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Subj: ARES E-Letter August 15, 2018
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The ARES E-Letter August 15, 2018
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
- ARRL Board Meets, Addresses Proposed ARES Program Changes, Applauds
Microwave Group
- ARRL Seeks Comments on ARES Strategic Plan from Section Managers and
Section Emergency Coordinators
- AREDN Project Announces Strategic Changes
- Letters: On Challenges to Mesh Networking
- Follow Up on Damage Assessment Practice by California Groups
- FEMA: Evacuation Versus Shelter-in-Place Considerations
- ARRL Section News
- K1CE For a Final: See You in September, at Boxboro!
- ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
ARES© Briefs, Links
-------------------
California Fires Responses -- ARES operators were involved with
communications service as record-breaking catastrophic wildfires struck
California. Volunteers from multiple ARRL Sections in the state served. ARRL
Sacramento Valley Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) Greg Kruckewitt,
KG6SJT, said American Red Cross shelter communicators worked for 10 days of
support. Initially, there were four shelters in Redding.
On August 5, the Shasta-Tehama ARES team was able to take its communications
trailer to Trinity County to support a shelter in Weaverville opened for
Carr Fire evacuees. "This relieved the Sacramento County ARES volunteers who
had been up there for several days," Kruckewitt said. "For mutual assistance
to Weaverville, it is a 4.5- to 5.5-hour drive for the Sacramento Valley
Section people who helped out. Communications at the shelter were important,
as power and cell phone coverage was often spotty, with power going off for
hours at a time." At one point, more than a dozen ARES volunteers from
Shasta, Sacramento, Butte, Placer, and El Dorado counties were working at
shelters opened for the Carr Fire.
Sacramento Valley ARES member Michael Joseph, KK6ZGB, is the liaison at the
Red Cross Gold County Region Disaster Operations Center (DOC) in Sacramento
and had been in the DOC since the fire started: "When the fire in Sonora
started, we scrambled to get some ARES members to that location to see what
communications the shelter needed."
Kruckewitt said Winlink continued to be the go-to mode, as fire damaged
several repeaters and no repeater path exists to the Gold County Region of
the Red Cross in Sacramento.
"One difficulty we ran into this weekend was that the Red Cross needed [ARES
Emergency Coordinator and SEC] contact information for various counties that
were also experiencing fires and having to open shelters," he said.
Completing that task involved lots of phone calls. "We encourage all ARES
members to get to know their neighboring ARES groups and check into their
nets."
Demand for ARES communicators rose as the fires grew. One problem in
deploying volunteers were closed roads. In the San Francisco Section,
Section Manager Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, said the four-county repeater was
destroyed by wildfires a couple of years ago. Power has just been restored
to that location, and Hillendahl said that with fires crossing county lines,
his Section was considering getting the repeater back in service. A key node
for the Carla system of linked repeaters was destroyed by fire, further
hampering intrastate communication for ARES teams. -- adapted from ARRL
News, Rick Lindquist, WW1ME
The ARRL 2017 Annual Report, which highlights the League's efforts and
activities throughout 2017, is now available. Starting with the cover photo,
Amateur Radio's response to the Atlantic hurricane season figures
prominently in the report. Puerto Rico was especially hard hit by Hurricane
Maria, and the cover depicts an October 4 message from the Mayor Carlos
Mendez of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, calling for an Amateur Radio operator to
support communication between his town and the capital city of San Juan.
ARES Annual/Monthly Reports can be found here, organized by date, with a
link to download a PDF of the full report.
Archives of the ARRL ARES E-Letter going back to the original issue
(September 2005) are available for download.
ARRL Emergency Coordinators may register their ARES group here for a group ID.
ARRL Simulated Emergency Test: Plan Now, Execute This Fall
It's not too early to start planning for the annual Fall classic, the ARRL
Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Click here and scroll down for complete SET
guidelines and reporting forms for Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers.
