The ARES Letter for August 21, 2024

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Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE [ mailto:k1ce@arrl.net ] - August 21, 2024

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In This Issue:
ARES® Briefs/Links
Minnesota ARES® Field Operations Team Supports Minnesota Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disaster (MNVOAD) for Flood Response

An EMP-Resistant All-Bank EmComm Go-Kit: Addendum
K1CE for a Final: On County Shelter Management
ARES® Resources
Support ARES®: Join ARRL

ARES® Briefs/Links

Hurricane Ernesto -- The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has secured operations for
Hurricane Ernesto. In an after-action report, an HWN spokesman said  we were
in continuous operation for 22 hours.  From the reports the prominent net
received, more than 26,000 residents on Bermuda were without power. Many
areas were without internet service as well. The eyewall is now north of the
island and reported wind speeds on the island were near 50 mph.  Conditions
should continue to improve as the day goes on.

 
The 2024 Atlantic Basin hurricane season is only now beginning to enter the
peak of season. The second half of August and the month of September have a
reputation for being busy and very dangerous. Please, do not drop your guard.
You still have time to prepare for hurricane season. Never wait until the
last minute to do so. The spokesman said  As always, we greatly appreciate
the daily users and various nets who use 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz for
allowing us a clear frequency. It certainly makes our job easier and I know
those in the affected area appreciate it as well.    ARRL news report, as of
August 16, 2024

 
Hurricane Debby -- Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida s Big Bend
coastal area on Sunday, August 4, as a Category 1, near Steinhatchee,
Florida, just 9 miles southeast of where Category 3 Idalia made landfall on
August 30, 2023. The amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center,
WX4NHC, the Hurricane Watch Net, and the VoIP Hurricane Net were activated as
Debby slowly traversed the Southeast US and dumped potentially catastrophic
rainfall over widespread parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

 
Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, ARRL Northern Florida Section Manager, reported that
Clay County Emergency Services (ARES®) was also active. Arc J. Thames,
W4CPD,

Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator, reported that Alachua County,
Columbia County, and Franklin County ARES were also activated.

 
Thames reported an amateur radio operator was stranded due to high water in
Suwannee County. He used the statewide repeater network, SARNET, to relay the
information and a monitoring operator in Jacksonville was able to coordinate
with an urban search-and-rescue (USAR) team with an embedded ham radio
operator and was able to facilitate the rescue of a family. Rick Palm, K1CE,
editor of the ARRL ARES Letter, was at his home in Fort White, Florida, when
the storm hit. It was another wild ride, with huge trees crashing down and
river levels rising fast,  Palm reported.  For two days, National Guardsmen,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission personnel and heavy
machinery rolled into our neighborhood for safety/security, to measure river
levels, and to begin the long process of removing downed trees, and restoring
power.

 
Palm also reported to the town shelter and worked with Darren DeMarino,
KO4DLN, and had contact with Brad Swartz, N5CBP, who is the Emergency
Coordinator stationed at the EOC radio room. He managed to send a  Field
Situation Report  via Winlink to the EOC in Lake City. Palm said he was a
little rusty, but got the form to go through.  (He used the KX4Z RMS in
Gainesville for network access on 40-meters.)

 
The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association, W4UC, located in Pensacola,
Florida, was asked by state officials to serve as HF backup for the SARNET 
a statewide 70 cm repeater system   W4UC was outside the warned area.

 
President Biden issued an emergency declaration late Sunday and Florida
declared a state of emergency for 61 of the state s 67 counties, with the
National Guard activating 3,000 members. -- The ARRL Letter

 
The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is coming this fall. This nationwide
exercise is the chance to test your personal emergency-operating skills and
the readiness of your communications equipment and accessories in a simulated
emergency-like deployment.

ARRL Field Organization leaders at the section and local levels, and many
other volunteers who are active in public service and emergency
communications, are developing scenarios in consultation with a variety of
agencies and organizations for whom radio amateurs are known to provide
service during emergencies.

 
The League s ARES, National Traffic System (NTS), the governmental Radio
Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), SKYWARN  , Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERT), the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network
(SATERN), and other allied groups and public-service oriented radio amateurs
are among those who are eligible to participate in the exercise to practice
emergency operation plans, nets and procedures. The ARRL has longstanding
relationships with several national organizations including the American Red
Cross, the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
and the Salvation Army (among others). More information on these and other
national served agencies may be found at
www.arrl.org/served-agencies-and-partners [
http://www.arrl.org/served-agencies-and-partners ] .

