HERAC - From Bill Tittle 020811, converted from Wordstar, not edited. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hamilton County Handbook for Emergency Response Amateur Communicators Hamilton County, Ohio Amateur Radio Public Service Corps Revision date 28 May, 1998 This page has intentionally been left blank. EDITOR’S NOTE The text contained in this handbook has been compiled from many sources; such as the American Radio Relay League, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and members of ARPSC. I thank everyone who has been contributing by authoring, editing, and proofing. This handbook is still in the draft form. This means not all sources are yet cited, not all information has been confirmed to be accurate, and not all sections have been completed. Someday all the citations will be included, all the sections currently planed will be included, and all the information will be confirmed to be as accurate as practicable. When that happens, ARPSC will have an Interim Final handbook. It is my hope that this handbook never becomes Final, as it should be a dynamic document. It should continually grow and change to satisfy the needs of ARPSC. Any comments or ideas for additions or changes to this document are welcomed and appreciated. If you notice any errors, please inform the EC. Thank You, Rick J. Riess, N8NVF E-mail: rickriess@csi.com Phone: 678.380.1656 P.S. – The last issuance of this Handbook that I was involved with was in the spring of 1998. Since then, I have moved to Atlanta, Georgia. I wish the ARPSC staff, the ARPSC members, and the community that you serve good luck. 73 (9 Mar 99) This page has intentionally been left blank. HERAC Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Purpose 1.2. Authority 2. Definitions and Descriptions 2.1. ARES 2.2. RACES 2.3. ARPSC 2.4. Public Service 2.5. Competent Official 2.6. Communications Emergency 2.7. Emergency 2.8. Emergency Broadcast System 3. Rules, Regulations, and Liability 3.1. Federal (Part 97, Subpart E) 3.2. State (Section 5915) 3.3. Liability 4. Preparedness 4.1. Training Requirements for ARPSC members 4.2. Emergency Equipment Checklist 4.3. Checklist for Emergency Kits 4.3.1. Portable 4.3.2. Semi-Portable 4.3.3. Mobile 4.4. Home 4.5. First Aid Kit 4.6. Personal Additions 4.7. Connections 4.8. Practice 5. Mobilization & Activation 5.1. Mobilization 5.2. Activation 5.3. Strike Team 6. Emergency Operation 6.1. Desirable Traits in Emergency Communicators 6.2. Principles of Emergency Communications 6.3. Principles of Repeater Operation 6.4. Nets 6.4.1. Net Control Station 6.4.2. Types of Nets 6.4.3. Principles of Net Operation 6.4.4. Other Net Terms 6.5. Formal Traffic Handling 6.6. Working as a Shadow 7. Post Emergency Procedures 7.1. Demobilization 7.2. Debriefing & Reporting 7.3. ARRL PRECEDENCES 7.4. HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS 7.5. Numbered Radiograms 1.. ARPSC Staff Table of Organization 2.. ARPSC Liaison Appointments 3.. ARPSC Telephone Fan-out 4.. ARPSC Membership Directory 5.. Emergency Kit Checklists 6.. ARRL Radiograms: Form, ARL Messages, Precedences, Handling Instructions 7.. ARRL Band Plans & Class Privledges 8.. International Phonetics, Q-Signals, and Morse Code 9.. Skywarn Procedures 10.. Emergency Phone Numbers 11.. First Aid Quick Reference 12.. Knots 13.. Maps 1.. Introduction 1.. Purpose The purpose of this plan is to 1.) provide the only procedure for the authorization and mobilization of volunteer Amateur Radio operators when needed in a communications emergency, 2.) to define procedures to be followed, and 3.) to prepare volunteers for such activities. b.. Authority Title 47 U. S. C. 151(i) and (o); Chapter 1, Part 97, Subpart A, Sections 97.1, 97.89, 97.107, and Subpart F (all); Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations, Amateur Radio Service. This page has intentionally been left blank. b.. Definitions and Descriptions 1.. ARES The Amateur Radio Emergency Service consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communication duty in the public service during emergencies. Every licensed amateur, whether or not a member of ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the ARES. The only qualification other than holding a license is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only, amateurs are eligible for membership. There are three levels of ARES organization - national, section, and local. National emergency coordination at ARRL headquarters is under the supervision of the ARRL Field Services Manager who is responsible for advising all ARES officials regarding their problems, maintaining contact with federal government and other national officials concerned with amateur emergency communication potential, and carrying out the League’s policies regarding emergency communication. At the section level, the section emergency coordinator (SEC) is appointed by the section manager (SM) (who is elected by the ARRL members in his/her section) and works under the SM’s supervision. In most cases, the SM delegates to the SEC the administration of the section emergency plan and the authority to appoint district and local ECs. Some of the ARRL sections with capable SECs are organized to the hilt. A few have scarcely any organization at all. It depends almost entirely on whom the section members have put into office as SM and whom he has appointed as SEC. It is at the local level where most of the real emergency organizing gets accomplished, because this is the level at which most emergencies occur and the level at which ARES officials make direct contact with the ARES member-volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. The local ECs are therefore the key people in the ARES. The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the District EC (DEC). Depending on how the SEC has set up the section for administrative purposes, the EC may have jurisdiction over a small community, a large city, an entire county or even a group of counties. Whatever jurisdiction is assigned, the EC is in charge of all ARES activities in his/her area, not just one interest group, one agency, one club, or one group. Now that we have looked at the top of the section organization and at the local level where the actual communications take place, we should recognize that in the large sections the local groups could proliferate to the point where simply keeping track of them would be more than a full-time chore, not to mention the idea of trying to coordinate them in an actual emergency. To this end, SECs have the option of grouping their EC jurisdictions into logical units or "districts" and appointing a district A District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) coordinates the activities of the local ECs in the district. In some cases, the districts may conform to the boundaries of governmental planning or emergency-operations districts, while in others they are simply based on repeater coverage or geographical boundaries. Special-interest groups are headed up by "assistant emergency coordinators," designated by the EC to supervise activities of amateurs operating in certain groups, especially those groups which play an important role at the local level, but they may be designated in any manner the EC deems appropriate. These assistants, with the EC as chairman, constitute the local ARES "planning committee" and they meet together from time to time to discuss problems and plan projects to keep the ARES group active and well-trained. There are any number of different situations and circumstances that might confront an EC, and his/her ARES unit should be organized in anticipation of them. His/her job is not likely to be monotonous or humdrum. An EC for a small town might find that the licensed amateur group is so small that appointing assistants is unnecessary or undesirable. On the other hand, an EC for a large city may find that even his/her assistants need assistants and that sometimes it is necessary to set up a special sub-organization to handle it. In any case, bear in mind that organizing and planning are not a one-man operation. There is no specific point at which organization ceases and operation commences. Both phases must be concurrent because a living organization is a changing one, and the operations of a changing organization must change with the organization. b.. c.. RACES After World War II, when it became evident that the international situation was destined to be tense and the need for some civil-defense measures became apparent, successive government agencies designated to head up such a program called on amateur representatives to participate. In the discussions that followed, amateurs were interested in getting two points across: first, that Amateur Radio had a potential for and capability of playing a major role in this program; and second, that our participation should, this time as never before, be in our own name, as an Amateur Radio Service, even if and after war should break out. These principles were included into the planning by the formulation of regulations creating a new branch of the amateur service, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, RACES. Recognition of the role of Amateur Radio as a public service means responsibility--this time in our own name. The RACES regulations are printed in full in the ARRL publication the FCC Rule Book, along with the rest of the amateur regulations, and are not reprinted here. Every amateur should study closely and become familiar with these rules; civil preparedness, now a major function, may become our only on-the-air function if we are plunged into war. RACES, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the United States government, is a part of the Amateur Radio Service that provides radio communications for civil-preparedness purposes only, during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies. These emergencies are not limited to war-related activities, but can include natural disasters such as fires, floods and earthquakes. As defined in the rules, RACES is a radio-communication service, conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs, designed to provide emergency communications to local or state civil-preparedness agencies. It is important to note that RACES operation is authorized by the FCC at the request of a state or federal official, and this operation is strictly limited to official civil-preparedness activity in the event of an emergency-communications situation. Note: since the cold war has ended, most civil defense and civil preparedness agencies now refer to themselves as emergency management agencies. Amateurs operating in a local RACES organization must be officially enrolled in that local civil-preparedness group. RACES operation is conducted by amateurs using their own primary station licenses, and by existing RACES stations. The FCC no longer issues new RACES (WC prefix) station call signs. Operator privileges in RACES are dependent upon, and identical to, those for the class of license held in the Amateur Radio Service. All of the authorized frequencies and emissions allocated to the Amateur Radio Service are also available to RACES on a shared basis. But in the event that the President invokes his/her War Emergency Powers, amateurs involved with RACES would be limited to certain specific frequencies (while all other amateur operation would be silenced). While RACES was originally based on potential use for wartime, it has evolved over the years, as has the meaning of civil defense (which is also called civil preparedness or emergency management), to encompass all types of emergencies. It should be emphasized again that RACES is part of the amateur service, its regulations are part of the amateur regulations, and it operates in the amateur bands. The segments of the amateur bands it uses are shared with the rest of the amateur service in peacetime; in the event of war, only RACES operations would be permitted on RACES frequencies (see appendix). While operating in a RACES capacity, RACES stations and amateurs registered in the local RACES organization may not communicate with amateurs not operating in a RACES capacity. (Of course, such restrictions do not apply when such stations are operating in a non-RACES--such as ARES--amateur capacity.) Only civil-preparedness communications can be transmitted (as defined in Section 97.191 of the FCC Rules). Test and drills are permitted only for a maximum of one hour per week. All test and drill messages must be clearly so identified. d.. ARPSC The Hamilton County ARPSC is a non-profit association of trained licensed amateur radio operators in Hamilton County, Ohio area dedicated to the education of interested persons, conduct of radio communications for recreation, and to serve the public needs of our area through our close association with the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency, the police and fire departments, and the area hospitals. e.. Public Service Public Service means any non-commercial-communications activity for which communications are needed to enable its safe conduct. f.. Competent Official Competent Official means any executive authorized to request assistance in the public interest and to assume responsibility for those who respond to his/her request. g.. Communications Emergency Communications Emergency means any situation in which a public agency requests supplementary communications. h.. Emergency Emergency means any situation posing a threat to the safety of life or property. Examples include, but are not limited to: tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, severe icing conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, discharge of hazardous materials, widespread power outages, industrial explosions, mass casualty accidents, civil disorders, and any event declared an emergency by competent authority. i.. Emergency Broadcast System Unless they specifically request otherwise, every AM, FM and TV station is a participating member of the EBS. There are four levels of EBS priorities: #1 is Presidential, #2 is local, #3 is State, and #4 is region wide. All broadcast stations in the U.S. are required to have an EBS receiver tuned to a primary radio station specified by the FCC. These EBS receivers have a decoder that "opens up" the receiver upon receipt of the EBS alert tones. These special tones are 853 and 960 Hz sounded simultaneously for over 10 seconds. These tones are purposely different from DTMF (TouchTone) frequencies. Every radio and TV station is required to broadcast an EBS test once a week during daylight hours. These tests must be logged (both those sent and received). One common misconception and question is "What is the EBS station serving this area?" The correct answer is that every radio and TV station serving your area is an EBS station. This page has intentionally been left blank. c.. Rules, Regulations, and Liability 1.. Federal (Part 97, Subpart E) -- This section has not yet been incorporated into this manual. Refer to the ARRL FCC Rule Book. -- b.. State (Section 5915) Section 5915.07 Ohio Revised Code provides that a director of Civil Defense shall have the direct responsibility for the organization, administration, and operation of the county-wide organization for Civil Defense. Section 5915.01 Ohio Revised