ARES Letter for August 15, 2007

The ARES E-Letter
August 15, 2007
================= 

Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor

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

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

+ The View from Flagler County

The following excerpts from a message by Mississippi Section Manager
Malcolm Keown, W5XX, sent to Mississippi radio amateurs, show they
are prepared:
 
"So far the Atlantic Basin has been quiet, but we are now on the
steep up slope to the peak of hurricane season. This is the time to
check generators and go-kits. The Mississippi Section Emergency
Operations Plan (EOP) should be reviewed by everyone intending to
participate in an emergency communications response to a hurricane
landfall. The EOP is available at <http://www.arrlmiss.org/>. See
Section 5.4: Regional Communications. 
 
"Mississippi has an MOU with Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee to
handle tactical communications during wide area storm events by
activating the Delta ARES Emergency Net on 3890/7275 kHz. In
addition, Mississippi has an MOU with Louisiana and South Texas to
provide assistance to the West Gulf ARES Emergency Net on 3873/7285
kHz if the hurricane landfall is along the Louisiana/Texas Coasts."

Are you as ready as coastal Gulf of Mexico ARES?

____________________
In This Issue:

+ The View from Flagler County
+ ARRL Board Adopts Policy on Background Checks
+ Dennis Dura, K2DCD, New ARRL EmComm Staffer 
+ US Congress Considers Emergency Communications, Interference Issues
+ Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, Telephone Outage 
+ ARRL Southern Florida Section Holds ARES Leadership Meeting
+ 9/11 Memorial Special Event
+ September Is National Preparedness Month
+ New ARES Program in Idaho
+ LETTERS: Lessons Learned Column Needed
+ LETTERS: Southwest Missouri ARES Not "Worthless"
+ LETTERS: Weak Signal Modes for EmComms
+ QUICK LINKS: Lightning Protection
+ LETTERS: New ALE Radio System Forum
+ Muskegon County (MI) Special Event Station To Celebrate New
Communications Room
+ LETTERS: ARES QSO Party
+ K1CE For A Final
_______________

+ ARRL Board Adopts Policy on Background Checks

A major concern at the ARRL Board of Directors meeting last month was
the topic of served agencies and background investigations. The Ad
Hoc Background Investigation Committee agreed that pursuing federally
recognized credentialing for Amateur Radio volunteers was critical
for ARES to function. The Committee chairman, ARRL Atlantic Division
Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, proposed that the Board adopt a policy
with regard to Memoranda of Understanding with the various served
agencies. 
 
The Board adopted a policy that "communications volunteers
participating in ARRL-sponsored programs should not be required by
served agencies to undergo background investigations of any kind,"
but notes that criminal background checks--performed by law
enforcement agencies--are "generally acceptable." The policy
continues, "It is not reasonable for a served agency to require these
volunteers to consent to credit checks, mode of living investigations
or investigative consumer reports. In negotiating or renegotiating
Memoranda of Understanding that commit the League to provide
volunteer emergency communications support, the League must be
assured that these volunteers will not be required by the partner
organization to consent to credit checks, mode of living
investigations or investigative consumer reports." 

+  Dennis Dura, K2DCD, New ARRL EmComm Staffer 
 
The ARRL has hired Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis
Dura, K2DCD, for its Headquarters staff in Newington. Dura's major
responsibilities include addressing the development and
implementation of an organizational disaster response plan as well as
a continuity operations plan, complete with supporting procedures and
training. Integral to these plans are the recommendations of the
National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC) report. Dura
also will play an integral part in the management of ARES, and in
future negotiations with served agencies with whom ARRL shares or
creates Memoranda of Understanding. 
 
"By instituting these base components for the organization, the
emergency communications resources of Amateur Radio and the League
will become truly disaster resilient on all fronts," Dura said.
"Emergency communications cannot stand alone. As an organization, we
must have disaster plans in place and know what we must do to
continue operations when they are impacted. Without this, our support
to the field will be lacking." 
 
Dura comes to the ARRL with more than 26 years of experience in the
emergency management field. He started as a volunteer coordinator in
his home township's emergency management program and turned this
experience and training into a consulting career, working on off-site
emergency plans for nuclear power plants and the jurisdictions where
they are sited around the country. At the same time, he joined the
American Red Cross as a volunteer Disaster Consultant in New Jersey,
leading to paid positions as Manager of Disaster Services in St
Louis, Director of Disaster Preparedness in Chicago and a Disaster
Preparedness Specialist in New Jersey. 
 
