DELARANEWS

ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC, Delaware EC

Delaware SET this weekend Oct 15

This is pretty much my fault. After conversations with Sean Miller at the EMA and with our group, we pretty much had Delaware’s SET organized… at least in thought mode. I was going to write up the specifics and be ready for Joe and Craig to hand out the details October 4 morning. But there arose an unannounced entire week of hurricane traffic which kept me without sleep and time to breathe… so the plans never got produced. With thanks for your flexibility, our SET is scheduled to go this Saturday at 10 AM. I would like as many operators as possible for this event which we hope would parallel a real disaster event and provide you training that’s worthwhile. The story is that a tornado took out a sizable hunk of western Delaware City - with power and cell outage, significant damage. That as you might expect, has captured the attention of everybody with a red light on their roof. But shortly into the rescue efforts, word comes from Scioto Township, “Hey, we just got really hammered out here… isn’t anybody going to come and help?” As you know, immediate damage assessment is a key to getting the right amount of help to the right place… and that will be our job. So we’ll be mobile, probably simplex since repeaters are down, and we’ll have a job to do! I hope to see you Saturday!!

ARES Ohio

Ohio SET 2022 Summary Report The Ohio Simulated Emergency Test (SET) was conducted October 1, 2022 along with ARRL’s national SET. At least 26 counties (of Ohio’s 88) participated with several others operating on their own separate dates. Responding to requests from numerous county Emergency Coordinators (EC) we reversed the planning process this year. Typically, we design a scenario at the state level and pass it down to the counties so that their response is more uniform. This year, we put the development and planning of county exercises back to the EC’s who could design drills that fit their own location or needs. We then offered our district level nets and the state station to coordinate all the communication. It seemed to be accepted and worked well. Exercises ranged from haz-mat and power outages to simulated events kicked off by the actual passage of Hurricane Ian into the Ohio Valley. Some groups practiced portable station setup. The Ohio EMA’s ARES-Auxcomm station, W8SGT, was in operation handing over 45 messages and reports from various counties and stations. W8SGT was in operation on the 3.902 SSB frequency, the digital frequency of 3854.5 taking digital messages directly, as well as DMR, Fusion, and Winlink V/UHF frequencies. OHDEN, the digital statewide network, did not participate but did run an evening net on that date. Licking County held two nets, one for SET and another “fox hunt” net to find a rogue operator. Cuyahoga county managed to participate while operators were actually working communications for a large public service event. Jefferson County operators went to the field where each operator set up a portable station. The locations included a soccer field, shelter, EOC and ARES Command Center. A couple Ohio Districts had nearly all counties online- District 9 and District 10. We looked good in front of several EMA Directors, including Mahoning. Frank Sole reports, “Thanks for being there. It was great being able to pass traffic to the Columbus EOC. Our local EMA rep (yes, they participated in a major way this year for the first time in a long time) was very impressed that we had a direct voice connection with Columbus EOC. You helped us look good! There was some confusion on the availability of W8SGT and OHDEN this year. Hope we can make adjustments on this for next year.” All counties are able to conduct emergency exercises during the year and count them as SET but 25 counties participated October 1. Each county submits two reports to the ARRL online; a performance score is published next year. For 2021’s SET, Ohio ranked number 2 in the nation, and we hope to uphold the tradition. Things that worked well: The EOC amateur station performed with excellence. Our ability to connect across many different bands and modes shows the capability that can be used when normal paths are broken. For the counties that exercised, messages were sent in some cases by new hams who had never done this type of activity. It was fun to hear them learn and become proficient. We received one message digitally from W8OMR, the Ohio Military Reserve station which was participating in a concurrent exercise involving MARS and military operatives. This shows our ability to maintain communications with those organizations. Things that didn’t: OHDEN opted not to operate during that date. The NTS (Ohio’s traffic system) traditionally has not participated and was not heard from this year again. Our manpower to staff the EOC station is light, we need to recruit more trained operators and get them state access. Things to improve: I would still like to increase the number of active counties on the specific date. It is also important that these exercises be more than just a “check in net” and actually deploy operators as many of our counties did. I want to sincerely thank you all for your support and enthusiasm. Since 2014 we have worked to make Ohio one of the strongest ARES states in the country, and our stature with the Ohio EMA as a viable communications resource is top notch. That’s due to your participation and willingness to get involved. I encourage you to continue to keep ARES strong in Ohio! I’m proud of you!