 
Let this year s ARRL Simulated Emergency Test be a chance to reach out to
these partners to establish or review plans and develop working
relationships. More information can be found at
www.arrl.org/simulated-emergency-test [
https://www.arrl.org/simulated-emergency-test ] .

 
National Preparedness Month is September. This is a nationwide effort to
encourage all citizens to take steps to prepare for emergencies in their
homes, workplaces, schools and communities. The U.S. Department of Homeland
Security works with a wide variety of organizations to highlight the
importance of emergency preparedness and to promote individual involvement
through events and activities across the nation. We encourage you to consider
this year's Simulated Emergency Test (and all preparations for it) as a
demonstration of amateur radio's readiness. More information on National
Preparedness Month is found at www.ready.gov [ http://www.ready.gov/ ] .


[https://cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/mobile-antennas/ma-dual-band/]


Minnesota ARES® Field Operations Team Supports Minnesota Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disaster (MNVOAD) for Flood Response


July 9, 2024 -- Several weeks of heavy rain in Minnesota led to widespread
flood conditions in late June/early July. Around half of the 87 counties in
Minnesota were impacted.

 
On July 4, with more than 600 volunteers in the field performing flood
recovery work and 118 cases open in the Crisis Cleanup System, Ryc Lyden,
KD0ZWM, MNVOAD president, called out ARES/MNVOAD Field Operations Teams. His
first call was to the Minnesota Section Emergency Coordinator Benton Jackson,
K0BHJ, for support. The deployment would be to Waterville, about 70 miles
southwest of Minneapolis.

 
The plan was to bring ten hams into Waterville on Saturday, July 6, at 0830
to help with site assessment and situation reporting. Jackson called me to be
ready with trailer assets for the day and possibly longer. Kevin Dirks,
KA0WJC, South Central ARES District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), a former
firefighter and member of the military, was appointed as on-scene leader for
the ARES team. What we initially knew: The damage was mostly from flooding
only; comms were generally functioning; grid AC power was available. There
were reports of city water main problems.

 
Support on the ground was from the Red Cross and Salvation Army   shelters
and feeding stations were established. There was a coordination call with
FEMA, state government officials, the dozen NGOs which were arriving, and on
scene. Local and county emergency management was also represented. The FEMA
rep asked for the details of the assistance needed -- who, what, when and
exactly where. This was precisely what we provide up the line in our reports:
conditions, actions, needs and a personnel accountability check. The flood
damage was widely distributed.

 
I called Doug Reed, N0NAS, and Peter Corbett, KD8GBL, on my team to decide on
the loadouts [a set of items or equipment carried for a specific purpose 
ed.] The operation was recovery, so work product was limited to the daylight
hours. No diesel engines nor larger towers were needed. The operation was
limited to FM repeater and VHF FM simplex modes as the area was not hilly. In
the event we were directed to set up in a parking lot, I did bring a small
gasoline-powered genset and 200 watts of solar panels power.

 
We were assigned to the City Public Works building parking lot and set up
near a lot of sandbags on pallets. Reed wanted me to put more antenna mounts
on the trailer, which would save time we could be on the air while setting
up the mast. I had one, and added a second mount later. The area was heavily
invested in Yaesu Fusion digital assets. We had few Fusion radios in our
stock. Lyden came up with a few newer Fusion radios and the local hams
programmed them for us.

 
We were on the air in half an hour and soon had the restroom door code and
115V of power. We sent our first crew out to a mucking out site. ( Mucking
out  is the removal of mud, muck, silt and other typically semi-solid
material from a home, caused by water inundation). The first CAN-P came back
and there was a need for hose. (A CAN-P report is a progress report used by
firefighters that stands for Conditions, Actions, Needs). I asked for details
  the need was for 50 feet of 1.5-inch hose. We passed the message up the
line.

 
We sent out a second site team. Just after they arrived on site, Lyden, out
visiting work sites with the Fire Chief, got the word that the water was
receding and the teams on scene were doing an excellent job of reporting. We
would not be needed any further.

