ARES
Delaware County ARES
We seem to have completed another year in Delaware County! I say, “seem” because we do
have the Vet’s Day parade, and of course there could be a real event that would see us being
activated. But by and large, our activities for the year have wound down.
I offer my sincere thanks to ALL who participated-- it’s your hard work and dedication that
makes our organization great! We had a full year of solid training, and we will continue that
through the winter months! There are many areas in which ARES can be of assistance to our
county, and we hope to add to those as we widen our training scope.
We do need to brush up on the digital side of life! During the SET it was proven once again that
sending messages digitally was absolutely the best, most efficient way to complete our tasks!
There are a couple simplex digital nets - one in Marion, one in Union - that would afford our
Delaware County stations the opportunity to practice and get to know our neighbors even
better. For Union County, it’s Monday evening following the 9PM net on 145,60. For Marion,
the digital net is every Thursday evening except the last of hte month, at 8PM on 145.70. Nets
generally use MT63 2KL.
Here is our training recap for 2019:
Operations manual and ARC station operation
EOC training
fldigi and digital radio
Managing events
Search and rescue
ARES Connect
Damage assessment
WebEOC
Simulated Emergency Test preparation
Traffic and messaging
For November, we plan a tabletop exercise- you’ll want to attend, it should be interesting!
We track our hours in ARES Connect! I try to keep everyone’s time recorded- but YOU can log in
and make sure you are registered for events and logging your hours! I highly recommend
becoming familiar with the system- Ohio is the only state which has converted completely to the
database. It’s working very well!
Again, thank you all so much for your time and dedication! Our activities will pick up next year
early (like around the end of March!!) so keep ‘em charged and ready!
Ohio ARES
OHDEN 2.0
If an organization is solid and steady, doing things as it always has, that organization is not
growing. Eventually it will get stale, and if a volunteer based organization, it will see volunteers
fall away and reduce their commitment. And volunteers – YOU – determine whether this thing
works or not.
Today we continue to improve our training standards, to improve our accountability with ARES
Connect, to improve our relationships with local agency leaders, and to improve our status as a
viable communications arm for the state of Ohio and our local partners.
Eight years ago or so, Gary Hollenbaugh, NJ8BB, had an idea that we could use new digital
modes to relay messages to each other and to the state amateur station, W8SGT. So, OHDEN –
the Ohio Digital Emergency Net – was founded and developed. At that time, W8SGT (The Sarge)
wasn’t fully developed to handle the additional load. The station has grown both in capabilities
and in stature with the Ohio EMA to the point that we have digital experts on the team, and
dedicated radios and antennas. Gary has become an ASEC (Assistant Section Emergency
Coordinator) specifically to foster OHDEN.
Over recent years, Eldon Peterson, W5UHQ, has invested untold hours into managing the net,
scheduling net controls, examining band and mode patterns, experimenting with different
modes and frequencies to produce a reliable digital network that covers Ohio. Eldon basically
“owned” OHDEN as his duty and concentration. We are grateful for all of that work and energy!
Eldon’s resignation from the Net Manager position can be used to re-birth OHDEN, and actually
develop OHDEN 2.0. This will increase performance for emergencies as well as provide better
service as The Sarge as an intel-gathering arm for Ohio EMA’s Watch Desk.
OHDEN 2.0 – what does it look like?
Probably pretty much like it is now. It works and it’s not broken, as the saying goes, so we don’t
need to tear it apart. But we can take this opportunity to refocus, restructure a bit, and provide
for a more streamlined operation.
One of our moves comes from an analysis of traffic flow. Most of the message traffic is
envisioned to flow to and from the Sarge (at the Ohio EOC). In that case It just makes sense to
have The Sarge as the central point of the network. We tried that structure during the SET and it
worked flawlessly. In that event, we had an “open net” running for OHDEN (no strict net control,
etc.) and messages were sent to The Sarge from all over the state. It worked very well (the band
was up) to prove the concept. Gary and I both agree it makes sense to center the net at the
Ohio EOC. We will be dedicating manpower in any activation to maintain the digital side of the
operation.
While we refocus the net to The Sarge, we’re actually working on a concurrent program (both
voice and digital) to create “Force Multipliers.” These are stations around the state, perhaps one
or two per district, who are excellent operators and who can step in as net control stations
under many different conditions. In periods where someone else is NCS, these stations can
serve as official relay points around the state to help pick up calls that NCS can’t hear. This will
become far more important over the winter months when the bands are not exactly ‘hopping’.
It could even be stretched into a series of sub-nets (where communications is still possible but
only local) which could then relay to The Sarge. There are a lot of possibilities! So we are looking
for those operators- if you would like to be involved, please send me an email (n8bhl =at=
arrl.net) and let me know!!
We believe that these simple reorganization steps will provide a solid foundation as we look into
further changes… perhaps operating in a faster mode (MT63, Olivia 4 or something) while
concurrently managing traffic or other operations at a different spot on the waterfall with trusty
and dependable Olivia 8-500. Gary will be looking into other possibilities as well. He has always
envisioned something like a “District Station” who directly interacts with The Sarge, while other
stations in each district funnel traffic to their district station. If you have been on the net and
have observations or suggestions PLEASE know that they are very welcome!! Let us hear your
ideas! We’ll make sure any ideas are proven in concept, tried and evaluated before just
randomly tossing them out there.
I want to encourage all our digital operators that this is a great time for OHDEN! Please hook up
with the OHDEN page on Facebook, and get in touch with our website which is now attached to
the Ohio ARRL Section web: http://www.arrl-ohio.org Look for the OHDEN button on the very
front page. We’ll be updating the information there very quickly, so give us a minute to get our
act together there
I think this is an exciting time, and we can take this opportunity to make some calculated growth
take place. All of this will better serve our partners across Ohio!
Amateur Radio is more than
a hobby- it becomes an
important service when
other forms of
communication fail. It’s up
to all of us to stay ready,
stay trained, and stay
available. We could be
required on a moment’s
notice.
Delaware County ARES is part of the
national ARRL program. We rely on
our volunteers. We operate during
several large public events including
the national-level Ironman
competition.
We hold a radio net on the 145.19
repeater (no tone) on the first
Thursday of every month at 8PM.
We hold a training meeting on the
second Thursday of every month at
7:30 usually at the Red Cross building.
All amateurs are invited!
For information, contact Stan, N8BHL
the Delaware County Emergency
Coordinator, or Joe, K8MP or Craig,
W8CR.