After some years working in the non-governmental organization side of
the field, he joined the New Jersey State Police, Office of Emergency
Management (NJOEM). Dura progressed through the ranks in NJOEM and
served in numerous positions such as Operations Officer and Hurricane
Preparedness Officer. As a Principal Planner, he was part of the
group to develop the first Terrorism Plan for New Jersey prior to
9/11, specializing in human services issues, especially Mass Care. As
part of New Jersey's response to the 9/11 attack, he served on a
specialized inter-governmental team to establish the Family
Assistance Center at Liberty State Park. 
 
He left NJOEM in 2003 to become the Deputy State Emergency
Coordinator for the New Jersey Department of Human Services (NJDHS),
the position he held prior to joining the League. Dura's focus in
NJDHS was spread across several areas such as Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT), Mass Care and Business/Continuity of
Operations. 
 
During his time at the NJOEM, Dura was the Assistant State RACES
Officer. He was also the liaison to the National Weather Service
(NWS) for NJOEM and became involved in the SKYWARN program. Through a
successful grant submission, he was able to secure two National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All-Hazards Radio
transmitters for unserved areas of New Jersey. His work on this
project resulted in the Mark Trail Award in 2002. The Chairman of the
Mt Holly NWS Forecast Office SKYWARN Advisory Committee for many
years, Dennis has also been a member of his county ARES program. 
 
Dura said he is excited to be working at ARRL Headquarters. "It is a
tremendous opportunity to take my many years of emergency management
experience and apply all of it to the ARRL. It wasn't a hard move [to
the ARRL] at all -- take the disaster experiences and meld them with
a tremendous hobby...that ends up serving the nation and the world." 
 
Dura holds a BS in criminal justice from The College of New Jersey
and is currently completing graduate level work in homeland security
and emergency management. He is a Certified Business Resilience
Manager and is a member of numerous professional emergency management
organizations. Dura can be reached via e-mail <k2dcd@arrl.org>;. 

+ US Congress Considers Emergency Communications, Interference Issues

In January, Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-Arkansas), introduced HR 462,
the "Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act of 2007." It
calls on the FCC to study the interference potential of BPL
technology and report its findings back to Congress. It has been
referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. 

 
In June, Senator Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) introduced S1629, "The
Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act of 2007." This
bill is currently pending in the Commerce, Science and Transportation
Committee. 
 
The ARRL Board of Directors voted in July to support HR 2743, "The
Military Affiliate Radio System Emergency Communications Act of
2007." This bill would permit the continued use by the MARS and
SHARES programs of frequency-stabilized Amateur Radio equipment that
meets FCC Part 97 technical standards. Otherwise, volunteers in these
programs might be prevented from using their regular station
equipment. 

+ Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, Telephone Outage 
 
Okmulgee, Oklahoma -- Between 4:00 PM and 6:30 PM on July 24, a
telephone outage occurred that affected most of the county. Service
was knocked out when a fiber optic cable was cut near Bixby. The
broken cable prevented calls from being routed intra-exchange, which
meant callers could not call other areas of the county or outside the
county. County officials were able to contact local AT&T service
personal, but they were unable to contact AT&T's state service
offices in Oklahoma City to report the outage. 
 
Working within the county's emergency plan, Fred McGuire, KD5FMU,
Under Sheriff, made a call for assistance via Amateur Radio on the
Tulsa Amateur Radio Club's UHF link network (the UHF network covers
most of northeastern Oklahoma). McGuire's call for assistance was
answered by Matt Burton, WX5LIB, an off duty dispatcher for Tulsa
Life flight, who was outside the affected area at the time. Burton is
an ARES volunteer and was able to place calls to AT&T's state service
offices in Oklahoma City, as well at to the local media so that they
could notify the public that emergency calls had to be placed
directly to police and fire departments. The County and AT&T worked
quickly to get the cable repaired and the emergency plan (which
included Amateur Radio) worked smoothly. -- Mark Conklin, N7XYO,
Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator, and Zone 5 EC, Oklahoma ARES

