ARES Southern New Jersey Section

​Rick Kennard, N2RPQ
Section Emergency Coordinator
n2rpq <at> arrl <dot> net

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What Is ARES?

Bob Keogh, KD2NEC : Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

​Quoted from the ARRL website : "The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes."

To learn more about ARES, visit the ARRL page at www.arrl.org/ares.

​If you are interested in becoming an ARES member in Gloucester County, contact Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator Bob Keogh, KD2NEC at [email protected]

Gloucester County ARES Simplex Frequency : 146.535 MHz

​​Emergency Coordinators
​

Burlington County : John Kafka, NJ1SP
Camden County : Tim Carvis, WB9ULP
Cumberland County : Mike Harla, N2HMO
Gloucester County : Bob Keogh, KD2NEC
Mercer County : John Pugh, WJ3P
Ocean County : Bob Murdock, WX2NJ
​​Salem County : Charlie Olinda, N2SRQ​

Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator/American Red Cross Liaison (ASEC-ARC) :
Jamie Pugh, N2VVL
​

ARES Report Forms Video : https://youtu.be/vfUVvOYsTu0

​To Learn More about ARES, Go to the ARRL/ARES Web Page (http://arrl.org/ares) , where you will find additional information

ARRL ARES Registration Form
Download the ARES Manual [PDF]
ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF]
ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book 3.0 [Fillable PDF]
ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book July 2024 [Word]
ARRL ARES Plan July 2024
ARES Group Registration
Emergency Communications Training
2023 National Preparedness Report
​Southern New Jersey Section Emergency Operations Plan 2023.PDF

​American Red Cross Disaster Relief Operations Procedures.PDF
​

Formal Message Handling.PDF

ICS Form 213.PDF
​

WinLink/VARA On A Linux PC.PDF
​Ocean County ARES procedure to run VARA and Winlink under a Linux operating system.
By Bob Murdock, WX2NJ, Ocean County ARES® Emergency Coordinator​

​The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership.

​The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable but is not a requirement for membership.

If you are interested in learning more about the Gloucester County ARES Program or becoming an ARES member, please contact Bob Keogh

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NTS Resources
 
The National Traffic System® (NTS) is a network of Amateur Radio operators who move information during disasters and other emergencies. General messages offering well wishes also move through the NTS to help test the system and to help amateur radio operators build traffic handling skills. While the NTS is primarily set up to serve the United States and Canada, it is possible to move traffic internationally through the NTS through various local, regional, area, and international network connections.
 

• NTS 2.0 : https://nts2.arrl.org
• NTS Manual : https://www.arrl.org/nts-manual
• NTS Methods and Practices Guidelines Table of Contents : https://www.arrl.org/table-of-contents-nts-methods-and-practices-guidelines
• Handling Instructions : https://nts2.arrl.org/hx-handling-instructions
• Numbered Texts : https://nts2.arrl.org/numbered-texts
• Form Encoding Rules for Form : https://nts2.arrl.org/form-encoding-rules-for-forms

 

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Emergency Frequencies For The ARRL
Southern New Jersey Section

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American Red Cross Trailer Update - May 30, 2025
By Karl Frank W2KBF

​On Friday, May 30, 2025, Bob Keogh KD2NEC, Todd Woodward KD2ESH, and Karl Frank W2KBF continued to prepare the trailer for GOTA/Field Day. Operating tables had been installed previously and radios had been mounted to the shelf. For our latest test, we strapped a fiberglass mast to the trailer and set up a Chameleon wire antenna as an end-fed inverted VEE (low SWR on 80 - 10 meters), fired up the propane-powered generator and tested out the Yaesu FT-857 on 20 meters. A station in Florida gave us a S8 signal report with good, clean audio. So we now have demonstrated functioning electrical power and functioning HF and VHF/UHF radios (Yaesu FTM-400) working from the trailer. More work remains to be done on the 120 VAC wiring and tidying things up, but we have demonstrated that we have a basic functional EMCOMM setup.

Todd KD2ESH and Bob KD2NEC working in the trailer

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - June 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

In our May CrossTalk article, we talked about preparing for any type of disaster. This month we will talk specifically about disasters due to tornados.

On May 18, 2025, the news reported the impact of tornadoes in Kentucky and Missouri.

What to Do Before, During and After a Tornado

According to NOAA, there were over 1,400 tornadoes in 2017. And while tornadoes can strike whenever they please, they're most likely to wreak havoc from April onward until the clock strikes midnight on your summer.

It's no secret that tornadoes seriously blow, leaving devastation and destruction in their wake. Most importantly, your favorite television meteorologist can't always predict when they're coming. This makes it even more important that you know what to do before, during and after a tornado hits.

Before the Tornado
Any steps you take before the tornado are about planning and being alert to your surroundings. You can do so through the following :

• Know the Signs : Know what alarms or notifications the government uses for tornado watches or warnings.
• Plan Ahead : Have a dress rehearsal to make sure everyone is fully prepared to take responsibility for his or her own safety.
• Watch the Weather : Changing weather patterns are like a cheat sheet telling you a tornado might be coming. Pay attention to weather reports and rely on your own instincts and experience.
• See for Yourself : Nature doesn't try to pull a fast one when a tornado is coming. Look for a dark, greenish sky, a wall of clouds and large, grapefruit-sized hail.
• Listen : Aside from the alarms, some say tornadoes produce a roar similar to a train.

During the Tornado
There's a tornado literally at your doorstep. Don't stop, drop and roll. Instead, do this :

• Go Underground : If there's no basement, a small room in the middle of the house is best. And since windows can break, stay away from them at all costs.
• Go Underneath (Furniture) : Hold on to a heavy table or desk and use your arms to protect your head and neck. It could save your life.
• Know When to Leave : If you live in a mobile home, even if it has tie-downs, you should seek safer shelter (if possible).
• Stay Flat : If your home isn't safe, go outside and lie flat on the ground with your hands over your head and neck.
• No Ridin' Dirty : If you're in a car, get out and get inside or lie down in a low area. If you're outside, lay with your hands over your head and neck.
• Get Low : If you're in a high-rise building, go to an interior room on the lowest floor. The whole "window breaking" thing still applies, so stay away from them.

After a Tornado
Once the tornado has passed, check for people who might've been injured or trapped. Do not move them unless they are in immediate danger of further injury. Call for help. Celebrate your newfound heroism. Then look around, and survey what you might've lost for your impending insurance claim (https://www.trustedchoice.com/homeowners-insurance/claims).

Making an Insurance Claim Following a Tornado
Your homeowners insurance policy (https://www.trustedchoice.com/homeowners-insurance) has coverage for natural disasters. If you have questions about how your homeowners insurance protects your property from damage from tornadoes, contact a Trusted Choice ® Independent Agent - they'll know exactly what you get from your policy.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - May 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Picture yourself, anxiously watching the Weather Channel, because you heard that there was a severe hurricane heading your way. All of a sudden, you lost electrical power, the internet and cellular phone service. You are now in the dark and you can’t get any information on the direction and severity of the storm.
 
Hopefully you have purchased a generator, a deep cycle battery, an amateur radio with a good antenna and you have been maintaining the whole system.
 
What frequency should you go to for your local weather? That’s right, 147.180 MHz, our primary 2 meter repeater. You will hear many of our GCARC members giving weather reports from the station in their backyard. They will give you information on wind speed, amount of rain, if the barometric pressure is increasing or decreasing and most importantly, damage assessment.
 
If several operators west of you are saying that the storm has moved out but others are saying that it's just starting to rain, you can determine the general direction on the storm.
 
If you would like to learn more about the “SkyWarn” program, tune your radio to 147.180 MHz, +0.6 MHz, PL 131.8 Hz, on Sunday Evenings at 7:30 PM.
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - April 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Work in Progress on the American Red Cross Emergency Communications Trailer. Cooper Hospital donated five Amateur Radios, along with their “PodRunner”. The radios have all been tested and are in working condition. The next step is to install the antennas and activate the power distribution system.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - March 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

There are three good reasons for us to join the American Red Cross :

1. The New Jersey Region of the American Red Cross is our one and only Served Agency.
2. The American Red Cross is by far the most professional Volunteer Disaster Service Organization that I’ve ever served with.
3. You get to celebrate with our friends on the Battleship New Jersey, during Red Cross Month, every year in March. The only catch is you must become a Registered Volunteer but there is no entrance fee. Most of us have joined the “Disaster Services Technology” group. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Here is a invitation from Rosie Taravella, CEO of American Red Cross New Jersey Region.

Join us to kick off Red Cross Month! On Sunday, March 2, 2025, the American Red Cross New Jersey Region will be kicking off Red Cross Month onboard the Battleship New Jersey and we’d love for our volunteers and employees to join us!

For the past few years, we’ve been fortunate to kick off Red Cross Month on the Battleship New Jersey with a ceremony and flag raising, which helps acknowledge both the historic and ongoing relationship between the American Red Cross and the U.S. Armed Forces.

March has been recognized as Red Cross Month for more than 80 years. Beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943, every U.S. President has designated March as Red Cross Month to recognize how the American Red Cross helps people across the country and around the world.

The flag raising, ceremony, and side-gun salute will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025.

• 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
• Battleship New Jersey
• 100 Clinton Street
• Camden, New Jersey 08103

We hope you can join us. Please register at : https://volunteerconnection.redcross.org for this event on Volunteer Connection. This event is outdoors and is rain or shine. Please dress for the weather and wear appropriate footwear to easily move around on a battleship. Parking is free and available on Clinton Street with additional parking available by the marina. Tours of the Battleship New Jersey are available after the ceremony.

Feel free to contact Communications Director Diane Concannon, [email protected] if you have questions.

Yours in Service,
Rosie Taravella
CEO, American Red Cross New Jersey Region

© 2008, 2022 American Red Cross, All Rights Reserved.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - February 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

​Items in the Article :

• Ham Radio Operators Serving During California Firestorms
• California Wildfires – Red Cross Response and Disaster Relief

​
Ham Radio Operators Serving During California Firestorms

As the firestorms across Southern California continue to threaten millions of residents, trained amateur radio operators are serving critical volunteer roles to help officials spot fires before they get out of control. Dry conditions and wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour have fueled days of devastating wildfires. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled by infernos.

Damage from the Eaton Fire. US Air National Guard Photograph by Tech. Sgt. Joseph Pagan

The Eaton fire burned to the top of Mount Wilson, a critical logistical post for broadcast radio and television stations, as well as communications across the Southland. Federal agencies, air traffic control, local emergency responders, radio amateurs, and others all share tower space on the mountain.

While the main fires have been burning north and northwest of the central section of Los Angeles, just to the south, hams are standing watch. Orange County Fire Watch (OCFW) is a program locally organized by the Orange County Parks Department and the Irvine Conservancy. During severe fire weather, volunteers go to preassigned locations within parks and open spaces to report conditions. Many of them are hams, using the amateur radio bands to fill in mobile network weak zones.

ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA , is among the deployed volunteers. He said hams are stepping up. “We’re all over the ARRL Orange Section on hilltops, reporting the wind and humidity, ash seen coming down, scanning for spot fires (none so far), smoke from the LA fires, guest activity at the parks, and being a presence at trailheads with reflective vests and vehicle signs indicating Fire Watch,” he said.

Ray Hutchinson, AE6H, is a retired firefighter who serves as the chief radio officer for Fire Watch. He says local clubs are key to providing the needed RF infrastructure. “Our local club, the South Orange Amateur Radio Association (SOARA), an ARRL Special Service Club, provides linked 2-meter and 70-centimeter repeaters: one high level and one coastal, for use by OCFW hams during deployments. There is a formal OCFW Net Control Station (NCS) for the entirety of these events. Radio amateurs are also ready and able to serve at evacuation centers, providing support as needed.

Members of ARRL Headquarters staff have been in touch with ARRL volunteers and other ham radio groups around the affected area, and are offering material support for any activations. “It has been a busy start to the year for ham volunteers,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “Whether it’s firestorms or ice storms or any other need, ARRL volunteers selflessly serve their communities. We’re mindful that large-scale events like this impact the hams who are active serving,” she said.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, has been on calls with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other served agencies, offering ARRL resources. Efforts are being coordinated locally by Emergency Network Los Angeles (ENLA) ,the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) group in Southern California.

Johnston urges hams in the affected regions to be ready to take care of themselves and their families before needing to deploy. He points to resources shared by ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) during National Preparedness Month last September. “These are stressful events for everyone, and being a ham volunteer is really second to keeping yourself and your family safe,” said Johnston.

Article Credit : The ARRL Letter for January 16, 2025 - www-arrl.org

Resilience Through Amateur Radio for National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month : Ensuring Family Safety

National Preparedness Month : Station Readiness

National Preparedness Month : Get Involved
 

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 The American Red Cross is working 24/7 with partners in Southern California to make sure people have the support they need in the face of the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire, Sunset Fire, and Kenneth Fire.

Find Open Shelters : https://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/find-an-open-shelter.html

If an emergency has forced you to evacuate your home, the Red Cross may be able to help.

Updated January 17, 2025

Thousands of Californians are devastated by the catastrophic wildfires that wiped out their homes, cherished mementos and even their livelihoods. With neighborhoods reduced to ash, the American Red Cross is there providing help and hope with necessities like food, shelter, emotional care, recovery planning and financial assistance.

