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The ARES E-Letter

July 19, 2017
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE

In This Issue:

 *  RACES Supports Famed Ocean City Air Show
 *  Letters: "Communications Resiliency"
 *  If You Don't Document It, It Never Happened
 *  FEMA Region IV Seeks Hurricane Matthew Reports
 *  Editorial: Be Civil and Respectful
 *  N9BA For a Final: On Recruiting Younger Members

____________________________________________________________________________


ARES Links, Briefs

Amateur Radio Volunteers in British Columbia Reported Assisting Relief Agencies
 (7/8/17); Pikes Peak ARES at Right Place, Right Time (6/27/17) Amateur Radio
Volunteers Support Michigan's "One Helluva Ride" Bicycle Tour (7/12/17)

Georgia ARES(R) has added a mutual assistance team service and protocols to its
 program. From its website: "Georgia ARES Mutual Aid Team is a volunteer team
of highly trained local ARES members that are ready to share their
communication skills to help fellow ARES groups across the State and in
adjacent states." Its website features a repository of information and YouTube
training programs. Please click here for more on the Georgia ARES MAT program.

Illinois Section Emergency Coordinator Fritz Bock, WD9FMB, was selected by Jim
Dwyer, Vice President of the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association
 (IESMA) to join their organization, providing liaison to amateur operators in
Illinois. "This is a big step towards our common goals for making our services
known," said Illinois Section Manager Ron Morgan, AD9I.

IESMA is the voice of local emergency management in Illinois. Since 1965 it has
 been their mission to coordinate the efforts of members in a common cause to
help protect the lives and property of those it serves. Check out their website
 for additional information.

____________________________________________________________________________


RACES Supports Famed Ocean City Air Show

Last year, the Office of Emergency Management in Ocean City, Maryland (OCEM)
asked Sussex County, Delaware Emergency Management for assistance at the famous
 Ocean City Air Show, held over a weekend each year in June. Sussex RACES was
asked to provide radio[image.png] communications support, and the Ocean City EM
 was pleased with the RACES group's service. The event was managed under the
Incident Command System in Ocean City; the RACES operation was conducted under
the Operations Section.

Last month, RACES was back and better prepared, thanks to lessons learned from
last year's operation. The amateur service communications system installation
included a Diamond X-50 dual band antenna mounted on a mast near the boardwalk
at an elevation of fifteen feet, fed with LMR-400 coaxial cable. The net
control station employed a Yaesu FT-7800 dual band transceiver, with a Heil
Traveler single ear headset with boom mic. Coverage on 2-meter simplex was good
 -- five to six blocks on low power for both the net control's radio and all
deployed field operators' hand-held radios. A deep cycle battery provided
sufficient power for the duration of the event, with no need for recharging.

The net control station was issued an 800 MHz public safety radio set to the
interoperable channel selected for the air show. This frequency was not the
same channel being used by law enforcement, but rather by all the members of
the Incident Command team; law enforcement was reached through Operations,
which was the amateurs' contact for any issues that may have arisen.

The RACES mission was to put "feet on the street" to observe for medical
issues, lost persons, suspicious packages and hazardous conditions. Field
operators also answered general event questions from spectators. Any situations
 were to be relayed to net control for relay to Operations on the public safety
 radio. Net control also had contact with deployed CERT personnel that had been
 assigned jobs by OCEM.

Knowledge and understanding of the Incident Command System is mandatory for
participation in Sussex RACES, which can be obtained by taking FEMA's
Independent Study courses IS-100, 200, 700, and 800. The interaction with OCEM
validated this need when operators were tasked with completing ICS forms needed
 for records, and following protocols ordered by OCEM. Consequently, the RACES
operators dovetailed effectively with the OCEM officials and incident
communications ran smoothly and efficiently. All group members filled out the
ICS-214 form for the record and the completed forms were left with OCEM. The
adage, "if it isn't written, it didn't happen" applies here. --Jerry Palmer,
N3KRX, former District Emergency Coordinator, Kent County, Delaware, Official
Emergency Station and Official Relay Station; current Kent County Assistant
RACES Radio Officer and Assistant Emergency Coordinator (photo by Frank Hunt,
KB3WZG, who worked with RACES and CERT teams for the OC Air Show)

____________________________________________________________________________


Letters: "Communications Resiliency"

I'm a retired IBM/GE/Air Force worker, turned STEM evangelist in Newport, Rhode
 Island. During the school year, I teach (as a volunteer) cyber security to
middle school kids as part of the CyberPatriot (National Youth Cyber Education
Program) competition and then put the same group of kids through a Technician
licensing class. (When learning of cyber vulnerabilities, these students
understand the critical need for, and develop a keen interest in, auxiliary
back-up communication systems and services, including the Amateur service). In
the last two years, I've helped more than ten kids get licensed and then linked
 them up as youth members of the Newport County Radio Club (W1SYE).

