In preparation for two Alameda Emergency Preparedness Exercises (April 24, 2010, Fall 2010), I’d like to announce an upcoming ARES Emergency Communications class.

This class will be a review of lessons learned from our January exercise and a discussion of operations and procedures to be used by Alameda
ARES.

While it is not a beginners EmComm class, all interested radio operators are welcome to attend. You don’t have to be an ARES or ARCA member.

The date for the first ARES EmComm class is Saturday February 27th at 8:00 AM. While I have reserved the classroom for three hours, the class itself will last two hours including Q&A.

Attendees should have basic emergency communications knowledge; I plan to conduct the class in a review/Q&A/Discussion format.

The basis of the review portion is to cover lessons learned from the January drill followed by proposals for correcting problems encountered.

During the review session I will specifically review the following:

1. Initial Resource net procedures

2. Procedures upon arriving at the assigned site (EOC, OPS center, Shelter, etc.) and ICS structure (light review)

3. Conducting and participating in Tactical Nets

4. Message handling and tracking

The Q/A portion will be specific to the review, but also an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about other EmComm topics.

The discussion portion would be specific to the April 24th exercise and to discuss ideas on other types of exercises.

For those who cannot attend the Saturday morning class, I plan to conduct an identical session on the evening of Monday, March 15th at
7:30 PM.

If necessary; we may have planning session for the April 24th exercise on Saturday April 10th.

Please let me know if you are planning to attend, and if you prefer a Monday evening class or a Saturday morning class

73,

Sandy Lavine, KO6JF
ARES Emergency Coordinator, City of Alameda

Please note the following news announcement on the ARRL Web that was posted today (Saturday, January 23).

The referenced link:

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=9397

Haitian Officials Announce Contact Information for Amateurs going to Haiti to Provide Disaster Relief

CONATEL (Haitian Telecomm regulator) has setup temporary offices and has released a public notice which may address it.  Amateurs wishing to operate in Haiti to assist with disaster relief need to formally contact CONATEL to get formal reciprocal operating clearance.

The text of the CONATEL public notice is as follows:

CONATEL NOTICE

The National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) hereby notifies the general public, and those particularly impacted, that, following the widespread damage caused by the violent earthquake of January 12th, 2010, a satellite office of CONATEL was installed at the Number 97 of the Avenue Panaméricaine in Pétion-Ville with the goal of assuring the continuity of its work.  This arrangement will allow, among other things, better coordination for establishing a temporary emergency telecommunications network in Haiti .

Consequently, all concerned are asked to contact CONATEL at the above mentioned address between 9 AM and 1 PM and throughout the day at the following telephone numbers (509) 3454-0541 - on 2516-0000 - 3702-1414 or at the electronic addresses : techommunication@yahoo.fr - info@conatel.gouv.ht, before any use of telecommunications equipment or the spectrum resources, in hopes of avoiding the problems of interferences and possible conflicts between the incumbent operators established in Haiti and those who are newly operating in this unusual circumstance.

The National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL), while thanking the telecommunications service providers for all their efforts to keep their networks operational, despite the widespread damage that has been noted, CONATEL takes this opportunity to offer its sympathies to the families of the victims of the earthquake.

Port-au-Prince , January 20th, 2010

Montaigne Marcelin
Directeur Général

=========================

Thank you for your attention.

73,

Steve Ewald, WV1X

Supervisor, Field Organization Team

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™

860-594-0265

sewald@arrl.org 

The following is a brief summary of information that we have gathered at ARRL HQ on of the situation surrounding the earthquake in Haiti .   

============================

On Tuesday (January 12) there was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, which has since been followed by serious aftershocks.  Communications in and out of Haiti have been disrupted.  No word has been received as of yet from any of the national HH Amateur Radio operators.  The DailyDX notes that HH2/HB9AMO, Pierre, is OK and was located about 140 km north of Port-au-Prince in Cap Haitien at the time.

The IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator, Arnie Coro, CO2KK, is coordinating the multi-national response by hams.  There are organized nets on 7045 and 3720 kHz and amateurs are asked to monitor but also keep the frequencies clear of non-essential traffic.  Amateur Radio operators should also be aware that emergency traffic pertaining to the Haitian earthquake is expected on the SATERN frequencies of 14265, 7265 and 3977 according to SATERN’s leader, Major Pat McPherson. The Salvation Army has a website up for H&W traffic and other news at www.satern.org. 

Amateur Radio operators are circled around Haiti in Cuba, Florida, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and other locations listening for any calls, but   so far no HH stations had checked in.

Please keep clear of frequencies :

14265

7045

7265

3977

3720

The situation is still chaotic and more information will be posted as soon as possible.  Information is being validated and shared between many amateur groups and news sources as it unfolds. 

============================

Thank you.

73,

Steve Ewald, WV1X

Supervisor, Field Organization Team

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™

860-594-0265

sewald@arrl.org 

Jim Duarte N6SSB has been appointed Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oakland and Piedmont area.

As EC, Jim will direct the local activity of ARES®, the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He will coordinate emergency responses to local served agencies by ARES members, manage relationships with those served agencies, collaborate with other Amateur Radio entities such as RACES and local clubs, promote ARES membership, and coordinate and encourage operator training.

Here in the East Bay Section, Jim joins other Emergency Coordinators, each of whom has jurisdiction over a geographical area. John Rabold KS6M, as District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), coordinates the ECs in Alameda County. The four DECs in the section report to Herbert Cole AI6AT, Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve.

Any amateur can register in ARES (or update an earlier registration) by printing the ARES registration form and giving it to the EC for his or her area or other ARRL official. The ARES registration form, FSD-98, is located at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/fsd98.pdf

In the East Bay Section, ARES members are encouraged to hold certificates of completion in certain FEMA and ARRL courses, to be proficient in the handling of radio message traffic, and to participate in local Amateur Radio training and public service activities.

Congratulations and thank you, Jim!

John Rabold KS6M
District Emergency Coordinator for Alameda County, East Bay Section
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio™
http://www.arrl.org/

Thirteen Amateur Radio operators from the Amateur Radio Club of Alameda (ARCA) and ARES® participated in a disaster-response shelter exercise in the City of Alameda on Saturday January 9, 2010, at the request of the American Red Cross Bay Area. The exercise tested the ability of the City of Alameda’s CERT volunteers to open and operate shelters and an Emergency Volunteer Center for the city under Red Cross guidelines. It was assumed that telephone and Internet communications were unusable, so participants were able to use only Amateur Radio volunteer services for communications among the simulated exercise units: the City EOC, the Emergency Volunteer Center (EVC), two shelters, and the Red Cross command center.

For the Amateur Radio volunteers, the exercise began as they checked in on a Resource Net on the ARCA K6QLF 70cm repeater. Available ham resources were directed to the exercise site where they received assignments as net control operators or embedded communications resources. The operators set up and managed two tactical nets on simplex frequencies. Those nets successfully carried simulated message traffic among the exercise units, allowing the CERT volunteers to obtain needed resources and manage their operations successfully.

Participants met in a post-exercise “hot wash” to review what worked well and what needed improvement. The exercise underscored the importance of Amateur Radio in times of disaster, and it confirmed needs for continued training and for future joint exercises involving disaster preparedness groups serving the City of Alameda.

ARES and ARCA participants included Ron Bigelow KF6LSY, Fred Blas KI6BES, Garret Conklin KJ6GEC, Anthony Disalvo KI6TZG, Bruce Gillis KI6CYT, Shari Goforth-Eby K6AVW, Rose Kennedy K6LEZ, Sanford Lavine KO6JF, Chris Machini KI6TYY, Mike Piper KI6NHE, Flavia Rogers KJ6BIQ, Marianne Schenone KI6MYU, and Michael John Torrey KF6YRG.

Sanford Lavine KO6JF
Emergency Coordinator for the City of Alameda, East Bay Section
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio™
www.arrl.org