How we've helped so far :

• Nearly 450 Red Cross responders are working day and night to make sure people are not alone.
• Over 6,500 overnight stays have been provided with partners, offering warmth, safety and compassion to those who have left everything behind.
• Since the fires started over a week ago, the Red Cross has provided more than 33,000 meals and snacks with the help of partners.
• The Red Cross has been helping procure replacement items like eyeglasses and medications for those who had to quickly evacuate their homes.
• Through these wildfires, we’re seeing the best of humanity come together to care for one another. In fact, more than 8,000 local community members have raised their hands to offer support to relief efforts by signing up to be new Red Cross volunteers.
• The Red Cross is working closely with local officials, government agencies and other nonprofits to coordinate relief efforts and make recovery plans. This support includes Disaster Recovery Centers in Los Angeles and Pasadena where people can access resources and aid from multiple organizations. Specialized task forces have been established to support immediate and long-term needs alongside community and government partners, including feeding, veteran care and long-term housing.

Financial assistance programs have been launched for all households within the wildfire perimeters, only one week after the blazes began. Financial assistance empowers families to take control of their recovery and decide their next steps by helping to replace clothing, secure new housing or offset any other critical needs.

Read stories from those affected by the fires : https://www.redcross.org/local/california/los-angeles/about-us/our-work/california-wildfires-response-january-2025.html#Stories

Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need

Anyone who needs a safe place to stay or a warm meal can find shelter information by accessing the free Red Cross Emergency app (https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html) or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

All disaster assistance is free. We don’t require people to show any kind of identification to enter a shelter - just their name and where they were living before the disaster.

Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or citizenship status. Pets are welcome. We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and domesticated pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, depending on the situation, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

How to Find Help

• Many areas remain inaccessible. If you need assistance, please consider coming to a shelter.
• If you can, download the Red Cross Emergency app to find service locations or visit https://www.redcross.org/get-help.html
• You can also find shelters by following your local Red Cross and local emergency officials on social media, or by monitoring local news.
• If you’re unable to access the information you need, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

Help finding a loved one

• Those needing assistance locating a missing loved one because of the fires can visit https://redcross.org/findfamily or reach us at 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Please provide as much detail as possible to assist us in potentially locating your missing loved one.

Learn more about Red Cross assistance

• Call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) - 24 hours a day
• Download our free Red Cross Emergency App : https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html

Recovering Emotionally After a Disaster - to reach out for free 24/7 counseling or support, call or text the multilingual Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. Disasters are upsetting experiences for everyone involved. Children, senior citizens, people with disabilities and people for whom English is not their first language are especially at risk and are likely to need extra care and help. But everyone, even the people that others look up to for guidance and assistance, is entitled to their feelings and deserves support throughout the recovery process. Call our Disaster Distress Helpline or https://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/recovering-emotionally.html

The last Major Disaster we have had in New Jersey was Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but we need to stay vigilant when it comes to Training, Drills and Exercises, in order to be prepared for any type of Emergency. If you have a desire to provide relief somewhere other than New Jersey, the Red Cross is looking for volunteers that are willing to travel outside of their home state. 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - January 2025
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - [email protected]
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Copyright © 2024 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.

ARES Items in this Issue :

• Winter Field Day
• Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation
• SkyWarn Recognition Day​

>>> Announcing Winter Field Day 2025

• Gloucester County ARES will participate in Winter Field Day on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
• The purpose will be to practice setting up and operating a mobile Amateur Radio station under Winter conditions.
• Organizers are Bob Keogh KD2NEC and Karl Frank W2KBF.
• We will go on the air at 11 AM and continue making HF and VHF contacts for several hours from the Red Cross Communications Trailer that will be located on the W2MMD Clubhouse Field Site in Mullica Hill, NJ.
• Visitors and guest operators are welcome.
• Event rules may be downloaded from : https://winterfieldday.org/downloads/2025-rules.pdf

>>> ARRL/ARES Roles on a Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation (DRO)

ARRL volunteers may perform in any of the following roles. These are examples of actual roles; they may or may not actually be included in all operations depending on the needs of the operation. It is possible that one person can support multiple roles or one role may require support from several people. This is not

an exhaustive list and ARRL volunteers who have taken Red Cross Disaster Services training can participate in other roles. ARRL volunteers who are assigned roles by the Red Cross during a DRO will be provided with Red Cross credentials as required by the role, consistent with Red Cross policy.

Amateur Radio Liaison :
This role is for a person who is familiar with both Red Cross and local Amateur Radio operations. This role would establish contact with the local ARES unit, an Amateur Radio club and repeater owners to provide a single technical-level point of contact for the DRO. If local agreements already exist, this role could be pre-designated. It would be expected that this role would be linked to a similar role in the partner organization.

Communication Equipment Operator :
This is a standard radio operator role for someone who would operate a two-way radio or other communication device at a fixed facility or mobile/portable location to support the DRO. They would pass messages from point to point either directly or through a message relay. Operators may use DRO-issued equipment or personally owned equipment, and they may be on amateur radio frequencies or frequencies coordinated or licensed by the Red Cross.

Communication Equipment Installation/Repair :
This is a more technically hands-on role than the Operator. In this role, the person would be asked to temporarily install two-way radio equipment into a facility or vehicle that is under Red Cross authority through ownership, lease or rental. The equipment could include base-station radios, mobile radios and appropriate antennas. Equipment may also require field repairs, such as the radios installed into Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs).

Disaster Assessment :
Individuals who have taken the necessary training with the Red Cross can assess the damage caused by a disaster and use their radio skills to relay that information back to a central point that will use the information to develop a complete picture of the event.

>>> SKYWARN Recognition Day
SKYWARN™ Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. It celebrates the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the National Weather Service. During the day SKYWARN operators visit NWS offices and contact other radio operators across the world.

SKYWARN Recognition Day Operating Instructions
Objective :
For all amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters and National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands. Contacts via repeaters are permitted. SKYWARN™ Recognition Day serves to celebrate the contributions to public safety made by Amateur Radio operators during severe weather events of the past year.

Date :
NWS stations will operate on the first Saturday in December, from 0000 - 2400 UTC.

Exchange :
Call sign, name, location, signal report, a one or two-word description of the weather occurring at your site ("sunny", "partly cloudy", "windy", etc.), temperature reading if available and SRD Number if the station has one.

Modes :
NWS stations will work various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, Winlink, CW, FT8, FT4, and PSK31. While working digital modes, special event stations will append "NWS" to their call sign (e.g., N0A/NWS).

Station Control Operator :
It is suggested that during SRD operations for NWS offices a non-NWS volunteer should serve as a control operator for your station.

Event and QSL Information :
The National Weather Service will provide event information via the internet. Event certificates will once again be electronic and printable from the main website after the conclusion of SRD.

Log Submission :
To submit your log summary for SRD, you can use the online submission form that will be made available on the NWS SRD Recognition main page when the event is completed. Deadline for log submission is January 31, 2025.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - November 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Copyright © 2024 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.

In This Issue :
· Never Forget Hurricane Sandy
· Simulated Emergency Test (SET 2024)
· Child Abduction Response Team (CART 2024)

HURRICANE SANDY - October 29, 2012

If you’ve been watching the news recently, you know that we have been very lucky in New Jersey. The purpose of revisiting this event is to simply remind ourselves that a major storm like Sandy can hit New Jersey at any time and we need to be prepared.

Even though Hurricane Sandy was declared a post-tropical cyclone by the time it made its final landfall - just 5 miles southwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey at about 8 PM EDT on Monday, October 29 - the storm still had winds in excess of 80 miles per hour. Hams across the region, from the Carolinas to Maine, responded to requests for assistance and activated local nets, supported the Hurricane Watch Net’s and the VoIP Hurricane Net’s operations, assisted their local and state Emergency Operations Centers and aided shelters and wherever needed.

Northern New Jersey

Two hospitals in New Jersey requested assistance from radio amateurs. According to ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Emergency Coordinator George Sabbi, KC2GLG, the hospitals were experiencing issues with their communications systems they use for direct communications between these their facilities in Middlesex and Union Counties.

Sabbi said that a shelter in Bergen County utilized radio amateurs when it opened on Monday, October 29 until late in the morning the next day. “Operators went off duty for rest and came back on Tuesday. The Red Cross is working on getting more Amateur Radio resources into additional shelters, noting that travel is a restriction for many volunteers due to the numerous road closures all over the state. I’ve received several reports of repeaters being on backup power or off-the-air, and in all cases, we’ve moved to alternate frequencies.”

Southern New Jersey

Through its Ham Aid program, the ARRL sent six VHF radios to Ocean County, New Jersey. ARRL Ocean County Emergency Coordinator Bob Murdock, WX2NJ, programmed them for deployment to the six shelters in Ocean County shelters today. One of the ARRL’s National VOAD partners, NECHAMA - Jewish Response to Disaster, provided transportation to Ocean County.

ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Emergency Coordinator John Zaruba, K2ZA, ran a Section Resource net on the SNJ ARES repeater at 7 AM, 1 PM and 7 AM each day to provide support to the County Emergency Coordinators. He sent requests, asking for six relief operators from within the Section to deploy to Atlantic County and another six relief operators to go to Ocean County. Both shoreline counties used Amateur Radio in the shelters run by the American Red Cross.

“As of Wednesday, October 31, commercial communications are coming back online in the inland counties, with some counties, such as Mercer County, starting to use radio amateurs to assist in damage assessment as roads become more passable,” explained ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Manager Gary Wilson, K2GW. “The other counties are being polled for mutual aid operator support to Ocean and Atlantic County. I believe John is also starting communications with the Eastern Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey and Western Massachusetts Sections about their eventually providing relief operators.”

Wilson said that the NJ2EM operation at the New Jersey State Police’s State Office of Emergency Management was secured on October 31, “as they have commercial contact now with all of the county EOCs, although their statewide 220 MHz repeater is still available for county-to-county communication.”

On Thursday, November 1, Wilson told the ARRL that the “communications emergency” in the nine counties that make up the ARRL’s Southern New Jersey Section is over. “While the recovery will take a long time, commercial communications systems are being restored in most parts of the Section,” he said. “Amateur Radio emergency operations are continuing in Ocean and Atlantic Counties under the direction of their County Emergency Coordinators.”

Ocean County Emergency Coordinator Bob Murdock, WX2NJ, said that the six shelters in the county are being consolidated into one shelter. “At this time, he thinks the one last shelter might remain operational for about a week,” Wilson said. “The ARRL Ham Aid VHF radios are working great there. In Atlantic County, Emergency Coordinator John Miller, KC2TNV, reported that relief operators are needed to give the operators a needed rest. Zaruba is currently polling the other counties in the Section for mutual aid operator support to Atlantic County. Both shoreline counties will continue to determine their long-term Amateur Radio needs on a daily basis, based on the American Red Cross’ sheltering plans and the state of commercial communication restoration.”

Wilson told the ARRL that one of the reasons that New Jersey is somewhat better prepared than other states is that the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management won’t approve a County Emergency Management Plan unless it includes a RACES annex. “As a result, every county EOC has permanent Amateur Radio capability on 2 meters simplex, a 220 MHz radio aimed at the NJ2EM 220 MHz repeater that covers the entire state, 2 meter APRS for text messaging and HF capability on 75 meters LSB,” he explained. “These are tested once each month on statewide nets. Similarly, each American Red Cross chapter tests its 2 meter capability monthly with the central Red Cross station at N2ARC in Princeton, which then links to the State Emergency Operations Center in West Trenton. And of course, each county has a 2-meter repeater designated for their own work at the county level.

We have much better communication tools today such as WinLink that give us the capability of sending and receiving email anywhere in the world.

We should be prepared on a personal level at home, as well as helping our friends and neighbors. If the storm doesn’t impact us here in Gloucester County, we should be prepared to help others by providing Emergency Communications to our served agencies i.e. the American Red Cross. This is why we take the training and practice using our tools.

OCTOBER EVENTS
Simulated Emergency Test (SET 2024) - Saturday, October 5, 2024
Gloucester County Assignments

Red Cross Southern New Jersey Chapter Office, Pennsauken NJ
1. Staffing the Pennsauken “Hub” :

• Doug Dersch, KD2VQA
• Greg Ciraula, K3GC
• Bob Keogh, KD2NEC
• Steve Farney, W2SEF

2. Our task was to coordinate Emergency Communications between the Red Cross Shelter, located in the Woodbine Shelter in Cape May County and the Pennsauken Hub.

OEM Shelter on the Rowan College Campus in Sewell NJ.
1. Staffing the OEM Shelter :

• Court Smith, KD2SPJ
• Angela Metzger, KE2DRJ
• Bruce Canino, KD2LBU
• Adam Duncan, W3DUN
• David Danichkin, KD2UXC

2. The Rowan Shelter was given messages that needed to be sent via WinLink and accomplished all their goals.

Both teams ran into Static on the voice net but quickly resolved the problem and were able to meet all of their goals for SET 2024.

CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM (CART 2024)
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Gloucester County Assignments


We had six GCARC members and Frank Messick, W2FJM that participated in the CART Drill this year :

• Angela Metzger, KE2DRJ
• Bob Keogh, KD2NEC
• John Czuba, K2AEN
• Frank Messick, W2FJM
• Doug Dersch, KD2VQA
• Karl Frank, W2KBF
• Gary Triplo, KD2EBX

(L-R) KE2DRJ; KD2NEC; K2AEN; W2FJM; KD2VQA; W2KBF; KD2EBX

We were all given a role to play in a simulated child abduction in the Clayton area. We were provided with scripts that indicated we saw the child and her abductor, in multiple locations. We would then deliver the “lead” to one of the Police Roadblocks, for them to call-in the leads to the 911 Center.

We were given an app to download on our cell phones, so that we could see everything that was happening in real time. It was a great experience for us and the people from the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office were very thankful for our participation.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - October 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Copyright © 2024 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.

In This Issue :

• ARES® Briefs/Links
• Amateurs Support National MS Society’s Ride Across Minnesota 2024 : Lessons Learned
• Opinion : Net Managers - Want to Recruit and Retain More Check-ins? Do This!
• K1CE for a Final : On Leadership

ARES® Briefs/Links
ARRL’s Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is October 5 - 6, 2024 (https://www.arrl.org/simulated-emergency-test). This nationwide exercise is the chance to test your personal emergency-operating skills and the readiness of your communications equipment and accessories in a simulated emergency-like deployment.

New Emergency Communication Courses from ARRL - ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, joins the On the Air podcast to share details about ARRL's updated Emergency Communication courses (https://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications-training), which have been broken into three successive levels - Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The courses are available free of charge at the ARRL Learning Center (https://learn.arrl.org). The On the Air podcast is available on blubrry (https://blubrry.com), iTunes, and Apple Podcasts. It is a monthly companion to On the Air magazine (https://home.arrl.org/action/Subscribe/Magazines), a publication for beginner to intermediate ham radio operators, produced by ARRL.

Hams Train and Give Back - Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club (FLARC - https://www.fairlawnarc.com) members Nancy Beattie, N2FWI, and Gordon Beattie, W2TTT, supported the Passaic County Fair at Garrett Mountain Reservation in New Jersey again this year as a way to affect an immersive emergency communications training exercise and to give back to those with whom they've volunteered for decades. The fair serves as the county's annual emergency deployment exercise and engages all county and several municipal agencies while being evaluated by the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management. The Deputy Emergency Management Director, Sheriff's Officer Rob Scott, KD2ION, has a small team of volunteer hams who form as the Situational Awareness Unit identified in the Incident Action Plan. Nancy and Gordon work with Rob and two other volunteers, FLARC member Dave Henninger, N3UXK, and Aly Badawy, AL0Y.

National Preparedness Month : Creating a PACE Plan - Imagine cell service, internet, and the repeater going down and you have no way to contact your team, or family. What would you do? Having a plan to communicate with team members or family members when infrastructure goes down is a great way to provide peace of mind, considering the threats we face today. A plan can also reduce the amount of stress we experience during these types of outages, and yes, it can happen as evidenced in hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires - and the list goes on.

PACE is an acronym for Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency. When creating a PACE plan, thought is given to how you would communicate to team members or family members within each category.

The primary plan is what you do when the world is operating as normal, with no interruptions to power grids or communications systems. An example of a primary plan would be to use your cell phone to call a team member or family member.

Alternate plans are methods of communication that would not be as convenient nor as good as the primary plan’s methods but are still viable options. An example of an alternate plan methodology is to use a satellite phone.

Contingency plans come into play if primary and alternate plan methods fail. This plan solution is not as convenient as the first two plan options. In this scenario, cell phone networks and the internet are likely down. An example of a contingency plan is to use a radio such as a Family Radio Service (FRS) handheld to communicate.

The last step in PACE planning is the emergency plan and method. This is your last-ditch option. Nothing else has worked and you need to think out of the box. In this scenario, your last - ditch effort might be to meet your team or a family member at a mutually agreed upon location. If the person doesn’t show up, then maybe you can leave a note in a pre-identified location and head home.

So, considering the points above, a basic PACE plan could look something like this :
1. Primary : Cell phone - This is the go-to method that operations personnel use as a daily solution.
2. Alternate : Sat phone - This is a backup method that is not preferred but may serve as a good workaround until the primary problem is resolved.
3. Contingency : Amateur Radio - This is a fallback method that uses totally different technology, systems, etc.
4. Emergency -: Time/place - This is the last-resort method when the others fail.

You would then add more detail around each of these categories, like specifying a group for texting, channels for satellite and radio, and a time/place. When building your plans, you’ll want to keep in mind that you’ll want to know what the trigger is to cause you to move through the plan. This is referred to as a trigger point.

Also, within each section, you can have sub-plans. For example, if you were to planning to link up with your team member or family member at, say, 1200 at a prearranged location and they did not show up: as part of your emergency plan, you can spell out, “If I am not there exactly at 1200 Hours, wait an hour and at 1300 Hours, if you have not heard from me, start making appropriate inquiries.” And, “by 1400 Hours, if no contact, notify emergency services.” By doing this, I am defining trigger points.

When working on your PACE plan, try to avoid having a single point of failure. If all your plans rely on the internet, then you are totally vulnerable to internet failures. A good way to look at this is to expect that things are going to fail and to plan accordingly.

PACE plans should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to account for changes to the channels you use, people included, phone numbers, etc. Instructions can be printed on a wallet-sized card and given to each person.

PACE plans are not just for communications. They are used for power, water, transportation and other utilities and services. We develop these plans to ensure mission success. Have you or your team developed a PACE plan? - Scott Read, KM6RFB, Placer County (Northern California) Emergency Coordinator; COMT, COML, AUXCOMM [See also the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency site for more information.]

Opportunity Knocks: Vermont Task Force to Assess State Emergency Communications - Vermont’s Public Safety Communications Task Force announced that it has hired a provider to assess the state’s emergency communications capabilities across the board, including the capabilities of each of the 38 emergency communications centers (ECCs) statewide. The task force will be working with Mission Critical Partners (MCP) to evaluate the potential for statewide public safety communications and to develop cost and governance models to achieve it. MCP and the task force will be collaborating on a multitude of assessments including performance of all systems within each ECC; testing coverage to find out where gaps exist; each center’s hiring, training and retention strategies and tactics, and how successful they are; evaluation of cyber security strategies; and each center’s continuity of operations and disaster recovery plans. “The Public Safety Communications Task Force is pleased to be working with MCP,” Jennifer Morrison, task force co-chair and commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Safety, said in a statement. “The firm’s integrity and quality of work speak for themselves.” More information on an apparently golden opportunity for Vermont and other states/sections’ ARES programs. - FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications News Clippings and Topics of Interest Vol. 14 Issue 14, July 16-31, 2024

For Hurricane Debby, Arc J. Thames, W4CPD, Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator, reported that an amateur radio operator was stranded due to high water in Suwannee County. He used the statewide 70-cm FM repeater network, SARNET, to relay the information and a monitoring operator in Jacksonville was able to coordinate with an urban search-and-rescue (USAR) team with an embedded ham radio operator to facilitate the rescue of a family. [More information and updates on the amateur radio community’s response to the recent spate of tropical storms is available on the ARRL public service page.]

Amateurs Support National MS Society’s Ride Across Minnesota 2024 : Lessons Learned
The July 2024 National MS Society’s Bike MS : Ride Across Minnesota involved five days of covering 246 miles. The goal was to raise $500,000 for medical research. We had 290 riders for the week and 26 volunteers on the Route Safety Team. There were four to five rest stops (each with an amateur operator) on each stage/day of the event. Hams generally organized “Net Control,” usually at the finish line/camping site, and coordinated resources. We borrowed five repeaters and invited local hams for support.

The course was not hilly by Colorado standards but did cover a lot of territory. Preparing the ICS-205 - the Incident Radio Communications Plan - took effort : We needed to select repeaters and get the trustees’ permission to use them. Many were Yaesu System Fusion (digital mode) repeaters, and we needed to shut off the digital mode for the week to prevent random internet/out of area interference. (Also, many operators did not have the digital mode radios). The “Safety” phone was on Google Voice, forwarded to us.

One ongoing challenge/opportunity was the mash up of volunteer groups. We had motorcycle riders, bike officials and van escort groups; most were not hams. Six staff members were the key decision makers and support. A simple, secure and elegant solution was to use the “Work” version of Zello. This accommodated everyone and had a GPS mapping feature. You could see the locations and velocities of assets and have comms with all your team. Decision making was by the book : NIMS - prepared resource teams did their thing and would seek guidance when needed. Daily hot wash meetings were held and we worked hard to improve on our performance. There were a few minor medical incidents, a dog chasing bikes, some SAG runs and a close call or two with fast oncoming semi-tractor trailers.

On one of the days, routine comms shifted heavily from Zello to the ham repeaters and the Race Director was convinced his cell phone was broken. (Emailing forms around to a team on 97% mobile devices and managing real time incidents was not a realistic thing).

If anyone complains “there are never any call outs for hams,” consider the panoply of MS Bike Rides across the country that regularly involve amateur radio operators in support.

Pro Tips
If you set up, tear down and move five times in a week, fussy antennas and gear are a no. Hard-to-program radios are a constant nuisance as we bring in and rotate team members. Logging matters. Lost riders are bad form. Zello does speech to text - it worked well. Focus on the mission. Wear the issued volunteer shirts and be kind to those asking random questions. How do you “shadow” a super fit bike ride marshal for 246 miles? Bits of first aid knowledge are very popular in a time of severe volunteer medic and EMS shortages. Be 100% self-sufficient - the race director is not your concierge. We brought batteries and solar : finding live AC power in parks and church parking lots takes time and effort. Don’t bore event leadership with radio details - it all just works. You cannot get good at this job by just watching videos - real world practice is the key. You will often be teamed with or work for non-hams; keep them informed and in the picture. - Erik Westgard, NY9D, Minnesota Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator [Editor’s note: see NY9D’s fascinating and educational QRZ bio entry.]

Opinion : Net Managers - Want to Recruit and Retain More Check-ins? Do This!
What’s the first thing a radio amateur wants to know when he/she gets on the air? Well, I know what my first interest is, whether in QSO or on a regional phone net - it’s how strong is my signal? I dare say that it is every ham’s first interest.

Pro Tip : For net managers eager to bolster their net’s roster of regular check-ins, have your net control stations (NCS) give a simple, two-character signal report when acknowledging checking-in stations. For example: Net Control of the North Florida ARES Net on 40 meters calls for check-ins. A station calls to check in, giving his/her call sign. Net Control acknowledges the station as follows: “K1CE, S7.” Thus, in a split second, not wasting any of the net’s time, the check-in knows that his signal strength is pretty good at the NCS end. (For FM repeater nets, the NCS could give the checking-in station a signal report as a degree of quieting : e.g., “N5CBP, 90%Q”).

Personal note : I check into my daily net Rota with just 5 or 10 watts RF output. It’s important, and significant in a disaster situation, to know that I can make it into the net on QRP. (Plus, it just plain satisfies the innate interest in all of us to know how strong our signal is!)

So, if you’re a net manager or net control station, and want to entice newcomers or recover previous members who might have lost interest in your net, give this simple, efficient signal report protocol a try! - Rick Palm, K1CE [Comments? Please send them to [email protected] - thanks!]

Respectfully,
Bob KD2NEC - My contact information is in our Club Roster List

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - September 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

​ARES AND THE RED CROSS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TRAILER

2024 SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST

2024 CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM

There is a great deal of ARES information at this link :
http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2024-05-15

• ARES® Briefs, Links
• Storms and Tornadoes : Amateur Radio Ready
• ARES Supports New Hampshire Red Cross (ARC) Eclipse Standby Deployment
• Letters : QRP is the Way to Go
• Keystone 6 - National Mass Care Exercise This Month
• K1CE for a Final : NTS and ARES - A Symbiotic and Historic Relationship Needed Again
• ARES® Resources

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TRAILER

The NJ Region of the American Red Cross has provided us with a 12’ x 6’ cargo trailer, to repurpose it into an Emergency Communications (EmComm) Trailer. The purpose is for us to provide continuous communications, using Amateur Radio equipment when commercial communications has been disrupted.

Below are a few pictures of the exterior and interior of the trailer, that show the progress of the work so far :​

​Due to the excessive heat in July, we couldn’t get much accomplished and we decided that we need climate control. The first step is to insulate the interior walls before we start to build out the work table and shelving. Our goal is to have the wall insulation completed and the table in place, before the “Simulated Emergency Test” (SET) on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

The ARRL Southern New Jersey Section is working with our Served Agency, the American Red Cross, to produce the joint plan for this year’s SET. We hope to have the plan ready before Labor Day Weekend, to give us time to prepare.

I’d like to thank the GCARC volunteers that have already signed-up for SET on October 5th and the Child Abduction Response Team Drill on October 17th. See below for the list. If you would like to join either or both events, please let me know.