Code states in part: "'Civil Defense' includes all those activities and measures designed or undertaken to minimize the effects upon the civilian population caused or which would be caused by an attack, or other disaster, including all natural and man-made disasters . . . " Section 5915.10 Ohio Revised Code (A) states: "The state, any political subdivision, municipal agency, civil defense force thereof or of the federal government or of another country or province or subdivision thereof performing civil defense services in this state pursuant to an arrangement, agreement or compact for mutual aid and assistance, or any agency, member, agent or representative of any of them, or any individual, partnership, corporation, association, trustee, receiver, or any of the agents thereof, in good faith carrying out, complying with, or attempting to comply with any law, any rule, regulation, or order duly promulgated or issued pursuant to sections 5915.01 to 5915.143, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and federal law, or any arrangement, agreement or compact for mutual aid and assistance or any order issued by federal or state military authorities relating to civil defense, shall not be liable for any injury or death to persons or damage to property as the result thereof during training periods, test periods, practice periods, or other civil defense operations, or false alerts, as well as during enemy attack, actual or imminent, and subsequent to the same except in cases of willful misconduct." c.. Liability In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code (Sections 5915.01, and 5915.10 (A)), amateurs may be called to render public service when a competent official: 1.) recognizes that an emergency condition exists, and 2.) requests that such service be rendered. In the event of a wide area emergency, when assistance is requested by Civil Preparedness officials, liability is assumed by the State under sections 5915.07, 5915.01, and 5915.10(A) of the Ohio revised code. When such assistance is requested by a local official, liability is assumed by the jurisdiction of the requesting official. See "Rules & Regulations - State" d.. Preparedness 1.. Training Requirements for ARPSC members -- This section has not yet been completed -- b.. Emergency Equipment Source: Rick Riess, N8NVF Emergency responder's are expected to have equipment and supplies to make them self-supportive. The checklists included in Appendix E of this handbook have been compiled from several sources and include a lot of equipment, but you should add, delete, or modify the checklist so that you are comfortable and confident with what you have ready. The equipment checklists have been divided into four categories: portable, semi-portable, mobile, and home. The purpose for these divisions are described below. SUPER-PROTABLE - This kit should be with you at nearly all times. This kit is easy to carry and has the essentials for about 12 hours of operation. This kit is small enough to throw inside a briefcase, fit inside of an airplane carryon bag, or take with you on a bus. A medium-sized fanny pack is a nice choice for keeping this kit super-portable and handy. In the event of an emergency, this kit will allow you to be useful; however, if it’s all you have, you will have to mooch from your fellow operators. PORTABLE (Field Response Kit) - You will need this kit if responding to an emergency. This kit, which includes the super-portable kit, should have everything you need to independently operate for about 48-hours. Ideally, this kit should be no more than 5-minutes away from you at anytime (e.g., keep it in you car if you’re almost always within 5-minutes of your car). This kit should be very easy to carry around because you may have a field assignment that keeps you on the move. A backpack makes carrying the equipment easy and leaves your hands free. The portable kit should be with you at all times - in your home, car, command post, field, et cetera. SEMI-PORTABLE (Communication Post Kit) - This kit supplements the portable kit. This kit gets bulky, but should be portable enough for you to handle it by yourself for a short time (e.g., carry it down a hillside by yourself or throw it in an emergency vehicle). A big camping backpack or large roll bag is a good choice for the semi-portable kit. This kit should have everything you need for up to 72 hours of independent operation, and some more advanced equipment than the portable kit. The kit has equipment and supplies for establishing a post in a hospital, government building, or even a ravine. When in the field, away from any other support (e.g., you car, the command post, etc.), this kit should be brought to, and left at, a central location for you to access easily. MOBILE - This kit supplements the portable and semi-portable kits - i.e., for prepared travel, you should always carry the portable and semi-portable kit along with the equipment on the mobile list. Equipment in the mobile kit should allow you to operate for several days. Extra water and food should be kept in your vehicle. This kit should also have equipment for car related emergencies (breakdown, fire, extra auto fuses, etc.). HOME - The home kit is short because it assumes that your vehicle is in your driveway (i.e., the portable, semi-portable, and mobile kits are readily available). When you are home preparing for an emergency, bring in the portable and semi-portable kits. The home kit is an extended family version of the mobile kit without the vehicle accessories. The home kit should last for several weeks. There is also a detailed First-Aid Kit checklist and a blank checklist for your own additions. In addition to equipment for yourself, if each responder contributes a few supplies or equipment to the team, everyone benefits. The equipment checklists on the following pages are thorough, but you may want to add things for the team (e.g., for a command post: large tent, generator, light stand, extra food, cooler, grill, etc.; and for the field: antenna masts, cross-band mobile rigs, extra batteries, flashlights, etc.). Obviously a grill is luxurious for disaster response, but if you could easily toss it in the bed of your truck, and someone else brings a cooler filled with burgers, we sure would have happy communicators -- and you would have many new friends. These exotic schemes must be planed well in advance of an actual response (but it would be fun to practice). Remember to gather your equipment and use your checklist BEFORE you need to use the kits. A good idea is to photocopy your checklist and physically check things off as you pack your equipment, and recheck you kits. Check your kits every couple of months. As you check your kits, you will find that you used something from one of them, and forgot to put it back. When you recheck the kits, replace what is missing and rotate the food, water, and batteries. Each year on the fourth of July, light your old flares, and replace them. You will notice that there are things on the list that you use frequently, if not day-to-day. Use a high-lighter or some other special marking on a copy of the checklist to mark those items. This will serve as an abbreviated checklist so that you know what items to double-check when you need to mobilize quickly (this is an excellent practice, but not a substitution for completely checking all the kits in their entirety every couple of months). c.. Connections Source: QST, August 1993 -- adapted by N8NVF Connectors are not the most important items to have at an emergency site, but without a wide variety of connectors, responders will be less useful -- if useful at all. Consider the wide variety of antenna connectors and power connectors. The best way to solve antenna connection problems is to have a good collection of adapters and patch cords. You should have a set of adapters for each radio and antenna that you bring to a site. The most common adapters are checked below. Several patch cords of various lengths would also be useful. To/From Female BNC Male BNC PL-259 SO-239 Male BNC - 3 3 3 Female BNC 3 - 3 3 SO-239 3 3 - 3 PL-259 3 3 3 - Compared to antenna connectors, power connectors are more varied and have an added twist -- polarity. If you power your radio with the wrong polarity, you will probably lose the magic smoke inside your radio that makes it work. There are two ways to solve the polarity problem: 1) carry a multi-meter or other polarity testing device (see pages 50 & 51 of the August 1993 QST), and carry enough power connectors and adapters so that YOU can use any source for your all of your rigs, or 2) decide on a standard connector with a standard polarity (and only connect with those people you trust have conformed to the standard). With option one, you may find a connector you can use, but realize the source is not polarized the way you need, your out of luck -- your still not connected. So you must carry with you, an entire set of connectors for EVERY rig you have AND be able to change the polarity. This is an option, and not an entirely bad one considering there is only a couple of dozen common connections. The third option requires that everyone conforms to a standard. The ARRL has suggested such a standard using the MolexTM 1545 connectors (Radio Shack part # 274-222), see page 50 of the August 1993 QST. This would require you construct a plug for every load (radio, scanner, light, etc.), and have and a jack for every source (cigar lighter, generator, alligator clips, battery pack, etc.). Having a few Y-adapters (one plug into two jacks) is a very good idea too. The plug / hole on the pointed side of the connector is always positive (pointy - positive). If everyone invests just a couple of hours making these universal power connectors, getting "juice" during an event would be much easier. If you conform to the connector standard, be absolutely sure you conform to the polarity standard -- you don't want anyone to lose their magic smoke! Be aware that MolexTM connectors, like all other connectors, are the weakest point in the power cord. Be sure the connectors can withstand the current requirements (this is usually not a problem for most field equipment). A more frequent problem is oxidation. Clean the connectors every six months to a year with sandpaper and/or vinegar. If that is too much work, at least connect and disconnect all your connectors every month to scrape away oxidation. d.. e.. Practice Emergency Communicators will be put to the test when an emergency strikes, but emergency communications is different than a test. To prepare for a test, one must study; to prepare for an emergency, one must practice, practice, practice. Repetition will cause learned responses to become habit. Some scientists believe that a person must repeat a learned response 2000 times for it to become natural and sub-conscious. There are several outlets for you to practice, some ARPSC examples include: Traffic Handling: The Tri-State Amateur Traffic Net meets every evening at 20:00 local time on the 145.370 MHz repeater to handle both incoming and outgoing traffic for the local area. This net is affiliated with the National Traffic System, and handles traffic for MARS and similar services. Net Participation: The Hamilton County ARPSC Training Net meets weekly on the 145.370 MHz repeater at 21:00 local time Thursday evenings, except for the first Thursday of the month, when the net frequency shall be 146.460 MHz simplex. The purpose of the net is for training and exchanging information. Net Control Station: Both the Traffic Net and Training Net are good nets to become familiar with the duties of the Net Control Station (NCS). Listen to what other NCSs do and follow along by copying check-ins and traffic; think about what you would do if you were net control. Then volunteer to be a NCS. Emergency Nets: Exercise will be held in conjunction with the nation's simulated emergency tests (SETs) coordinated by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Public Service Nets: The Hamilton County ARPSC and other amateur radio groups will regularly supply public service communications in conjunction with local events at the event coordinator's request in order to test equipment effectiveness and operating procedures as well as to maintain a high organizational profile in the community. Listening: If you volunteer for an event you should be aware of everything that happens on the net. Even if you can not volunteer for the net, listen. When you listen, you will hear good and bad practices. Good communications pass quickly and efficiently, bad communications take a long time, are often unnecessary, and are counter-productive; sometimes you will never hear the best communicators because good operators know when to transmit and when not to transmit. Drills: At the discretion of the Emergency Coordinator, the activation procedure will be tested unannounced with response only to net check-ins, as is deemed necessary to insure its efficient operation. e.. Mobilization & Activation 1.. Mobilization The mobilization process is simple, but often misunderstood. There are three basic situations that you, as an amateur, should recognize: 1.. Direct observation of a potential or actual emergency condition 1.. An alert or warning issued on NOAA weather radio (162.550 MHz) or on the Emergency Broadcast System (local AM/FM radio, e.g., 550 or 700 kHz) 1.. A request made by any competent official asking for communications support 1.. Activation The activation procedure will be initiated by the Hamilton County Emergency Coordinator (EC) or the Assistant EC for Operations, in that order. In the event that neither of these officials can be reached, activation can be initiated by the ARRL Ohio District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). The Hamilton County ARES Emergency Coordinator or The Designated Assistant Emergency Coordinator for RACES Operations will design, organize, and staff the communications needs defined by the requesting agency or authority. Depending upon the scope of the alert, the nature of the emergency, and the number of communicators required to adequately staff the response, any or all of the following activation procedures may be used: a.. Direct phone call to those Amateur Radio Operators registered with Hamilton County ARPSC who are listed as a first response station b.. Activate the telephone fan-out to alert members to the appropriate repeater or radio frequency. Direct assignments will be made over the repeater or radio frequency. c.. Spot announcements will be made on area high profile repeaters (e.g., 145.19, 146.88, 146.67 MHz) requesting RACES or ARES communicators to respond to a specific frequency. d.. Spot announcements will be made over the Emergency Broadcast System station WLW AM 700 kHz requesting Amateur Radio Operators to respond to a specific frequency if telephone service and key repeaters are inoperative. e.. The default assembly frequency if all the above methods fail will be the 145.37 repeater or 146.46 simplex frequency. When activation requires a response of personnel to the Hamilton County Civil Defense Headquarters, the following will occur at the direction of the Civil Defense Communications Officer or the Assistant EC - RACES: 1.. The Hamilton County EC or his designated alternate will respond to CD HQ managing the communications effort and interfacing with the CD Director 1.. Community liaison personnel assigned to Hamilton County CD HQ will respond to that location and place K8YOJ into operation at both the RACES communications net position and the RACES administrative net position. As needed, the ARES administrative net well be activated on 3.875 MHz at the direction of the Communications Officer or AEC-RACES Operations. 