ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL

Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator

Delaware County Emergency Coordinator

All Horse Parade a success After last year’s cancellation, everyone was dead set on staging this year’s event as a success- and that it was. Many thanks to those who participated. It’s always a fun gig- we get to watch a unique parade, and potentially make a difference with our ability to communicate. Over 100 parade units, all horse related with two high school bands, took part. Crystal Noe Photography via Facebook We did have an incident, where Jamie noticed a medical situation starting to develop near to her position. Bicycle medics were close by, and as she relayed the information, I was operating net control right next to the Fire Chief. I pointed, he held up his radio and nodded, and a medic was soon on the scene. Nice work! Thanks so much for everything you all have done so far this year to help our projects, events and activities go so well! One of our concerns now that we’re slowing down with activities is to pick solid training so that we can increase our abilities and prove our worth to our partners. This month’s training is set for SET. No, not double-speak, the SET is the ARRL annual “Simulated Emergency Test” which is designed to be a nationwide date for exercises that put us to the test. And so we want to be set up to succeed and make the most of the exercise. Coming up in future months will be traffic and message handling, and a tabletop exercise! ALL are welcome to be a part of this vital organization.

Ohio SEC Report

Ohio SET 2019

The Power’s Gone

Purpose and scope The Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is an annual exercise managed by the ARRL. The purpose is to set aside one weekend where ARES organizations can conduct section-wide emergency exercises to improve their performance, discover problems, and correct their approach. The 2019 Ohio SET has the following goals: 1. Promote individual participation and activity 2. Re-focus our attention to achievable, localized performance 3. Involve as large a number of members as possible in actual activity and movement 4. Create a viable scenario that members can handle 5. Present a pre-arranged exercise structure to each county 6. Create a resulting workable plan for each county that can be applied to real life 7. Generate message traffic flow to test Ohio’s traffic system 8. Provide for external participation from outside organizations Premise The underlying premise of the exercise is simple: the power is gone. It really doesn’t matter why; the reality of the scenario is that there is a widespread power outage beginning on that Thursday leading up to SET weekend. After three days, we’re assuming that battery and fuel backup for repeaters and most stations has been depleted. Cell towers, Internet providers, even MARCS radio system facilities will have stopped operating. It is up to us to provide ad-hoc communication. We’ll have to reduce our function to the most basic common denominator: simplex VHF/UHF and backup powered HF. Preparation During the week prior to SET we will be providing email updates outlining the crisis as it develops. No activity is expected other than the type of preparation that would take place. Initialization (STARTEX) On Saturday, October 5, the SET will begin with the Ohio SEC alerting all ten district EC’s, who will in turn be instructed to activate all their counties to respond to the massive power outage. Each county will be instructed to do the following: 1. Provide feedback to the DEC whether they’re participating or not 2. If so, activate all members 3. Establish a county control station which can communicate simplex on their designated frequency. 4. Begin taking checkins and availability 5. Establish a pool of available operators 6. Report back to the DEC on the district simplex frequency with those numbers Exercise Underway Once the county has prepared, the following instructions will be distributed. Understand that the dispatched operators need only to park somewhere near to their destination (the associated parking lot). Unless earlier permission is granted, they will not be requested to enter the premise or disrupt daily operation therein. 1. Dispatch an ARES mobile station to the EOC/Dispatch center. 2. Dispatch an ARES mobile to every fire department in the county. 3. Dispatch an ARES mobile to police/sheriff headquarters. 4. Dispatch an ARES mobile to any local hospital. 5. Once arrived, all operators may check into the county simplex net. a. Control will note which stations can connect, which require relays b. Create a map of this performance for future reference c. It may be efficient to have more than one net (divided by function- Fire, Medical, etc.) d. Once primary connection is established, station-to-station may be tested e. If there aren’t enough mobiles, they can be rotated to different locations. 6. When this communication test is complete a. The EC should prepare a detail list to be forwarded to W8SGT i. Callsigns of operators participating, their location ii. Brief comments on the success of the mission b. The message should be prepared on an IS-213 form and forwarded to W8SGT i. VHF/HF traffic net (voice or digital) ii. HF directly to W8SGT (SSB or OHDEN) iii. VHF direct to W8SGT if able Additional participation During the exercise, a broader activity will be taking place with outside agencies and traffic nets becoming involved. The primary purpose is to exercise the ability to send and receive message traffic during the blackout situation. It is possible that additional mission requests may be presented to individual EC’s and counties from these outside sources, however the primary mission will still be establishing proof of simplex communication across the county. Exercise Complete (ENDEX) Once the county’s simplex net has been determined and mapping has been completed, operators may be released from their positions. It’s up to the EC whether a brief “hotwash” takes place or whether an AAR can take place at the next monthly training. It’s recommended that BOTH events take place. The EC is then required to complete an AAR to the Ohio SEC, and fill out the ARRL AAR form.