ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC,

Delaware EC

Here we go again! Well, we can’t do it ‘again’ but we can do it similar. I’m hoping we will be more active in 2022 and that we will continue to grow! I truly appreciate everyone who’s faithfully attending our meetings, and I vow to keep training interesting and realistic. We’ve lost the biggest event, the Ironman, to Sandusky but we will try to get involved in other events that spring up. One item on my personal agenda is to revamp “Canned Ham”… I need to go completely through it and make sure everything works as desired. I had to scrap the printer last summer, it would not work with Windows 10 (what a surprise…) so that’s on the agenda. Also, I scrapped the very old IBM laptops running XP, and I have some replacements coming. They should help us keep up to date when on assignment. We will also have solid fldigi again from the trailer. Not sure about Winlink… the interface I’m using in the trailer doesn’t do Winlink so I’ll have to save up and try to find a Signalink or something that would work. I need a new battery which is a routine replacement. Mechanically Canned Ham is in excellent shape. No worries about leaks: last year I sealed every joint with “Eternabond” tape- so it should hold longer than I’ll be alive. So what can you do along the same lines? If you have a trailer or some type of mobile unit, routine seasonal maintenance is of course on the list. But when’s the last time you checked the battery or operated the radios? All good to do before the operating season begins. Winter is the best time to get your NIMS online training in! If you have certificates, make sure I have a copy. I’ll send them to Jim for the state training database, and I want to put together a notebook so they are on file at the EMA. The training’s free, it won’t keep you up at night and it will give you a basic view of how all this “Incident Command” stuff works. We need to have the four NIMS courses (100, 200, 700, 800) complete to be assigned the EOC or other official location. We’ll get some specific training in beginning at our February meeting. remember our training is the FIRST THURSDAY at the Red Cross! Everyone’s welcome! OHIO ARES Get your schedules out! We have some dates to pass along for activities in the Ohio ARES organization. First, after some thoughtful discussion, we have agreed to hold off on an in-person meeting again this year. However, we do have the resources to gather on Zoom and launch the 2022 activity season! So we’ll get more to you, but plan APRIL 9 to join us for some fun online stuff! Another date to remember is April 23, a Saturday. This will be the date for the 2022 ARES NVIS Antenna day. Rules and guidelines will be basically the same. We’ll try 40 and 75 meters as the mainstay. We’ll put more information after we review life in general…but get your grills, hamburgers, frosty beverages, and some wire together for NVIS Day, 2022! We are organizing as an important part of launching each year. One thing going on is that we’ve circulated a survey to each EC (if you haven’t received one, ask your DEC!) in order to confirm two operating locations in your county: the EOC and your County Control Station. We would like to know what capabilities you have at each location, and whether you have mobile resources available. We will try to keep this information at hand for quick referral in case we need to go regional or state wide. We are also confirming that the “master listing” on the ARES website is completely correct. That will be submitted to the ARRL to confirm who our movers- and-shakers are. Thanks for your cooperation in getting these completed. Did you have fun operating the ARES VHF-plus simplex contest? I’m tallying scores at this writing, I will post the results as soon as they’re wrapped up. Please try to get your scores into ohsimplex.org asap so you can be included. Remember, while a fun operating event it does serve a greater purpose- allowing us all to gather a good picture of where we could reach after a prolonged outage were to take down repeaters. I enjoyed hearing both on the air repeatedly and in the comments how much fun you all had operating this event! We did operate The Sarge during the event, with moderate success. The problem is that our two- meter beams (co-phased 13 ele at 100’-ish ) are extremely narrow so I couldn’t hear a broad area at any one time. Beau was operating 440 on the dual- band vertical. We need the ability to “reach out” during a real emergency, but it kind of hinders operating in a contest environment. We’ve discussed going to the vertical next year for broader but not quite as distant coverage. The things you learn that apply to all operation!! ARES is represented at the state planning level for the 2024 solar eclipse as I’ve written before. The state is now rolling out more local information sessions for county EMA’s- and I urge you to make sure your county ARES leadership is represented in those meetings! This is shaping up to be an “all hands” event on the same scope as the Republican National Convention. So we need to be involved early and thoroughly as amateur radio will play a very large part in this event. 2021 Annual Report ARES Around Ohio Ohio’s amateur radio operators continued to train and supply important community service over the year 2021. Using their own radio equipment, these operators continued to educate themselves through NIMS and other sources to present a trained, ready resource to counties and Ohio According to independentsector.org, the 2021 hourly value of a volunteer was $28.54. Ohio ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) members provided 58,202 hours of training, meeting, and service valued at $1.661 Million. In addition, each of our over 955 members provided an average of $300 in radio equipment, saving our communities and the state $286,500. ARES operators provided 17,000 hours of service for 678 “public service” events (parades, rides, runs, and competition) and they provided 6579 hours of service in 113 emergency events (the majority being weather-related). ARES members work hard to present a trained resource to our partners. We have over 1,000 active members. 732 have completed the four NIMS courses (100, 200, 700, 800) to be considered “Level 2” operators. 196 have added either 300-400 or the Professional Development Series to qualify for management positions. 74 have completed Auxcomm training, 10 are COML, 2 COMN, and 4 COMT rated. Ohio ARES keeps an extensive training database on all ARES members. Including such credentials as firefighting, EMT/Medic, police and many other credits, we now have over 10,000 certificates on file. We submit this level of training across the state is unrivaled by any other state. The Ohio Auxcomm Team The Ohio Auxcomm Team operates station W8SGT at the Ohio EOC. Over 2021, 139 unique Ohio operators contacted the station over 941 times during our 41 weekly readiness HF voice nets. There were numerous contacts from outside Ohio, including PA, SC, TN, VA, WI and WV. The station is set up for voice, digital and Winlink operation on HF, VHF and UHF frequencies. Our operators are well trained and at the ‘top of the list’ for net control and emergency skills. Most have experience in the emergency services, all have experience participating in actual emergencies. Some represent our skills elsewhere, such as an annual trip for two of our operators to communicate with the New York Marathon. These operators are dedicated to the program, attending the EOC each Tuesday evening for the weekly readiness nets. Our operators develop and maintain antennas and equipment interfaces as needed. Ohio Digital Emergency Net A critical service of amateur radio is transmitting formatted ICS forms. The Ohio Digital Emergency Net (OHDEN) is part of Ohio ARES with the purpose of operating digitally to send these messages. Holding weekly readiness checks over 12 months, 80 unique operators totaled 788 contacts averaging 65 per month. These Came from an average of 18 counties per month. There are several layers of HF voice nets in Ohio to organize and send messages. These nets are mentioned because they are included as a part of our larger “Simulated Emergency Test” sponsored by the ARRL each October. Local Emergency Nets Ohio counties in which there is an active ARES program conduct regular local nets on VHF/UHF frequencies. Many also conduct local digital nets. Ohio county ARES units conducted 4,319 voice nets and 693 digital nets accumulating 27,109 hours. These times are included in the general ARES report above. These local nets carry the specific purpose of service our county partners from EMA, hospital and other agencies. It should be noted that most “Skywarn” severe weather nets are conducted on a local basis, communicating with the National Weather Service. These times are in addition to activity cited above. However, ARES and the Auxcomm team continue a program aimed at providing blanket coverage of the state through digital voice systems when needed. The “Watch Desk Project” Storm systems usually bring serious static and RF noise making communication on HF bands extremely difficult. By linking the two major digital voice repeater systems in Ohio (Yaesu’s “System Fusion” and the P-25 based “DMR” system) we offer coverage through over 225 repeaters saturating the state. This creates a significant ability to communicate static-free with handheld radios. This “Watch Desk Project” has been used in cooperation with the EOC’s Watch Desk during severe weather outbreaks. It is a valuable resource that stands ready when needed. We Test Our Readiness In order to test our readiness to be a viable resource Ohio ARES participates in the ARRL-sponsored “Simulated Emergency Test” in early October each year. Ohio generally places in the top three ranking nationwide. This year’s scenario was a derecho with heavy wind damage followed by days of sub-zero cold resulting in loss of power and communication. Thirty one counties and over two hundred operators were active for the exercise as was the Ohio Auxcomm Team and W8SGT. W8SGT received 35 digital messages (205, 213, others plus Winlink forms) 31 formal voice messages and many tactical communications over the daylong period. Another important test is the “Ohio ARES VHF Plus” radio contest. Conducted as a contest, this event in early January is actually a test of residential VHF/UHF antennas and stations. It affords operators the chance to plot where their “simplex” signals (non-repeater) may be heard. This gives the knowledge of how they would participate in a large- scale disaster or prolonged power outage that would take away repeaters. Members of our teams appreciate the cooperation and acceptance of our partners at all levels! We will continue to study and practice to maintain our service at acceptable levels.