1.. The assistant EC for Administration and the Administrative Staff Assistant will respond to the CD HQ to manage information flow, log pertinent data, and initiate liaison as required with NTS. 1.. The Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Engineering will respond to CD HQ to serve as Technical Engineer-in-Charge. The Assistant EC for RACES-Operations will respond to the disaster site and function as the on-site assembly point coordinator. Deployment to areas served by our liaison program will be at the request of local officials and at the direction of The Hamilton County CD Communications Officer or The Assistant EC for RACES Operations or the Assistant EC for Liaison, in that order. A list of hospitals, communities, and ancillary agencies served by this sub-program is contained in Appendix C - Liaison Program Listing 1.. Strike Team Adapted from an article by Ted Benson, WA6BEJ, Deputy RACES Radio Officer/Mobile Operations, San Diego County RACES as published in TAC ONE, vol. 1, issue 2. In its simplest form, the Strike Team is a group of specialists, ready to go anywhere on short notice, and able to bring everything they need along with them. It is to provide short-term support until a given situation can be evaluated, and further resources called in. Our Strike Team is designed to operate for 72 hours without outside support. By the end of that time, the incident will either be resolved, or further support will have been brought in. This is an important part of the Strike Team concept, and the most often misunderstood. The resources of a Strike Team could easily be exhausted if it was called in to every incident and expected to remain until the entire incident was over. Instead, its function is to provide a bridge between the initial incident and the arrival of the larger, but slower to mobilize resources. Once further resources have arrived, the Strike Team transitions itself out of the picture - ready to respond to another call. This technique has been developed to a science by the California Department of Forestry (CDF) which fields Strike Teams all over the state. It was their example, in part, that was used to develop our Strike Team. Our Strike Team is comprised of RACES personnel who have taken extra steps to maximize their abilities and skills. What extra steps? Fireground safety, public safety radio operation and agency orientation are a few of the topics covered in training. Personnel must have served in RACES for at least a year, and be licensed as Technician or higher for a similar period. They must show a willingness and ability to serve as a RACES person before serving on the Strike Team. Membership in the Strike Team is by no means automatic. It requires a special level of participation, and members must have shown that they can meet this demand before they are accepted. Strike Team members are normally assigned to other RACES functions, including operation of stations, EOCs and the Communications Center. If you belong to a Strike Team you will still be expected to attend the drills, training and activities that are part of your normal RACES assignment as well. In the process, you will be confident that no matter what may happen, you will be called! Author’s Note: Hamilton County ARPSC has no strike team at the time of this writing. This page has intentionally been left blank. 1.. b.. Emergency Operation 1.. Desirable Traits in Emergency Communicators "What are the desirable traits for an ARPSC volunteer?" A management workshop, based on Harvard business school techniques, divided 110 people into eleven groups of ten people each. The groups were asked to list all of the attributes that came to mind. After a period of time they were told to stop writing lists and vote on their top eight. Then all eleven groups combined their results into the following top eight attributes: 1. Reliability 2. Participation. 3. Being a team player. 4. Dedication and commitment. 5. Ability to cooperate. 6. Acceptance of responsibility. 7. Support; speaks well of his/her organization before others. 8. A success in his/her vocation. b.. Principles of Emergency Communications It is impossible to state exact rules that will cover every situation that arises. The good amateur faced with a disaster situation may, however, benefit greatly from certain rules of thumb. These rules are, or should be, part of his training in ARPSC. They are presented here somewhat at random and should be digested by all amateurs, even those not active in disaster communications preparation. Keep the QRM level down. In a disaster, many of the most crucial stations will be weak in signal strength. It is most essential that all other stations remain silent unless they are called upon. If you're not sure you should transmit, don't. Our amateur bands are very congested. If you want to help, study the situation by listening. Don't transmit unless you are sure you can help by doing so. Don't ever break into a disaster net just to inform the control station you are there if needed. Monitor established disaster frequencies. Many localities and some geographical areas have established disaster frequencies where someone is always (or nearly always) monitoring for possible calls. When you are not otherwise engaged, it is helpful simply to sit and listen on such frequencies, some of which are used for general rag-chewing as well as disaster preparedness drilling. On CW, SOS is universally recognized, but has some legal aspects that should be considered where the need is not truly crucial. On voice, one can use "MAYDAY" (universal, the phone equivalent of SOS) or, to break into a net or conversation, the word "emergency." Avoid spreading rumors. During and after a disaster situation, especially on the phone bands, you may hear almost anything. Unfortunately, much misinformation is transmitted. Rumors are started by expansion, deletion, amplification or modification of words, exaggeration or interpretation. All addressed transmissions should be officially authenticated as to their source. These transmissions should be repeated word for word, if at all, and only when specifically authorized. In a disaster emergency situation, with everyone's nerves on edge, it is little short of criminal to make a statement on the air without foundation in authenticated fact. Authenticate all messages. Every message which purports to be of an official nature should be written and signed. Whenever possible, amateurs should avoid initiating disaster or emergency traffic themselves. We do the communicating; the agency officials we serve supply the content of the communications. Strive for efficiency. Whatever happens in an emergency, you will find hysteria and some amateurs who are activated by the thought that they must be "sleepless heroes." Instead of operating your own station full time at the expense of your health and efficiency, it is much better to serve a shift at one of the best-located and best-equipped stations, suitable for the work at hand, manned by relief shifts of the best-qualified operators. This reduces interference and secures well-operated stations. Select the mode and band to suit the need. It is a characteristic of all operators to believe that their favorite mode and band is superior to all others. For certain specific purposes and distances, this may be true. However, the merits of a particular band or mode in a communications emergency should be evaluated impartially with a view to the appropriate use of bands and modes. There is, of course, no alternative to using what happens to be available, but there are ways to optimize available communications. Long experience has developed the following advantages: CW a.. Less QRM in most amateur bands. b.. Secrecy of communications--contents of communications are much less likely to be intercepted by the general public to start rumors or undue concern. c.. Simpler transmitting equipment. d.. Greater accuracy in record communications. e.. Longer range for a given amount of power. Phone a.. More practical for portable and mobile work. b.. More widespread availability of operators. c.. Faster communication for tactical or "command" purposes. d.. More readily appreciated and understood by the public. e.. Official-to-official and phone-patch communication. RTTY, AMTOR and Packet a.. Less QRM in most amateur bands. b.. Secrecy of communications--contents of communications are much less likely to be intercepted by the general public to start rumors or undue concern. c.. More widespread availability of operators. d.. Greater speed in record communication than some of the other modes e.. Error detection--in the case of AMTOR and packet offer the potential for store-and-forward capability from within the disaster site to the "outside world." f.. Packet provides the capability of digipeating from point A to point Z via numerous automatically controlled middle points. The well-balanced disaster organization will have CW, phone, RTTY, AMTOR and packet capabilities available in order to utilize all the advantages. Of course one must make the best use of whatever is available, but a great deal of efficiency is lost when there is lack of coordination between the different types of operation in an emergency. Absolute impartiality and a willingness to let performance speak for itself are prime requisites if we are to realize the best possible results. Use all communications channels intelligently. While the prime object of emergency communications is to save lives and property (anything else is incidental), Amateur Radio is a secondary communications means; normal channels are primary and should be used if available. Emergency channels other than amateur which are available in the absence of amateur channels should be utilized without fear of favoritism in the interest of getting the message through. Don't "broadcast." Some amateur stations in an emergency situation have a tendency to emulate "broadcast" techniques. While it is true that the general public may be listening, our transmissions are not and should not be made for that purpose. Broadcast stations are well equipped to perform any such service. Our job is to communicate for, not with the general public. Within the disaster area itself, the ARES is primarily responsible and in many cases has been doing an admirable job. When disaster strikes, the first priority of those NTS operators who live in or near the disaster area is to make their expertise available to their Emergency Coordinator where and when needed. For timely and effective response, this means that NTS operators need to talk to their ECs before the time of need so that they will know how to best respond. 1.. Principles of Repeater Operation Much amateur operating in emergencies is done on repeaters, so a few words about some of the special problems involved are in order. Use minimum power. If your rig has a low and high power position, use the low position whenever you are close enough to the repeater. Otherwise, especially in heavily populated areas, you may run the risk of keying more than one repeater, thus causing unnecessary QRM. In addition, the use of high power precludes operating for very long on battery power. Use simplex (direct) operation when possible. ARRL recommends 52/52 on 2 meters, but it's a good idea to have at least one other simplex channel available (146.460 MHz). When you are within a very few miles of your contact, switch to a mutually available simplex channel to free the repeater for those who need it. The simplex channels can accommodate more simultaneous contacts than repeater channels because of shorter range. A gain or beam antenna at stationary locations can enhance simplex operation. Observe the "pause" procedure between exchanges. When it is your turn to transmit, after the transmitting station stands by, count to two or three before pressing your "transmit" switch. This leaves time for a "breaker" if one is on frequency. Be alert for emergency and public-service opportunities. A huge percentage of amateurs have 2-meter FM rigs in their cars, and highway assistance opportunities are commonplace. This is especially important during and after accidents which have just happened. In such a case, feel free to "break into" any conversation then taking place on any repeater. Listen much, transmit little. It is always a good procedure to announce your presence on a repeater when you are certain of being able to assist in a given situation, and always a bad one to tie it up with idle or inane chatter. Keep your mobile FM rig on standby (squelched) on a repeater or simplex channel when you are on the road. The League recommends monitoring your local emergency-powered repeater, if in range, and/or a known locally used simplex frequency. Think before you talk, especially in an emergency situation. Anyone with an inexpensive public-service-band receiver can monitor. Stick to facts, control your emotions and watch your language. Remember, during an emergency is the time when you are most apt to act and speak rashly. Articulate, don't slur. Speak close to your mike but talk across it, not into it. Keep your voice down. In an emergency situation one often gets excited and tends to shout. Control the impulse, for it will greatly decrease your intelligibility. Talk slowly, calmly--this is the mark of an experienced communicator. Key down for a second before you talk. Newer HTs use a power saving feature that effects receiving. Many HTs do not continuously "listen" to the frequency, rather they will "sample" or check the frequency at certain intervals (e.g., for one-half second every other second). It may be necessary to "key-down" for a couple of seconds before you transmit to allow some radios (with the power saving feature enabled) to recognize you; otherwise the first words of your transmission will be lost, causing you to waste time repeating the entire transmission. Emergency communications and 2-meter FM repeaters are now synonymous. Use of repeaters for emergency operations and training has revolutionized the ability of amateurs to provide local public-service communications. But other bands are now being used. Already, the 220-MHz band is receiving widespread use; 440 is used extensively for control links and offers many of the advantages of 2 meters. The future will surely produce extensive use of satellite repeaters and HF-linked repeaters and crossband machines for long-distance coverage in practical communication. For practical emergency-preparedness work and tactical communications during emergencies, we need channels that can be depended on, day and night, all seasons of the year, regardless of sunspot cycle. Repeaters supply many of the answers to this need, and we amateurs can lead the way in providing it. Liaison with the National Traffic System is practically a must for emergency traffic being handled on repeaters. A call for an NTS station in an emergency may produce results, but even better results can be obtained if liaison with one or more NTS stations can be planned in advance. NTS is valuable for handling any traffic that cannot be handled within the local repeater coverage area. b.. Nets 1.. Net Control Station A Net Control Station serves one key purpose -- that of insuring the smooth functioning of the network. It performs this function by: 1.. Maintaining discipline of the network, including procedure and protocols. (It sets the example during training.) 