The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
February 16, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
==> THE VIEW FROM THE WORLD
IARU, ITU, and Emergency Communication
If you were to ask most Amateur Radio operators what entity is
responsible for granting privileges to use portions of the radio
spectrum the answer would likely be their own national
telecommunication authority. Here in the US, that would be the FCC, of
course. However, that's only partially true. The ultimate authority for
the use of the radio spectrum is the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). Every radio
amateur should understand what the ITU is and why its work and
decisions are important.
There are three sectors in the ITU: Radio-communication (ITU-R),
Development (ITU-D) and Standardization (ITU-T). The International
Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is a Sector Member of
both the ITU-R Sector and the ITU-D Sector. The IARU participates in
both sectors by attending meetings that involve issues that may impact
the amateur or the amateur-satellite services.
The ITU-R Sector is important for radiocommunication services,
including the amateur and amateur-satellite services. Every four or
five years the ITU holds a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) to
revise the international Radio Regulations.
ITU-D is where much of the ITU's work on disaster response takes place.
The development arm of the ITU considers emergency telecommunications
an integral part of its projects integrating
telecommunications/information and communication technology in disaster
predication, detection, and alerting. Emergency telecommunications play
a critical role in the immediate aftermath of disasters by ensuring
timely flow of vital information, which is much needed by government
agencies and other humanitarian actors that are involved in rescue
operations and providing medical assistance to the injured. IARU's task
in the ITU-D Sector is to ensure that Amateur Radio's role in disaster
communications is understood and appreciated by the ITU members. The
ITU-D Sector also conducts a worldwide conference.
The ITU also sponsors regional and global exhibitions called TELECOMS.
An ITU Telecom offers a global Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) community platform that gathers stakeholders from
across the telecommunications/ICT sector to connect, collaborate and
create the future ICT landscape. Forums and seminars are conducted at
the Telecoms and IARU has participated in such forums, usually on
topics related to emergency communications. - IARU E-Letter, January
2011 issue, International Amateur Radio Union (IARU
) Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD [Here
is a good site for
information on ITU activities relating to disaster response,
mitigation, and the Tampere Convention - K1CE]
___________
In This Issue:
IN THIS ISSUE
- The View from the World
- ARRL Sets EmComm Interests in Legislative Goals
- New Monthly ARES/EmComm Survey
- Emergency Messaging Webinar February 26
- Urban Search for CERT and ARESŪ
- Are You Training Followers or Leaders?
- Radio Club d'Haiti Receives Repeater from ARRL and Radio Club
Dominicano
- Letters
- Large EmComm Exercise in Georgia a Cooperative Effort
- ARRL Partners' News Roundup
- SKYWARN Training on St. John a Win-Win for Island and Forecasters
- ARRL International Humanitarian Award Goes to EmComm Op
- ARESŪ Staff Changes
- K1CE For a Final
____________
==> ARRL SETS EMCOMM INTERESTS IN LEGISLATIVE GOALS
The ARRL Board of Directors held its 2011 Annual Meeting January 21-22,
2011 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay
Craigie, N3KN, a former Section Emergency Coordinator of the ARRL
Eastern Pennsylvania section. The Board discussed its legislative
program in the 111th Congress and plans for the 112th, particularly the
reintroduction of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Enhancement Act
into the House of Representatives and the expected similar Senate bill.
The Board voted to adopt seven legislative objectives for the 112th
Congress that affects us as ARESŪ members and emergency communicators,
and Amateur Radio as a whole:
- Expansion of the "reasonable accommodation" of Amateur Radio antennas
to all forms of land use regulation;
- Opposition to the reallocation of amateur spectrum;
- Opposition to legislation that diminishes the rights of federal
licensees in favor of unlicensed emitters;
- Seeking recognition of the unique attributes of the Amateur Radio
Service in any legislation addressing communications in emergencies,
disasters and homeland security matters;
- Supporting the legislative objectives of other radiocommunication
services that require spectrum access and protection from interference
for noncommercial purposes that benefit the public;
- Opposition to distracted driving legislation that does not exempt
two-way mobile transmitters operated by FCC licensees, and
- Supporting The FCC Commissioners' Technical Resource Enhancement Act.