ARRL Welcomes New Director of

Emergency Management

ARRL has announced the hiring of Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, into the role of Director of Emergency Management. Johnston is from Ozone, Arkansas, and comes to ARRL with 16 years of experience as the Director of Johnson County (Arkansas) Department of Emergency Management. He holds an Extra-class amateur radio license and is an ARES® Emergency Coordinator, Volunteer Examiner, and ARRL-registered Instructor. Johnston is also certified in FEMA NIMS and is a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) AUXCOMM Communications Unit Leader. He holds a bachelor's degree in emergency administration and management from Arkansas Tech University. "I am happy to welcome Josh to the ARRL staff and to add his talent and knowledge to our team," said ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA. "His contribution will help ARRL continue to support our dedicated volunteers of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service®, improve opportunities for training, and advance our relationships throughout the EmComm community." With extensive experience in inter-agency cooperation and planning, Johnston is well versed in the different aspects of emergency management and leading both professional and volunteer operators. He has experience in communications planning and execution in the field and at the local and state level. As an Arkansas Master Certified Emergency Manager and past Board Member of Arkansas Emergency Management Association, where he served as president for 2 years, Johnston has experience working with government and agency representatives as well as boots on the ground in the field. Johnston will be based at ARRL's headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, working with staff and member-volunteers, and coordinating with the ARRL Board's new Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee (EC-FSC). -ARRL

ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL

Section Emergency Coordinator - Ohio Emergency Coordinator - Delaware County