You may have heard of the ongoing Rockefeller Foundation funded, global
initiative of building resiliency. Locally, I'm finding success in promoting
Amateur Radio by first having a consciousness-raising discussion on the topic
of "communications resiliency." Economic development officials are trying to
fashion this region into an attractive "resiliency" center of excellence and as
 part of their efforts have shown interest in AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency
Data Network) mesh networking, for example. In other efforts, one local city is
 moving forward with a solar-based
"microgrid" and a hydroponic lettuce farm.

As our small group of local hams look for potential AREDN node sites atop
buildings, I'm finding it easier to work with and gain acceptance from city
officials who think in terms of resilience in general as opposed to the
traditional selling of the Amateur Radio value proposition to an overstretched,
 risk adverse EMA director.

I'm actively encouraging my local ham friends to begin using the phrase
"communications resiliency" when trying to generate interest in the service.
The resilience concept seems to propel the conversation beyond the usual
preconceived Amateur Radio emergency communications stereotypes.

Another related "value prop" that may help drive AREDN tech into the community
is by encouraging middle/high school students and teachers who are
participating in CyberPatriot and/or software coding to use and deploy services
 sitting on the mesh network, such as VOIP phones, Raspberry Pis, a Minecraft
game server, IP cameras, chat, etc. Elected officials seem to be tripping over
one another promoting job-producing, coding and cyber skill building
opportunities. A capable AREDN node, powered by 100 amp/hour battery/solar,
could be deployed on a school roof for around $750. Small client nodes can go
into classrooms for $75. Once school usage ramps up, then it could be the right
 time to invite the "resiliency" pols and EMA into a mesh-equipped classroom
with the message that this capable radio Internet can be all theirs when
schools are closed.

"I have a grant proposal in the hopper to deploy 3 nodes in 2018. I will let
you know if it gets funded by a foundation interested in Rhode Island
resiliency AND building STEM skills." -- Mike Cullen, K1NPT, Newport, Rhode
Island

[Editor's note: Cullen works with fellow Rhode Island amateur Denis Couture,
KD1HA. Couture is a retired PD officer and has been working closely with
Providence EMA, doing yeoman's work since 2014 on championing the placement of
mesh nodes around the Providence area. Cullen popped up in 2016 and started
approaching this from the classroom coding/cyber/teacher/economic development
side because "I could see the growing political support with this kind of use
case."

Cullen sees more opportunity for the amateur service: "The National Governors
Association met in Rhode Island last week, where Virginia Governor Terry
McAuliffe rolled out his #MeetTheThreat campaign -- 'States Confront the Cyber
Challenge.' A major element is building a cyber-skilled workforce. For ARRL,
this could be met by more hams working with CyberPatriot and its executive
director Bernie Skoch, K5XS, and then offering the same, motivated
cyber-concerned students a Technician licensing class." (The Newport County
Radio Club offers a half price youth membership and gives new licensees a free,
 programmed HT if they pay for a two year membership).

The Rhode Island chapter of Infragard, the FBI-sponsored critical
infrastructure info sharing organization, was briefed on AREDN in June to very
strong interest. Cullen has an important follow up meeting with a healthcare
agency. He strongly encourages amateurs with links to critical infrastructure
to join Infragard (it's free and is an excellent place for networking across
sectors). Cullen says "This is an excellent time for the Amateur Radio
community to be at the table of a governor's cyber task force, offering
decentralized auxiliary communication services."

The efforts discussed above have had the support of ARRL Rhode Island Section
Manager Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, who as a VE, according to Cullen, "gets a kick out
of seeing middle school age kids pass the Technician class exam," and also from
 newly appointed SEC Paul Silverzweig, N1PSX.]