More on the ARRL Board meeting here
.
==> NEW MONTHLY ARES/EMCOMM SURVEY
Starting in February we will have a monthly survey question related to
ARES and EmComm similar to the Quick Stats found in QST and on the ARRL
website. To access the poll click here
. The February survey will be
available until the 28th and results will be published in next month's
ARES E-Letter. We ask that you only submit your answer once.
Do you have an idea for a survey question? Submit your idea to
emergency@arrl.org
==> EMERGENCY MESSAGING WEBINAR FEBRUARY 26
ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, will host a webinar
for ARRL members on using Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Software
(NBEMS) -- a set of programs used to send messages and files via
Amateur Radio using an audio interface. On Saturday, February 26 at 10
AM (EST), NBEMS developers Dave Kleber, KB3FXI, and Western
Pennsylvania Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator Harry Bloomberg,
W3YJ, will present a two hour webinar that covers NBEMS's advanced
features. Learn about the use of NBEMS FLWRAP
and FLMSG
to send and receive spread
sheet/database data and form-based messages such as the ICS-213 and
NTS/Radiogram forms. Bloomberg and Kleber will also be covering HF
digital net procedures and protocols and hope to incorporate a live HF
demonstration that will be viewable by all those attending the webinar.
Register for this webinar here
. -- ARRL Letter
==> URBAN SEARCH FOR CERT AND ARESŪ
Amateur Radio operators and CERT members can help save lives by
learning how to search for missing children and at-risk adults during a
one-day training event to be held Saturday, March 19, in Stockton,
California.
The "Urban Search for CERT and ARESŪ" workshop will kickoff creation of
a new rapid-response program using Amateur Radio operators and
Community Emergency Response Team
members as searchers. Volunteers attending the class will become the
program's first members.
Taught by leaders of the Alameda County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
Team, the class will give volunteers the basic skills necessary to
safely look for missing kids and at-risk adults in the urban or
suburban environment.
The event will be held at the San Joaquin County Agricultural Center,
2105 E. Earhart Ave., Stockton, California, adjacent to the Stockton
airport. The event runs from 8 AM until 4 PM. It is sponsored by the
Amateur Radio Emergency Service of San Joaquin County
. The workshop is open to anyone interested;
however, seating is limited and priority will be given to current ARESŪ
and CERT members. You need not be a San Joaquin County resident to
attend. There is no fee for the class, although donations will be
accepted to support the event and search program.
The workshop marks the second anniversary of the search for Sandra
Cantu, an 8-year-old Tracy girl who was abducted near her home on March
27, 2009. Her body was discovered just over a week later. The
organizers and instructors were involved in the search for Sandra.
While later investigation found the child was likely deceased even
before she was noticed to be missing, San Joaquin ARESŪ hopes this
program will make a difference in the lives of children in the future.
Elders with dementia or other cognitive disorders are a second focus of
the program. Statistics show that many of these patients will wander
from facilities and caregivers. If not found quickly, a significant
number will eventually be discovered deceased.
The goal of the program is to, in cooperation with law enforcement, get
10 two-searcher teams on-scene within one hour of notification. Such a
response would dramatically increase the resources available to search
for the missing person. For additional information, please contact
David Coursey, N5FDL , ARESŪ Emergency Coordinator, San
Joaquin County, California
==> ARE YOU TRAINING FOLLOWERS OR LEADERS?
Here's something that I've known for a while but recently jumped out at
me: Am I training leaders or followers?
Our group has become involved in a project -- setting up and managing
portable emergency vaccination clinics -- that is supposed to require
between 40 and 75 volunteers per shift per site. With four sites,
that's potentially 300 volunteers per shift or 1,200 per day!
Obviously, we don't have enough volunteers to staff this ourselves. At
best we could run one clinic all by ourselves for two shifts-a-day. And
that's if we brought lots of friends to help!