1.. Ensuring that traffic is passed expeditiously. 1.. Maintaining the integrity of the network. 1.. Maintaining a close watch for potential frequency and technical problems and for signals of its own or interfering networks. An NCS should be located where it can best perform its function. It should be in good contact with all net stations. It should be in a facility that provides adequate and reliable power, space, access and backup communication means. The working environment of the operator should be protected to reduce non-network distractions. 1.. Types of Nets Coordination: A communications circuit among various officials, agencies, or services not normally in contact with each other, or who are unable to communicate by normal means due to severe overload, Relay: Direct communications between competent local officials and the local emergency broadcast stations and/or direct communications between competent local officials and other officials; locally, statewide, or nationally. Point-to-point: Direct communications between any two or more points, even in remote areas not served by other communications facilities. Observation: Spotters may be positioned in strategic locations to report observations of local conditions back to public officials. Back-Up / Supplementary: Where a public safety radio system may be lost or overloaded, amateurs are capable of providing necessary communication, literally replacing the primary system. b.. Principles of Net Operation See "Principles of Emergency Communications" and "Principles of Repeater Operation" in the previous section. c.. Other Net Terms Base Station: Operating from the location listed on your FCC license. Portable Station: Operating for a fixed location other than the one listed on your FCC license. Mobile Station: Operating from a non-specific point (i.e., operating while driving, walking, biking, etc.) 1.. Formal Traffic Handling While much amateur-to-amateur communicating in an emergency is of a procedural or tactical nature, the real meat of communicating is formal written traffic for the record. Formal written traffic is important for: 1.. A record of what has happened--frequent status review, critique and evaluation. 1.. Completeness which minimizes omission of vital information. 1.. Conciseness, which when used correctly actually takes less time than passing informal traffic. 1.. Easier copy--receiving operators know the sequence of the information, resulting in fewer errors and repeats. When relays are likely to be involved, standard ARRL message format should be used. The record should show, wherever possible: 1.. A message number for reference purposes. 1.. A precedence indicating the importance of the message. 1.. A station of origin so any reply or handling inquiries can be referred to that station. 1.. A check (count of the number of words in the message text) so receiving stations will know whether any words were missed. 1.. A place of origin, so the recipient will know where the message came from (not necessarily the location of the station of origin). 1.. Filing time, ordinarily optional but of great importance in an emergency message. 1.. Date of origin. The address should be complete and include a telephone number if known. The text should be short and to the point, and the signature should contain not only the name of the person sending the message but his title or connection also, if any. Point-to-point services for direct delivery of emergency and priority traffic do not involve relays. Indeed, the full ARRL format is often not needed to record written traffic. Shortened forms should be used to save time and effort. For example, the call sign of the originating station usually identifies the place of origin. Also, the addressee is usually known and close by at the receiving station, so full address and telephone number are often superfluous. In many cases, message blanks can be designed so that only key words, letters or numbers have to be filled in and communicated. In some cases, the message form also serves as a log of the operation. Not a net goes by that you don't hear an ARL Fifty or an ARL Sixty One. Unfortunately, "greetings by Amateur Radio" does not apply well during disaster situations. You may hear an ARL text being used for health and welfare traffic, but rarely during or after the actual disaster. Currently, no ARL text describes the wind speed and barometric pressure of a hurricane, medical terminology in a mass casualty incident or potassium iodide in a nuclear power plant drill. While no one is suggesting that an ARL text be developed for each and every situation, there is no reason why amateurs can't work with the local emergency management organizations and assist them with more efficient communications. Amateurs are often trained and skilled communicators. The emergency-management community recognizes these two key words when talking about the Amateur Radio Service. Amateurs must use their skills to help the agencies provide the information that needs to be passed, while at the same time showing their talents as trained communicators who know how to pass information quickly and efficiently. We are expected to pass the information accurately, even if we do not understand the terminology. Traffic handlers and ARES members are resourceful individuals. Some have developed other forms or charts for passing information. Some hams involved with the SKYWARN program, for instance, go down a list and fill in the blanks, while others use grid squares to define a region. Regardless of the agency that we are working with, we must use our traffic-handling skills to the utmost advantage. Sure, ARL messages are beneficial when we are passing health and welfare traffic. But are they ready to be implemented in times of need in your community? The traffic handler, working through the local ARES organizations, must develop a working relationship with those organizations who handle health and welfare inquiries. Prior planning and personal contact are the keys to allowing an existing National Traffic System to be put to its best use. If we don't interface with the agencies we serve, the resources of the Amateur Radio Service will go untapped. Regardless of the format used, the appropriate procedures cannot be picked up solely by reading or studying. There is no substitute for actual practice. Your emergency net should practice regularly--much more often than it operates in a real or simulated emergency. Avoid complacency, the feeling that you will know how to operate when the time comes. You won't, unless you do it frequently, with other operators whose style of operating you get to know. 1.. Working as a Shadow This section was adapted for the California State's RACES Bulletin 179 & 180. A shadow is an Amateur Radio operator who accompanies an official during an incident. The purpose of the shadow is to allow constant contact with some person who is important to the operation. Thus the ham operator MUST remain in the immediate vicinity of the person shadowed AT ALL TIMES. Because the person being shadowed will usually be involved in some important activity, the shadow should be unobtrusive in the vicinity of the person, interjecting only communications is needed. Responsibilities & Duties a.. The shadow operator must remain with the person being shadowed at all times. In addition, the ham must monitor the radio AT ALL TIMES. b.. Operator is expected to take direction from the site supervisor during his shift. c.. The shadow may operate other radios as well, such as a departmental radio or cellular telephone. d.. Many operations have a shift duration of 12 hours at a time. This time may vary depending on the actual needs of the operation. The operator shall be in good physical condition. The ham operator should be able to walk and sometimes run long distances with the official. 1.. Post Emergency Procedures 1.. Demobilization These Demobilization Procedures were suggested by David Larton, N6JQJ in RACES bulletins 208 to 211. Once the incident is under way, with shelters staffed, shadows deployed, staffing established for the following shift, and basic Amateur or auxiliary radio needs being addressed, the question should be asked: "When should we go home?" That question should be asked almost as soon as the incident has started. It is important to utilize resources only so long as to be viable; if we are no longer needed, we should demobilize and prepare for the next incident. Keeping resources deployed longer than necessary is a waste of manpower, and can lead to a premature burnout of your workers. A good way to begin the process of closing down an incident is to plan to secure at least eight, but not more than sixteen hours ahead of time. Plan for the next shift by asking the following question, "Will our present staffing be needed for the next shift?" If not, eliminate the extra manpower and consolidate staffing. A common way to determine if it is time to begin demobilization is to establish if Amateur radio resources are being used in addition to, and not instead of, other means of communication. If a shelter location has a reliable working telephone line, it may be in your best interests to reassign amateurs assigned to that location to another which does not as yet have a telephone. Frequent contact with agency representatives will determine the best allotment of Amateur resources. This same method of resource inventory may be used with mobile radio locations, and other fixed sites. If needs can be met by other means of communication, demobiliztion of Amateur radio resources should be considered. With the advent of mobile cellular telephone technology, many of the past uses of Amateur radio operators may be supplanted with cellular telephones operated by average citizens. In a disaster situation, cellular telephones can provide an expedient means of obtaining quick, reliable communication between two points, such as between a shelter and the local Red Cross chapter office. During the Bay Area earthquake in October of 1989, the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross obtained the use of ten cellular telephones. Red Cross officials gave the telephones to their mobile feeding stations, mobile nursing stations, and to Red Cross staff vehicles. The use of cellular telephones in that situation made the use of Amateur Radio unnecessary and resources were utilized in other areas. One of the first areas to begin demobilization procedures is to inform Amateur radio Mutual Aid officials that their resources are no longer required and to thank them for their efforts. As these Mutual Aid resources are secured, the incident will wind down as amateurs begin to hear that the disaster situation is now under control. Mutual Aid resources should be the first released, with local communicators remaining to mop-up the operation. Briefings should indicate that outside assistance is no longer needed, and packet as well as voice modes should be utilized to help "get the word out". Initially, Amateur radio support of the incident may be on a 24 hour basis. As the situation begins to get under control, the need for all-night Amateur coverage will become less important. Securing nets at night and then starting them again in the morning will allow tired operators to rest between shifts and give Amateur officials time to review operations and better plan for the next day's management. In most situations, shelters quiet down at night as people sleep and it becomes increasingly more difficult to conduct disaster operations at night. Assignment of amateurs to the next shift can be made on a stand-by basis as the incident begins to wind down. Conduct periodic briefings and ask amateurs to sign up for shifts on an "on-call" basis, making themselves available from home and subject to call out if needed. Amateurs should check-in to the Resource Net at least 30 minutes prior to their assigned shift time to determine if their assistance is still needed. Secure Resource Nets that are no longer practical and ask amateurs who are willing to volunteer to check-in on the Tactical Net frequency. As the incident is secured, radio traffic will continue to diminish and listening amateurs will hear less and less incident-related traffic. Encourage nets to go to a non-directed status; this will free up repeaters from directed net use and will allow them to be used for normal traffic. Relations between member-supported repeaters and ARES officials may become strained if repeaters are in use by ARES or RACES and no traffic is being passed. Turn the repeaters back to the supporting clubs as soon as practical and thank club officials for their use during the incident. Gather any notes and observations you may have concerning the incident and make them available for the upcoming critique. A critique is beneficial to determine what went right, as well as wrong, during the incident. If conducting the critique yourself, allow ample time for amateurs to vent feelings but attempt to keep the meeting positive with a "what can we do to make the next incident better" outlook. Consider publishing minutes of the critique to allow other auxiliary communications groups to learn from your experience. Finally, maintain a positive outlook. From the very definition of the word "disaster", not everything you do will work in the proper way. You will make mistakes, and you may suffer the wrath of Amateurs who "knew of a better way to do something" all along. It is important to do the very best you can in a situation that calls for quick decision making and leadership during an incident for which no one can ever be completely prepared. Use the lessons learned from this incident to better prepare both you and your staff to anticipate the response needed for the next incident. b.. Debriefing & Reporting At the conclusion of an emergency communications response, a debriefing will be conducted at the next ARPSC Staff meeting. The purpose of the debriefing is to share information to assure completion of agency/hazardous incident reports to include the following information: a.. The origin or cause of the incident b.. Notification or response c.. Conditions on arrival d.. Primary attack strategy e.. Coordination and support f.. Special problems g.. Lessons learned/reinforced h.. Conclusions The report is intended to describe the role and function performed by RACES/ARPSC on behalf of the requesting authority. Appendices Appendix A ARPSC Staff / Member Directory Appendix B Telephone Fan-out Appendix C Table of Organization Appendix D Liaison Program Listing Appendix E Amateur Bands Appendix D Phonetics & Morse Code Appendix E Formal Traffic Handling Appendix F First Aid Appendix G Emergency Phone Numbers Appendix H Maps Appendix I Tying Knots Appendix J "Q" Signals Appendix H