Bob KD2NEC (609) 970-4467 Email : [email protected]

Simulated Emergency Test (SET) : Saturday, October 5, 2024

• BOB KD2NEC - CONFIRMED
• BRUCE KD2LBU - CONFIRMED
• DOUG KD2VQA - CONFIRMED
• KARL W2KBF - CONFIRMED
• ANGELA KE2DRJ - CONFIRMED
• TODD KD2ESH - CONFIRMED
• GREG W5DO - TENTITIVE
• ADAM W3DUN - TENTITIVE
• TODD KA2YNT - TENTITIVE
• COURT KD2SPJ - CONFIRMED

Child Abduction Response Team Drill (CART) : Thursday, October 17, 2024

• BOB KD2NEC - CONFIRMED
• DOUG KD2VQA - CONFIRMED
• FRANK W2FJM - CONFIRMED
• KARL W2KBF - CONFIRMED
• ANGELA KE2DRJ - CONFIRMED
• TODD KD2ESH - CONFIRMED
• GREG W5DO - TENTITIVE
• JOHN K2AEN - CONFIRMED
• GARY KD2EBX - CONFIRMED
• ADAM W3DUN - TENTITIVE
• MELISSA KE2BWZ - CONFIRMED

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Child Abduction Response Team Exercise : Thursday, Ocotber 17, 2024
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

The date for the Child Abduction Response Team exercise is Thursday, October 17, 2024

The time and location TBD.

Some examples of our tasks will be :

1. Registering additional volunteers at the Command Center
2. Delivering messages to other team members
3. Distributing food and water
4. Whatever else they need

These tasks are not the type we normally look for but, just being a part of this team is very satisfying and informative. It's a fantastic learning opportunity to participate in an Emergency Operation Center (EOC) event. All the Government Agencies will be there, with their Mobile Communications Vehicles, that we can tour.

I suggest we all carry an HT, just in case we need to communicate with one or more of our GCARC teammates. If you don't have one, we will loan one to you.

We have five or six GCARC/ARES members that have signed up for this event, but we could use a few more, in case a couple of volunteers have to cancel at the last minute.

Please take advantage of this unique opportunity by sending an email to me.

I will be forwarding more information as soon as I receive it.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - August 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Introduction To ARES
 
ARES Registration

• Anyone can register themselves for the ARES Program by simply downloading the registration form from the ARRL Website or reach out to me at [email protected] and I will send you a copy of the form.

 
ARES Training

• The required ARES training can also be found on the ARRL website (https://www.arrl.org/ares) but if you prefer, I can also email you the Training Plan.

 
ARES NET

• Anyone can participate on the weekly ARES Net on Sunday evenings at 8PM on the 147.180 Repeater.
• The primary purpose of the ARES Training NET is to become proficient in emergency communications protocol. One of our experienced operators will provide you with instructions at the beginning of each weekly NET.

 
When All Else Fails®
Amateur radio operators use their training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies "When All Else Fails®". Hams serve our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers, and wired and wireless networks. Amateur Radio can function completely independently of the internet and phone systems. An Amateur Radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.
 
Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®)

• ARES Fact Sheet [PDF] (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/EMCOMM/ARES%20FACT%20SHEET%201.pdf)
• ARES Plan [PDF] (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES%20PLAN%2024%20Final.pdf)
• ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF] (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES%20Taskbook%20July%202024.pdf)
• ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word] (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES%20Taskbook%20July%202024.doc)

 
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

ARES Membership Requirements
 
Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an Amateur Radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.
 
How to Get Involved in ARES
 
Fill out the ARES registration form (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/fsd98(2).pdf) and submit it to me.
 
If you have any questions regarding ARES registration, training, or other sources of information, please do not hesitate to send me an email or give me a call.
 
Bob Keogh, KD2NEC
Emergency Coordinator

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AMERICAN RED CROSS : ARES EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
 
New Jersey ARES and the New Jersey Region of the American Red Cross, have a formal agreement that whenever the commercial communications networks have been disrupted by a weather related incident or cyber attack, the Red Cross of New Jersey will activate ARES to provide emergency communications by using our radio equipment.
 

The Red Cross has provided us with a 6’ x 12’ cargo trailer to convert into an emergency communications trailer. We are still in the planning and design phase of this project.
 
On the right is a picture of the Red Cross trailer and tow vehicle they provided, that is stored at the Washington Township Fire Department.

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ARRL News
Amateur Radio Participates In World’s Largest Naval Exercise
 
“Partners : Integrated and Prepared” is the theme for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 (https://www.cpf.navy.mil/RIMPAC), the world’s largest international military maritime exercise, which began June 27, and will come to a close on August 1. Conducted from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Oahu, Hawaii, the exercise encompasses many islands in the Hawaiian chain.
 
The event included 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel, including Amateur Radio operators working with health care facilities.
 
The Amateur Radio portion of the exercise has been completed. ARRL Assistant Section Manager and State Government Liaison Michael Miller, KH6ML, said 36 Amateur Radio operators from Hawaii volunteered to demonstrate the value of Amateur Radio in emergency preparedness and response.
 
“It turned out very good,” said Miller. “Some of hospitals, staff and administrators involved had their first experience with Amateur Radio. The operators were able to blend their skills using public service radios, satellite phones, as well as Amateur Radio.”
 
Miller pointed out that hospitals on the smaller islands don’t usually have a full-time communications officer, so working with Amateur Radio gives them experience for future emergencies. The amateurs worked with Health Comm Hawaii (https://ham.aditl.com/hc) which provides Amateur Radio communications to health care associations in Hawaii during emergencies and disasters.
 
“Health Comm Hawaii really needs 100 more operators for backup and to build skill sets through monthly exercises,” Miller added.
 
Vice Admiral John Wade, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force (CTF) commander, said the Rim of the Pacific exercise has grown over the years to be the world’s largest and premier joint maritime training opportunity.
 
“The exercise’s purpose is to build relationships, to enhance interoperability and proficiency, and, ultimately, contribute to the peace and stability in the vitally important Indo-Pacific region.”
 
Many of the volunteers participating in RIMPAC 2024 are also members of other vital emergency communication groups, such as Amateur Radio Emergency Service®(ARES®), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
​

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - June & July 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Emergency Communications Trailer Project : Version 4 - June 21, 2024

Building an Emergency Communications (EmComm) trailer is a commendable endeavor! These trailers are essential for providing communication support during emergencies, disasters, or community events. Here are some steps and considerations to guide us in creating our EmComm trailer :

1. Purpose and Planning :

• The primary purpose is to serve as a mobile ham radio station.
• The equipment we want to include are radios, antennas, power sources, etc.

2. Interior Layout :

• Consider workstations, storage, and accessibility.
• Install shelves, racks, and secure mounting points for radios and other gear.

3. Power and Electrical System :

• Install a reliable electrical system. Including batteries, solar panels, or a generator.
• Plan for both AC and DC power outlets.
• Consider surge protection and grounding.

4. Antennas and Mast :

• Mount antennas on the exterior of the trailer. Ensure they can be raised and lowered easily.
• Include a telescoping mast for additional height when needed.

5. Climate Control :

• Insulate the trailer to regulate temperature.
• Install ventilation and heating/cooling systems.

6. Communication Equipment :

• Install ham radios and computers for logging and WinLink Data Communications

7. Storage and Organization :

• Use labeled bins and containers for cables, tools, spare parts, and emergency supplies,
• Secure everything to prevent damage during transit.

8. Exterior Features :

• Add reflective decals, emergency lighting, and safety equipment.
• Include a weatherproof exterior work area.

9. Documentation and Maintenance :

• Keep detailed records of modifications, repairs, and maintenance.
• Regularly inspect and maintain the trailer.

10. Schedule :

• This project will be staged depending on funds. We hope to have functioning trailer with at least one HF rig and one VHF rig, by Field Day
• More complex stages will be implemented as funding is available.

Cape May County Emergency Communications Vehicle

The picture below is an Emergency Communications Vehicle that was built last year by the Cape May RACES Program. It could be the model that we use for our EmComm Trailer.

• Notice the workstation table. It’s attached to the wall on two sides, with support from the file cabinet, that could be used for storing parts, tools, and equipment manuals.
• The shelf above the workstation table is attached to the wall on two sides but it doesn’t seem to have any support in the middle. This may need more support.
• The radios are attached to the bottom of the shelf, but whatever is placed on the shelf top must be secured and this shelf may need more support. The wiring harness that feeds power and signal to the radios will add weight, but the weight of the harness may be placed on the wall instead of the shelf.
• Notice the heater and wall clock for synchronizing time stamps on messages.

Planning And Design Discussion Questions

1. Do we want to remove the interior paneling, to install wiring and insulation, then reinstall the paneling?
2. Do we want to install a roof vent with fan and eventually replace the vent with HVAC?
3. Consider that we could have radio operators working around the clock, for several days and in all types of weather.
4. What type of radios do we need and where will they be placed in the trailer?
5. Where and how do we install antennas, masts, and brackets on the exterior of the trailer?
6. Where and how do we drill holes in the trailer for feed lines and electrical wiring?
7. Assuming we will be operating on battery power, what type of batteries do we need and how will they be recharged, generator or solar?
8. When AC power is available and close to the trailer, what will the power system look like?
9. What else needs to be discussed?

Potential Equipment, Material List, and Estimate Costs

This list is just an estimate of the equipment and materials we will need to purchase for this project. The actual list will be determined during the planning and design phases.

​Radios :

• ICOM IC-7300 HF+50 $1,199
• ICOM IC-2730 VHF/UHF $290
• Alinco DR-MD520T Tri-Band $399

Sub-Total $1,888

Power System :

• (2) Bioenno BLF-1215A Battery $300.00
• (1) West Mountain Radio CBA Charge Controller $100.00
• Wiring, Connectors, Grounding, Switching? $100.00

Sub-Total $500.00

Antennas :

• (2) HF, NVIS HWEF (CHA EMCOMM III) $195.00
• (3) VHF/UHF, Omni-Directional or Beam? $300.00
• (2) Telescopic masts for HWEF and VHF $200.00
• (1) Roof racks for VHF/UHF Antennas $200.00
• (1) Grounding $200.00
• (3) Coax feed lines $200.00

Sub-Total $1,295.00

• Station table, Shelving, Storage, Chairs, Vent, etc.
• Workstation table 2’ X 10” $100
• Radio shelf 1’ x 10’ $100
• Shelf supports and trim $100
• Hardware $100
• (2) Two drawer file cabinets $100
• AC/DC wiring $100
• Roof vent with fan $165
• (4) Folding chairs (1 or 2) could be used outside) $200
• What else??? $????

Sub-Total $965
​

• ​​Sub-Totals : Radios : $2,048.00
• Sub-Totals : Power System : $500.00
• Sub-Totals : Antennas  : $1,295.00
• Sub-Totals : able, Shelving, Storage, Chairs, Vent, etc.  : $965.00

Total $4,808.00

This estimated totals does not include an HVAC system or other creature comforts.

We are still looking for a few more Club members to participate in any of the phases of this project. If you are interested, please reach out to me.

The trailer is currently located at the Washington Township Fire Department at 213 East Holly Avenue, Sewell, NJ. However, we will be tow the trailer to the W2MMD Clubhouse, to take advantage of necessary resources located at the Club and not to get in the way of the Fire Department. We will schedule certain tasks around the availability of certain subject matter experts.
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - May 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Red Cross/Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

This Trailer is currently stored at the NJ Regional Facility in Tinton Fall, Monmouth County, but will be relocated to Gloucester County, along with a tow vehicle.

Purpose of the Emergency Communications Trailer

• No need to disassemble your personal radio equipment when deployed to a disaster location. Then, when we are finished there is no need to disassemble your equipment and assemble it again at home.
• Everything will be all in one place
• Batteries, Generator and/or Solar Panels
• Antennas and Telescopic Masts
• Radios: Minimum (1) HF, (2) VHF/UHF for both voice and WinLink Data Communications
• HF NVIS, Triband (2m, 70cm, 23cm)
• Laptops, keyboards, monitors, and headsets
• Space for two or three stations and operators
• Three comfortable chairs for operators
• Storage for cables, supplies, tools, parts, etc.
• Easy access and transport
• Protect operators and equipment from weather conditions
• Protect PC monitors from Sun light
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, Setup and Breakdown in Minutes, not hours.

The trailer will also be used for Community Events i.e. 5K Runs, Bike-A-Thons, etc. The Red Cross will retain ownership of the trailer. Individuals who will be towing the trailer will be required to attend the Red Cross Trailering Workshop. Karl Frank W2KBF and I have already taken this training.

The Red Cross Logistics Manager will relocate this trailer and a tow vehicle to the Washington Township Fire Department and Municipal EOC, at 213 East Holly Avenue. The Red Cross uses this facility to store some of their vehicles.