Nevertheless, when the time comes (I am no longer thinking "if" in
terms of public health emergencies), I am betting we will have all the
volunteers we need. They will come, if not out of the woodwork, out of
churches, schools, and other volunteer sources.
But these volunteers will all have one thing in common: No training.
That means the volunteers we train in advance, such as ARESŪ/ACS/CERT
members, will need to train and then manage the convergent volunteers
that appear when we need their help.
That subtly changes how we train our own people. Our folks need to know
not just how to set-up an emergency clinic, but how to manage it, and
train the other volunteers who will do all the non-medical work, such
as registering people, organizing supplies, maintaining order, etc.
If all we create are good followers, "do as you're told" volunteers, we
don't have a chance of success. We need volunteers trained to, as the
military puts it, "take charge and move out."
You don't even need a complex assignment, like managing vaccination
clinics, to require your volunteers to have management training. All
you need is a mutual aid incident.
If a bunch of mutual aid ARESŪ members are headed for your county,
someone is going to have to get them organized, equipped (if
necessary), signed-in, staged, dispatched to their assignments, etc.
That means your local folks may spend a lot of their time getting the
out-of-towners positioned to actually do the work that needs to be
done.
In my county, the worst disaster we plan for is a big earthquake or
other emergency in San Francisco that sends us thousands and thousands
of urban refugees. We're sixty miles out from SF and a major staging
area for Bay Area relief efforts, which will also need our support. See
where this is headed? Mayhem that can only be controlled if we train
for it.
So, let me thank you in advance for all the help we're going to need in
such an emergency. But, to be ready for all the help that will arrive,
our members have to be able to manage the stampede.
There is a corollary to this management story: Our folks also need to
know how to be a good mutual aid resource if sent to help somewhere
else. But, that's for another discussion. In the meantime, think about
your members as being managers when your "big one" -- whatever it may
be -- hits. -- David Coursey, N5FDL, EC, San Joaquin County,
California. His emcomm blog is n5fdl.com
.
==> RADIO CLUB D'HAITI RECEIVES REPEATER FROM ARRL AND RADIO CLUB
DOMINICANO
As part of the relief efforts after the earthquake in Haiti, the ARRL
-- through its Ham Aid Program -- with the help of IARU Region 2 and
the Radio Club Dominicano (RCD ),
delivered a Vertex VXR-7000
repeater to the Radio
Club d'Haiti. This repeater, part of the original equipment sent by the
ARRL during the devastating Haitian earthquakes in January 2010
, will
help with radio communications coverage in that devastated nation. Both
the Radio Club Dominicano and the Radio Club d'Haiti are IARU
Member-Societies.
The repeater was originally sent by the ARRL to members of the RCD who
were helping to provide communications support in Haiti following the
earthquake. Earlier this month, Doug Lapin, K1OY, the Dominican
Republic's Ambassador Accredited to the Secretary of State of Foreign
Relations, delivered the repeater to Radio Club d' Haiti President
Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR. According to Lapin, the repeater will be
linked to other repeaters on the island nation, building a new
nationwide Amateur Radio network.
The Ham Aid Fund was created in 2005 in response to the need for
equipment and resources to support the Amateur Radio response to
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Ham Aid equipment is available on
loan to Amateur Radio organizations during disaster response when
communications equipment is unavailable. The ARRL Ham Aid Fund is
supported by businesses, manufacturers and individual financial
contributions. If you are interested in contributing to the Ham Aid
Fund, please contact ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH,
via e-mail or by phone at (860) 594-0307. -ARRL Letter
==> LETTERS
Twitter for Alerting?
I have requested a quote from the One Call Now company that you
mentioned in the January issue of the ARESŪ E-Letter. Are you aware of
any ARESŪ groups using Twitter for alerting?