 
We walked over to the Salvation Army canteen truck, had a nice BBQ chicken
lunch and packed up. The County Emergency Manager stopped by to thank us and
say hello to Lyden. We felt welcomed and valuable.

 
Lessons Learned
1. Have a plan way ahead of time; be prepared. In recovery versus response,
you might have 24 hours to pack. That is not a lot of time to build, install
and test new equipment or capabilities.

2. Have gear for local repeaters. That includes all four (at least) digital
modes. I am not a fan of Internet repeater linking for disasters. FM is the
great unifier.

3. Focus on the mission. Keep the agencies, officials and your time on
conference calls out of the weeds on our radio and organization details.

4. We must never have radio problems. If we can t make 1977 (or even 1999)
radio technology work under field conditions   we need to find a new hobby.

5. Preprogram radios and test stuff. Yes, the trailer lights worked 27 times
before test them anyway.

6.  There is a form for that.  We needed a Resource Request form and the
right CAN-P form. I should have started a roster. A small printer would have
been an asset.

7. Not every situation needs Winlink nor even HF capability.
8. You need to be able to set up in half an hour.
9. While on scene, we asked for very little. We wanted to be assets, not
liabilities.

10. Emergencies are local. I told Benton: Have someone in every county on the
ARES call list.

11. There were volunteer relief groups on scene that were requested locally,
out of normal channels. We could have a role tying them into the overall
operation.

 
Our trailers got cool VOAD stickers. This was fun. We ll do this again. --
Erik Westgard, NY9D [ mailto:Ny9d@arrl.net ] , Assistant Section Emergency
Coordinator, Minnesota ARES


An EMP-Resistant All-Bank EmComm Go-Kit: Addendum

[Editor s Note: The August issue of QST carries the article  An All-Bank
EmComm Go-Kit  authored by Randy Richmond, W7HMT, Assistant EC with the North
Bend, Washington ARES team. The article details the construction of an easily
deployable, Winlink-capable, transceiver/battery combination. Here is
Richmond s supplement to that article that describes ways in which the kit
was designed to be resistant to potentially radio damaging electro-magnetic
pulse (EMP)].

 
The EmComm station go-kit is housed in a surplus steel instrument case that
has been modified to increase its resistance to electro-magnetic pulses
(EMPs) while the go-kit is standing by for deployment. At the same time, the
go-kit station takes very little time to deploy.

 
Having some experience with EMI suppression in my pre-retirement job as an
electrical engineer, I knew that the case with its relatively loose-fitting
lid would not make an ideal Faraday cage. To be an effective EMP shield, you
want very little voltage difference between any two points of the case even
under high induced currents. This is mitigated by ensuring low resistance
connections between all surfaces of the  cage.

 
To improve the EMP resistance I fitted the four mating edges between the case
and its lid with plated copper shielding finger stock EMI gasket strips. To
ensure good electrical contact with the case, I removed the paint along those
edges of both the case and its lid and painted the exposed steel with
conductive suspended silver paint (to prevent rust while still retaining
conductivity). Then I pop-riveted the gasket to the edge of the case that
overlaps the lid using stainless steel rivets (to prevent bimetallic
corrosion).

 
The setup is only EMP-resistant when its external cables are removed and the
lid is secured. In actual deployment with antennas connected, it is very
unlikely that any radio could survive a significant EMP event. However, when
I use this station, I do bring along coaxial lightning protectors, which
screw directly to the case s UHF coax connectors in the hope that it might
improve survivability while deployed.

 
Often, hams house their go-kits in steel ammo cans. The steel itself is a
good shield, but without modification it is an incomplete Faraday cage
because the rubber-gasketed waterproof lid is only grounded along two of the
four edges at most (assuming that a good steel-to-steel electrical contact
occurs through the paint and/or rust on the hinges and latch). What would
improve the EMP resistance of steel ammo cans is to put the same kind of EMI
gasket along the sides of the can where the lid edge overlaps the can s
sides. Here is an eBay source for such EMI gasket [
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125369483811?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=psKNNv8MSiG&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=fykUeq1fQg2&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

] .

