Oakland A.R.E.S. Newsletter May 2, 1998

<Announcements / Calendar>

• Meeting schedule: June 6 July 11 August 1
• Monthly Fire Station net: Thursday, May 7
• Alameda County Hospital Drill, Wednesday, May 13
• Bay to Breakers, Sunday May 17

Meeting Location Changed

Follow the arrows on the right to get to our new meeting location: The Fire Department Training Center at 250 Fallon St. at the end of Victory Ct. This may be a permanent change.

<RACES Report

A flood patrol report was being prepared to give to the city. Magnetic signs to place on RACES patrol vehicles are almost ready and will be stored at Station 25. Policy documents for how RACES gets messages from CORE to the OES are now on the web site. This mechanism was exercised in the CORE drill on April 18, where CORE groups were instructed to deliver simulated emergency messages to fire stations for transmittal by RACES to the OES.

Thanks to Ed KE6WPG a ladder truck from Station 4, an engine from Station 16 and a brush patrol vehicle from Station 25 were on display at Leona Lodge after the meeting. The truck, driven by a firefighter carries the tools (such as jaws of life, axes, ropes etc.). An engineer drives an engine, which carries hoses, pipe fittings and pumps the water. Ed described the structure of the fire department. It is divided into 3 platoons led by Battalion Chiefs. Each fire house has a House Captain. The airport unit is now part of the department, although it is run independently. RACES reports to the OES which reports to Chief Baker. When you appear at a fire station, check in with the Company Officer and get a tour if necessary. Every incident will have an incident commander to direct activities and an operations chief to manage resources. In the future, Ed promised to conduct a ground safety training exercise with the group.

Life After El Niño
by KQ6JZ

Mud slides and floods are not the only dangers El Niño presents. This summer could be a dangerous fire season. Now is a good time to prepare for the emergencies we could face later this year. Consider things like your transmitter's power, your antenna system, you familiarity with streets, and your experience with participating in or leading a net.

Many parts of the Oakland hills require more than just a handie-talkie to be heard. A mobile (50W) radio is a good idea for your car. If you have one at home, but not in your vehicle, consider mounting the radio and a battery in a portable box. This way, you can use it in your home on most occasions, but can place it in your car should the need arise.

If you only have an HT, consider buying or making an external antenna. You will notice a dramatic increase in your radio's performance. MFJ makes a cheap mag-mount which retails for $15. It includes a BNC adapter and is an easy item with which to start.

Think about the other items which will make your duties easier and more rewarding. Thomas Brothers' maps are the Oakland ARES/RACES standard for maps. If you are not familiar with these maps already, borrow one and become familiar with its use. Many amateurs enjoy displaying "Amateur Radio" signs on their car. Even better, get an amateur radio license plate. They are less expensive than other personalized plates. If you are not familiar with patrol procedures, you can access them though the Oakland ARES/RACES web site. Does all of this sound like a lot of work? Sure it does. Just take one or two steps towards preparing for this summer and you'll reap the rewards.

<Special Events>

CORE Drill: There will be a debriefing and, time permitting, a desktop exercise of simplex relay techniques at the May meeting. Lessons learned: Speak slowly to allow the recipient to write the message. Break long messages into multiple short transmissions. Identify each message as a drill. Prioritize messages into emergency, priority, and routine categories. Accept only emergency traffic when message volume is high. Use more frequencies and packet radio.

Thanks to the participants: Denise KF6BIO, Lyn KE6HXY, Mike KF6MPP, George W6BUR, Dan KD6TWL, Roger KE6STE, Adele KE6HKY, Art W6THD, Richmond W6/EL2BG, Chris KF6MQW, Dave KF6GRL, Kathy KF6GZY, Dave KF6EPQ, Mark N6RCG, and several ham operators in CORE neighborhood groups who participated.

MS Walkathon: Thanks to Oakland ARES members Chris KQ6JZ, Mike KB6MP, Kathy KE6SSY, Jim KE6SSX, Herb WA6CUY, Roger KE6STB, Andrew KF6CDY, Lloyd KF6JRL, Doug K6TQS, Brian W6LL; to Alameda ARES members, Gary K6QDJ, Dale KD6KMU; and to EBARC members Marion KF6BYM, Peter KF6BYN, Cheryl KF6HEN, Kip KF6OGA, Robin KE6MRH and Mike KI7FQ for participating in the walkathon.

Bay to Breakers: The contact number in last month's newsletter had an incorrect area code. A better contact person if you want to participate in this May 17 event is Catherine Kubu (415) 427-8864.

Alameda County Hospital Drill (EMSA): Amateur Radio volunteers in Alameda County are being requested for this workday Wednesday, May 13 drill from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon. An orientation for hospital workers will occur on Monday, April 27, 1:30-3:30 PM at Eden Hospital Conference Center A/B in Castro Valley. Contact Cynthia Frankel at at 510-628-5088. An orientation session for Hams will occur at Kaiser offices in Oakland on Friday, May 8, 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon at 1800 Harrison St., 8th Floor, conference room C. Radio volunteers can sign up on or after May 6 with David Otey WB6NER by phone at 510 987-2867.

<Tidbits>

Web sightings: City of Oakland Public Works Agency http://www.oaklandpw.com/ contains a useful telephone number list.

Welcome: new participants Jim KA6FFS and Rick N6ZWI.

ORCA: Formation of the O akland, R adio C ommunication A ssociation is making slow but forward progress. A draft constitution is still being prepared.

<Attendance Sheet>

The Oakland ARES meeting came to order at Leona Lodge at 9:00 AM. Present were:

Michael Achach	KF6MPP		Bob Firehock	KE6IUE		Mike Pompa	KB6MP
Robin Bartoo	KF6CZL		Richmond Harding	EL2BG		Chloe Reisman	pending
Adele Bertaud	KE6HKY		Dave Harnish	KF6EQA		Deborah Reisman	KE6MQV
Donald R Bonney	KE6SAF		Edward Kilmartin	KE6WPG		Bernard Schormann	KE6TYY
Herbert Bowen	WA6CUY		Dave McGuinness	KF6EPQ		Margery Service	KF6GTT
George Chong	W6BUR		Art McLaughlin	W6THD		Jim Tiemstra	K6JAT
Louis Cobet	K6MDH		Cherie Morris	W6BBK		Brian Treusch	W6LL
Rick Davis	N6ZWI		Gerald Morris	K6QY		Mark Violet	N6RCG
Willy Denninger	KE6EMX		Chris Peeples	KE6MQW		Jim Watson-Gove	KA6FFS
Kathy Dodge	KF6GZY		Barbara Pickering	KF6CWW
Doug Faunt	N6TQS		Mike Pickering	KF6JZB

Meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of each month.