One of my members recently suggested it, but I couldn't find anything
with a quick search so I thought that I would ask you. Once I get that
quote I will be getting in touch with our membership as well as polling
to see who's on Twitter -- I bet most of my members are not. -- Jeff
Dovyak, VE4MBQ, Emergency Coordinator, Winnipeg ARESŪ
Tabletops in Colorado
Since 2006, O.M.E.G.A.
has worked table top exercises to full scale exercises for the Colorado
North Central Region All Hazards District involving a number of our
ARESŪ Districts. We are participating in an exercise with FEMA Region
VIII's DICE 2011. Mile High D.I.C.E. 2011
is an exercise to allow agencies to discuss and validate Agency
continuity plans and capabilities after a series of Improvised
Explosive Device (IED) detonations along the Colorado Front Range Area
causes agencies to activate their respective Continuity Plans. OMEGA's
portion of the exercise is titled Operation Snake Eyes. For more info,
please see our Web site
:- Dave Cook, KC0MHT,
RMMC 70 Weather Spotter: D-12 OMEGA
Transmitting the ICS-213 Form
I noted some discussion in the December ARESŪ E-Letter regarding the
issue of transmitting the ICS-213 form. Here's how I explain it to
radio amateurs:
When you ship a package via UPS, FEdEx, etc. you've addressed the
package. The shippers will place some additional labeling information
on your package, however; such things as tracking numbers, routing
codes, etc. This is for their audit trail.
The same is true for the 213 form if it must go via relay. If you're
sending it directly to the site where it will be received and handled,
by all means, send the 213 form raw. But, if your station isn't Winlink
equipped, an attachment isn't an option.
If it must be handled via a relay, and that's *any* intermediate step
between you and the receiving location by all means append that
radiogram header information, i.e. number, precedence, handling
instructions, call sign of originator, group count, place of origin,
time and date filed. For best results, and to alleviate confusion, use
local time and date. But, if you use UTC make sure the UTC date
corresponds with UTC time.
The radiogram information allows those intermediate stations to provide
proper tracking control. The 213 in its raw form is an interoffice
speed memo, and does not contain information to enable proper tracking
through a system of relays. If you ask me to relay that information, or
any information via manual modes, i.e. voice or cw, then to adequately
provide the accountability you *must* have that seemingly irrelevant
radiogram information gives me, and you, the tools we must have. --
Richard Webb, NF5B, Chair, ARRL NTS Central Area Staff
Training Suggestion: IS-317, IS-324
After reading your latest newsletter on training, I would like to
suggest IS-317 (CERT) and IS-324 (Community Hurricane Preparedness).
CERT gives a lot of good knowledge on self-survival for the first 72
hours of a disaster. Taking the course online though does not give you
the hands-on CPR training, etc. I also took the CERT training here so I
could get the hands-on training. ICS-324 is for the Emergency Manager,
but it also helps to understand the decisions he or she has to make. It
explains how the NWS works with EM in trying to make sound decisions.
-- John T. Fleming , W3GQJ, The Villages, Florida
==> LARGE EMCOMM EXERCISE IN GEORGIA A COOPERATIVE EFFORT
An emcomm exercise conducted by the Cherokee County, Georgia, ARESŪ
group, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a significant
number of clubs throughout the Atlanta, Georgia North Metro area took
place Saturday, January 15. It was the first exercise of this type or
magnitude ever conducted in the state. There were more than 113
check-ins recorded during the drill, encompassing 16 counties. During
the previous week Atlanta was crippled by a massive snow and ice storm,
which served as the backdrop for the exercise.
Net schedules were formulated, repeater coordination and permissions
for use were secured and net control operators were designated.
Coordination with the LDS Church Bishops Central Storehouse (K4BCS) was
a major focus. Finalization of all net schedules took place and the
Friday afternoon e-mail notification was sent out to the participating
ham groups. Five repeater clubs across Atlanta granted use of their
repeaters for the exercise and were participating. In total, the drill
involved five coordinated, simultaneous nets all working together and
checking in on a schedule with the LDS Church Bishops Central
Storehouse located in Tucker, Georgia.
Repeaters weren't the only communication conduits. Simplex was used on
one net to test its effectiveness. Taking it a level lower, some
neighborhoods having ham operators activated an FRS
calling tree making contacts
with unlicensed residents and even, in some cases, sending runners out
to get face to face contact with members that did not have access to
radios of any kind. This went a long way towards adding realism. A few
direct EchoLink check-ins to one net control operator also took place.