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 second Thursday of every month at 8PM. We hold a training meeting on the first 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.
DELARANews

ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC,

Delaware EC

Delaware SET this weekend Oct 15

This is pretty much my fault. After conversations with Sean Miller at the EMA and with our group, we pretty much had Delaware’s SET organized… at least in thought mode. I was going to write up the specifics and be ready for Joe and Craig to hand out the details October 4 morning. But there arose an unannounced entire week of hurricane traffic which kept me without sleep and time to breathe… so the plans never got produced. With thanks for your flexibility, our SET is scheduled to go this Saturday at 10 AM. I would like as many operators as possible for this event which we hope would parallel a real disaster event and provide you training that’s worthwhile. The story is that a tornado took out a sizable hunk of western Delaware City - with power and cell outage, significant damage. That as you might expect, has captured the attention of everybody with a red light on their roof. But shortly into the rescue efforts, word comes from Scioto Township, “Hey, we just got really hammered out here… isn’t anybody going to come and help?” As you know, immediate damage assessment is a key to getting the right amount of help to the right place… and that will be our job. So we’ll be mobile, probably simplex since repeaters are down, and we’ll have a job to do! I hope to see you Saturday!!

ARES Ohio

Ohio SET 2022 Summary Report The Ohio Simulated Emergency Test (SET) was conducted October 1, 2022 along with ARRL’s national SET. At least 26 counties (of Ohio’s 88) participated with several others operating on their own separate dates. Responding to requests from numerous county Emergency Coordinators (EC) we reversed the planning process this year. Typically, we design a scenario at the state level and pass it down to the counties so that their response is more uniform. This year, we put the development and planning of county exercises back to the EC’s who could design drills that fit their own location or needs. We then offered our district level nets and the state station to coordinate all the communication. It seemed to be accepted and worked well. Exercises ranged from haz-mat and power outages to simulated events kicked off by the actual passage of Hurricane Ian into the Ohio Valley. Some groups practiced portable station setup. The Ohio EMA’s ARES-Auxcomm station, W8SGT, was in operation handing over 45 messages and reports from various counties and stations. W8SGT was in operation on the 3.902 SSB frequency, the digital frequency of 3854.5 taking digital messages directly, as well as DMR, Fusion, and Winlink V/UHF frequencies. OHDEN, the digital statewide network, did not participate but did run an evening net on that date. Licking County held two nets, one for SET and another “fox hunt” net to find a rogue operator. Cuyahoga county managed to participate while operators were actually working communications for a large public service event. Jefferson County operators went to the field where each operator set up a portable station. The locations included a soccer field, shelter, EOC and ARES Command Center. A couple Ohio Districts had nearly all counties online- District 9 and District 10. We looked good in front of several EMA Directors, including Mahoning. Frank Sole reports, “Thanks for being there. It was great being able to pass traffic to the Columbus EOC. Our local EMA rep (yes, they participated in a major way this year for the first time in a long time) was very impressed that we had a direct voice connection with Columbus EOC. You helped us look good! There was some confusion on the availability of W8SGT and OHDEN this year. Hope we can make adjustments on this for next year.” All counties are able to conduct emergency exercises during the year and count them as SET but 25 counties participated October 1. Each county submits two reports to the ARRL online; a performance score is published next year. For 2021’s SET, Ohio ranked number 2 in the nation, and we hope to uphold the tradition. Things that worked well: The EOC amateur station performed with excellence. Our ability to connect across many different bands and modes shows the capability that can be used when normal paths are broken. For the counties that exercised, messages were sent in some cases by new hams who had never done this type of activity. It was fun to hear them learn and become proficient. We received one message digitally from W8OMR, the Ohio Military Reserve station which was participating in a concurrent exercise involving MARS and military operatives. This shows our ability to maintain communications with those organizations. Things that didn’t: OHDEN opted not to operate during that date. The NTS (Ohio’s traffic system) traditionally has not participated and was not heard from this year again. Our manpower to staff the EOC station is light, we need to recruit more trained operators and get them state access. Things to improve: I would still like to increase the number of active counties on the specific date. It is also important that these exercises be more than just a “check in net” and actually deploy operators as many of our counties did. I want to sincerely thank you all for your support and enthusiasm. Since 2014 we have worked to make Ohio one of the strongest ARES states in the country, and our stature with the Ohio EMA as a viable communications resource is top notch. That’s due to your participation and willingness to get involved. I encourage you to continue to keep ARES strong in Ohio! I’m proud of you!

ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL

Section Emergency Coordinator - Ohio Emergency Coordinator - Delaware County