Weather Spotting ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Hamilton County Handbook for Emergency Response Amateur Communicators Hamilton County, Ohio Amateur Radio Public Service Corps Revision date 28 May, 1998 This page has intentionally been left blank. EDITOR'S NOTE The text contained in this handbook has been compiled from many sources; such as the American Radio Relay League, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and members of ARPSC. I thank everyone who has been contributing by authoring, editing, and proofing. This handbook is still in the draft form. This means not all sources are yet cited, not all information has been confirmed to be accurate, and not all sections have been completed. Someday all the citations will be included, all the sections currently planed will be included, and all the information will be confirmed to be as accurate as practicable. When that happens, ARPSC will have an Interim Final handbook. It is my hope that this handbook never becomes Final, as it should be a dynamic document. It should continually grow and change to satisfy the needs of ARPSC. Any comments or ideas for additions or changes to this document are welcomed and appreciated. If you notice any errors, please inform the EC. Thank You, Rick J. Riess, N8NVF E-mail: rickriess@csi.com Phone: 678.380.1656 P.S. - The last issuance of this Handbook that I was involved with was in the spring of 1998. Since then, I have moved to Atlanta, Georgia. I wish the ARPSC staff, the ARPSC members, and the community that you serve good luck. 73 (9 Mar 99) This page has intentionally been left blank. HERAC Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Purpose 1.2. Authority 2. DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS 2.1. ARES 2.2. RACES 2.3. ARPSC 2.4. Public Service 2.5. Competent Official 2.6. Communications Emergency 2.7. Emergency 2.8. Emergency Broadcast System 3. RULES, REGULATIONS, AND LIABILITY 3.1. Federal (Part 97, Subpart E) 3.2. State (Section 5915) 3.3. Liability 4. PREPAREDNESS 4.1. Training Requirements for ARPSC members 4.2. Emergency Equipment Checklist 4.3. Checklist for Emergency Kits 4.3.1. Portable 4.3.2. Semi-Portable 4.3.3. Mobile 4.4. Home 4.5. First Aid Kit 4.6. Personal Additions 4.7. Connections 4.8. Practice 5. MOBILIZATION & ACTIVATION 5.1. Mobilization 5.2. Activation 5.3. Strike Team 6. EMERGENCY OPERATION 6.1. Desirable Traits in Emergency Communicators 6.2. Principles of Emergency Communications 6.3. Principles of Repeater Operation 6.4. Nets 6.4.1. Net Control Station 6.4.2. Types of Nets 6.4.3. Principles of Net Operation 6.4.4. Other Net Terms 6.5. Formal Traffic Handling 6.6. Working as a Shadow 7. POST EMERGENCY PROCEDURES 7.1. Demobilization 7.2. Debriefing & Reporting 7.3. ARRL PRECEDENCES 7.4. HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS 7.5. Numbered Radiograms A. ARPSC Staff Table of Organization B. ARPSC Liaison Appointments C. ARPSC Telephone Fan-out D. ARPSC Membership Directory E. Emergency Kit Checklists F. ARRL Radiograms: Form, ARL Messages, Precedences, Handling Instructions G. ARRL Band Plans & Class Privledges H. International Phonetics, Q-Signals, and Morse Code I. Skywarn Procedures J. Emergency Phone Numbers K. First Aid Quick Reference L. Knots M. Maps 1. Introduction 1.1. Purpose The purpose of this plan is to 1.) provide the only procedure for the authorization and mobilization of volunteer Amateur Radio operators when needed in a communications emergency, 2.) to define procedures to be followed, and 3.) to prepare volunteers for such activities. 1.2. Authority Title 47 U. S. C. 151(i) and (o); Chapter 1, Part 97, Subpart A, Sections 97.1, 97.89, 97.107, and Subpart F (all); Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations, Amateur Radio Service. This page has intentionally been left blank. 2. Definitions and Descriptions 2.1. ARES The Amateur Radio Emergency Service consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communication duty in the public service during emergencies. Every licensed amateur, whether or not a member of ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the ARES. The only qualification other than holding a license is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only, amateurs are eligible for membership. There are three levels of ARES organization - national, section, and local. National emergency coordination at ARRL headquarters is under the supervision of the ARRL Field Services Manager who is responsible for advising all ARES officials regarding their problems, maintaining contact with federal government and other national officials concerned with amateur emergency communication potential, and carrying out the League's policies regarding emergency communication. At the section level, the section emergency coordinator (SEC) is appointed by the section manager (SM) (who is elected by the ARRL members in his/her section) and works under the SM's supervision. In most cases, the SM delegates to the SEC the administration of the section emergency plan and the authority to appoint district and local ECs. Some of the ARRL sections with capable SECs are organized to the hilt. A few have scarcely any organization at all. It depends almost entirely on whom the section members have put into office as SM and whom he has appointed as SEC. It is at the local level where most of the real emergency organizing gets accomplished, because this is the level at which most emergencies occur and the level at which ARES officials make direct contact with the ARES member-volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. The local ECs are therefore the key people in the ARES. The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the District EC (DEC). Depending on how the SEC has set up the section for administrative purposes, the EC may have jurisdiction over a small community, a large city, an entire county or even a group of counties. Whatever jurisdiction is assigned, the EC is in charge of all ARES activities in his/her area, not just one interest group, one agency, one club, or one group. Now that we have looked at the top of the section organization and at the local level where the actual communications take place, we should recognize that in the large sections the local groups could proliferate to the point where simply keeping track of them would be more than a full-time chore, not to mention the idea of trying to coordinate them in an actual emergency. To this end, SECs have the option of grouping their EC jurisdictions into logical units or "districts" and appointing a district A District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) coordinates the activities of the local ECs in the district. In some cases, the districts may conform to the boundaries of governmental planning or emergency-operations districts, while in others they are simply based on repeater coverage or geographical boundaries. Special-interest groups are headed up by "assistant emergency coordinators," designated by the EC to supervise activities of amateurs operating in certain groups, especially those groups which play an important role at the local level, but they may be designated in any manner the EC deems appropriate. These assistants, with the EC as chairman, constitute the local ARES "planning committee" and they meet together from time to time to discuss problems and plan projects to keep the ARES group active and well-trained. There are any number of different situations and circumstances that might confront an EC, and his/her ARES unit should be organized in anticipation of them. His/her job is not likely to be monotonous or humdrum. An EC for a small town might find that the licensed amateur group is so small that appointing assistants is unnecessary or undesirable. On the other hand, an EC for a large city may find that even his/her assistants need assistants and that sometimes it is necessary to set up a special sub-organization to handle it. In any case, bear in mind that organizing and planning are not a one-man operation. There is no specific point at which organization ceases and operation commences. Both phases must be concurrent because a living organization is a changing one, and the operations of a changing organization must change with the organization. 2.2. RACES After World War II, when it became evident that the international situation was destined to be tense and the need for some civil-defense measures became apparent, successive government agencies designated to head up such a program called on amateur representatives to participate. In the discussions that followed, amateurs were interested in getting two points across: first, that Amateur Radio had a potential for and capability of playing a major role in this program; and second, that our participation should, this time as never before, be in our own name, as an Amateur Radio Service, even if and after war should break out. These principles were included into the planning by the formulation of regulations creating a new branch of the amateur service, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, RACES. Recognition of the role of Amateur Radio as a public service means responsibility--this time in our own name. The RACES regulations are printed in full in the ARRL publication the FCC Rule Book, along with the rest of the amateur regulations, and are not reprinted here. Every amateur should study closely and become familiar with these rules; civil preparedness, now a major function, may become our only on-the-air function if we are plunged into war. RACES, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the United States government, is a part of the Amateur Radio Service that provides radio communications for civil-preparedness purposes only, during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies. These emergencies are not limited to war-related activities, but can include natural disasters such as fires, floods and earthquakes. As defined in the rules, RACES is a radio-communication service, conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs, designed to provide emergency communications to local or state civil-preparedness agencies. It is important to note that RACES operation is authorized by the FCC at the request of a state or federal official, and this operation is strictly limited to official civil-preparedness activity in the event of an emergency-communications situation. Note: since the cold war has ended, most civil defense and civil preparedness agencies now refer to themselves as emergency management agencies. Amateurs operating in a local RACES organization must be officially enrolled in that local civil-preparedness group. RACES operation is conducted by amateurs using their own primary station licenses, and by existing RACES stations. The FCC no longer issues new RACES (WC prefix) station call signs. Operator privileges in RACES are dependent upon, and identical to, those for the class of license held in the Amateur Radio Service. All of the authorized frequencies and emissions allocated to the Amateur Radio Service are also available to RACES on a shared basis. But in the event that the President invokes his/her War Emergency Powers, amateurs involved with RACES would be limited to certain specific frequencies (while all other amateur operation would be silenced). While RACES was originally based on potential use for wartime, it has evolved over the years, as has the meaning of civil defense (which is also called civil preparedness or emergency management), to encompass all types of emergencies. It should be emphasized again that RACES is part of the amateur service, its regulations are part of the amateur regulations, and it operates in the amateur bands. The segments of the amateur bands it uses are shared with the rest of the amateur service in peacetime; in the event of war, only RACES operations would be permitted on RACES frequencies (see appendix). While operating in a RACES capacity, RACES stations and amateurs registered in the local RACES organization may not communicate with amateurs not operating in a RACES capacity. (Of course, such restrictions do not apply when such stations are operating in a non-RACES--such as ARES--amateur capacity.) Only civil-preparedness communications can be transmitted (as defined in Section 97.191 of the FCC Rules). Test and drills are permitted only for a maximum of one hour per week. All test and drill messages must be clearly so identified. 2.3. ARPSC The Hamilton County ARPSC is a non-profit association of trained licensed amateur radio operators in Hamilton County, Ohio area dedicated to the education of interested persons, conduct of radio communications for recreation, and to serve the public needs of our area through our close association with the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency, the police and fire departments, and the area hospitals. 2.4. Public Service Public Service means any non-commercial-communications activity for which communications are needed to enable its safe conduct. 2.5. Competent Official Competent Official means any executive authorized to request assistance in the public interest and to assume responsibility for those who respond to his/her request. 2.6. Communications Emergency Communications Emergency means any situation in which a public agency requests supplementary communications. 2.7. Emergency Emergency means any situation posing a threat to the safety of life or property. Examples include, but are not limited to: tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, severe icing conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, discharge of hazardous materials, widespread power outages, industrial explosions, mass casualty accidents, civil disorders, and any event declared an emergency by competent authority. 2.8. Emergency Broadcast System Unless they specifically request otherwise, every AM, FM and TV station is a participating member of the EBS. There are four levels of EBS priorities: #1 is Presidential, #2 is local, #3 is State, and #4 is region wide. All broadcast stations in the U.S. are required to have an EBS receiver tuned to a primary radio station specified by the FCC. These EBS receivers have a decoder that "opens up" the receiver upon receipt of the EBS alert tones. These special tones are 853 and 960 Hz sounded simultaneously for over 10 seconds. These tones are purposely different from DTMF (TouchTone) frequencies. Every radio and TV station is required to broadcast an EBS test once a week during daylight hours. These tests must be logged (both those sent and received). One common misconception and question is "What is the EBS station serving this area?" The correct answer is that every radio and TV station serving your area is an EBS station. This page has intentionally been left blank. 