+ ARRL Southern Florida Section Holds ARES Leadership Meeting

The Palm Beach County EOC was the venue, with ARES Emergency
Coordinator Dave Messinger, N4QPM, as the host of the Southern
Florida Section ARES leadership meeting on July 21. There were 45 in
attendance, representing eleven counties.  Attendees at this year's
conference were ECs, DECs, AECs and PIOs. Section Emergency
Coordinator Karen Briggs, K8KB, and Section Manager Sherri Brower,
W4STB, facilitated the meeting. Briggs, and Hugh Connolly, AG4HC,
Assistant SM for Training, presented training requirements and ideas
for ARECC certification. Briggs, and Monroe County EC Brad Humelsine,
K4NNX, discussed recruitment of ARES members and team building.

Lunch was provided on site and offered opportunities for conferees to
share ideas and get to know fellow ARES staff members from other
counties. During the afternoon, Brower presented PR topics, including
assignment of PIOs for ARES activities and the need to get
information to the media as incidents unfold. The "Talk on a Disk"
materials were presented to all attendees (for more information
visit: <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/07/23/100/?nc=1>). Gold
Coast District EC Jeff Beals, WA4AW, presented an update on the
activities and report of the ARRL National Emrgency Response Planning
Committee (NERPC), on which he served as a member. Broward County EC
Dave Wagner, WA2DXQ, spoke on Winlink. Other topics discussed
included monthly reports, the annual SET, revision of the Section
Emergency Plan, and ARESMAT teams.
  
PIOs met in a separate session with SM Brower for networking and
brainstorming. Topics discussed included partnering with a PIO in
adjacent counties to help get the word out during disasters,
promoting training exercises, public speaking to non-ham groups,
assisting the ARES team in recruitment efforts, and promoting classes
and activities of local clubs.
 
Summer in Florida means severe weather and this day was no exception:
"As the muted rumble of a raging thunderstorm over the building made
its way to the EOC floor, nature provided a gentle reminder of the
importance of the mission as the room suddenly went black," said ARRL
Public Information Officer Jack Richards, W4QVA.

+ 9/11 Memorial Special Event

September 11 - September 12, 1300Z-0300Z, San Antonio, Texas. Robert
Hejl, W2IK, will be signing W2IK/WTC911 in honor of those who lost
their lives during the World Trade Center disaster. SSB: 40, 20, 15
meter bands. QSL via Robert Hejl, W2IK, PO Box 6731, San Antonio, TX
78209. <http://www.hometown.aol.com/realhamradio>

+ September Is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month and Amateur Radio operators
are joining a wide variety of national, state and local
organizations, including the US Department of Homeland Security, in
educating the public about preparing for emergencies. When unexpected
natural or man-made emergencies occur, our greatest individual
defense is preparedness. Getting an emergency supply kit, making an
emergency plan, and identifying preparedness and response resources
within our communities are several things we can do to prepare
ourselves. This nationwide effort is to encourage individuals and
families to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their
homes, businesses and schools. Free preparedness resources are just a
click away in English <http://www.ready.gov/> and Spanish
<http://www.listo.gov/>. - ARRL 

+ New ARES Program in Idaho

A new dedicated ARES VHF repeater and fledgling ARES program is in
place serving southwest Idaho. The system serves District 3 ARES
membership and ARES nets. The machine frequency is 147.38 MHz,
situated on Squaw Butte at 5600' of elevation. Coverage extends to
Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Meridian, Emmett, and surrounding areas. The
machine features commercial grade construction, open access, backup
battery power, Echolink, and plans for a link to a UHF system next
year. 

The repeater was designed, built, and installed by a team in
coordination with Ada County EC Brian Adams, W7CVS, Canyon County EC
Russ Dunn, N7SMA, and Carl Sorensen, NB7C. Dedicated weekly ARES nets
will start in September. The new repeater is to be the catalyst for
cooperation and teamwork to accomplish great things for ARES and the
communities it serves going forward. -- Chuck Robertson, KX7ID, DEC
District 3 ARES, Nampa, Idaho <kx7id@arrl.net>;,
<http://www.idahoares.org/>