Preliminary Project Plan

• Step 1 : Remove the two large storage units, so we can expand the work table and make room for three station operators to sit comfortably.
• Step 2 : Remove wall and ceiling paneling, to run AC and DC wiring for lights and equipment.
• Step 3 : After the wiring is completed, we will install insulation and then reinstall paneling.
• Step 4 : Create an opening in roof and install a vent with fan. During phase two of the project, we will install a roof air conditioner/heater.
• Step 5 : Expand the existing work table, the entire length of the trailer interior, approximately 8 feet. This will be sufficient space for two radio operators to work very comfortably and possibly a third.
• Step 6 : Install a shelf over the entire length of the work table. The primary use of this shelf will be to attach the (3) radios to the bottom of the shelf over the work table. We have a 2M radio that was donated by a friend of mine, that can get us started. If you or a friend have radio’s that they want to donate, please let me know.
• Step 7 : Construct several shelves on the opposite side of the trailer. These shelves will hold cables, connectors, tools, etc., in plastic boxes, held in place with metal straps. They will also hold antennas stored in tubes for protection and several telescopic masts.
• Step 8 : Install a reliable, self-sustaining electrical system, including batteries, solar panels and/or generator, surge protection and grounding.

We will need all the help we can get to implement this plan. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this project.

We have already started to create a material and equipment list so we can determine the total cost of the project. The Red Cross should fund the project, but we could also request a grant ourselves. That said, if anyone would like to donate a VHF/UHF and/or HF rig, to the Red Cross Emergency Communication Trailer, this is a worthy cause that we can all use. We could also use some additional Ham-Power, to support the project labor pool and funds for materials and equipment. I will supply the refreshments. This is a great way for us to get to know each other.

“More hands lighten the load”

​Hello Friends!

Today we officially kick off Volunteer Appreciation Week, amidst a month of volunteer recognition activities. As is often said, we simply cannot carry out the mission of the Red Cross without the incredible dedication of our volunteers.

Every day, a Red Cross volunteer provides hope and help for someone who needs it. As I write this, a Biomed transportation volunteer is bringing units of life-saving blood to a hospital while a blood donor ambassador assists blood donors during their visit to a drive. A Service to the Armed Forces volunteer is stocking our two food pantries, assisting a military family with financial assistance, or visiting Veterans at one of our State Homes. A Disaster Action Team member is comforting families who lost their dwelling in a multi-family fire. Another disaster volunteer is boarding a plane to assist an area burned by wildfires or flooded by a hurricane. A preparedness volunteer is installing a smoke alarm, or teaching children about fire safety. A volunteer is assisting a family separated by war or disaster through our Restoring Family Links Program. And several volunteers are working behind the scenes, maintaining our facilities and fleet, thanking our donors, greeting people at our reception desks, or helping to recruit another member of our Red Cross family.

It is an honor to serve alongside you. As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

Thank you for all you do!

Rosie Taravella
Regional CEO, New Jersey
American Red Cross

© 2008, 2022 American Red Cross, All Rights Reserved

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - April 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
​Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Index :
1. Inspira Health : New Opportunity to Provide EmComm
2. EmComm Trailer : Why should we build an EmComm trailer
3. ARES Resources : Registration, Training, and Information

1. Inspira Health

The Director of Emergency Preparedness at Inspira, Don Martel Jr, N2SPW, reached out to me at our General Membership Meeting in March. I was then invited to participate in a follow-up conference to discuss their current plan and how we can work together.

We will be preparing a Memo of Understanding (MOU), like the one developed by the ARRL, for the Delaware and/or Maryland Health Networks. We hope to start supporting Inspira in the very near future.

2. Why an EmComm Trailer?

We are still in the discussion phase of this project, to see if it is worthwhile.

There are many reasons for us to have a trailer to transport everything we need, when deployed to a Disaster Relief HQ. For example :

• Batteries, generator, radios, antennas, accessories, tools, etc.
• Stations : (2) HF, (2) VHF/UHF for both voice and data communications
• Telescopic masts for antennas, attached to the side of the trailer
• Space for two or three Operators
• Storage for cables, supplies, etc.
• No need to fill the trunk of your vehicle with all the above
• Easy access and transport
• Protect operators and equipment from weather conditions
• Protect PC monitors from Sun light
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, Setup and Breakdown in Minutes, not Hours

This will require Project Planning, Design, Funding, and Collaboration with several Served Agencies (i.e. Red Cross and Office of Emergency Management.

We will also need to determine a secure location to keep the trailer and resources to build out the trailer.

Any questions or desire to participate, please reach out to me.

3. ARES Resources

ARES Registration :

With the potential addition of providing EmComm to Inspira Health, we will need more Radio Amateurs.

If you have interest in the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Program, you can either download it from the ARRL (https://www.arrl.org/ares) website or reach out to me.

ARES Training

We will provide all the training you need found on the ARRL website. My suggestion is to register first by contacting me at [email protected], then participate in the weekly ARES Net every Sunday evening at 2000 Hours on the 147.180 Repeater or EchoLink W2MMD-R. You do not need to be a registered ARES member to participate on the net. You can simply listen first to learn more about the ARES Training Net.

ARES Information

One of the best sources of information is to subscribe to [email protected]

When you first go to this website (https://groups.io/g/SNJEMCOM), you will see the directions to subscribe and all the sources of information.

After registering, you will start receiving emails, from the Southern NJ Section Manager, Section Emergency Coordinator, and other EmComm participants. You will also receive invitation to a weekly exercise called WinLink Wednesday, an excellent way to learn to use the WinLink email system.

If you have any questions regarding ARES Registration, Training, or Sources of Information, please do not hesitate to send me an email or give me a call. My contact information is on the Club Roster List.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - March 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
Amateur Radio Emergency Service currently provides the New Jersey Region of the American Red Cross with traditional RF Radio Equipment when needed.
 
Below are the roles, as stated in the Memo of Understanding (MOU) that was signed by both the American Red Cross (ARC) and the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) :
 
During a Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation (DRO), ARRL volunteers may perform in any of the following roles. These are examples of actual roles they may or may not actually be included in the operations depending on the needs of the operation. It is possible that one person can support multiple roles, or one role may require support from several people. This is not an exhaustive list and ARRL volunteers who have taken Red Cross Disaster Services training can participate in other roles. ARRL Volunteers who are assigned roles by the Red Cross during a DRO will be provided with Red Cross credentials as required by the role, consistent with Red Cross policy.
 
Amateur Radio Liaison : This role is for a person who is familiar with both the Red Cross and local Amateur Radio operations. This role would establish contact with the local ARES unit, amateur radio club and repeater owners to provide a single technical-level point of contact for the DRO. If local agreements already exist, this role could be pre-designated. It would be expected that this role would be linked to a similar role in the partner organization.
 
Communication Equipment Operator : This is a standard radio operator role for someone who would operate a two-way radio or other communication device at a fixed facility or mobile/portable location to support the DRO. They would pass messages from point to point either directly or through a message relay. Operators may use DRO-issued equipment or personally owned equipment, and they may be on amateur radio frequencies or frequencies coordinated or licensed by the Red Cross.
 
Communication Equipment Installation/Repair : This is a more technically hands-on role than the operator. In this role, the person would be asked to temporarily install two-way radio equipment into a facility or vehicle that is under Red Cross authority through ownership, lease, or rental. The equipment could include base-station radios, mobile radios, and appropriate antennas. Equipment may also require field repairs, such as the radios installed into Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs).
 
Disaster Assessment : Individuals who have taken the necessary training with the Red Cross can assess the damage caused by a disaster and use their radio skills to relay that information back to a central point that will use the information to develop a complete picture of the event.
 
End of ARC/ARRL MOU
 
Below is the roll of the Red Cross Disaster Services Technology (DST) Team. The ARRL/ARES primary responsibility is to provide the Red Cross, voice and data emergency communications, when standard communications has been disrupted by severe weather or a Cyber Attack. 
 
Within 12 hours of a disaster, a Disaster Services Technology (DST) team is already in route. Their primary goal is to set up connectivity to support the Red Cross relief effort. By using satellite technology, the team can network the operation quickly. Once the network is completed, DST will start issuing laptops and equipment such as cell phones, printers, fax machines and radios (that’s us). They can set up a 100 seat office overnight.
 
All the steps that DST volunteers take are fully documented in step-by-step directions and there are experienced volunteers to help guide us, in addition to the formal training.
 
If you desire to be more involved in the total DST Operation described above, reach out to Bob Keogh, KD2NEC, Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator and Volunteer Member of the Red Cross Disaster Services Technology group. My contact information is on the GCARC Roster.
 
See the video below, that further describes the work that DST provides to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e47HVIADXxk
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - February 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Blood Shortage Continues, Please Give Blood Now

Red Cross declares an emergency blood shortage, as number of donors hits 20-year low

The Red Cross says that the number of people donating blood has dropped by 40% over the last two decades, and that the shortage could worsen in coming months if winter weather or seasonal respiratory illnesses like the flu or COVID-19 cause people to cancel their blood donation appointments.

How You to donate blood :
To make an appointment, simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent were allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also must meet certain height and weight requirements.

You Can also Help the Red Cross by Volunteering with Amateur Radio Emergency Services

As we look out the window at the snow coming down, we urge everyone to be prepared and consider becoming a volunteer to help people affected by the growing number of climate-driven disasters.

Support impacted communities by using your Amateur Radio License at Red Cross shelters or becoming a member of both ARES and the Red Cross Disaster Relief Services. For more information, email Bob Keogh [email protected]

About the American Red Cross :
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - January 2024
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
Digital Mode Training
 
The Eastern Pennsylvania Section of the ARRL is sponsoring a series of Digital Mode, Zoom Training Sessions. These classes will be held on the first Saturday of each month at 10 AM, beginning in February 2024.
 
The classes are designed for people who are looking to begin using Sound Card Digital Modes or desire a refresher course. You do not have to live in Eastern Pennsylvania to attend these courses. All licensed Radio Amateurs are welcome. 
 
To register for this training, send an email to Barry Feierman K3EUI at [email protected]. Provide Barry with your full name, call sign, email, city and state, HF rig and sound card (if any). It would help if you let him know if you have any experience with HF sound card modes.
 
Barry will be using a 40M frequency of 7068 kHz on USB for practice. That band should cover a wide region within 400 miles of Philadelphia with propagation predictions for 2024.
 
Topics will cover :

• Fundamentals of modulation with a sound card : AM, FM, PM
• Your choice of sound cards : SignaLinks, Rigblasters, DigiRigs, DRA, etc.
• How to accomplish sending and receiving messages with a sound card
• Note : new HF SSB rigs with built-in sound cards make this easy

A look at the software :

• FLDIGI - FLMSG - FLAMP
• Winlink Express and VARA HF and VARA FM (VHF/UHF)
• WSJT-X (FT8 and variations)
• Sound Card Oscilloscopes

• SDR radios and Spectrum Analyzers

 
Barry will cover each topic in a one hour ZOOM session on a Saturday morning and practice on 7068 kHz.
​ 

FEMA 2023 Recorded Webinars For Emergency Management : https://bit.ly/489xLWp
 
The above link to Region 2 Preparedness and Resilience Webinars 2023 Webinar Catalog.PDF is a complete list of all the FEMA 2023 Recorded Webinars. There are several that are of interest to Emergency Communications. Such as:

• Amateur Radio for Emergency Managers (Page 9)
• Digital Accessibility (Page 12)
• Until Help Arrives (Page 12)
• How to Create Accessible Emails (Page 14)
• Radiological Preparedness 101 (Page 15)
• Information and Communications Before, During and After Disasters (Page 15)
• Cybersecurity Preparedness (Page 17)
• Hurricane Preparedness for the Whole Community (Page 20)
• NOAA Flood Preparedness (Page 22)
• And many more to broaden your perspective of the big picture

 
Merry Christmas and a Very Happy 2024!

Region 2 Preparedness and Resilience Webinars 2023 Webinar Catalog.PDF

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - December 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

In a previous issue of CrossTalk, we briefly discussed the formal role of Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, while working with Federal, State and Local Government Agencies. As we expand our presence to include our Local Government Agencies, we need to understand the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). These two FEMA Guidelines are an extremely important part of the ARES Training Plan; IS-100.c, IS-200.c, IS-700.c and IS-800.c. If you have any questions regarding these courses, please reach out to me.

Information and Communications Technology Functional Guidance provides a framework to incorporate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services within the Incident Command System (ICS) to meet the increasing demands and expectations for ICT capabilities.
 
This Guidance also introduces new ICT positions intended to support successful outcomes by providing communications resources and access to Information Technology (IT) capabilities for incident commanders/unified command and emergency managers. While this Guidance incorporates the ICT Branch within ICS, the ICT Branch can be incorporated into any command and coordination system, such as the Incident Support Model.
 
This Guidance establishes how the ICT function manages the infrastructure and systems that support and enable communications, information management processes, and applications required by the responders managing an incident. Additionally, this Guidance describes how the ICT function safeguards incident operations from Cybersecurity threats and explains how to manage the interrelationship of communications and IT infrastructure. This Guidance does not describe the operational response to Cybersecurity incidents. This Guidance describes the incident commander/unified command or emergency manager’s authority to organize the ICT Branch based on incident complexity.
 
Additionally, this Guidance explains the organization of and roles and responsibilities of the ICT function within an ICT Branch.
​
 

Skywarn™ Recognition Day

If you have the time on Saturday, December 2, 2023 and you’re looking for a unique way to make contacts with some of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Centers, this is a fun way to accept the recognition that NOAA provides us every year.