One Church unit tested an emergency preparedness plan and established a
command center as part of that plan. They, as part of their operations
test, formulated a simulated casualty and loss message that was
transmitted and verified with the Tucker location.
The drill was so successful that several organizations are calling for
a six month interval for similar tests. -- Jim Alderdice, N1ABM
, Woodstock, Georgia
==> ARRL PARTNERS' NEWS ROUNDUP
American Red Cross
Winter Storms Wreaking Havoc Again
(February 9, 2011)
APCO International
APCO Releases ANSI Approved Minimum Training Standards For Public
Safety Telecommunicators
(February 9, 2011)
Civil Air Patrol
Texas unit stages successful balloon launch, retrieval
(January 21, 2011)
FEMA
FEMA encourages all Councils and CERT Programs to register
in the new
National Registries. The registries collect and display contact
information for each Program and Council making it easier for
individuals to learn more about safety and security in their community
and get involved in local activities. To learn more about Citizen
Corps, click HERE . To learn more
about CERT, click HERE .
International Association for Radio, Telecommunications and
Electromagnetics
Workshop on High Power Electromagnetic (HPEM) Threats - High Altitude
Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and Intentional Electromagnetic
Interference (IEMI) to be held March
14-15, 2011, Chicago, Illinois
National Communications System
The SHARES (Shared Resources) High
Frequency Radio program is charged with promoting interoperability
between High Frequency radio systems used by the Federal departments
and agencies.
NVOAD
National Level Exercise 2011 (May 16-20, 2011) -- The purpose of
National Level Exercise 2011
(NLE 2011) is
to prepare and coordinate a multiple-jurisdictional integrated response
to a national catastrophic event - specifically a major earthquake in
the central United States region of the New Madrid Seismic Zone
(NMSZ).
NLE 2011 will involve thousands of government officials at the federal,
state, local and tribal levels, members of the private sector, and the
general public. Participants will conduct simultaneous, related
exercise activities at command posts, emergency operation centers and
other locations in the Washington D.C. area and the eight affected
central U.S. states (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee).
REACT
While REACT has been associated primarily
with Citizens Band in the past, the organization has widened its focus
to embrace amateur and other services. ARRL and REACT share common
goals in terms of emergency communication.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army ALM Division Ready As Winter Weather Approaches
.
Once again, much of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are bracing for
frozen precipitation and The Salvation Army is preparing to respond. As
sub-freezing temperatures settle in across the region, The Salvation
Army is expanding shelter capacity. (February 9, 2011).
Society of Broadcast Engineers
SBE at the 2011 NAB Show (February 3, 2011). The Society of Broadcast
Engineers has been NAB's organizational partner for the presentation of
the NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference (BEC)
since 1995. Following previous years, this year's BEC will be the
largest and most comprehensive broadcast technical conference in the
world. The conference begins with the SBE Ennes Workshop on Saturday,
April 9 and ends on Thursday, April 14.
==> SKYWARN TRAINING ON ST. JOHN A WIN-WIN FOR ISLAND AND FORECASTERS
It always helps to have eyes on the ground. A SKYWARN training session,
hosted last year by local St. John hams and presented by
representatives of NOAA and the National Weather Service, will help
forecasters fill a critical void in on-the-ground weather information
from this small, tropical US Virgin Island - a gateway for weather
traveling to Puerto Rico and westward. St. John's unique geographic
location - being the eastern-most part of the United States Virgin
Islands and resting on the edge of FAA radar located in San Juan -
makes on-the-ground weather information critical and necessary for
accurate forecasting. "There is no accurate way to tell if there is a
waterspout just off shore, or just how intense rain and other aspects
of storms are on St. John by looking at current data," said Robert
Mitchell, Lead Forecaster from the NWS in San Juan, one of the
presenters at the training. Mitchell was joined by Althea Austin -
Smith, senior hydrologist with NWS and NOAA, who toured the island
before the training session looking at areas currently impacted by
flooding and landslide during heavy rains.