The primary League-sponsored national emergency exercise is designed to
assess the skills and preparedness of ARES© and other organizations involved
with emergency and disaster response. Although the main SET weekend this
year is October 6-7, local and section-wide exercises may be held throughout
the fall season. Start plans now.
Editorial Note: Experience with Registering via ARES Connect
Recently, Volusia County, ARRL Northern Florida Section, Emergency
Coordinator (and newly appointed Section Emergency Coordinator) Karl Martin
KG4HBN, issued county ARES registration forms using the new ARES© Connect
online system. Many other ARES participants around the country are probably
receiving similar registration requests through the new system. I took a few
minutes to complete my registration, and was impressed with how efficient
the system works: it was easy to provide my basic information, and also easy
to enter my relevant frequency and mode capabilities and assets,and FEMA and
ARRL training courses completed, among other things. There is a new section
for registering for volunteer service at scheduled public events --
currently no events are scheduled for the county. The required registration
information was appropriate -- not too much or too little was asked. It was
just right.
Congratulations for a job well done goes to the ARRL Administrative
Headquarters staff, and to the ARRL Board of Directors' Public Service
Enhancement Working Group (PSEWG), with Great Lakes Division Director and
Group Chairman Dale Williams, WA8EFK, and staff liaison Mike Corey, KI1U,
ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager, and the rest of the working group. I am
excited to see how the ARES Strategic Plan, which is currently in the late
drafting/development stages with field leadership input sought, will turn
out. If it is as well thought out as ARES Connect, it should be a historic
upgrade to the venerable ARES program, which has seen few major changes in
its 83 year history. (See related stories below). -- K1CE
ARRL Board Meets, Addresses Proposed ARES Program Changes, Applauds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Microwave Group
---------------
The ARRL Board of Directors, the League's policymakers, met last month for
its second session of the year, considering major issues of interest to ARES
members and other amateur emergency service groups. The Board considered the
report of its Public Service Enhancement Working Group (PSEWG) tendered by
chairman and Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK. The group
has been receiving input from the field on major upgrades to the ARES
program and its administration.
The Board's Programs and Services Committee directed the PSEWG to continue
its work during the current roll-out and implementation of the ARES Connect
program. Headquarters staff will continue to work with the PSEWG on getting
information to the membership, including with an update in the September
issue of QST. The Board was concerned that there was not sufficient input
from certain experts in the field, even with the peer review group including
members of the section field leadership.The Board agreed to obtain
additional field input before approving the PSEWG revision of the ARES
program. The Board offered a plan and resolution of thanks to the group:
WHEREAS the Public Service Enhancement Working Group (PSEWG) has spent the
last 24 months defining, beta testing, and then further refining an ARES
Strategic Plan; and, WHEREAS the PSC extends appreciation to the PSEWG on a
job well done; and, WHEREAS the PSC has reviewed the interim draft plan and,
more recently, the proposed final plan; and, WHEREAS the PSC unanimously
approved the ARES Strategic Plan on June 28, 2018; THEREFORE, the ARRL Board
of Directors establishes a three-month general comment period for the ARES
Strategic Plan with comments due no later than October 31, 2018, after which
the PSEWG will present the final plan to the ARRL Annual Board of Directors
meeting in January 2019 for consideration for adoption. (See related article
below).
Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) Wins Microwave Use Award
The Board also passed with applause the following resolution:
WHEREAS the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) Project team has
made noteworthy progress in utilizing the amateur radio microwave bands
including: Extending the high-speed multimedia AREDN network capabilities
from solely the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band to 900 MHz, 3 GHz and 5.8 GHz. On the 2.4
GHz band, the range was extended to include two channels on amateur radio
frequencies below the Wi-Fi channels, thus improving SNR and throughput;
Supporting weatherproof, commercial Wi-Fi devices from Ubiquiti and TP-Link
Enabling over-the-air software upgrades to eliminate the need to physically
visit remote units; Built-in tunneling capability to enable connecting mesh
"islands"; Added 802.11n to the RF protocol which improves the maximum data
rate capability from 54 Mbps to 144 Mbps; Continuously expanded the number
of supported devices within the Ubiquiti AirMax product line so that hams
have more choices suited to more conditions; Improved a variety of technical
and user interface components to make AREDN networks easier to configure and
manage; THEREFORE, the ARRL Board of Directors confers the 2018 ARRL
Microwave Development Award on the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network
(AREDN) Project team.