3. Rules, Regulations, and Liability 3.1. Federal (Part 97, Subpart E) -- This section has not yet been incorporated into this manual. Refer to the ARRL FCC Rule Book. -- 3.2. State (Section 5915) Section 5915.07 Ohio Revised Code provides that a director of Civil Defense shall have the direct responsibility for the organization, administration, and operation of the county-wide organization for Civil Defense. Section 5915.01 Ohio Revised Code states in part: "'Civil Defense' includes all those activities and measures designed or undertaken to minimize the effects upon the civilian population caused or which would be caused by an attack, or other disaster, including all natural and man-made disasters . . . " Section 5915.10 Ohio Revised Code (A) states: "The state, any political subdivision, municipal agency, civil defense force thereof or of the federal government or of another country or province or subdivision thereof performing civil defense services in this state pursuant to an arrangement, agreement or compact for mutual aid and assistance, or any agency, member, agent or representative of any of them, or any individual, partnership, corporation, association, trustee, receiver, or any of the agents thereof, in good faith carrying out, complying with, or attempting to comply with any law, any rule, regulation, or order duly promulgated or issued pursuant to sections 5915.01 to 5915.143, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and federal law, or any arrangement, agreement or compact for mutual aid and assistance or any order issued by federal or state military authorities relating to civil defense, shall not be liable for any injury or death to persons or damage to property as the result thereof during training periods, test periods, practice periods, or other civil defense operations, or false alerts, as well as during enemy attack, actual or imminent, and subsequent to the same except in cases of willful misconduct." 3.3. Liability In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code (Sections 5915.01, and 5915.10 (A)), amateurs may be called to render public service when a competent official: 1.) recognizes that an emergency condition exists, and 2.) requests that such service be rendered. In the event of a wide area emergency, when assistance is requested by Civil Preparedness officials, liability is assumed by the State under sections 5915.07, 5915.01, and 5915.10(A) of the Ohio revised code. When such assistance is requested by a local official, liability is assumed by the jurisdiction of the requesting official. See "Rules & Regulations - State" 4. Preparedness 4.1. Training Requirements for ARPSC members -- This section has not yet been completed -- 4.2. Emergency Equipment Source: Rick Riess, N8NVF Emergency responder's are expected to have equipment and supplies to make them self-supportive. The checklists included in Appendix E of this handbook have been compiled from several sources and include a lot of equipment, but you should add, delete, or modify the checklist so that you are comfortable and confident with what you have ready. The equipment checklists have been divided into four categories: portable, semi-portable, mobile, and home. The purpose for these divisions are described below. SUPER-PROTABLE - This kit should be with you at nearly all times. This kit is easy to carry and has the essentials for about 12 hours of operation. This kit is small enough to throw inside a briefcase, fit inside of an airplane carryon bag, or take with you on a bus. A medium-sized fanny pack is a nice choice for keeping this kit super-portable and handy. In the event of an emergency, this kit will allow you to be useful; however, if it's all you have, you will have to mooch from your fellow operators. PORTABLE (Field Response Kit) - You will need this kit if responding to an emergency. This kit, which includes the super-portable kit, should have everything you need to independently operate for about 48-hours. Ideally, this kit should be no more than 5-minutes away from you at anytime (e.g., keep it in you car if you're almost always within 5-minutes of your car). This kit should be very easy to carry around because you may have a field assignment that keeps you on the move. A backpack makes carrying the equipment easy and leaves your hands free. The portable kit should be with you at all times - in your home, car, command post, field, et cetera. SEMI-PORTABLE (Communication Post Kit) - This kit supplements the portable kit. This kit gets bulky, but should be portable enough for you to handle it by yourself for a short time (e.g., carry it down a hillside by yourself or throw it in an emergency vehicle). A big camping backpack or large roll bag is a good choice for the semi-portable kit. This kit should have everything you need for up to 72 hours of independent operation, and some more advanced equipment than the portable kit. The kit has equipment and supplies for establishing a post in a hospital, government building, or even a ravine. When in the field, away from any other support (e.g., you car, the command post, etc.), this kit should be brought to, and left at, a central location for you to access easily. MOBILE - This kit supplements the portable and semi-portable kits - i.e., for prepared travel, you should always carry the portable and semi-portable kit along with the equipment on the mobile list. Equipment in the mobile kit should allow you to operate for several days. Extra water and food should be kept in your vehicle. This kit should also have equipment for car related emergencies (breakdown, fire, extra auto fuses, etc.). HOME - The home kit is short because it assumes that your vehicle is in your driveway (i.e., the portable, semi-portable, and mobile kits are readily available). When you are home preparing for an emergency, bring in the portable and semi-portable kits. The home kit is an extended family version of the mobile kit without the vehicle accessories. The home kit should last for several weeks. There is also a detailed First-Aid Kit checklist and a blank checklist for your own additions. In addition to equipment for yourself, if each responder contributes a few supplies or equipment to the team, everyone benefits. The equipment checklists on the following pages are thorough, but you may want to add things for the team (e.g., for a command post: large tent, generator, light stand, extra food, cooler, grill, etc.; and for the field: antenna masts, cross-band mobile rigs, extra batteries, flashlights, etc.). Obviously a grill is luxurious for disaster response, but if you could easily toss it in the bed of your truck, and someone else brings a cooler filled with burgers, we sure would have happy communicators -- and you would have many new friends. These exotic schemes must be planed well in advance of an actual response (but it would be fun to practice). Remember to gather your equipment and use your checklist BEFORE you need to use the kits. A good idea is to photocopy your checklist and physically check things off as you pack your equipment, and recheck you kits. Check your kits every couple of months. As you check your kits, you will find that you used something from one of them, and forgot to put it back. When you recheck the kits, replace what is missing and rotate the food, water, and batteries. Each year on the fourth of July, light your old flares, and replace them. You will notice that there are things on the list that you use frequently, if not day-to-day. Use a high-lighter or some other special marking on a copy of the checklist to mark those items. This will serve as an abbreviated checklist so that you know what items to double-check when you need to mobilize quickly (this is an excellent practice, but not a substitution for completely checking all the kits in their entirety every couple of months). 4.3. Connections Source: QST, August 1993 -- adapted by N8NVF Connectors are not the most important items to have at an emergency site, but without a wide variety of connectors, responders will be less useful -- if useful at all. Consider the wide variety of antenna connectors and power connectors. The best way to solve antenna connection problems is to have a good collection of adapters and patch cords. You should have a set of adapters for each radio and antenna that you bring to a site. The most common adapters are checked below. Several patch cords of various lengths would also be useful. To/From Female BNC Male BNC PL-259 SO-239 Male BNC - ( ( ( Female BNC ( - ( ( SO-239 ( ( - ( PL-259 ( ( ( - Compared to antenna connectors, power connectors are more varied and have an added twist -- polarity. If you power your radio with the wrong polarity, you will probably lose the magic smoke inside your radio that makes it work. There are two ways to solve the polarity problem: 1) carry a multi-meter or other polarity testing device (see pages 50 & 51 of the August 1993 QST), and carry enough power connectors and adapters so that YOU can use any source for your all of your rigs, or 2) decide on a standard connector with a standard polarity (and only connect with those people you trust have conformed to the standard). With option one, you may find a connector you can use, but realize the source is not polarized the way you need, your out of luck -- your still not connected. So you must carry with you, an entire set of connectors for EVERY rig you have AND be able to change the polarity. This is an option, and not an entirely bad one considering there is only a couple of dozen common connections. The third option requires that everyone conforms to a standard. The ARRL has suggested such a standard using the MolexTM 1545 connectors (Radio Shack part # 274-222), see page 50 of the August 1993 QST. This would require you construct a plug for every load (radio, scanner, light, etc.), and have and a jack for every source (cigar lighter, generator, alligator clips, battery pack, etc.). Having a few Y-adapters (one plug into two jacks) is a very good idea too. The plug / hole on the pointed side of the connector is always positive (pointy - positive). If everyone invests just a couple of hours making these universal power connectors, getting "juice" during an event would be much easier. If you conform to the connector standard, be absolutely sure you conform to the polarity standard -- you don't want anyone to lose their magic smoke! Be aware that MolexTM connectors, like all other connectors, are the weakest point in the power cord. Be sure the connectors can withstand the current requirements (this is usually not a problem for most field equipment). A more frequent problem is oxidation. Clean the connectors every six months to a year with sandpaper and/or vinegar. If that is too much work, at least connect and disconnect all your connectors every month to scrape away oxidation. 4.4. Practice Emergency Communicators will be put to the test when an emergency strikes, but emergency communications is different than a test. To prepare for a test, one must study; to prepare for an emergency, one must practice, practice, practice. Repetition will cause learned responses to become habit. Some scientists believe that a person must repeat a learned response 2000 times for it to become natural and sub-conscious. There are several outlets for you to practice, some ARPSC examples include: Traffic Handling: The Tri-State Amateur Traffic Net meets every evening at 20:00 local time on the 145.370 MHz repeater to handle both incoming and outgoing traffic for the local area. This net is affiliated with the National Traffic System, and handles traffic for MARS and similar services. Net Participation: The Hamilton County ARPSC Training Net meets weekly on the 145.370 MHz repeater at 21:00 local time Thursday evenings, except for the first Thursday of the month, when the net frequency shall be 146.460 MHz simplex. The purpose of the net is for training and exchanging information. Net Control Station: Both the Traffic Net and Training Net are good nets to become familiar with the duties of the Net Control Station (NCS). Listen to what other NCSs do and follow along by copying check-ins and traffic; think about what you would do if you were net control. Then volunteer to be a NCS. Emergency Nets: Exercise will be held in conjunction with the nation's simulated emergency tests (SETs) coordinated by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Public Service Nets: The Hamilton County ARPSC and other amateur radio groups will regularly supply public service communications in conjunction with local events at the event coordinator's request in order to test equipment effectiveness and operating procedures as well as to maintain a high organizational profile in the community. Listening: If you volunteer for an event you should be aware of everything that happens on the net. Even if you can not volunteer for the net, listen. When you listen, you will hear good and bad practices. Good communications pass quickly and efficiently, bad communications take a long time, are often unnecessary, and are counter-productive; sometimes you will never hear the best communicators because good operators know when to transmit and when not to transmit. Drills: At the discretion of the Emergency Coordinator, the activation procedure will be tested unannounced with response only to net check-ins, as is deemed necessary to insure its efficient operation. 5. Mobilization & Activation 5.1. Mobilization The mobilization process is simple, but often misunderstood. There are three basic situations that you, as an amateur, should recognize: 1. Direct observation of a potential or actual emergency condition 2. An alert or warning issued on NOAA weather radio (162.550 MHz) or on the Emergency Broadcast System (local AM/FM radio, e.g., 550 or 700 kHz) 3. A request made by any competent official asking for communications support 5.2. Activation The activation procedure will be initiated by the Hamilton County Emergency Coordinator (EC) or the Assistant EC for Operations, in that order. In the event that neither of these officials can be reached, activation can be initiated by the ARRL Ohio District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). The Hamilton County ARES Emergency Coordinator or The Designated Assistant Emergency Coordinator for RACES Operations will design, organize, and staff the communications needs defined by the requesting agency or authority. Depending upon the scope of the alert, the nature of the emergency, and the number of communicators required to adequately staff the response, any or all of the following activation procedures may be used: * Direct phone call to those Amateur Radio Operators registered with Hamilton County ARPSC who are listed as a first response station * Activate the telephone fan-out to alert members to the appropriate repeater or radio frequency. Direct assignments will be made over the repeater or radio frequency. * Spot announcements will be made on area high profile repeaters (e.g., 145.19, 146.88, 146.67 MHz) requesting RACES or ARES communicators to respond to a specific frequency. * Spot announcements will be made over the Emergency Broadcast System station WLW AM 700 kHz requesting Amateur Radio Operators to respond to a specific frequency if telephone service and key repeaters are inoperative. * The default assembly frequency if all the above methods fail will be the 145.37 repeater or 146.46 simplex frequency. When activation requires a response of personnel to the Hamilton County Civil Defense Headquarters, the following will occur at the direction of the Civil Defense Communications Officer or the Assistant EC - RACES: 1. The Hamilton County EC or his designated alternate will respond to CD HQ managing the communications effort and interfacing with the CD Director 2. Community liaison personnel assigned to Hamilton County CD HQ will respond to that location and place K8YOJ into operation at both the RACES communications net position and the RACES administrative net position. As needed, the ARES administrative net well be activated on 3.875 MHz at the direction of the Communications Officer or AEC-RACES Operations. 