The St. John SKYWARN session was the culmination of four years of
effort by St. John Amateur Radio Club member George Cline KP2G, and
Club President Paul Jordan NP2JF. "With severe weather crossing from
one country to another, and moving from island to island each day,
cohesion in reporting and collection of weather data is critical to
local public safety," said Jordan, who is also a member of St. John
Rescue and St. John ARESŪ. "We had the training session set up several
times, only to have it postponed, largely due to budget. We were eager
to get the National Weather Service training here to help residents and
visitors better prepare for and respond to weather events, and to help
local forecasters," said Jordan, NP2JF.
Part of the unique challenge here is that, unlike areas in the
contiguous 48 states where radar often overlaps to provide several
views of a given area, St. John is only seen on the edge of the San
Juan radar. With weather radar angled to avoid picking up ground
objects, that degree above the earth becomes more elevated at the outer
circumference of the radar, sometimes missing lower-lying clouds or
other weather-related features. This is what makes the need for
on-the-ground weather watchers so critical. More than a dozen attendees
took part in the training including members of the St. John Amateur
Radio Club, St. John Rescue (an all-volunteer emergency first-responder
group), representatives of the Transportation Safety Administration
from St. Thomas international airport, and the St. Thomas Amateur Radio
Club. Weather watchers were provided with direct contact numbers and
e-mail addresses for reporting severe weather events to the National
Weather Service in San Juan, PR. - Phyllis Benton, NP2MZ, ARRL Public
Information Officer, US Virgin Islands Section News
==> ARRL INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD GOES TO EMCOMM OP
Ron Tomo, KE2UK, of North Bellmore, New York, is the recipient of the
2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award. Tomo's life exemplified
Public Service through Amateur Radio, from providing phone patches
during the Vietnam War, and providing communications support during
9/11 with MARS and the United States Service Command, as well as
serving in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary as a Communications Officer
where he played a pivotal role during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
During the Haitian earthquake in January 2010, Tomo -- at his own
expense -- served with a team of doctors, providing communication
support between the on-site doctors and the hospital in Miami.
According to Jack Satterfield, W4GRJ -- one of his many nominators --
Tomo provided critical communication links at multiple levels, "from
coordinating helicopter relief to a stranded village, to handling
emergency evacuations to the nearby USS Comfort hospital ship. Ron even
provided the extra hands needed to hold flashlights at the operating
table when the power went out at night. He went on a rescue mission to
help carry stretchers, bringing back patients to their facility. Ron
has a polio-inflicted disability which never seemed to slow him down;
however, in the dark and confusing night while carrying a stretcher, he
missed a step and took a pretty bad fall. He needed medical attention,
but Ron was adamant about seeing to the other patients before himself.
His efforts while in Haiti were undoubtedly and directly attributable
in the saving of so many lives."
ARRL New York City/Long Island Section Manager Mike Lisenco, N2YBB,
concurred: "At his own expense -- about $10,000 -- Ron purchased more
than 15 new radios and added others from his massive collection which
he used to set up a tactical network in a tent hospital. This network
proved to be a lifesaving setup where Ron was personally credited by
the doctors in his tent hospital for saving at least eight lives and
helping hundreds more due to his ability to find hospitals to handle
the patients who had been triaged and stabilized. Ron gave out his
radios to several people and hospitals, thereby giving his hospital
both incoming and outgoing communications to expedite the transport and
intake of new patients." -- ARRL
==> ARESŪ STAFF CHANGES
New Indiana Section Emergency Coordinator
Tony Langer, W9AL, has departed the Indiana Section staff as of
December, 2010, with thanks for his four years of service. The new SEC
is Joseph Lawrence, K9RFZ. In setting his initial priorities, Lawrence
centered on ARESŪ net topics: "I think the ARESŪ Net should be used to
discuss recent ARESŪ policy changes, significant lessons learned from
public service events or emergency exercises, problems the EC faced and
how he or she solved them, and problems the EC faces and wants
suggestions for solving."
<<>>
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* Origin: The home of the Emergcom echo (1:116/901)
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