ARRL Seeks Comments on ARES Strategic Plan from Section Managers and Section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emergency Coordinators
----------------------
Following up on an ARRL Board of Directors directive at its July meeting
(see story above), the Public Service Enhancement Working Group (PSEWG) has
contacted all ARRL Section Managers (SMs) and Section Emergency Coordinators
(SECs) seeking comments and suggestions regarding the proposed ARES
Strategic Plan via an online form. The deadline is October 31, in order to
give the PSEWG sufficient time to review the comments and suggestions,
formulate any necessary revisions, and submit the revised document to the
Board for consideration at its January meeting.
Created in 1935, ARES has undergone very few changes over the years, while
the agencies ARES serves have undergone many. The PSEWG evaluated the ARES
program for two years and drafted several proposed enhancements aimed at
updating the program.
The ARES Strategic Plan introduces changes and a platform for future
growth. For many, this will represent a major paradigm shift; for others, it
will formalize many of the requirements they have employed routinely for
several years.
An independent team of individuals experienced in ARES and emergency work
from across the US has reviewed the proposed plan. Their suggestions and
recommendations were carefully considered, and many were included in the
plan during its development.
Now, the ARRL Board wants SMs and SECs to have the opportunity to offer
comments on the recommended changes prior to implementation of the plan.
While SMs and SECs are invited to reach out to their Emergency Coordinators
(ECs) for their thoughts and feedback, formal responses must be submitted
through SMs and SECs.
The PSEWG asks SMs and SECs to keep their comments respectful, concise, and
on point, and to keep in mind that the ARES framework must remain as close
to universal as possible, even while participants in some geographical areas
may require specific training that others do not need. Mutual aid pacts may
require training specific to adjacent jurisdictions.
Also, SMs and SECs are reminded that specific agency agreements and needs
must be honored. Those having concerns about a proposed new policy are
requested to offer alternatives.
AREDN Project Announces Strategic Changes
-----------------------------------------
AREDN has formed a non-profit corporation to ensure continuity: The project
saw the need for more formal governance and as a result, took the strategic
step of organizing as a non-profit corporation. This will help protect the
user-community investments in mesh networking by setting up the framework
for long-term resource management, research, and development, the group said
in a news release.
"Our mission is still focused on providing the Amateur Radio community with
software, education, and support to enable them to aid public safety,
emergency response and disaster relief agencies with high-speed multimedia
data networks," the release reported.
The release noted "Continuing to rely on the financial support of a few
individuals is not a sustainable means of supporting the project. Without
more widespread support, the community's growing investment in network
equipment and relationships with served agencies is at risk. We expect to
obtain contributions primarily from the ham community. We plan to use these
funds to cover operating expenses such as web site hosting, setup a test and
validation lab, obtain associated test equipment, and address the costs of
promoting the project through various marketing channels. We plan to
consider grants to fund worthy implementations of AREDN infrastructure as
our resources may allow."
AREDN Code Repositories on GitHub
All AREDN source code has been moved to GitHub. GitHub is one of the largest
open source code repository services with over 40 million users.
Anyone with basic knowledge of Linux and Git can now contribute changes and
compile AREDN images through an automated build process. If you have a
background in application or firmware development, the hurdle to contribute
is now substantially lower.
The move to GitHub helps the project stay aligned with the current version
of OpenWRT. This is the basis for AREDN firmware and is supported by over
one thousand developers worldwide. These developers release a steady stream
of advancements and fixes. Contributors may now focus on those features that
make the AREDN product unique and pertinent to the ham community. Those
amateurs interested in contributing can become familiar with the GitHub
workflow and submit pull requests. Regular code contributors may take part
in periodic developer conference calls.