____________________________________________________________________________


If You Don't Document It, It Never Happened

Most of us hate paperwork. That being said, anyone who has ever held a position
 of leadership, be it in the military or in a company, or just from our own
personal lives knows that paperwork, especially reports, have to be done. In
the Amateur Radio community, everyone knows that to score on Field Day, get a
Worked All States (WAS) certificate, or to get a QSL card, you have to do some
reporting, even if it is electronic. In ARES, it is no different, and it is
perhaps even more important.

Here is a scenario: You are lobbying for a new law regarding antenna
restrictions or to use radios while driving. One of the selling points may be
that the Amateur service can be critically valuable during disasters and
emergencies. If you have never compiled hard data on how many operators there
are in your area or have signed up for ARES, if you have never logged how many
person-hours your area contributes each year to the community, and so forth,
then you are just making unsubstantiated claims. Maybe you will have a couple
of anecdotal examples, but they don't paint much of a picture. As they used to
say in school, "Anecdotes are not data!" So, compile the reports and data now
and continually.

In ARES, we have several reports that need to be filed, including event
reports, monthly reports, and annual reports. Event reports are the ARES Form 1
 "Public Service Activity Report" and Form A and B "Simulated Emergency Test
Report." These should be completed and filed within a few days of any kind of
ARES support for a public service event, emergencies/disasters, severe weather,
 or even exercises/training and an SET. The Form 1 is very important to fill
out as it will help the local Emergency Coordinator and District Emergency
Coordinator compile and complete their monthly reports as well as alert the
ARRL HQ staff to any high interest events that they may want additional
information about; for example, an ARES response to a local tornado breakout.

The monthly reports include the ARES Form 2 "Monthly DEC/EC Report" and ARES
Form 4 "Monthly Section Emergency Coordinator Report." These reports provide a
snapshot of your number of members, how much training you have done, how many
operations you supported, and the number of volunteer hours expended during the
 month. These data are crucial for the ARRL leadership as they give hard
numbers to use for spectrum defense, changes to laws, and so on.

The ARES Form 3 "EC Annual Report" is similar to the monthly report, but it
focuses primarily on membership to help the Section EC understand the
capabilities of each district or area in their jurisdiction.

All of the reports should be sent to the SEC, though some, like the Form 1, can
 be sent directly to the ARRL as well. It is the SEC's responsibility (ref
section 1.2, ARES Manual, 2015) to make sure the reports are being filed and to
 ensure that accurate reports are compiled and sent to the ARRL. There are over
 70 sections and most are sub-divided to districts and local areas, so you can
imagine the nightmare of having just a couple of staffers at ARRL HQ trying to
compile reports from every EC and DEC. This means not only do the SECs need to
see these reports for their own awareness, but also to compile summaries to
reduce the number of reports being sent to ARRL HQ.

While most of the reports originate at the EC/DEC level (ref section 1.3 and
1.4, ARES Manual, 2015), if the SEC does not file the section reports or ensure
 EC/DEC reports are being filed, then the ECs and DECs have little reason or
motivation to file their reports. There are even cases where ECs and DECs are
not even aware that there are reports or that they are responsible for
reporting, simply because the SEC never told them and never asked for any
reports.

All forms can be found on the ARRL website at
http://www.arrl.org/public-service-field-serv... The ARRL has also
hosted some webinars to help explain why and how these forms are used, and how
to fill them out. See the ARES Forms webinar archived on YouTube.

The bottom line is the old adage, "If you don't document it, it never
happened." -- John Bloodgood, KD0SFY, Emergency Coordinator & Public
Information Officer, Region 2 District 2, Colorado ARES (Pikes Peak ARES)

____________________________________________________________________________


FEMA Region IV Seeks Hurricane Matthew Reports

A FEMA official from Region IV has requested reports on the amateur community's
 responses to Hurricane Matthew last Fall. [FEMA's mission is to support first
responders and works to build, sustain, and improve capability to prepare for,
protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA
Region IV is responsible for these efforts in Alabama, Georgia, Florida,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.] In an
e-mail to ARRL Northern Florida Section Manager Steve Szabo, WB4OMM, FEMA
Region IV official Jo Robichaud wrote "Any stories about active involvement in
response to Hurricane Matthew from the amateur radio community would be greatly
 beneficial. While working in my Federal ESF#2 [Communications] position during
 Hurricane Matthew, I was aware that the amateur operators and groups were
monitoring nets. I wasn't able to get immediate specific feedback on how
successful their operations were. . . . I feel that FEMA needs to have more
involvement with ham operators and Amateur Radio groups during disasters. I'm
starting at the local levels to gather success stories. This is my driving
force to get Amateur Radio visibility at the federal level. I'm a ham - KJ4DRV
-- and so is my co-worker. For the first time in history, FEMA Region IV had
two volunteer ham operators working along with us during Hurricane Matthew and
I want this to continue for every disaster. It's vital to our mission of saving
 lives and a foundation for interoperability. Thanks for your help!" /s/ Jo
Robichaud, FEMA Region IV, Telecommunications - RF [Northern Florida Section
Manager Steve Szabo, WB4OMM, reports he has solicited reports for response to
the FEMA appeal. -- ed.] -- ARRL Northern Florida Section News