 
If you are considering building an EmComm station go-kit, I hope this shows
how you can also make it EMP-resistant. Radio-destroying EMPs are rare, but
if or when one should occur, it will surely be the time when EmComm
deployment is needed most. If you want to be ready when needed most, consider
EMP-proofing your EmComm equipment.

 
About Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)
An EMP or electro-magnetic pulse can induce high current in exposed wire,
even as short as PCB traces, but especially in long wires such as antennas
and antenna coax, and the national electrical grid. This high current results
in voltages that can easily exceed the maximum rated voltage of the
electronics attached to those wires, resulting in degradation, damage or
destruction of the attached electronics.

 
EMPs can occur naturally from a nearby lightning strike or extreme solar
flares (such as the 1859 Carrington Event, which disrupted and damaged the
early telegraph systems). They can also occur artificially from nuclear
explosions, especially explosions in the upper atmosphere of the earth (such
as the USA Starfish test of July 1962, which damaged many electrical and
electronic systems in Hawaii).

 
A Faraday cage (named after Michael Faraday, credited with significant
contributions to the discoveries of electromagnetism and inductance) consists
of a continuous covering of conductive material which distributes electric
charges canceling field effects in the cage s interior. Faraday cages are
considered among the best protections for electronics against EMPs but are
generally only useful while the electronics are being stored (because most
electronics are not functional or useful while inside a Faraday cage). --
Randy Richmond, W7HMT [ mailto:W7HMT@arrl.net ] , North Bend, Washington
Shelter Management and Comms


K1CE for a Final: On County Shelter Management

Always remember, a shelter is a refuge of last resort. Friends or families
that can temporarily house you, is the first choice. Many counties do not
have pet-friendly shelters. If you go to a shelter, there is often little to
no privacy. They can be noisy and you will likely get just a cot and possibly
a blanket.


In my rural county, there are 21 locations that potentially can serve as
shelters during various incidents. It is important to understand what the
types of shelters are, and that county emergency management does not open
every shelter at once. (Opening shelters requires personnel to work in those
shelters; they need to have staffing on a 24 hour basis).


There are three different types of shelters that are available: risk
shelters; a special needs shelter; and host shelters. Host shelters can
provide shelter after a storm has passed. These shelters are in older schools
and community centers. They do not provide protection from an incoming storm.


Risk shelters can provide a certain amount of protection to those taking
shelter from an incoming storm. In my county, these shelters are newer
construction at local schools. If it is a risk situation, then the county has
four newer schools to choose from. It is important to know that a risk
shelter can be used as a host shelter, because after a storm passes no
additional protection is likely to be needed. Host shelters cannot be used as
risk shelters.


The last type of shelter is a special needs shelter, for those with limited
medical conditions. Potential residents of a special needs shelter must have
a form filled out annually on file. The Health Department helps with nurses
for special needs shelters. Also, anyone coming into a special needs shelter
must have someone with them to help with their care. While nurses are
on-scene, they do not have the time to devote time to each individual patient
that is in the special needs shelter.


All ARES members should have a working knowledge of their area s shelters and
shelter policies   you may be asked to deploy to one. Rick Palm, K1CE,
Columbia County, Florida


ARES® Resources

 Download the ARES Manual [PDF] [ http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public
Service/ARES/ARESmanual2015.pdf ]

ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF] [
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES_FR_Manual.pdf ]

ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF] [
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public
Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf ]

ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word] [
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public
Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-STANDARDIZED-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V1_2_2.doc ]

ARES Plan [ http://www.arrl.org/ares-plan ]
ARES Group Registration [ http://www.arrl.org/ares-group-id-request-form ]
Emergency Communications Training [
http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications-training ]


The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs
who

have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their
local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when
disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or
any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership
in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES.
Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is
an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for
membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but
is not a requirement for membership.

 
How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form [
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/fsd98.pdf ] and submit it to
your local Emergency Coordinator.


Support ARES®: Join ARRL

ARES® is a program of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® [
https://www.arrl.org/ ] . No other organization works harder than ARRL to
promote and protect amateur radio! ARRL members enjoy many benefits and
services including digital magazines, e-newsletters, online learning
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Membership also supports programs for radio clubs, on-air contests, Logbook
of The World®, ARRL Field Day, and the all-volunteer ARRL Field
Organization.


 
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