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IN THIS EDITION:
7-8 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test
8 North American RTTY Sprint
8 National Fire Prevention Week
21-22 49th World Scout
JOTA
28-29 CQ WW DX SSB Contest
On Dec 29-30, there will be many special events happening to promote Amateur Radio via the centennial of voices over the airwaves celebrations. It is a terrific opportunity every PIO in the country has for getting Amateur Radio promotions and speakers onto regional broadcast radio. Here's the pitch to share with your local broadcasters...
I want to alert you to an upcoming national radio event which I believe would interest you. It's your centennial!
Hello climax operating event December 29-30.
GOING OUT WITH VOICES... Dec 29-30
Hello was linked to the centennial of voice transmissions over the airwaves. In 1906 Reginald Fessenden was experimenting with voices over radio. There had been a report that he had been heard across the Atlantic, and his plan was to make a formal voice contact from Brant Rock, Massachusetts across the Atlantic to Machrihanish, Scotland. But a storm blew down the antenna at the Scottish site. Fessenden, in true ham spirit, went to "plan B." Instead of transmitting to Scotland, he used the Brant Rock station to transmit Christmas greetings to ships of the United Fruit Company. (More about this is at http://www.hello-radio.org/historyofradio.html). This was the very first voice radio broadcast! WBUR radio's Matt Largey had a very nice 5 minute piece about this. You can hear it at: http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/08/20060804_9.asp
In 2006, hams will complete what Fessenden failed to do in 1906 and achieve Plan A with special event stations.
On Dec. 29-30, 2006, hams will complete what Fessenden failed to do in 1906 and achieve Plan A (and a lot more) with special centennial event stations.
There will be three primary special centennial event stations operating from 2000 GMT on Dec 29 to 2000 GMT on Dec 30 and hundreds of other ham radio stations across the country. Representing the past is W100BO/W1F at Brant Rock with Steve Barreres, K2CX, as team leader. GB1FVT will be at Machrihanish with Duncan MacArthur, GM3TNT, as team leader. Representing the future will be W1AW in Newington, CT.
SOUND BYTES AVAILABLE
Reenactments of the first transmissions, early ham radio promotions by Bob Hope, audio clips of astronauts speaking about and using ham radio, Walter Cronkite, and exciting emergency calls from Hurricane Katrina are available.
In addition to the site locations showing the past and future of radio, the voice modes used will also reflect both old and new technologies. The stations will be operating AM from the early 1900's, SSB from the later 1900's, FM, and Echolink/IRLP brings in the digital communications of the 21st century.
Teams from the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) will be available to demonstrate to you the new ham radio emergency communications capabilities. Adding to the action is the Amateur Radio Light House Society with 1400 members and over 10,000 subscribers, the largest lighthouse society of its kind in the world will also be participating and making the coasts "radio-active". Other special event stations are considering joining in the fun as this is written.
Broadcasting started with amateurs, and ham radio's people helped develop it into the mass communications we have today. From mobile phones, to satellites and digital communications, hams have been involved in the development of the technologies. No matter if it is just to say "hello" or emergency communications in a disaster, it isn't your grandfather's radio anymore.
LOCAL ACTIVITIES and YOUR LOCAL BROADCAST STATION
Many local broadcast stations are interested in having a representative from Amateur Radio come and interview about the centennial celebration because it promotes all forms of broadcast media.
Basic current information will be available at: http://www.hello-radio.org/event
Something happened - you are being called out NOW.
On September 20, the very first "drill" was held on the PR reflector. While no one actually had to go anywhere, it caused many PIOs to think through what they would do if something DID indeed happen. Were they ready to fulfill their roles? Did they even know what they were supposed to be doing in an emergency, or where to go?
There have been many recent local events in which Amateur Radio operators played key roles in emergency operations but little appeared in the media about their efforts. It appears that many times it is simply because there was no designated PIO on the scene to inform media about what was happening. To help in this, here's what we hope will be the first of many aids for PIOs to work closer with ARES groups.
PR Go Kit
You're at work or away from home when something happens. It sounds bad - very bad. There is call up for amateur radio support in your community or section. You may not have a radio with you and yet as a PIO you are responsible for promoting amateur radio's role to the news media.
What tools should you have with you in a PIO Go-Kit?
What tools might be available to you?
The nice part about it is that most of a PIOs materials can be put into electronic form and there are now finger sized flash drives that plug into computer USB ports. That makes it easy! Add in a disposable or (better yet) digital camera and you're in good shape.
Things to have On Hand
Once at a PC with Internet connections;
Email links with key section officials' contact information.
Began monitoring local email news groups for information and call ups.
Establish online logging of events or stories on the ARRL EPA Section web page so all news media could follow info. This reduces being swamped by public news media inquiries yet gets the information out.
Here's a one-page form you should keep readily available and also give to your area's ECs to pass out...
The _____________________ Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES ®) has been activated to assist with primary/auxilliary emergency communications for this event.
The group is coordinated by _______________________(name of EC or acting EC).
_______________ ARES is working with the ______________ county/city/town Office of Emergency Management and the following agency(ies):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
The group is providing communications links between:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Amateur Radio operators are stationed at the following locations to provide communications assistance:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________(#) of Amateur Radio operators are at the sites
_____________(#) of additional Amateur Radio operators are on standby for additional communications needs.
(Insert boilerplate paragraph about the local ARES group)
For more information contact
________________________ (name of acting PIO)
________________________ (e-mail)
________________________ (phone and pager numbers)
FEMA also has suggestions for media people on their educational websites.