____________________________________________________________________________


Editorial: Be Civil and Respectful

On the way home from the Spring 2017 West Central Florida Section ARES Meeting,
 I was running my handheld radio on APRS as a mobile tracker. I received the
following text message from someone: "Hey dummy, program your radio correctly."
 Apparently someone did not like a parameter that was set on my radio and took
exception to it. The question I asked myself after the comment had disturbed me
 was the following: What if I had been a new amateur licensee? If so, I might
have become discouraged and bitter as a result of that comment. I might have
quit.

There is a lesson to be learned from this incident. We in the amateur community
 should always be civil to one another. This does not mean you cannot disagree,
 but you can state your disagreement and remain respectful/civil about it. It
does not offend me if someone does not agree with what I say or what I do, if
it is in a civil manner. Lack of civility is sadly a sign of the times we live
in. Far too often today when one states their viewpoint, even when they state
it with civility, it is met with rudeness or even with a vitriolic response. In
 Amateur Radio we should be the exception to this trend and be civil to one
another both on the air and in person, as an example to our peers and to the
next generation.

Another lesson to be learned here is to be aware that sometimes operators have
either technical issues with their equipment or procedures (AC hum on the
microphone, cracking sounds, wrong parameters programmed on digital modes,
improper operating procedure, etc.). It is okay to point an issue out to them
if you know what the problem is, but remember to be civil about it, in a
positive, helpful way. A new amateur may not have learned all of the proper
procedures yet. Talk to them in a respectful manner, preferably off the air. In
 the case of most people, if you approach them with a modest and humble
attitude, they will listen to what you have to say. If I have a problem, I
would want someone to tell me, because I may not know about it.

One more lesson: We all have our favorite modes of operation and parts of the
service we enjoy more than others. Don't put down or demean another amateur's
interests. It's okay to invite other hams to join your part of the hobby but if
 they say no, don't feel slighted. They might on the other hand say yes, but
you will not know until you ask. Also, if someone tells you about their
favorite mode, take the time to listen. You may decide it is not of interest to
 you and say "No thank you" and that is perfectly okay. But on the other hand
you may say "yes."

The Amateur's Code was written by Paul Segal, W9EEA, in 1928 after another time
 in which Amateur Radio had a tumultuous period before regulations fully took
effect in the mid 1920's. The Fourth point in the code says: "FRIENDLY with
slow and patient operation when requested, friendly advice and counsel to the
beginner, kindly assistance, co-operation and consideration for the interests
of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit". For the full text of
 the code, please see http://www.qcwa.org/amateur-code.htm -- Darrell Davis,
KT4WX, ARRL West Central Florida Section Manager, reprinted from The WCF
Presser and West Central Florida Section News

____________________________________________________________________________


N9BA For a Final: On Recruiting Younger Members

How do we get more people, especially youth, involved? I am sure this is a
question that your local radio club or ARES team has asked many times. There
isn't any easy answer because what works in Vanderburgh County may not work in
Allen County. But, in general: You must give people and hams something
meaningful to get involved with and provide them with a sense of belonging. All
 too often I have attended club meetings where they read the minutes from the
last meeting, read the treasurer's report and of course vote on both. Then it
is on to old and new business for a lengthy discussion. This format for a club
meeting isn't interesting to the younger generation. They want an environment
where they can learn. Limit the business portion, and have hands-on live demos
of hardware and software!

For the ARES teams across the section, hams want to belong to your team. If you
 aren't having regular meetings and providing some sort of training, then no
one will want to be involved. A monthly training session is an excellent way to
 build team cohesion and a sense of belonging. If you need training ideas,
please reach out and ask. -- Brent Walls, N9BA, ARRL Indiana Section Manager,
Indiana Section Newsletter, May 2017 issue

____________________________________________________________________________


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