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+---- Thread: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications (/showthread.php?tid=254)
Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VA3KOT John - 2020-11-05
Let's be really honest. How many of us are ready, willing and able to leave our homes during a declared emergency and spend an indefinite period either outside or in an EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) to provide communications support at any time and on very short notice?
Maybe one or two might be willing to take on the challenge. But, what are you going to do when you get there? Do we have a plan? Are we familiar with the comms protocols of the various emergency services? Does anybody reading this have an emergency kit (and I don't just mean a radio and spare battery) ready to grab and go?
Reading the ARES reports in the The Canadian Amateur magazine I see a common theme. ARES activity has been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Let me re-phrase that: "Amateur Radio Emergency Service activity has been suspended due to an emergency". In what other emergencies would ARES suspend its emergency service; a winter storm, a major flood? In either of those examples the police would close the roads in the area affected. Are you aware that your motor vehicle insurance is invalid if you drive on a closed road?
The idea that hams would be ready, willing and able to provide backup communications to primary responders in a real emergency is bordering on fantasy. But, it did happen during 9/11 in New York City and it did happen in New Orleans during the flooding caused by hurricane Katrina. I am not aware of the exact circumstances in which amateur radio volunteers were able to provide valuable aid to emergency services personnel but I am fairly certain that, here in Canada, an organization that puts everything on hold due to an emergency situation is more likely to just get in the way of first responders.
So what can we do to make ourselves useful in the real world? I can think of two things, one of which we already do (but not very well).
First, support of community events. GBARC has been successfully supporting community events for a long time. If a walker, or runner, is lost or injured during a charity event we can relay a support request to St John Ambulance or Red Cross or even by calling 911. For that injured person this is a very real emergency and we are very well qualified, ready, willing and able to respond.
But let's say the event is taking place in a remote location, out of our repeater range. Now what can we do? I have heard discussion within our club about whether we maybe couldn't support an event in those circumstances. Poppycock! "When all else fails there is Amateur Radio!" The solution is very simple indeed. Put a repeater in the right place at the right time to meet the need! Think laterally. A repeater isn't always a permanent installation at the top of a cell tower. It can be a mobile repeater in a trailer. Heck, it can even be a member's car with a mobile dual-band radio set to cross-band repeater mode (Advanced Licence required). Park that temporary repeater in a location where every station can get into it and Bob's your uncle. Since GBARC doesn't have a club trailer with a mobile repeater it's high time we started planning how to raise funds to get one!
A second example of how we can realistically provide emergency support doesn't even require volunteers to stray from a warm comfortable shack and the coffee pot. I used to live in a valley where the hydro seemed to go out every time the Sun went behind a cloud. It would sometimes stay out for days on end. One winter, heavy ice brought down the phone lines too. The local cell tower was on a hill accessed via a steep, narrow lane. It was backed up with a gas-powered generator but couldn't be reached until the road and access lane were cleared of snow. After a couple of days without power the generator ran out of gas and cell service just stopped. I had no power, no landline, no cell service and no Internet; but I had amateur radio! All my neighbours knew I was a ham and I was ready, willing and able to call for emergency support if any of them needed it.
To make neighbourhood emergency communications support work all we need is for volunteers to routinely monitor the repeater. And, if the repeater goes down, we have proved through our club HF nets that we can communicate on the 80m band as well.
So, fellow hams and GBARC members, we are ready, willing and able to undertake emergency communications. But let's re-focus our efforts and aspirations on what is practical and put a stop to the fantasy about bravely marching in where the professionals with their full-time training and multi-million dollar budgets have failed.
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VE3WI Dave - 2020-11-06
Well put John.
I should have posted some relevant information here instead of in the Net Report area. Please have a look at my post in the 4 Nov Net Report thread. Two free & painless ways to learn about emergency response & communications at home. Perhaps with a little knowledge will come a little motivation???
73
Dave, VE3WI
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From Admin VA3TS, here is a paste of the info Dave posted...
#1: Do the RAC Certified Emergency Coordinator online course. It basically involves reading the material, answering the test questions and emailing the test to the RAC Community Services Officer. I did it on vacation a couple of years ago. It took a half dozen evenings. You get a certificate and a nice little red metal badge.
Details: https://www.rac.ca/certified-emergency-coordinator/
#2 Do the Emergency Management Ontario IMS-100 Introduction to Incident Management System online course. It follows basically the same pattern: read material, answer questions. I started it a while ago but had to temporarily set it aside. I plan to finish it now.
Details: https://training.emergencymanagementonta...5004500149
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RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VA3KOT John - 2020-11-06
(2020-11-06, 10:35:40)VE3WI Dave Wrote: Well put John.Yes, I read your post Dave. Excellent suggestions. I hope we can revitalize our efforts and get some action going. We don't have to meet physically to train for emergency support. I am going to make this one of my goals in the new year.
I should have posted some relevant information here instead of in the Net Report area. Please have a look at my post in the 4 Nov Net Report thread. Two free & painless ways to learn about emergency response & communications at home. Perhaps with a little knowledge will come a little motivation???