AREDN Corporation
-----------------
Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network, Inc. is a New Jersey non-profit
corporation supporting the AREDN open-source software development project.
The project writes and promotes the development of firmware for repurposing
Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) devices for use by licensed radio
amateurs. These repurposed devices - referred to as "AREDN Nodes" - are
deployable by radio amateurs to automatically interoperate and form a
high-speed data network. This network is highly useful to emergency
responders and disaster relief agencies during times of local and regional
disasters. See the AREDN website for further information and software.
Letters: On Challenges to Mesh Networking
-----------------------------------------
Mesh networking and high speed data applications are growing in usage in the
amateur microwave bands. One of the challenges is the "last mile problem"
that bedevils many physical or electronic delivery systems. Getting from the
backbone down into the suburban jungle can be a toughie. At 5 GHz there is
attenuation and outright blockage right, left and center from structures and
a thicket of big trees. It takes more station/node density to make a go of a
mesh. Good reading on other challenges and advancements to mesh networking
for the military can be found in The Economist, June 14th issue, page 70.
[This article appeared in the Science and Technology section of the print
edition under the headline"Jaw-jaw and war-war" and the electronic version
can be found here. -- ed.]The specific subject at hand is ad hoc mesh
networks; the military calls them MANETs, loosely for mobile ad hoc
networks. Crippling issues can be the "Hello Problem" and the "Routing Table
Problem." Pinging to see who is on plus keeping tabs of how to best route
traffic can gum up a system at around 30 users, and brings it to a halt at
some 50 users.Tech companies are working on and offering paths forward with
the anticipation of upgraded MANET systems that will better serve the
military, but as noted in the article, will offer advantages for civilian
emergency/rescue communications. - Scott Reaser, K6TAR, Pacific Palisades,
California
[A wireless mesh network (WMN) consists of radios organized in a net that
can form on an ad hoc basis. Routing is done automatically and new radios or
nodes can join automatically. They are mostly fixed stations, so that there
is not a lot of time spent updating data routing. Clients are laptops, cell
phones and other radios. Routers send and receive traffic (voice, data,
imaging and video, for examples) to gateways for further distribution. Radio
nodes in a local area as a single network is called a mesh cloud, with it
working when the radios connect with each other. However, when one radio
(node) fails, the rest of the nodes can reroute; thus, mesh nets can fix
themselves. Radio nodes and nets operate in the microwave frequency bands,
which lend the ability for high speed "broadband" like applications. For
examples, see last month's issue for two mesh operations used to support
public safety at July Fourth festivities in Coronado, California and a
triathlon run in rural upstate New York -- ed.]
Follow Up on Damage Assessment Practice by California Groups
------------------------------------------------------------
Published In the last issue was a letter from the Pacific Palisades Amateur
Radio Emergency Group (PPAREG) of California about their excellent damage
assessment/communication practice activity. In scenarios, they canvass their
neighborhoods to attempt to assess what has happened. For data
observation/collection practice, they started with counting parked cars on a
given street, going from intersection to intersection, and reporting in to
the net. They count other items such as parkway trees, motorcycles and
trucks. Then, they assign these counts real life attributes such as number
of residents, gas leaks, power lines down, residence fires, non-ambulatory
injuries, victim non-responsive, etc.
Recently, PPAREG reached out to Cupertino ARES/RACES (CARES) [check out
their website for their excellence in activity and service -- ed.] for
assistance with its program and the forms CARES use to field collect
situation/preliminary safety assessments (PSAs) in emergencies/disasters.
Their goal was to help move PPAREG monthly exercises from just counting
street parked cars to a full blown disaster assessment package. In his
letter to the Cupertino group, Scott Reaser, K6TAR, wrote "the Pacific
Palisades Amateur Radio Emergency Group has much work to do to achieve an
effective response organization. We've learned that Cupertino ARES/RACES and
its work with the City of Cupertino is a model of what things look like done
right."
