Minutes of the June 7, 1997 Meeting
The next meeting will be Saturday, July 12, 1997 at 9:00 AM
at the Oakland OES, 505 14th St, 7th Floor
David Otey, WB6NER welcomed ARES members to the Emergency Operations Center comprised of a well-stocked radio room adjacent to a large conference room equipped with audio visuals, phone and computer jacks, and ready to be transformed into an incident command post. He introduced Don Melcher, N6IPE who designed the 2nd generation radio station. A 60 foot tower stands on the roof 200 feet above, holding a multi band HF yagi, a VHF/UHF omni tri-band, and a log periodic antenna. An amplifier on the 21st floor boosts signals to the roof. The radio room consists of 4 operating stations each with radios, phone lines and a computer. Station 1 holds a HF Rig with a 500 watt amp. Station 2 holds VHF/UHF tri-band voice and packet set up for packet cluster - a DX spotting network. Although packet cluster is normally used to tell other hams about hard-to-find DX radio stations on the air, it is also used by Red Cross and FEMA to announce emergency information and needs. An ideal location for net control. Station 3 has a 144/220/440 tribander. Station 4 is for monitoring broadcast media, scanner, and SMARTS system telemetry. If both power and emergency building generators fail the radio room is powered by double redundant backup 1600 amp hours of gel cells. Kaiser Livermore has a 1st generation design similar to this. Don runs his own business "HF Radios On Board" installing marine radios and is handy at fixing anybody's radio.
Those attending the July 12 meeting at the OES will be able to get an official Oakland ID using the new machine. Jim, N6OIK reports that for the May 31 activation, the battalion chief was not aware of the RACES activation protocols. All of us should have a copy (available on the web site at http://ousd.k12.ca.us/ares/oakreport.html). We will put together a manual for each dispatch supervisor and at each fire station. The CORE communications plan is not on the same page as the RACES plan. Jim met with a CORE task force to iron out differences. Thanks to Deborah, KE6MQV , a new fire patrol manual was passed out at the meeting. Although there are city-generated maps in the manual, Thomas Bros. maps are our standard. Unfortunately, the 1997 maps changed grids. The Book Tree in Montclair will give discounts to ARES members. The July 4th fire patrol was held, with two shifts. The Saturday shifts were called off because of reduced fire danger. More on the patrols next month. There will be a Coliseum drill some time this summer. There will be a coded announcement to activate hams in the crowd.
The blueprints of the new EOC were brought to the meeting. It shows the RACES room with 5 operating positions wired for emergency power, several antennas, a hi-gain Explorer beam on a 72 foot tower, satellite and Audio/Visual capabilities. There will be a second bid for the EOC's construction since the first bids came in high. An updated PO for the Measure I funds was prepared with Deborah to update the model numbers of what ham radio gear is to be purchased. No repeater is expected at this site (it's not a good repeater location). Someone is still working on getting an ATV repeater at 1111 Broadway. Chris, KQ6JZ suggested contacting some repeater trustees across the bay (San Bruno and San Mateo) as a backup coverage for Oakland, since those locations cover Oakland very well.
The first monthly Fire Station Radio test was a success with 8 stations staffed. We would like to get into the habit of running the test every first Thursday of the month, although it can be done at other times. Please also test the emergency power backup by pulling the plug on the power supply.
Training: Brian W6LL , reported on a 1 day seminar he attended entitled "Stress makes you stupid." Emergency situations makes people act without thinking. You'll find yourself not being able to reach net control and increasing the length of your transmissions. Instead, keep them short and ask for relays. Remember to keep the distance from mouth to the microphone short. One way is to touch the HT to the cheek as if it were a phone. Practice speaking clearly. In a noisy environment it helps to plug in an external speaker. And remember, despite all your efforts, there will be times when you will not be able to get your message out, a fire may spread, a life may be lost. The stress will cloud your thinking into blaming yourself for mistakes you made. Seek counseling, usually available after the emergency gets under control.
Operations: The July 12th meeting location has changed. It will be at the Oakland OES. Bicycles must be chained to the rack outside.
Liaison: David, KF6EPQ attended several seminars on emergency communications at the Northern California Emergency Response Institute conference. They recommended planning ahead so that different emergency groups don't use the same frequencies. On repeaters, begin with call sign twice or by saying "This is" to give time for repeater to fire up. In noisy environments, a throat or ear mike could help filter out the noise when transmitting. Go packs should include a several day food supply, as there are often problems feeding the helpers. It's difficult to keep people trained for infrequent emergencies. The public doesn't take as many emergency training courses offered because of the perception of government warnings being false alarms. It is also good to involve elected officials in order to increase the group's effectiveness in an emergency.
RACES Activation: A short-notice test of the RACES activation occurred May 31. The phone tree was started, but it did not get to everyone and needs updating. Better yet we should test the city's automated CallQuick system. ARES members should get in the habit of monitoring 146.88, especially during potential red flag days. There were 3 hams listening that Saturday. We talked about setting up the repeater to allow DTMF paging. Most modern radios can be programmed to mute the speaker until a 3-digit touch tone code is heard. The WB6NDJ repeater would have to be reprogrammed to allow that. The repeater group will be asked about feasibility. Thanks to Kathy, KE6SSY net control, Chris, KQ6JZ and Lisa, KF6BYI for participating.
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Field Day: Several dozen hams showed up to participate this year. We accomplished all the extra credit activities, such as setting up in a public place, publicity, natural power, satellite contact, ARRL bulletin, and packet. A full report with tallied score will appear in the next issue. |
Thanks: to Kathy, KF6GZY for taking June meeting minutes. Thanks to Adele, KE6HKY and Jim, KB6MYV for hosting a connector party last month.
Congratulations: to Gerald, K6QY , formerly AC6GF, from your QSL card printer, and to Carly, KF6LOH for passing her Tech test. Mark, N6RCG and the rest of us are all proud of you.
Web sightings: Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) web site is at: http://www.garlic.com/oes/
The Oakland ARES meeting came to order at the Kaiser EOC at 9:00 AM. Present were:
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Lisa Askew |
KF6BYI |
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Willy Denninger |
KE6EMX |
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Deborah Reisman |
KE6MQV |
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A.J. Benham |
KF6EUJ |
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Kathy Dodge |
KF6GZY |
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Bill Roche |
KQ4CA |
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Adele Bertaud |
KE6HKY |
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Doug Faunt |
N6TQS |
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Donald Street |
K6EHQ |
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Herbert Bowen |
WA6CUY |
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Dave Harnish |
KF6EQA |
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Jim Tiemstra |
N6OIK |
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Chris Burgardt |
KQ6JZ |
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Alan Horn |
KF6GYW |
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Brian Treusch |
W6LL |
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Elaine Carter |
K6SZT |
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Dave McGuinnes |
KF6EPQ |
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Rem Van Tijen |
KE6JNM |
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Jim Carter |
K6LWA |
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Don Melcher |
N6IPE |
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Mark Violet |
N6RCG |
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Susan Chan Rogers |
pending |
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David Otey |
WB6NER |
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Lloyd White |
KF6JRL |
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George Chong |
W6BUR |
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Chris Peeples |
KE6MQW |
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Ted Stuart |
W6NPB |
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Dale Choy |
KD6KMU |
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Jim Ploss |
KB6MYV |
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Lillian Stuart |
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Louis Cobet |
K6MDH |
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Mike Pompa |
KD6PLN |
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Meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of each month.
The next meeting will be Saturday, July 12, 1997 at 9:00 AM
at the Oakland OES, 505 14th St, 7th Floor