73
Dave, VE3WI
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VA3DNY Dan - 2020-11-06
I could be wrong, but doesn't the club own a portable repeater? I think it has been used for extra radio range at some of the events where the club provided communication coverage.
Maybe it could also be useful for training scenarios or practice under less than ideal conditions? For example, if an ice storm took down the tower with the main OSR antenna, what coverage would we actually get from the portable repeater placed on top of such and such hill as a temporary solution?
Just a thought...
73
Dan
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - Tom VA3TS - 2020-11-06
Yes the club has 2 spectra radios set up on vhf with cavities, with a ringo ranger antenna and a feedline. Frank has this at his qth I think. I have a pair of spectras also, and can program any pair. What I don't have is a set of cans. That means you would need two antennas and feedlines, one for receive and one for transmit at least 100 feet apart.
Years ago we made a pair of 1/4 wave verticals with a loop at the top. A small rope, slingshot them up in trees, then pull up the verticals. Try to get the receive antenna up a high as possible..... 73
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VA3KOT John - 2020-11-07
(2020-11-06, 23:57:19)VA3TS Tom Wrote: Yes the club has 2 spectra radios set up on vhf with cavities, with a ringo ranger antenna and a feedline. Frank has this at his qth I think. I have a pair of spectras also, and can program any pair. What I don't have is a set of cans. That means you would need two antennas and feedlines, one for receive and one for transmit at least 100 feet apart.Well this is good news. I think we need to do some field trials in the spring. I was involved in a similar exercise a few years back with Dufferin ARES. We mapped the RF penetration of the whole county, township by township. If an emergency arose we knew exactly where to place a repeater.
Years ago we made a pair of 1/4 wave verticals with a loop at the top. A small rope, slingshot them up in trees, then pull up the verticals. Try to get the receive antenna up a high as possible..... 73
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - Tom VA3TS - 2020-11-08
In addition to the portable repeater, the club also owns VE3OST 146.895-. This repeater is a Motorola MSF5000, and 2 port controller with uhf link capability. The repeater includes a set of Varden cavities and battery backup. Similar to VE3GBT in Paisley. It was at the qth of Tom TVA for a while however the antenna there and feedline needs some TLC. It didn't turn out to be a very effective location anyway as it didn't cover Meaford well. This is at the qth of Tom VA3TS.
Finally, the club has a spare MTR2000 VHF 100 watt repeater, this is exactly the same as the one at VE3OSR. This is the repeater only, no external controller or link capability. This is at the qth of Frank GUF.
The club also has a portable HF antenna, 2 sections of tower that can be assembled and place almost anywhere, includes a tri-band beam and rotor and control. This is at the qth of Tom VA3TS.
There are other pockets of other club owned equipment with Bernie BQM, Tom TVA and Frank GUF, there may be an inventory.
We also have advertising supplies like portable sandwich board signs (8), magnetic signs for vehicles (?), and high visibility vests, (but I don't know where the vest are or how many we have).
73
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VA3KOT John - 2020-11-08
Thanks for the update on club repeater property Tom. I think maybe the club should compile a comprehensive list of club assets. We will probably need to refurbish some of it as radio equipment tends to suffer minor damage, bad contacts etc unless it is stored in a controlled environment. I will raise this in the executive meetings in the new year.
My previous two clubs (Peel ARC and York Region ARC) had a club trailer that could be towed wherever required in (almost) any weather. The York trailer was extremely well-equipped with a mobile repeater and a motorized telescoping tower. They also owned a customized flat-bed trailer with a big crank-up tower that was donated to the club by the OPP.
I believe we should aspire to owning some kind of enclosed trailer in which the equipment is ready to get on the air with minimal setup.
Expensive ambitions I know but my previous clubs were successful applicants to Trillium funding that paid for the equipment. In order to qualify for a Trillium grant we should be able to demonstrate that we are active in emergency communications (and that includes community support activities) with a good, well-rehearsed plan and a complement of trained volunteers.
During the several years I spent with Dufferin ARES we had full use of a retired ambulance that had been converted into an emergency communications vehicle. We took "the bus", as we used to call it, to every community event to promote our capabilities to the public. We developed a good relationship with the local police and fire chiefs, the Red Cross and St John Ambulance. We were even featured and interviewed on the local television station (CTV Barrie) news.
If we have some kind of vehicle that can be used for emergency communications we can also use it to promote our club and its services to the community. For example, we can park it at the Owen Sound Farmers Market on Saturdays, at the Wiarton Willie Festival in February, at Summerfolk and the Salmon Spectacular (when they resume). Maybe Bayshore Broadcasting would let us park it in their lot for a couple of hours and promote us on air.
Until we acquire such a vehicle we could use a pop-up shelter with banners and signs. The key thing is to get active doing whatever we can within the limitations imposed by the current health regulations.
RE: Let's Get Real About Emergency Communications - VE3WI Dave - 2020-11-08
my 2¢ re inventory:
The inventory is important & has been discussed in the past. Not certain of the status. It does not mean collecting everything in one place. Just record description, ID if any (e.g. ser#) & location.
My first thought was that the inventory should be in a Tab in the back of the GBARC Operating Manual. But it needs to be electronic so it can be kept current.
73
Dave, VE3WI