3. The assistant EC for Administration and the Administrative Staff Assistant will respond to the CD HQ to manage information flow, log pertinent data, and initiate liaison as required with NTS. 4. The Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Engineering will respond to CD HQ to serve as Technical Engineer-in-Charge. The Assistant EC for RACES-Operations will respond to the disaster site and function as the on-site assembly point coordinator. Deployment to areas served by our liaison program will be at the request of local officials and at the direction of The Hamilton County CD Communications Officer or The Assistant EC for RACES Operations or the Assistant EC for Liaison, in that order. A list of hospitals, communities, and ancillary agencies served by this sub-program is contained in Appendix C - Liaison Program Listing 5.3. Strike Team Adapted from an article by Ted Benson, WA6BEJ, Deputy RACES Radio Officer/Mobile Operations, San Diego County RACES as published in TAC ONE, vol. 1, issue 2. In its simplest form, the Strike Team is a group of specialists, ready to go anywhere on short notice, and able to bring everything they need along with them. It is to provide short-term support until a given situation can be evaluated, and further resources called in. Our Strike Team is designed to operate for 72 hours without outside support. By the end of that time, the incident will either be resolved, or further support will have been brought in. This is an important part of the Strike Team concept, and the most often misunderstood. The resources of a Strike Team could easily be exhausted if it was called in to every incident and expected to remain until the entire incident was over. Instead, its function is to provide a bridge between the initial incident and the arrival of the larger, but slower to mobilize resources. Once further resources have arrived, the Strike Team transitions itself out of the picture - ready to respond to another call. This technique has been developed to a science by the California Department of Forestry (CDF) which fields Strike Teams all over the state. It was their example, in part, that was used to develop our Strike Team. Our Strike Team is comprised of RACES personnel who have taken extra steps to maximize their abilities and skills. What extra steps? Fireground safety, public safety radio operation and agency orientation are a few of the topics covered in training. Personnel must have served in RACES for at least a year, and be licensed as Technician or higher for a similar period. They must show a willingness and ability to serve as a RACES person before serving on the Strike Team. Membership in the Strike Team is by no means automatic. It requires a special level of participation, and members must have shown that they can meet this demand before they are accepted. Strike Team members are normally assigned to other RACES functions, including operation of stations, EOCs and the Communications Center. If you belong to a Strike Team you will still be expected to attend the drills, training and activities that are part of your normal RACES assignment as well. In the process, you will be confident that no matter what may happen, you will be called! Author's Note: Hamilton County ARPSC has no strike team at the time of this writing. This page has intentionally been left blank. 6. Emergency Operation 6.1. Desirable Traits in Emergency Communicators "What are the desirable traits for an ARPSC volunteer?" A management workshop, based on Harvard business school techniques, divided 110 people into eleven groups of ten people each. The groups were asked to list all of the attributes that came to mind. After a period of time they were told to stop writing lists and vote on their top eight. Then all eleven groups combined their results into the following top eight attributes: 1. Reliability 2. Participation. 3. Being a team player. 4. Dedication and commitment. 5. Ability to cooperate. 6. Acceptance of responsibility. 7. Support; speaks well of his/her organization before others. 8. A success in his/her vocation. 6.2. Principles of Emergency Communications It is impossible to state exact rules that will cover every situation that arises. The good amateur faced with a disaster situation may, however, benefit greatly from certain rules of thumb. These rules are, or should be, part of his training in ARPSC. They are presented here somewhat at random and should be digested by all amateurs, even those not active in disaster communications preparation. Keep the QRM level down. In a disaster, many of the most crucial stations will be weak in signal strength. It is most essential that all other stations remain silent unless they are called upon. If you're not sure you should transmit, don't. Our amateur bands are very congested. If you want to help, study the situation by listening. Don't transmit unless you are sure you can help by doing so. Don't ever break into a disaster net just to inform the control station you are there if needed. Monitor established disaster frequencies. Many localities and some geographical areas have established disaster frequencies where someone is always (or nearly always) monitoring for possible calls. When you are not otherwise engaged, it is helpful simply to sit and listen on such frequencies, some of which are used for general rag-chewing as well as disaster preparedness drilling. On CW, SOS is universally recognized, but has some legal aspects that should be considered where the need is not truly crucial. On voice, one can use "MAYDAY" (universal, the phone equivalent of SOS) or, to break into a net or conversation, the word "emergency." Avoid spreading rumors. During and after a disaster situation, especially on the phone bands, you may hear almost anything. Unfortunately, much misinformation is transmitted. Rumors are started by expansion, deletion, amplification or modification of words, exaggeration or interpretation. All addressed transmissions should be officially authenticated as to their source. These transmissions should be repeated word for word, if at all, and only when specifically authorized. In a disaster emergency situation, with everyone's nerves on edge, it is little short of criminal to make a statement on the air without foundation in authenticated fact. Authenticate all messages. Every message which purports to be of an official nature should be written and signed. Whenever possible, amateurs should avoid initiating disaster or emergency traffic themselves. We do the communicating; the agency officials we serve supply the content of the communications. Strive for efficiency. Whatever happens in an emergency, you will find hysteria and some amateurs who are activated by the thought that they must be "sleepless heroes." Instead of operating your own station full time at the expense of your health and efficiency, it is much better to serve a shift at one of the best-located and best-equipped stations, suitable for the work at hand, manned by relief shifts of the best-qualified operators. This reduces interference and secures well-operated stations. Select the mode and band to suit the need. It is a characteristic of all operators to believe that their favorite mode and band is superior to all others. For certain specific purposes and distances, this may be true. However, the merits of a particular band or mode in a communications emergency should be evaluated impartially with a view to the appropriate use of bands and modes. There is, of course, no alternative to using what happens to be available, but there are ways to optimize available communications. Long experience has developed the following advantages: CW * Less QRM in most amateur bands. * Secrecy of communications--contents of communications are much less likely to be intercepted by the general public to start rumors or undue concern. * Simpler transmitting equipment. * Greater accuracy in record communications. * Longer range for a given amount of power. Phone * More practical for portable and mobile work. * More widespread availability of operators. * Faster communication for tactical or "command" purposes. * More readily appreciated and understood by the public. * Official-to-official and phone-patch communication. RTTY, AMTOR and Packet * Less QRM in most amateur bands. * Secrecy of communications--contents of communications are much less likely to be intercepted by the general public to start rumors or undue concern. * More widespread availability of operators. * Greater speed in record communication than some of the other modes * Error detection--in the case of AMTOR and packet offer the potential for store-and-forward capability from within the disaster site to the "outside world." * Packet provides the capability of digipeating from point A to point Z via numerous automatically controlled middle points. The well-balanced disaster organization will have CW, phone, RTTY, AMTOR and packet capabilities available in order to utilize all the advantages. Of course one must make the best use of whatever is available, but a great deal of efficiency is lost when there is lack of coordination between the different types of operation in an emergency. Absolute impartiality and a willingness to let performance speak for itself are prime requisites if we are to realize the best possible results. Use all communications channels intelligently. While the prime object of emergency communications is to save lives and property (anything else is incidental), Amateur Radio is a secondary communications means; normal channels are primary and should be used if available. Emergency channels other than amateur which are available in the absence of amateur channels should be utilized without fear of favoritism in the interest of getting the message through. Don't "broadcast." Some amateur stations in an emergency situation have a tendency to emulate "broadcast" techniques. While it is true that the general public may be listening, our transmissions are not and should not be made for that purpose. Broadcast stations are well equipped to perform any such service. Our job is to communicate for, not with the general public. Within the disaster area itself, the ARES is primarily responsible and in many cases has been doing an admirable job. When disaster strikes, the first priority of those NTS operators who live in or near the disaster area is to make their expertise available to their Emergency Coordinator where and when needed. For timely and effective response, this means that NTS operators need to talk to their ECs before the time of need so that they will know how to best respond. 6.3. Principles of Repeater Operation Much amateur operating in emergencies is done on repeaters, so a few words about some of the special problems involved are in order. Use minimum power. If your rig has a low and high power position, use the low position whenever you are close enough to the repeater. Otherwise, especially in heavily populated areas, you may run the risk of keying more than one repeater, thus causing unnecessary QRM. In addition, the use of high power precludes operating for very long on battery power. Use simplex (direct) operation when possible. ARRL recommends 52/52 on 2 meters, but it's a good idea to have at least one other simplex channel available (146.460 MHz). When you are within a very few miles of your contact, switch to a mutually available simplex channel to free the repeater for those who need it. The simplex channels can accommodate more simultaneous contacts than repeater channels because of shorter range. A gain or beam antenna at stationary locations can enhance simplex operation. Observe the "pause" procedure between exchanges. When it is your turn to transmit, after the transmitting station stands by, count to two or three before pressing your "transmit" switch. This leaves time for a "breaker" if one is on frequency. Be alert for emergency and public-service opportunities. A huge percentage of amateurs have 2-meter FM rigs in their cars, and highway assistance opportunities are commonplace. This is especially important during and after accidents which have just happened. In such a case, feel free to "break into" any conversation then taking place on any repeater. Listen much, transmit little. It is always a good procedure to announce your presence on a repeater when you are certain of being able to assist in a given situation, and always a bad one to tie it up with idle or inane chatter. Keep your mobile FM rig on standby (squelched) on a repeater or simplex channel when you are on the road. The League recommends monitoring your local emergency-powered repeater, if in range, and/or a known locally used simplex frequency. Think before you talk, especially in an emergency situation. Anyone with an inexpensive public-service-band receiver can monitor. Stick to facts, control your emotions and watch your language. Remember, during an emergency is the time when you are most apt to act and speak rashly. Articulate, don't slur. Speak close to your mike but talk across it, not into it. Keep your voice down. In an emergency situation one often gets excited and tends to shout. Control the impulse, for it will greatly decrease your intelligibility. Talk slowly, calmly--this is the mark of an experienced communicator. Key down for a second before you talk. Newer HTs use a power saving feature that effects receiving. Many HTs do not continuously "listen" to the frequency, rather they will "sample" or check the frequency at certain intervals (e.g., for one-half second every other second). It may be necessary to "key-down" for a couple of seconds before you transmit to allow some radios (with the power saving feature enabled) to recognize you; otherwise the first words of your transmission will be lost, causing you to waste time repeating the entire transmission. Emergency communications and 2-meter FM repeaters are now synonymous. Use of repeaters for emergency operations and training has revolutionized the ability of amateurs to provide local public-service communications. But other bands are now being used. Already, the 220-MHz band is receiving widespread use; 440 is used extensively for control links and offers many of the advantages of 2 meters. The future will surely produce extensive use of satellite repeaters and HF-linked repeaters and crossband machines for long-distance coverage in practical communication. For practical emergency-preparedness work and tactical communications during emergencies, we need channels that can be depended on, day and night, all seasons of the year, regardless of sunspot cycle. Repeaters supply many of the answers to this need, and we amateurs can lead the way in providing it. Liaison with the National Traffic System is practically a must for emergency traffic being handled on repeaters. A call for an NTS station in an emergency may produce results, but even better results can be obtained if liaison with one or more NTS stations can be planned in advance. NTS is valuable for handling any traffic that cannot be handled within the local repeater coverage area. 6.4. Nets 6.4.1. Net Control Station A Net Control Station serves one key purpose -- that of insuring the smooth functioning of the network. It performs this function by: 1. Maintaining discipline of the network, including procedure and protocols. (It sets the example during training.) 