+ LETTERS: Lessons Learned Column Needed

I would like to see a section in this newsletter that details lessons
learned; i.e., antennas that work and are relative easy to put up,
emergency power do's and don'ts, the public interface, safety issues,
etc. With the new license set up, there are many new Amateur Radio
operators available that need guidance on the pit falls of emergency
portable operation. There is a wide range of readers that have a
wealth of information and the ARES E-Letter would be a great forum
for it. - Bob Closson, W6HIP, Rolling Hills Estate, California 

+ LETTERS: Southwest Missouri ARES Not "Worthless"
 
I take exception to the statement of David Rust, W0DLR, in the last
issue. He stated, "An ARES party in southwest Missouri would be
completely worthless, much like the organization. Last winter the
Springfield, Missouri area had the worst ice storm in history. Many
were without power for 20 days. There were numerous shelters set up
in schools. There was not even a 2 meter net between shelters helping
with people's needs. I have no use for ARES here."

I live in Springfield, and I am a member of Greene County ARES/RACES.
I was without power for 7 days (except for my personal generator, of
course). Our ARES/RACES nets were silent because we were not
activated by the Greene County Office of Emergency Management. The
800-MHz system was strained nearly to the point of failure, but it
held. A number of us were on standby and our EC was in communication
with the Director of OEM. 
 
Had our communication services been requested by the agencies we
serve we would have been supporting their communication needs. To say
we are worthless because we didn't pass unrequested traffic is
uninformed and unfair. Perhaps Mr. Rust is correct in his assessments
of his ARES/RACES group, but that assessment does not apply to the
Greene County ARES/RACES group. 
 
If he is so unhappy with his ARES/RACES group and feels a real need
for communications was overlooked and not served, I suggest he cease
crying, and start organizing an effective ARES/RACES group himself.
-- Erik Weaver, N0EW, ARES/RACES Greene County, Missouri 

+ LETTERS: Weak Signal Modes for EmComms

In re the call for input in the last issue, I encourage VHF SSB and
1.2 GHz usage for emergency communications. Unfortunately, there's
not many operators with that kind of equipment on Oahu, but the
numbers are slowly rising in Hawaii. There are at least four on 1.2
GHz, and on occasion, VHF SSB traffic can be heard. Both were
recommended in the ARRL EmComm course back in 2000. Readers can see
some of the activity here:
 
<http://ronhashiro.htohananet.com/am-radio/emcomm/lessons.html> 
<http://ronhashiro.htohananet.com/am-radio/archives.html> 
 
I own four 1.2 GHz mobile radios, 9913 or better coax, and matching
antennas in case I have to field deploy the units amongst the most
critical EOCs. It's like having a private red-phone hotline. See
also:
<http://ronhashiro.htohananet.com/am-radio/dstar/> -- Ron Hashiro,
AH6RH, Oahu, Hawaii

I agree with Dale Svetanoff, WA9ENA, that there could be a place for
"weak signal" use for VHF/UHF emcomm. One of the biggest reasons is
the dearth of packet radio in many regions but the high popularity of
new modes like PSK31.  Here is a computer mode little used above 50
MHz that could provide 100% error free copy for close-in
communications. Stations that might not hear each other at 50 watts
FM simplex may hear each other just fine on lower power PSK. 

You can send not only real time keyboard to keyboard chat with a
written record but also short ASCII files like supply lists and
numbers of people in shelters. The data can simply be copied from the
receive window into a text or word processing file for use by others.
Security is enhanced since your basic home scanner-listener isn't set
up to listen to 2 meter SSB much less decode PSK. It would be a great
local communications supplement to Winlink, which at VHF is another
FM-based mode. -- Jim Kile, WB2PID, Eastern Massachusetts ARES
member; Needham Massachusetts RACES operator, and former EC, Erie
County (Buffalo), New York

We run a simplex net and have also started experimenting with 2 meter
SSB. I am hopeful that more of us will embrace that mode as a
reliable means of emcomm communications. My experience has been that
there is a lot of open spectrum space in the SSB portion of the
2-meter band that could serve us well in an emergency. -- Del
Partridge, W5QQ, Houston, Texas 

The main reasons that I would not use SSB in emergency situations:
With SSB you have QRN from lightning in thunderstorm emergency
operations and FM does not have the static crash problem to any
extent. Second, you have the problem of being in an RF noise
environment in many emergencies and SSB is susceptible. Third,
availability of FM handi-talkie rigs versus SSB handi-talkie rigs,
which are lacking. Fourth, if there is an FM repeater still up and
accessible, then most of the time antenna elevation is not an issue.
- Walter Dufrain, K5EST, Wright City, Missouri

