ARES drills in
Towns County, Georgia, and are installing a donated repeater on a
mountain, all as a local communications branch and with the terrific
support of the Red Cross (of which most of us are also members). But,
it didn't stop there! In addition to our weekly nets, we meet monthly
for a two-hour technical course on a ham related topic. I'm doing my
best to be sure that ARES operators know not only what knob to twist,
but what happens when they twist it and why. -- Alton Higgins, W4VFZ,
Georgia RACES, FEMA, GEMA, and Red Cross EC, Towns County, Georgia

+ LETTERS: FEMA Now Responsible for Mass Care; ARES Role More
Defined?

FEMA is now the lead agency for Mass Care (ESF #6) at the Federal
level based on the recently released National Response Framework
(replacing the National Response Plan). Red Cross still maintains a
support role. The same is true in many states as well. For instance,
in Georgia, the Department of Human Resources' Division of Family and
Children Services is the government lead and Red Cross the volunteer
lead for Mass Care.

As a professional disaster preparedness planner, we recognize that
the local Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is ultimately the primary
agency responsible for all disaster response. They have the ability
to task whatever resources are appropriate to a response and assign
them as needed, including communications (ESF #2 Telecommunications).
This includes tasking ARES and/or RACES organizations to assist Red
Cross with communications if communications support is requested by
Red Cross to the local EMA. In the county where I live, Gwinnett
County, Georgia, ESF 2 lists ARES as a supporting organization. That
is how local ARES members respond and are assigned as needed.

We as Amateur Radio operators and as members of ARES need to have a
better understanding of core emergency response planning to
understand just how we fit in. If something happens locally that
requires my professional involvement, I probably won't be available
to ARES, but if I can, I will, through the direction issued by the
local EMA. It may be to support Red Cross who will take me as an EMA
resource.

I think it is probably true that Red Cross is having to learn to
function within this structure as well. No single agency can provide
all the resources in all the support functional areas that it needs
during a disaster. That was discovered during Katrina. That is why we
see the changes and a heavy emphasis in the emergency preparedness
community on incident command and the National Response Framework. --
Stan Edwards, WA4DYD, Georgia Master Certified Emergency Manager
<WA4DYD at gmail.com>

[For more information on the new National Response Framework, see
<http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/mainindex.htm> -- ed.]

+ LETTERS: FEMA Disaster Assistance Employee Offers Perspective

Many local hams are on the ground shortly after storms and see much
more than I do, but as a part time Regional FEMA employee I am called
as a guest of the affected state to determine FEMA assessments of
damage. I work with a state and local representative, and a Small
Business Administration (SBA) official, to give the Governor an
estimated dollar value of damage to aid in the decision of whether
the President should be asked for a disaster declaration. This is a
team effort and we must all agree at the end of the day as to what we
saw and report. We are the eyes and ears on the ground and everyone
depends on us to give an honest and fair report, which includes
talking to the victims and listening to their stories before the
media gets there. In performing these assessments, the number of
fatalities are also taken into account. When I get a chance, I look
for hams on 146.52 MHz simplex or a local repeater. -- Don Wade,
W8DEA, FEMA Disaster Assistance Employee

+ RESOURCES: New EmComm E-Zine Available

New "COAX Connections" e-Zine has been created by the Volunteer
Communicators Network <http://www.V-C-N.org>. The goals of this
newsletter are to: (1) Provide timely information of interest via
e-Mail; (2) Promote a regional approach to training for disasters and
volunteer radio operator proficiency; (3) Provoke readers to take
action and be active in local volunteer communications opportunities;
and (4) Stimulate ideas toward increased disaster preparedness, field
deployment readiness, and emergency communications capability. 

+ RESOURCES: Tarrant County (TX) SKYWARN Video is Excellent

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrbXI6_ZL2w>

+ K1CE For a Final

With hurricane season looming, now is the time to drill your local
ARES unit. Formulate training around a hurricane situation, and
develop a realistic scenario. Many SECs have developed training
activities that are specifically designed for your state, section or
local area. County Emergency Managers are often well practiced in
setting up exercises that can help you sharpen your communications
and general emergency reaction skills.

During a drill:
1) Announce the simulated emergency situation, activate the emergency
net and dispatch mobiles and portables to served agencies.
2) Originate messages and requests for supplies on behalf of served
agencies by using tactical communications. (Don't forget to label
each message with a "this is a drill only" header, no matter what
mode is used to transmit it.)
3) Use emergency-powered repeaters and employ digital modes. Use and
test a simplex frequency.
4) As warranted by traffic loads, assign liaison stations to receive
traffic on the local net and relay to your section net. Be sure there
is a representative on each session of the section nets to receive
traffic coming to your area.

After a drill:
1) Determine the results of the emergency communications. 
2) Critique the drill.
3) Report your efforts, including any photos, clippings and other
items of interest, to your SEC and ARRL HQ.

Personal Preparation:

Here at station K1CE, I have replaced my HF antenna with a rugged
Alpha-Delta Multi-Band wire type that is easy to lower and raise as
conditions warrant. I also replaced all coax cables, and put up new
VHF and UHF beam antennas. I check into the daily HF ARES Net, and
the weekly VHF ARES nets at both the county and District levels. I'll
be ready.
---------

And last but not least, I would like to congratulate emcomm expert,
author, and ARES E-Letter contributor H. Ward Silver, N0AX, who has
won the Dayton Hamvention's Amateur of the Year Award. Silver, who
lives on Vashon Island near Seattle, Washington, worked closely with
community leaders and the Vashon-Maury Island Radio Club (W7VMI) to
provide effective emergency communications. According to the awards
committee, radio club members, along with the fire district and the
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), have created one of the
"best local communications systems in the state of Washington." 

See you next month! - 73, Rick, K1CE, Assistant SEC, Northern Florida
Section ARES

======================================================================
The ARES E-Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month
by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For
Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200;
fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN,
President.

The ARES E-Letter is an e-mail digest of news and information of
interest to active members of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES). 

Material from The ARES E-Letter may be republished or reproduced in
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must be given to The ARES E-Letter and The American Radio Relay
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Editorial questions or comments: Rick Palm, K1CE, k1ce at arrl.net
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