The Cupertino group's EC Jim Oberhofer, KN6PE, responded by sharing their
advice and forms COES 105 (field form) and COES 106 (rollup form). For
applications, Oberhofer also shared their PSA resource page. Cupertino
ARES/RACES also published a training video, which shows the processes and
use of the forms, on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmm-2lBKiQQ
From subsequent reports, PPAREG is working to incorporate CARES' forms and
best practices for enhancement of their own methodologies.
[Editor's note: I enjoyed corresponding with Scott Reaser, K6TAR, on this
example of excellence in mutual assistance, help and support between the
PPAREG and Cupertino ARES/RACES. We amateurs in ARES tend to think of mutual
assistance usually in the context of large scale disasters, when in fact, it
exists in "peacetime," too. It's an example other ARES groups around the
country can apply for their own mutual benefit, too. Reach out to your
neighboring ARES/RACES/ACS groups to share lessons learned, program
practices and protocols, for improving respective programs. The collateral
benefit is the networking, which leads to getting to know each other's
groups, leaders and personnel for mutual assistance and working together
when it matters the most - when it hits the fan.]
FEMA: Evacuation Versus Shelter-in-Place Considerations
-------------------------------------------------------
FEMA is seeking feedback on its draft document Planning Considerations:
Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place. Evacuation and shelter-in-place protective
actions are prompted by a variety of threats and hazards. Incident-specific
circumstances drive the relevant protective actions based on a community's
demographics, infrastructure, resources, authorities, and decision-making
process. Determining that evacuation needs to take place is not an
all-or-nothing approach. Lessons learned from disasters, such as hurricanes
Katrina, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, have highlighted the value of enacting a
zone-phased approach to evacuation and shelter-in-place, enabling
jurisdictions to move as few people as necessary. Sheltering-in-place
populations that are not directly in harm's way, rather than having them
evacuate, helps jurisdictions reduce costs, resource requirements, and the
negative impacts of evacuations, while promoting improved response and
quicker re-entry and recovery. More here. -- FEMA National Integration Center
ARRL Section News
Cape Cod ARES Receives Certificate of Recognition From Barnstable County
Commissioners
ARRL Cape Cod and Islands ARES District Emergency Coordinator Frank
O'Laughlin, WQ1O, and the Cape Cod (Massachusetts) ARES team received high
praise from the Barnstable County Commissioners for their hard work during
the intense storms that impacted the Cape in March.
The Cape Cod DEC and ARES team were awarded a Certificate of Recognition
from Commissioners Ronald Beaty, Mary Pat Flynn, and Leo Cakounes at a
Regional Emergency Planning Committee Meeting on August 1, 2018.
"I want to give thanks to all and especially to my crew who worked hard and
long hours last winter during storm operations. Our group devoted several
hundred person-hours to the operations," writes WQ1O. "As Cape and Islands
ARES insists on self sufficiency, our volunteers are self-equipped
regardless if there is equipment on scene. This helps guarantee redundancy."
-- ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Assistant Section Manager Phil Temples, K9HI,
Boston, Massachusetts
K1CE For a Final: See You in September, at Boxboro!
---------------------------------------------------
I hope to personally meet and greet readers of the ARES E-Letter at the
venerable ARRL New England Division Convention, September 7-9 in Boxborough,
Massachusetts, west of Boston. Dubbed "Boxboro," it is New England's premier
Amateur Radio event.The convention has been held at the same hotel for
decades. Click here for event information.
I fondly remember my first major convention experience as a new ham in 1976:
The ARRL New England Division Convention, held in Hartford, Connecticut that
year. I went with my Dad, Ken Palm, AB1N (SK) -- a wonderful memory for me.
I remember how proud I was to wear my first call sign badge, engraved at
that convention!
Please make a point of saying hi at Boxboro! I would love to chat with you
about -- anything! Make your plans now to attend; it's less than a month
away. I am excited to be visiting the New England Division Convention again,
near my hometown of Lexington, Massachusetts. It will great to see old
friends and make new ones. 73, Rick Palm, K1CE
________
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