The instructions are all in this link : https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition

​If you are interested in learning more about our local weather, check into our GCARC Skywarn Net, every Sunday night at 1930 Hours on the 147.180 MHz Repeater and EchoLink W2MMD-R.

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New Jersey 2023 Simulated Emergency Test
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
Overview of Scenario
A severe tropical storm with embedded high winds, just below hurricane force, is approaching from the southeast at the same time as an astronomically high tide is forecasted along the Atlantic Coast. Preliminary weather prediction indicates the tropical storm will affect the entire New Jersey coast and possibly strengthen to hurricane force before landfall. Forecasters are anticipating flash flooding throughout New Jersey from rain falls up to 3-5 inches per hour in isolated locations, high straight-line winds in the range of 65 to 80 mph, and possible tornadoes/waterspouts. Extensive barrier islands, coastal, back-bays, and rivers/streams flooding are anticipated, including inland areas of NJ, resulting in evacuations. It is possible coastal evacuation highways will be converted to one-way western travel for evacuations of coastal areas.
 
NJ 2023 Simulated Emergency Test Objectives
The objectives for 2023 Simulated Emergency Test are :

• To set up emergency radio communications, process tactical and formal messages, for multiple American Red Cross shelters passing formal/written messaged digitally, plus voice nets for instructions and announcements.
• To maintain ICS-214 Activity Logs for all activities, and ICS-309 Message Logs for all messages handled (tactical & formal), significant events, and operations.
• To respond to “Inject Incidents” throughout the simulated exercise related to changing conditions.
• To communicate damage assessment data to simulated served agencies, such as National Weather Service and County EOC, if necessary.

 
Assumed Conditions for Simulated Emergency Test :

• No commercial communications including internet, landline, and cellular telephones.
• Tropical Storm/Hurricane levels winds, flooding, and flash flooding forecasted :
• Rain falls of up to 3-5 inches per hour in some areas including inland, Flash Flood Warnings in place.
• Winds in the range of 65 to 85 mph gusts with possible tornadoes/waterspouts.

 
ARES Emergency Communications Rolls:
1. Provide American Red Cross of NJ emergency communications support for shelter locations :

• Atlantic County - Egg Harbor Twp Community Center, Egg Harbor Twp, NJ - Atlantic ARES
• Burlington County - Fellowship Alliance Chapel, Medford, NJ - Burlington ARES
• Cape May County - Martin L King Center, Whitesboro, NJ - Cape May ARES
• Cumberland County - Vocational Technical School, Vineland, NJ - Cumberland ARES
• Gloucester County - Rowan College of South Jersey, Sewell, NJ - Gloucester ARES
• Mercer County - The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ - Mercer ARES
• Monmouth County - Neptune High School, Neptune City, NJ - Monmouth ARES
• Ocean County - Central Regional High School, Bayville, NJ - Ocean ARES

2. Provide American Red Cross of NJ emergency communications support for logistical and administration of shelter services at :

• Princeton Office - Mercer County Overall NCS Operation - Mercer ARES
• Pennsauken Office - Camden County District Shelter Operations - Camden ARES
• Tinton Fall Office - Monmouth County District Shelter Operations - Monmouth ARES

 
3. Maintain liaison monitoring of NJ Office of Emergency Management SNJ SEC
 
4. Situational Weather awareness of conditions through NWS SKYWARN Spotters Reporting.
 
Simulated Emergency Shelter in Gloucester County
On the morning of Saturday, October 14, 2023, four members of GC-ARES defied the gloomy weather and participated in the annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET). The operators were Bruce Canino KD2LBU, Courtney Smith KD2SPJ, David Danichkin KD2UXC, and Karl Frank W2KBF. This was a joint exercise with ARES and the New Jersey American Red Cross (NJ-ARC), which recognizes the value of Amateur Radio in providing emergency communications to ARC shelters when cell phone and internet service is not available. Our goal was to establish radio communications from a Simulated Emergency Shelter in Gloucester County, then receive and send messages on behalf of the ARC. To add an element of realism, a spot adjacent to the Gymnasium of Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell was selected for the simulated shelter. In the past, this building has been used as an actual ARC shelter.
 
Two stations were established : an FM phone station for communication with the ARC District Headquarters in Pennsauken via the W2MMD 2-meter repeater and a Winlink station on 223.580 MHz for data transmission. The radios shared a single Comet Triband antenna with triplexer which allowed simultaneous operation of phone and Winlink without mutual interference. Over the course of 3½ hours we fielded requests from Pennsauken for shelter information and used Winlink to respond with formal messages. The Winlink responses incorporated data that was previously provided to us in digital form, suitable for importing directly into standard forms used by the ARC. This simulated operations at a shelter where ARC personnel would hand data to radio operators for transmission and was far more efficient than attempting to send data via phone.
 
We rotated operating positions periodically, so everyone had a chance to operate both phone and Winlink. Although we experienced a few minor problems, the exercise was successful and gave us the opportunity to practice communication protocols required by the ARC. 

​AMERICAN RED CROSS (ARC) - SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY DISTRICT OFFICE
As stated in the “ARES Emergency Communications Rolls”, we followed the NJ Region American Red Cross organization of three Districts, Northern NJ, Central NJ, and Southern NJ. Each District has seven NJ Counties.
 
Gloucester County ARES and Camden County ARES agreed to have joint responsibility for staffing the Simulated South Jersey District Office. The SNJ ARC District is comprised of Cape May, Salem, Cumberland, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington Counties.
 
We had four radio operators working together in the ARC District office, located on Rt. 70 in Pennsauken. Those operators are Doug Dersch KD2VQA, Greg Ciraula W5DO, Pete Greene N2LVI, and Bob Keogh KD2NEC. We also had a fifth operator assigned to the position of liaison between the Princeton NJ HQ and the SNJ District. 
 
Because this was our first Statewide, Joint ARC/ARES SET, we had a few technical and procedural challenges that we had to overcome. However, all our goals were met, and we had fun. The lessons we learned will be discussed at our follow-up conference with our Section Leadership.

ARC Pennsauken District Office : Greg Ciraula W5DO, Doug Dersch KD2VQA, Bob KD2NEC

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ARES / New Jersey American Red Cross Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
Saturday, October 14, 2023
By Karl Frank, W2KBF

The picture below was our setup at the Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell (Winlink tactical call GLOU-SHLT) during the SET on Saturday, October 14, 2023. We had four ARES operators (all GCARC members), a 2 meter radio for voice and a 220 MHz radio for Winlink.

​I used a triplexer to put both radios on the Comet CX-333 antenna. By using two different bands, we could operate Voice and Winlink at the same time.

The American Red Cross has used the gymnasium in this building before as a shelter, so it was a realistic location. Even though it rained, we stayed outside in order to not interfere with the activities inside.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - October 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Upcoming Events and Webinars

FEMA issues a weekly bulletin via email. with upcoming events and webinars that are of interest to individuals as well as organizations. The bulletins cover topics related to Emergency Preparedness and many of them are very relevant to Amateur Radio Emergency Services. To subscribe, go to this link : https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSFEMA/signup/13827

Last week’s Webinar Presentation was from a company called “Information Technology Disaster Resources Center”. They have local resources that we might be interested in, such as mobile satellite communications equipment, which is available at no cost to their clients and partners.
Here is the link to their website : https://www.itdrc.org

All FEMA webinars are recorded and eventually put onto the FEMA website. Here is an example : https://www.fema.gov/node/amateur-ham-radio-emergency-managers

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​The ARRL is another vast resource of information regarding the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).

​In case you haven’t subscribed to the ARES Weekly Newsletter, here is the link :
http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2023-09-20​

• ARES® Briefs, Links
• Hurricane Idalia Response
• Winlink ShakeOut Exercise Next Month
• Open Letter from the National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Operators
• September Is Emergency Preparedness Month - Perspective from a Pennsylvania County
• Mississippi Conducts Its SET on Hurricane Scenario
• Amateur Radio Helps Air Show Fly High
• Northern Florida SEC W4CPD for a Final: Hurricane Idalia Response
• ARES® Resources
• ARRL Resources

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​
AMERICAN RED CROSS NJ REGION
AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

In the September Crosstalk we talked about the initial Emergency Communications Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the American Red Cross NJ Region and the NJ ARRL/ARES.
​

We are now finalizing the plans for our Joint, Statewide, Simulated Emergency Test (SET) to be held on Saturday, October 14, 2023 between 0830 Hours and 1200 Hours.

The purpose of the SET is to determine what we are doing well and areas that we need to strengthen.

Gloucester County ARES has selected Rowan College in Sewell for our Simulated Shelter. We made sure that the Director of Campus Security understands ARES will be setting up Radios and Antennas on their grounds, to provide Emergency Communications with the NJ Red Cross. They were very supportive to have us on campus, to test our Disaster Relief Operations, alongside the Red Cross.

We will have a Network Control Station (NCS) for voice traffic in the ARC NJ Region Headquarters in Princeton and Station Hubs in all three of the ARC District Offices, Fairfield, Titan Falls, and Pennsauken.

All reporting between the Shelters and the ARC Supporting Facilities will be accomplished using WinLink and its ARC Template Forms.

It’s not too late to join our team and use your Amateur Radio License to provide service to our community. If you would like to participate, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - September 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

September is National Preparedness Month

SkyWarn is our Early Warning System

The article below was written by Greg Ciraula W5DO

Are you a weather enthusiast? Do you have an interest in weather or public service? Come join us at the Gloucester County SkyWarn Group. We meet on Sunday evenings at 1930 Hours on the GCARC repeater 147.180 (131.8) and EchoLink W2MMD-R. You don’t have to be a member of SkyWarn® or a trained spotter to check us out! A weather​​

station is not required either. Just check into the net and let us know what you see outside if possible.

During SkyWarn® activation, the National Weather Service (NWS) uses information from Spotters along with Doppler radar, satellite, and other data to issue more timely and accurate weather warnings.

I am just getting more active in SkyWarn® myself. So, if you are new at this, we can step through it together. Spotter Training is available and I will verify with the NWS for any courses that can be completed online to obtain Spotter certification. Additional information about Skywarn Spotter Training Classes can be found on the Skywarn page on the w2mmd.org website.

More information on the SkyWarn® program can be found on the Sunday net, future articles in CrossTalk, and at https://www.weather.gov/skywarn. I’m looking forward to talking with you on the air.

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​American Red Cross & American Radio Relay League Emergency Communications Program

On August 25, 2023, the New Jersey Region of the American Red Cross (ARC) and the New Jersey​

American Radio Relay League (ARRL) signed a new Local Agreement between the Red Cross and the ARRL was signed in the Red Cross Princeton Office. The purpose of this agreement is to define how the ARRL will provide Emergency Communication to the ARC NJ Region, during a Disaster Relief Operation (DRO), that has disabled commercial communications.

The first joint exercise will be our 2023 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on Saturday, October 14, 2023 (changed from the ARRL SET on October 7, 2023). As soon as we receive the emergency scenario for this test, we will have approximately one month to develop our plan and staff the positions needed to implement a successful implementation.

As a result of the American Red Cross New Jersey Region agreement with ARRL NNJ & SNJ Sections signed on Friday, August 25, 2023, the 2023 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) was moved to October 15th. The proposed SET is being modified for a State-wide ARES application of proposed operating procedures for handling American Red Cross (ARC) messages. The proposed operating plan leverages skills and knowledge utilized previously during SNJ SET operations, such as WINLINK and liaison stations.

If you plan to participate in this exercise, please send me an email and I will add your name to the list.

We will be using WinLink Data Modes to send and receive reports between the Simulated ARC Shelters and the NJ ARC Regional and Chapter facilities. We might also be providing radio communications to and from the logistics facility and damage assessment in the areas that were impacted by the incident.

​More information will be provided as the Emergency Plan is being developed.
​

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You must have seen the emails for this Public Service event scheduled for Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, 2023. This is a very important charitable event that we support each year and we need more Amateur Radio Operators to staff all the locations along the 70 mile route from Cherry Hill to Ocean City. Currently, we only have half the number of operators need.

Another Bike MS Ride, the Bike MS : Bike To The Bay in Delaware, is scheduled for Saturday, October 7, 2023. They are also looking for volunteers for this ride.

Please register now at this link https://www.n3mss.org
​

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - August 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - kd2nec <at> qsl <dot> net
Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Amateur Radio Included in the FEMA Guide for National Emergency Management

FEMA has released a final version (March 2023) of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Functional Guidance. The guidance, which provides a framework for communications resources within incident management, officially includes support from amateur radio operations. The expanded Communications Unit (COMU) structure now includes the Auxiliary Communications (AUXC) role, which covers personnel from services that provide communications support to emergency management, public safety, and other government agencies; this includes amateur radio.

NIMS guides government, non-government organizations, and the private sector (i.e. American Red Cross) to work together to prepare for, response to, and recover from disasters and other emergencies. “This is a major step toward the recognition of the need and usefulness of amateur radio and other communications services in our national preparedness said ARRL director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV. It also gives official guidance to pave the way for future training and education of volunteers in ARRL’s ARES Program, Johnston added.

The NIMS ICT guide is available at : https://bit.ly/40zSfDN

(Copied from the June 2023 QST Magazine, page 66)

AMERICAN RED CROSS NJ REGION - AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

PROJECT PLAN

This plan, although very thorough, will be revised as we receive more information regarding the current requirements and when we move into the second phase of planning a more permanent infrastructure, using some type of Mesh Network.