FEMA's suggestions include:
To respond to an incident, you will need the basic equipment to do the job and it must be portable and ready for rapid deployment. In addition to the basics like paper and pencils, your "go kit" should include technology such as:
Cell phone (with voice messaging and caller ID; keep spare battery and charger for wall and car; pre-program primary contact numbers);
Pager (great backup to the cell phone; can work in areas where cell phones won't);
PDA or handheld device (e.g., Palm, BlackBerry™, etc.);
Digital or film camera (with extra batteries and fresh film);
Audio recorder (good for documenting interviews; with extra batteries and tapes if needed); and
Notebook computer (have extra battery; consider features like docking station, wireless network, CD burner).
Go kits should include more than just equipment and technology resources. Some other resources to include in your go kit are:
Contact information for disaster employees and other PIOs who may be called into service;
Contact information for news media;
Pre-scripted Emergency Alert System messages, news releases, factsheets, and backgrounders; and
Your "Smart Book." Your own creation, your Smart Book can include any factual information you might be asked, such as population, number of schools, number of hospitals, size and description of geographic or infrastructure features (e.g., size of State park, length of bridge, amount of water in reservoir).
I received an announcement...
The NPHRN is a collaboration between the CDC's coordinating office for terrorism preparedness and the National Center for Health Marketing. The NPHRN will be providing CDC, state, territorial and local health departments with HF radios "non-infrastructure dependent redundant communications capability" for times "when all else fails."
(Sound familiar?) This is actually along the lines of the SHARES network.
(Seems like the "old ways" are still the best ways when the chips are down.)
The newly designed and updated Exhibit and Scouting Kits for '06 are handsomely presented in reusable clear plastic display holders for easy transport. These handouts are a great way to promote Amateur Radio to the general public of all ages at malls, town fairs, Field Day, presentations and scouting events.
The material in this promotional program is free from the MVP Department. The fee is to help defray the cost of shipping and handling. Please include a copy of this sheet with your order. Credit cards are accepted. Checks should be made payable to the American Radio Relay League.
If you have any questions, please call Leona Adams, at (860) 594-0341 or e-mail ladams@arrl.org .
1 Exhibit Kit - $9.50
$3.00 discount for ARRL members off total order, not per kit.
1 Scouting Kit - $8.50
Additional brochures of any combination may be purchased.
____ 25-100 - $4.00
____101-300 - $5.50
Be sure to include the date of activity or event when you contact her!
You are probably aware that FEMA has many free classes for ARES and
emergency volunteers. Did you know there are special classes for PIOs?
Take a couple - I did!
COURSE: IS-702 - NIMS Public Information Systems
Basic responsibilities of the PIO include the following:
Respond to inquiries from the news media and the public;
Monitor the news media to detect and correct misinformation and to identify emerging trends or issues;
Advise Incident Command on public information issues and advocate for the community to ensure its public information needs are addressed;
Manage the release of emergency public information and warnings; and
Coordinate, clear with appropriate authorities, and disseminate accurate and timely information related to the incident.
Here's a basic news release you can use for the upcoming SET drill. Please contact your local or section ARES leaders for details, fill in the blanks, and use it - or better yet, write one specific to your area.
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
CONTACT INFO
Ham Radio Tests Emergency Communications in ___my town/area_
My Town, St Date -- America was reminded of the critical role of Amateur Radio in the past months as ham operators came from all over the country to provide emergency communications when other systems failed during recovery efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These lessons are being tested on __date__ as Amateur Radio operators in __place__ conduct their annual Simulated Emergency Test.
Using emergency powered radios and working with local agencies, the hams will establish radio communications networks which can be used should there be a failure or overload of normal services such as was seen in the days following the hurricanes, storms or many other types of incidents. In addition, the ham radio operators provide the ability to communicate between the many government and volunteer agencies which are needed in disasters.
This year the __town/area__ Amateur Radio operators will be replicating ____scenario for your SET______________________________________________ . The hams have the slogan, "When all else fails - Amateur Radio!" According to __spokesperson__ , "The hams of ___town/area___ take that quite seriously."
Amateur Radio volunteer operators from across the country responded to the calls for aid in the hurricane areas during September. They provide their services and equipment freely to their communities. They are "Amateurs" only in that they are not paid, but their service in a disaster can be priceless.
What do Amateur Radio operators do during and after disasters?
Amateur Radio operators set up and operate organized communication networks locally for governmental and emergency officials, as well as non-commercial communication for private citizens affected by the disaster. Amateur Radio operators are most likely to be active after disasters that damage regular lines of communications due to power outages and destruction of telephone lines.
How do Amateur Radio operators help local officials?
Many radio amateurs are active as communications volunteers with local public safety organizations. In addition, in some disasters, radio frequencies are not coordinated among relief officials and Amateur Radio operators step in to coordinate communication when radio towers and other elements in the communications infrastructure are damaged.
What are the major Amateur Radio emergency organizations?
Amateur Radio operators have informal and formal groups to coordinate communication during emergencies. At the local level, hams may participate in local emergency organizations, or organize local "traffic nets" using VHF (very high frequencies) and UHF (ultra high frequencies). At the state level, hams are often involved with state emergency management operations. In addition, hams operate at the national level through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) which is coordinated through the American Radio Relay League and its field volunteers, and through the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) which is coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, in areas that are prone to severe weather, many hams are involved in Skywarn, operating under the National Weather Service.
Is Amateur Radio recognized as a resource by national relief organizations?
Many national organizations have formal agreements with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and other Amateur Radio groups including:
To Learn More:
The best way to learn about Amateur Radio is talking to hams face-to-face. To find out how to get started and who to contact in your area, call or write:
Telephone 1-800-32 NEW-HAM www.arrl.org/hamradio.html