2. Ensuring that traffic is passed expeditiously. 3. Maintaining the integrity of the network. 4. Maintaining a close watch for potential frequency and technical problems and for signals of its own or interfering networks. An NCS should be located where it can best perform its function. It should be in good contact with all net stations. It should be in a facility that provides adequate and reliable power, space, access and backup communication means. The working environment of the operator should be protected to reduce non-network distractions. 6.4.2. Types of Nets Coordination: A communications circuit among various officials, agencies, or services not normally in contact with each other, or who are unable to communicate by normal means due to severe overload, Relay: Direct communications between competent local officials and the local emergency broadcast stations and/or direct communications between competent local officials and other officials; locally, statewide, or nationally. Point-to-point: Direct communications between any two or more points, even in remote areas not served by other communications facilities. Observation: Spotters may be positioned in strategic locations to report observations of local conditions back to public officials. Back-Up / Supplementary: Where a public safety radio system may be lost or overloaded, amateurs are capable of providing necessary communication, literally replacing the primary system. 6.4.3. Principles of Net Operation See "Principles of Emergency Communications" and "Principles of Repeater Operation" in the previous section. 6.4.4. Other Net Terms Base Station: Operating from the location listed on your FCC license. Portable Station: Operating for a fixed location other than the one listed on your FCC license. Mobile Station: Operating from a non-specific point (i.e., operating while driving, walking, biking, etc.) 6.5. Formal Traffic Handling While much amateur-to-amateur communicating in an emergency is of a procedural or tactical nature, the real meat of communicating is formal written traffic for the record. Formal written traffic is important for: 1. A record of what has happened--frequent status review, critique and evaluation. 2. Completeness which minimizes omission of vital information. 3. Conciseness, which when used correctly actually takes less time than passing informal traffic. 4. Easier copy--receiving operators know the sequence of the information, resulting in fewer errors and repeats. When relays are likely to be involved, standard ARRL message format should be used. The record should show, wherever possible: 1. A message number for reference purposes. 2. A precedence indicating the importance of the message. 3. A station of origin so any reply or handling inquiries can be referred to that station. 4. A check (count of the number of words in the message text) so receiving stations will know whether any words were missed. 5. A place of origin, so the recipient will know where the message came from (not necessarily the location of the station of origin). 6. Filing time, ordinarily optional but of great importance in an emergency message. 7. Date of origin. The address should be complete and include a telephone number if known. The text should be short and to the point, and the signature should contain not only the name of the person sending the message but his title or connection also, if any. Point-to-point services for direct delivery of emergency and priority traffic do not involve relays. Indeed, the full ARRL format is often not needed to record written traffic. Shortened forms should be used to save time and effort. For example, the call sign of the originating station usually identifies the place of origin. Also, the addressee is usually known and close by at the receiving station, so full address and telephone number are often superfluous. In many cases, message blanks can be designed so that only key words, letters or numbers have to be filled in and communicated. In some cases, the message form also serves as a log of the operation. Not a net goes by that you don't hear an ARL Fifty or an ARL Sixty One. Unfortunately, "greetings by Amateur Radio" does not apply well during disaster situations. You may hear an ARL text being used for health and welfare traffic, but rarely during or after the actual disaster. Currently, no ARL text describes the wind speed and barometric pressure of a hurricane, medical terminology in a mass casualty incident or potassium iodide in a nuclear power plant drill. While no one is suggesting that an ARL text be developed for each and every situation, there is no reason why amateurs can't work with the local emergency management organizations and assist them with more efficient communications. Amateurs are often trained and skilled communicators. The emergency-management community recognizes these two key words when talking about the Amateur Radio Service. Amateurs must use their skills to help the agencies provide the information that needs to be passed, while at the same time showing their talents as trained communicators who know how to pass information quickly and efficiently. We are expected to pass the information accurately, even if we do not understand the terminology. Traffic handlers and ARES members are resourceful individuals. Some have developed other forms or charts for passing information. Some hams involved with the SKYWARN program, for instance, go down a list and fill in the blanks, while others use grid squares to define a region. Regardless of the agency that we are working with, we must use our traffic-handling skills to the utmost advantage. Sure, ARL messages are beneficial when we are passing health and welfare traffic. But are they ready to be implemented in times of need in your community? The traffic handler, working through the local ARES organizations, must develop a working relationship with those organizations who handle health and welfare inquiries. Prior planning and personal contact are the keys to allowing an existing National Traffic System to be put to its best use. If we don't interface with the agencies we serve, the resources of the Amateur Radio Service will go untapped. Regardless of the format used, the appropriate procedures cannot be picked up solely by reading or studying. There is no substitute for actual practice. Your emergency net should practice regularly--much more often than it operates in a real or simulated emergency. Avoid complacency, the feeling that you will know how to operate when the time comes. You won't, unless you do it frequently, with other operators whose style of operating you get to know. 6.6. Working as a Shadow This section was adapted for the California State's RACES Bulletin 179 & 180. A shadow is an Amateur Radio operator who accompanies an official during an incident. The purpose of the shadow is to allow constant contact with some person who is important to the operation. Thus the ham operator MUST remain in the immediate vicinity of the person shadowed AT ALL TIMES. Because the person being shadowed will usually be involved in some important activity, the shadow should be unobtrusive in the vicinity of the person, interjecting only communications is needed. Responsibilities & Duties * The shadow operator must remain with the person being shadowed at all times. In addition, the ham must monitor the radio AT ALL TIMES. * Operator is expected to take direction from the site supervisor during his shift. * The shadow may operate other radios as well, such as a departmental radio or cellular telephone. * Many operations have a shift duration of 12 hours at a time. This time may vary depending on the actual needs of the operation. The operator shall be in good physical condition. The ham operator should be able to walk and sometimes run long distances with the official. 7. Post Emergency Procedures 7.1. Demobilization These Demobilization Procedures were suggested by David Larton, N6JQJ in RACES bulletins 208 to 211. Once the incident is under way, with shelters staffed, shadows deployed, staffing established for the following shift, and basic Amateur or auxiliary radio needs being addressed, the question should be asked: "When should we go home?" That question should be asked almost as soon as the incident has started. It is important to utilize resources only so long as to be viable; if we are no longer needed, we should demobilize and prepare for the next incident. Keeping resources deployed longer than necessary is a waste of manpower, and can lead to a premature burnout of your workers. A good way to begin the process of closing down an incident is to plan to secure at least eight, but not more than sixteen hours ahead of time. Plan for the next shift by asking the following question, "Will our present staffing be needed for the next shift?" If not, eliminate the extra manpower and consolidate staffing. A common way to determine if it is time to begin demobilization is to establish if Amateur radio resources are being used in addition to, and not instead of, other means of communication. If a shelter location has a reliable working telephone line, it may be in your best interests to reassign amateurs assigned to that location to another which does not as yet have a telephone. Frequent contact with agency representatives will determine the best allotment of Amateur resources. This same method of resource inventory may be used with mobile radio locations, and other fixed sites. If needs can be met by other means of communication, demobiliztion of Amateur radio resources should be considered. With the advent of mobile cellular telephone technology, many of the past uses of Amateur radio operators may be supplanted with cellular telephones operated by average citizens. In a disaster situation, cellular telephones can provide an expedient means of obtaining quick, reliable communication between two points, such as between a shelter and the local Red Cross chapter office. During the Bay Area earthquake in October of 1989, the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross obtained the use of ten cellular telephones. Red Cross officials gave the telephones to their mobile feeding stations, mobile nursing stations, and to Red Cross staff vehicles. The use of cellular telephones in that situation made the use of Amateur Radio unnecessary and resources were utilized in other areas. One of the first areas to begin demobilization procedures is to inform Amateur radio Mutual Aid officials that their resources are no longer required and to thank them for their efforts. As these Mutual Aid resources are secured, the incident will wind down as amateurs begin to hear that the disaster situation is now under control. Mutual Aid resources should be the first released, with local communicators remaining to mop-up the operation. Briefings should indicate that outside assistance is no longer needed, and packet as well as voice modes should be utilized to help "get the word out". Initially, Amateur radio support of the incident may be on a 24 hour basis. As the situation begins to get under control, the need for all-night Amateur coverage will become less important. Securing nets at night and then starting them again in the morning will allow tired operators to rest between shifts and give Amateur officials time to review operations and better plan for the next day's management. In most situations, shelters quiet down at night as people sleep and it becomes increasingly more difficult to conduct disaster operations at night. Assignment of amateurs to the next shift can be made on a stand-by basis as the incident begins to wind down. Conduct periodic briefings and ask amateurs to sign up for shifts on an "on-call" basis, making themselves available from home and subject to call out if needed. Amateurs should check-in to the Resource Net at least 30 minutes prior to their assigned shift time to determine if their assistance is still needed. Secure Resource Nets that are no longer practical and ask amateurs who are willing to volunteer to check-in on the Tactical Net frequency. As the incident is secured, radio traffic will continue to diminish and listening amateurs will hear less and less incident-related traffic. Encourage nets to go to a non-directed status; this will free up repeaters from directed net use and will allow them to be used for normal traffic. Relations between member-supported repeaters and ARES officials may become strained if repeaters are in use by ARES or RACES and no traffic is being passed. Turn the repeaters back to the supporting clubs as soon as practical and thank club officials for their use during the incident. Gather any notes and observations you may have concerning the incident and make them available for the upcoming critique. A critique is beneficial to determine what went right, as well as wrong, during the incident. If conducting the critique yourself, allow ample time for amateurs to vent feelings but attempt to keep the meeting positive with a "what can we do to make the next incident better" outlook. Consider publishing minutes of the critique to allow other auxiliary communications groups to learn from your experience. Finally, maintain a positive outlook. From the very definition of the word "disaster", not everything you do will work in the proper way. You will make mistakes, and you may suffer the wrath of Amateurs who "knew of a better way to do something" all along. It is important to do the very best you can in a situation that calls for quick decision making and leadership during an incident for which no one can ever be completely prepared. Use the lessons learned from this incident to better prepare both you and your staff to anticipate the response needed for the next incident. 7.2. Debriefing & Reporting At the conclusion of an emergency communications response, a debriefing will be conducted at the next ARPSC Staff meeting. The purpose of the debriefing is to share information to assure completion of agency/hazardous incident reports to include the following information: * The origin or cause of the incident * Notification or response * Conditions on arrival * Primary attack strategy * Coordination and support * Special problems * Lessons learned/reinforced * Conclusions The report is intended to describe the role and function performed by RACES/ARPSC on behalf of the requesting authority. Appendices Appendix A ARPSC Staff / Member Directory Appendix B Telephone Fan-out Appendix C Table of Organization Appendix D Liaison Program Listing Appendix E Amateur Bands Appendix D Phonetics & Morse Code Appendix E Formal Traffic Handling Appendix F First Aid Appendix G Emergency Phone Numbers Appendix H Maps Appendix I Tying Knots Appendix J "Q" Signals Appendix H Weather Spotting Draft 5/28/98 3-1 The Hamilton County Handbook for Emergency Response Amateur Communicators 27