Because of the complexity of Red Cross Disaster Recovery Operations (DROs), there is a need to include how these incidents can scale up from a single location in one County, to many locations in NJ, i.e. Super Storm Sandy. Besides the structure of this plan, there is mention of training requirements, drills, and exercises.

The current GCARC team of 14 Radio Amateurs, have been attending a series of meetings to discuss the plan and how it will be implemented when we are activated by the Red Cross due to the disruption of normal communications systems.

Our partnership with the ARC included participation with the Red Cross in Field Day (bonus points) and the ARRL Annual Simulated Emergency Test on October 7, 2023.

If you have any questions, or wish to see the Project Plan, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - June 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
Welcome to Hurricane Season 2023
 
Believe it or not, June 1st is the official start date of Hurricane Season.
 
If you haven’t already developed a Personal Hurricane Plan to share with your family and friends, now is the time. Below are some helpful Web Sites that are very useful to prepare a plan and what to do before, during and after a hurricane strikes your area :

• Hurricanes - Ready.gov - https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
• VoIP Hurricane Net - https://voipwx.net
• National Hurricane Center - https://www.nhc.noaa.gov
• SKYWARN Amateur Radio Network - https://www.weather.gov/oun/amateurradio
• Amateur Radio - Automatic Weather Stations (APRS) - https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/w4ehw-aprs.html
• The Hurricane Watch Net - https://www.hwn.org
• Hurricane: American Red Cross : On the Apple App Store and the Google Store
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) : On the Apple App Store and the Google Store

 
Our preparation plans need to include when, where and how we should either evacuate the area or shelter in place. There is a point in time when it’s too late to evacuate and that is the worse situation you can find yourself in.
 
After the storm is over and if we were lucky enough to NOT be impacted in any way, as trained Amateur Radio Operators we can aid those who now need us.
 
Enter the American Red Cross (ARC) and their Disaster Recovery Operation (DRO) Team. We have fourteen Gloucester County Amateur Radio Operators who have recently registered with the ARC to provide Emergency Communications, “when all else fails”.
 
Our local team will begin a series of conferences, on-line independent training, and joint exercises with the Red Cross, to prepare ourselves for the real deal. Our 2023 Strategic Emergency Test will include the Red Cross and will be simulating a Major DRO, taking place on October 1, 2023.
 
Gloucester County, Monmouth County, and Mercer County are leading the way in New Jersey, with a total number of 51 registered EMCOMM Radio Operators. However, when (not if) we have another “Super Storm Sandy”, that won’t be anywhere near the number of Radio Operators that we’ll need to provide communications between all the Shelters, Logistics Suppliers, Disaster Centers, Chapter Centers, Regional HQ, the NJ State Police, and the NJ Emergency Operations Centers.
 
The good news is, an operation of that size, the National DRO team will be deployed from Texas and will be in NJ within two days. They will be bringing their Satellite Communications Equipment with them, to restore communications to the areas that were impacted.
 
That said, we have been invited to present our capabilities of a more permanent Mesh Network, that would be implemented in stages, over time.
 
Other Events
 
Bike MS : City to the Shore Ride will take place on Saturday, September 30 & Sunday, October 1, 2023. We will have Amateur Radio Operators stationed along the bike route, starting at the Cherry Hill Train Station, and ending at the Ocean City High School. If you want to use your Radio License for this event, you must register on-line for either Saturday and/or Sunday. Specifics will be provided as we get closer to the event.
 
If you have any questions about anything in this article or wish to register with ARES, please reach out to Bob Keogh : [email protected]
 
Editor’s Note : Go to the “Bike MS” page on our website for links and other information about the Bike MS : City To Shore Ride.
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - May 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

ARES® News
(This article in the ARES Newsletter caught my eye and it sounds like something we should plan for a Tech Saturday)

ARRL Ohio Section ARES NVIS Antenna Day

The ARRL Ohio Section ARES NVIS Antenna Day is a non-contest operating activity open to all radio amateurs. This year's event is scheduled for April 22. In the case of an emergency, amateur radio operators may need to communicate over short distances to stations within the state of Ohio and neighboring states. The value of short-distance HF communications was proven in the immediate wake of Hurricane Michael in 2018. Michael disrupted all communications along the Gulf Coast. Many radio amateurs resorted to 80-meter local contacts, including the North Florida Traffic Net, for emergency communications. Because repeaters were down, HF proved to be the workhorse for passing messages.

Temporary NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) antennas are the technology to do this with, but which are the best designs? In addition, how does your antenna work? Experimenting with antennas is still one of the most fun aspects of the hobby. Tie the two purposes together, add a group of friends, plenty of coffee, a BBQ grill, and you have a formula for a really good time!

The Ohio State EOC Amateur Radio station in Columbus, "The Sarge" - W8SGT, will be in operation to compare signals and provide a consistent signal strength report. Remember the overall goal is still to figure out your best NVIS antenna, and contact as many other NVIS stations as possible to plot your coverage area. Take pictures! Submit your antenna evaluations : which designs you used, how they performed, etc., and submit a log report with overall number of contacts, your location and operators. - Blair ARES Alert!, April 2023 issue, newsletter of the Blair County, Pennsylvania, ARES program [Emergency Coordinator Kevin Lear, W3XOX; Editor Drew McGhee, KA3EJV]

Field Day is Around the Corner : Emergency Communications Categories

Karl Frank W2KBF (ARES Emergency Coordinator Assistant and Trusted Advisor) is working with our friends in the Red Cross, regarding “Class F” communications during Field Day this year. Also, since we have a couple of new Red Cross members in the GCARC now, it only takes one of them to visit our Club on that weekend and we get another 100 points.

ARRL Field Day is the grandaddy of all emergency communications exercises. One of the most popular activities on the ARES communicator's agenda will be held this year on June 24-25. Below are two classes of Field Day operation of special interest to the emergency communications operator or group :

(Class E) Home stations - Emergency power : Same as Class D but using emergency power for transmitters and receivers. Class E may work at all Field Day stations.

(Class F) Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) : An amateur radio station at an established EOC activated by a club or non-club group. Class F operation must take place at an established EOC site. Stations may utilize equipment and antennas temporarily or permanently installed at the EOC for the event. Entries will be reported according to the number of transmitters in simultaneous operation. Class F stations are eligible for a free VHF station. At Class 2F they are also eligible for a GOTA station. For Field Day purposes, an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is defined as a facility established by a) a Federal, State, County, City or other Civil Government, agency or administrative entity; or b) a Chapter of a national or international served agency (such as American Red Cross or Salvation Army) with which your local group has an established operating arrangement. A private company EOC does not qualify for Class F status unless approved by the ARRL Field Day Manager. Planning of a Class F operation must take place in conjunction and cooperation with the staff of the EOC being activated. A Class F station may claim the emergency power bonus if emergency power is available at the EOC site. The emergency power source must be tested during the Field Day period, but you are not required to run the Class F operation under emergency power.

Reminder : Joint Military Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

On Saturday May 20 and Sunday May 21, from 1030 to 1730, the ARRL/ARES South Jersey Section Leadership is planning a Demonstration of Amateur Radio Equipment, Capabilities and Emergency Communications. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of Amateur Radio, as well as our ARES Program.

The Red Cross will also be there to raise awareness of their Military Support Services. If you ever watched M.A.S.H on TV, you probably noticed all the Red Cross emblems. Military Support Services is one of five branches of the Red Cross and provides care to both Active Duty and Veterans that are suffering with physical, emotional and financial problems.

ARES and the American Red Cross (ARC) NJ Region :

We are finally making progress on our preliminary Communications Plan for the NJ Red Cross. We’re about to enter the initial test phase, the Radio Links between the Red Cross Headquarters in Princeton and the three Chapter Offices in North Jersey, Central Jersey and South Jersey. This test will be conducted on Monday, April 24 beginning at 2000 Local Time. The call from Princeton to Pennsauken will be via the Waterford Works Repeater on 147.345 (PL 127.3) and it should take place at approximately 2015 local time.

ARES Net

Steve Farney W2SEF (ARES Emergency Coordinator Assistant) who manages our Gloucester County ARES Net every Sunday Night at 2000 local time. He consistently averages approximately 15 radio amateurs every week, checking into this net. He is also one of the Net Control Stations on the 2M Rag Chew Nets, twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is where Steve told me that he plans on casting his net for new ARES recruits.

So, be prepared, Steve has a tough quota, and he will be using some aggressive “Headhunter” techniques. Maybe he’ll split his commissions with those who sign up HIHI.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services - April 2023
Resources - News - Updates
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable but is not a requirement for membership.

If you are interested in learning more about the Gloucester County ARES Program or becoming an ARES member, please contact Bob Keogh ([email protected])

ARES® News

Amateur Radio in Turkey and Northern Syria after the Earthquake
After the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Northern Syria on February 21, 2023, BBC's Digital Planet spoke to Aziz Sasa, TA1E, who is the President of the Turkish Amateur Radio Association. Aziz explained the vital role of amateur radio as a key communication method in the region. He also talked about how radio amateurs were aiding relief efforts with the use of repeaters on VHF and UHF frequencies. You can hear the interview on BBC Sounds - it starts at 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the broadcast. - Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB)

For more details, see the April 2023 QST article on page 66.

Joint Military Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

ARRL/ARES Demonstration at the Joint Military Base MDL Air Show

• On Saturday May 20 and Sunday May 21, from 1030 to 1730, the ARRL/ARES South Jersey Section Leadership is planning a Demonstration of Amateur Radio Equipment, Capabilities and Emergency Communications. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of Amateur Radio, as well as our ARES Program. The plan is still being developed and updates will be provided when we have so further details.
• The ARES Section Coordinator (Tom Devine) is also starting to work on the annual Strategic Emergency Test (SET) to take place in October.

ARES and the American Red Cross (ARC) NJ Region :

• The ARC Disaster Relief Services Group is wrapping up the reassessment of the number and locations of Shelters in each of the 21 counties of NJ. Results of this reassessment should be completed by the end of March.
• In the meantime, we are working with the ARC Disaster Technology team, to determine the requirements regarding the numbers of Amateur Radio Operators needed to provide both Voice and Data Emergency Communications. At this moment, we are responsible for Radio Communications between the Shelters, Disaster Headquarters, and the logistics facilities. Naturally, this will depend on the severity of the disaster, the number of impacted areas and the disruption of the regional commercial communications systems.
• Our goal is to have our Communications Plan completed and tested long before the hurricane season begins.
• March has been designated as American Red Cross month, by every US President since FDR. On March 5th, we celebrated onboard the Battleship NJ, across the river from where “BB62” was launched in 1942. This event provided me with a unique opportunity to spend time with the ARC NJ Regional CEO Rosie Taravella and the NJ Regional Disaster Services Director Ed Blanchard. Rosie’s husband is a Radio Amateur and Ed, who just recently relocated from New England, are both very supportive of ARES.

ARES Nets

• ARES Training NET : Steve Farney W2SEF (AEC) does a fabulous job managing our Gloucester County ARES Net every Sunday Night at 2000. You do not need to be a member of ARES or the GCARC, to check-into this net. We average approximately 15 radio amateurs each week. The purpose of this net is to provide training, passing traffic, and announcements.
• Southern Counties Emergency Repeater Net (SCERN) : Charlie Olinda N2SRO is the Net Control Station for SCERN. This net begins at 2030 every Sunday night. It uses the C4FM Digital Voice mode on these simplex frequencies : 440.24375 in Camden, 445.31875 in Salem County, or 445.31875 in Cumberland County. These repeaters are linked, so the net can be accessed from the repeater closest to your station.

• Part of the ARC Communications Plan is to have a monthly net to test our equipment and capabilities. It will probably be on the last Monday of every month, on the same frequency as the ARES Net. More about this later.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - March 2023
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
ARES® Who We Are

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable but is not a requirement for membership. If you are interested in learning more about the Gloucester County ARES Program or joining the Local ARES Team, please contact Bob Keogh ([email protected])
 
ARES® News

Turkey and Syria

On the evening of Monday, February 6, 2023, there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that mainly affected Turkey and Syria as well as other neighboring countries with almost 35,000 dead (at press time) and more than 16,000 injured, with likely many more. According to information received from the emergency coordinators of the IARU Region 1 countries and, especially from Greg Mossop, G0DUB, the emergency communications coordinator for this region, communications in Turkey have been mainly on VHF, but transmissions in Turkish have also been heard on 28.540 MHz, although they can also use 3.777 MHz and 7.092 MHz. For this reason, we ask our colleagues in IARU Region 2 (the Americas) to protect those frequencies and assess the evolving situation for opportunities to serve the relief effort. As for Syria, it has been reported that apparently there are not many radio amateurs there, so we do not know if there is any frequency in use in that country. Aziz Sasa, TA1E, Turkish emergency communications coordinator, suggested that any help from other countries should be coordinated through the Turkish embassy in each country. Humanitarian aid groups from several European countries are currently moving into the affected regions.
 