Emcomm traffic here is virtually all FM, mostly 2 meters. Note that
there is a very large percentage (could easily be the majority, I
think) of the hams involved who are Tech licensees who ONLY got their
licenses to participate in ARES or CERT or similar activities. This
group generally has no interest (or experience) in CW, SSB or other
modes. And that's OK! -- Barry Pfeil, K6RM, Mountain View, California
ARES

+ QUICK LINKS: Lightning Protection

Here is a very good Web site on station lightning protection:
<http://members.cox.net/pc-usa/station/ground0.htm> -- Bob Ferrey,
N3DOK

+ LETTERS: New ALE Radio System Forum

ARES members that are already making using of ALE [Automatic Link
Establishment, see <http://www.navymars.org/pacific/reg10/ale.htm>]
hardware systems may be interested in a new ALE hardware radio forum
that I am moderating. Now that ICOM, Kenwood and Yaesu/Vertex are
offering relatively inexpensive radios with support built in (some as
options) more amateurs will likely buy such systems who do not want
to take the software ALE path. Details are:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MARS_ALE_RADIO_SYSTEMS/>

This group is open to all MARS (all services welcomed), CAP, SHARES,
U.S. Government and U.S. Military (all services welcomed), RACES and
ARRL ARES members only, who own or use ALE hardware radios for
emcomm. 

This group exists to bring together ALE Hardware Radio users and to
exchange technical information as it relates to MARS and other emcomm
applications of ALE. The focus is the use of ALE Hardware Solution
based radio systems and interoperability issues between such systems.
- Steve Hajducek, N2CKH/NNN0WWL

+ Muskegon County (MI) Special Event Station To Celebrate New
Communications Room

The Muskegon County, Michigan, ARES/RACES group is celebrating the
completion of its new Communications Room at the new Muskegon County
Sheriff's Department Emergency Services Division EOC/ECC there. It
features two operating positions, and a supervisor's operating
position with VHF, UHF, 800 MHz, and HF capability. "Many
membership-hours went into this project of installing counter tops,
antennas, pulling feedlines, and installing radio equipment," said
James Duram, K8COP, <k8cop@arrl.net>;, Muskegon County EC/RACES Radio
Officer. As part of the celebration, the group will host a special
event station: 

November 3-4, 1300Z-0100Z, Muskegon County Emergency Communication
Services, Inc., K8WNJ, sponsor, celebrating the completion of
Muskegon County's new ECOMM Center. Frequencies: 146.820 MHz (-600
kHz, Tone 94.8 Hz), 14.267 MHz, 7.267 MHz. Certificate with SASE to
Muskegon County Sheriff's Dept, Emergency Services Division (MCECS),
1611 Oak Ave, Muskegon, MI 49442.

+ LETTERS: ARES QSO Party

Re your comment in the June 2007 ARES E-Letter, I think an ARES QSO
Party would be a great idea. Besides an exchange of callsign, county,
section or state, how about adding ARECC 1, 2, or 3 as for what level
of the ARRL Emcomm course one has attained instead of a signal report
or ARES title. If one has not completed any ARECC courses, they would
report ARECC 0. Because many ARES members are only Technician license
holders and would be operating the contest on VHF or UHF simplex, a
signal report might be superfluous. I am not a big fan of titles - we
are all ARES volunteers -  therefore eliminate the ARES title in the
exchange.  In addition, non-ARES hams could participate but would
give their report as "non-ARES" and be worth only 1 point. ARES
stations working each other would get 2 points each. -- Scott Hanley,
WA9STI, LAX Section, Los Angeles, CA <wa9sti@earthlink.net>;

+ K1CE For A Final

I was delighted to see the hiring of a patently qualified individual
to assume the EmComm manager post at ARRL HQ. The implementation of
the recommendations of the ARRL National Emergency Response Planning
Committee remains to be done, and is critical to us in ARES. This is
a big step in that direction. Kudos to the Board and HQ staff for
their choice. And, welcome and good luck, Dennis. -- 73, Rick K1CE