ARES® Local Updates

ARES® Demonstration at the Lakehurst Air Show

The ARES South Jersey Section Leadership is planning a Demonstration of our Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Equipment and Capabilities during the annual Power In The Pines Open House and Air Show at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (https://www.jbmdl.jb.mil/Airshow-Information), on Saturday, May 20, 2023 and Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 1030 to 1730 Hours.
 
The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of Amateur Radio, as well as our ARES Program. The plan is still being developed and updates will be provided to the ARES team when we have some further details.
 
ARES® Annual Simulated Emergency Test

The ARES Section is also starting to work on the annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET) to take place in October. If anyone has any unique ideas for the SET this year, please share it with Bob Keogh
 
ARES® Support for the American Red Cross (ARC) NJ Region

The ARC Disaster Relief Services Group is wrapping up the reassessment of the number and locations of Shelters in each of the 21 counties in NJ. They hope to be completed by the end of March.
 
In the meantime, we are working with the ARC Technology team, to determine the requirements, based on a worse case scenario. This would include the number of Amateur Radio Operators needed to provide both Voice and Data Emergency Communications, between the required Shelters, Disaster Head Quarters, and the Logistics facilities, when all commercial communications have been disrupted.
 
ARES® Training Net

The purpose of this Training Net is to practice participating in a “Directed Net” and how to use the standard FEMA Incident Command Messaging System. The Gloucester County ARES Net meets every Sunday Night at 2000 Hours on the 147.180 (pl 131.8) repeater or EchoLink W2MMD-R. You do not need to be a member of ARES or the GCARC, to check into this net. Everyone is welcome to join.
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - February 2023
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

1. First and Foremost....Partnering with the American Red Cross

We are making progress with the Partnership between the Red Cross and the ARRL. Below is page 12 of 12 of the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that roughly describes the roles that ARES will provide to the NJ Region of the Red Cross when their is a need for the Red Cross to activate ARES during a Disaster Relief Operation (DRO). Of course, the need for Emergency Radio Communications will only be necessary when the commercial communications providers (i.e. Internet and Cellular Phone system) has been disrupted.

We are also working on a more detailed "Local Agreement", that will support the MOU. There are a series of Video Conferences schedule with the Red Cross and the ARRL/ARES, to finalize the plan.

Page 12 of 12 of the existing Red Cross and ARRL MOU

During a Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation (DRO), ARRL volunteers may perform in any of the following roles. These are examples of actual roles; they may or may not actually be included in all operations depending on the need of the operation. It is possible that one person can support multiple rolls or one role may require support from several people. This is not an exhaustive list and ARRL volunteers who are assigned roles by the Red Cross during a DRO will be provided with Red Cross credentials as required by the role, consistent with Red Cross Policy.

Amateur Radio Liaison : This role is for a person who is familiar with both Red Cross and local amateur radio operations. This role would establish contact with the local ARES unit, amateur radio club and repeater owners to provide a single technical-level point of contact for the DRO. If local agreements already exist, this role could be pre-designated. It would be expected that this role would be linked to a similar role in the partner organization.

Communication Equipment Operator : This is a standard radio operator role for someone who would operate a two-way radio or other communication device at a fixed facility or mobile/portable location to support the DRO. They would pass messages from point to point either directly or through a message relay. Operators may use DRO-issued equipment or personally-owned equipment, and they may be on amateur radio frequencies or frequencies coordinated or licensed by the Red Cross.

Communication Equipment Installation/Repair : This is a more technical hands-on-role than the Operator. In this role, the person would be asked to temporarily install two-way radio equipment into a facility or vehicle that is under Red Cross authority through ownership, lease or rental. The equipment could include base-station radios, mobile radios and appropriate antenna. Equipment may also require field repairs, such as the radios installed into Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs).

Disaster Assessment : Individuals who have the necessary training with the Red Cross can assess the damage caused a disaster, and use their radio skills to relay that information back to a central point that will use the information to develop a complete picture of the event.

End of page 12 of 12 of the Red Cross and ARRL MOU

If this opportunity to use your Amateur Radio License is appealing to you, please send an email to Bob Keogh Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator and I will add you to the list of Volunteers for this humanitarian program.

2. We have started planning a similar drill described below, for our 2023 Simulate Emergency Test (SET) for October

ARES/CERT Flood Preparedness Drills in Northwestern Washington.

Flooding in Sumas, Washington and Abbotsford, British Columbia, November 2021 - In that November, Whatcom County, Washington and southern British Columbia experienced the worst flooding in 30 years. The Nooksack River overflow significantly impacted the communities in the floodplain and extended across the border into Abbotsford, BC, as well. Stream overflows also flooded several major streets in Bellingham, WA, during the same period. Cross-border damage caused by the flooding has been estimated in the billions.

In the after-action review of the flooding, Fire District One (FD1) in Whatcom County (which serves the flooded area) noted the lack of real-time situation reports from the flooding areas. FD1 reached out to the county ARES group, the Whatcom Emergency Communications Group (WECG), to develop a plan for future flood events.

WECG had been using the mapping software Caltopo/Sartopo (https://training.caltopo.com/firstresponse/course) in conjunction with county Search and Rescue. WECG put together an exercise using ARES and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers in field teams to demonstrate the use of the mapping app. Field teams reported hypothetical flood situations via the Sartopo app or VHF and FRS radio. Situation reports (road closed, area flooded, etc.) were posted in real time on the master map at the EOC. In addition, some teams were able to provide drone footage to the EOC. The FD1 chief and the chiefs from neighboring fire districts were able to monitor the exercise as it progressed.

The City of Bellingham's ACS group has run a similar exercise using Sartopo, mimicking the 2021 flood experience. In addition to the use of Sartopo, radio and CERT teams also sent in digital reports and photos using Winlink and fldigi.

Bellingham's Emergency Manager was able to follow the exercise live on the EOC master map. See the final map indicating field team routes and reports. Whatcom County has now incorporated the field team/Sartopo mapping approach in to its flood preparedness planning. Cross border emergency managers have also developed coordinated flood response plans. - Jim McCabe, AE7UQ, Whatcom County ARES Emergency Coordinator; and Jim Blattner, KC7JB, Whatcom Emergency Communications Group.

If you want to learn more about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in South Jersey and its current partnership with ARES, please send an email to Bob Keogh Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - January 2023
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
THE NEW ARES
 
2022 ARES ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 
In 2022, we determined that ARES needed to partner with other Emergency Services Programs, in order to offer a more Comprehensive Solution, while still retaining the Amateur Radio EMCOMM Skills and Equipment.
 
Here are the dramatic changes we made together in 2022, starting partnerships with three well respected Programs :
 
1. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
 

• Gloucester County does not have a CERT at the County Level. So a few of us joined the East Greenwich Township CERT and the Camden County CERT, to learn more about the program by going through the three day CERT Basic Training.
• The East Greenwich CERT was activated by the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management to provide Damage Assessment after Hurricane Ida’s Tornado. We were activated again after the HASMAT incident in the Rt. 95 Truck Stop. These were both learning experiences for those of us that were deployed.
• We also supported the East Greenwich Police Department with Traffic Control during the Township’s public service events, such as their annual 5K Run and the Christmas Tree Lighting, which draws approximately 2,000 people from all over Gloucester County.

 
2. Child Abduction Response Team (CART)
 

• In April 2022 the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management and the County Justice Department asked if we could provide volunteer support for their CART Certification Exercise. Gloucester County was the first in the State to exceed the requirements of this difficult certification. Now all 20 of the other counties in NJ are striving to do the same.
• The OEM and the Justice Department expressed their appreciation of our service and are looking forward to having us participate in future exercises. Of course, we all hope and pray we never have another actual Child Abduction.
• It was suggested that we work towards having our team of volunteers certified in Search and Rescue (SAR), in order to play a more active roll in this program.

 
2023 ARES GOALS
 
1. Continue building on the what we started with CERT and CART
 

• Develop relationships with FEMA and the Salvation Army who are two of our served agencies.
• Recruitment of new volunteers.
• Multi-Organizational Drills and Exercises with not only other ARES groups but also with Government and Non-Governmental agencies that we serve.

 
2. American Red Cross (ARC)
 

• We have recently made a very exciting connection with the American Red Cross of NJ to provide Radio Emergency Communications throughout New Jersey, when Commercial Communications have been disrupted or diminished, impacting the ARC’s ability to provide Disaster Services.
• They’re Disaster Services include opening shelters for people who have been evacuated from their homes and provide the best care possible for those people during and after the disaster. This can not be accomplished if they cannot communicate with their Head Quarter Offices, Logistical facilities and Transportation vehicles.
• As soon as the NJ OEM tells the ARC to open one or more shelters in NJ, they require ongoing  situational reports.
• This is a State Wide Project and we (the SNJ Section) have already started working with our CNJ Section and NNJ Section counter parts. We hope to have an updated MOU and Local NJ Agreement in early 2023.

 
Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - December 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
The American Red Cross Needs Us and Our Radios.
 
If you’re watching the football games, you probably saw the T-Mobile commercial regarding the Disaster Recovery effort in Florida due to Hurricane Ian. After a whole month, there are still over 1,000 people still living in shelters.
 
Nobody expects us to deploy to Florida or California, although some NJ volunteers did go down.
 
Please take the time to read the Red Cross article at (http://bit.ly/3U3tkog) and also respond to the request below from Bill Kelly, NB1LL so you can learn more about the Red Cross Disaster Services Technology group from the expert.
 
Thanks!
 

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HAM Operators Assisting The Red Cross During Disasters
October 18, 2022

Dear Fellow Amateur Radio Operators,

The American Red Cross (ARC) in New Jersey is working on a project where Amateur Radio Operators (HAMs) would support Red Cross internal emergency communications during a disaster. Red Cross sites can be shelters, warehouses, points of distribution, family reunification centers, community reception centers, and other sites where the Red Cross is supporting disaster response and recovery missions.

We are seeking HAMs to support these sites as a backup for conventional communications that may fail during a disaster. This work is in direct support of safety of life and protection of property (47 CFR § 97.403).

Currently, we are only looking for names of operators who would be interested in helping and their location within the state. The how will come after we know the who.

We are looking for HAMs to work as partners, either as an individual or with an organized group (club, ARES, RACES). We are not looking to take anyone away from their other committed roles, that they would perform for their communities.

We have split the state into three territories, North-Central-South, each containing seven counties, with communications being provided within the territories and the state.

The Red Cross will provide free disaster training to better understand what we are doing, as well as drills and exercises. Your commitment will be to attend training, drills, and exercises when you are able to and based on your ability to participate at the time that a disaster strikes. If you are interested in helping or learning more about this opportunity to use your amateur radio license in support of emergency communications in New Jersey, please fill out the form at the URL below.

73
ARC Assist Committee
Ed, K2BED
Mike, KC2UOA
Peter S, not yet licensed
Bill, NB1LL

Click the URL to open the form : https://forms.office.com/r/tqmB8cBV3F

Bill Kelly
Volunteer
American Red Cross, New Jersey Region
[email protected]

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ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Completes Simulated
Emergency Test

During the rainy and windy Saturday morning of October 1st about 91 amateur radio operators, sometimes referred to as HAMS, in Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Ocean, and Salem Counties participated in a National Simulated Emergency Test, sometimes referred to as a DRILL or EXERCISE. The annual Simulated Emergency Test is promoted by the ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio while design of this exercise was accomplished locally by the Southern New Jersey Section of the ARRL under the leadership of Section Manager, Tom Preiser N2XW of Manahawkin.

Throughout the simulated exercise the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) teams of licensed radio operators volunteered their time and personal equipment to practice providing backup emergency communications for served agencies. The DRILL participants in the 7 counties responded to a simulation that a duplicated series of severe weather events passing through Southern New Jersey. It was designed to be the same as a normal storm front which impacts different areas at different times with different conditions. This DRILL simulated disruptions of all electrical power, internet, and cellular services, forcing the amateur radio emergency service operators to only use radio frequencies for communications. In addition, the local teams did not know the weather conditions their county or group of counties were going to receive. However, teams had to monitor the Southern New Jersey Section Message/Traffic Network or a backup network for “Inject Incident Messages” containing the information. The Southern New Jersey Section Message/Traffic Network simulated the National Weather Service watches and warnings. The 11 “Inject Incident Messages requests the 7 county teams to react to simulated high winds, flooding, tornadoes, water spots, and derechos, plus how these weather events impacted communities.

During the morning simulation, the seven county teams plus the southern New Jersey Section Traffic Network Station and its backup processed over 280 messages, using both voice and digital communications modes. Some required providing severe weather reports to the National Weather Service. Others simulated sending and receiving messages for shelters that had to be established due to barrier island and coastal or river flooding. A third simulation was to provide local emergency management authorities with damage assessment reports, such as flooding, and blocked roads. The simulation requested all teams and network operators to utilize Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommended logging and message forms, which would be requested by served agencies in an actual emergency.

An added challenge was the effects of Ian’s remnants, rain, high winds, and flooding, occurring throughout the event. While adding realism, it required all teams and Section leadership to constantly monitor the need to shift from DRILL to higher status making reports to local NWS office by our SKYWARN volunteers and local served agencies.

The National Simulated Emergency Test goals focus on identification of strengths in emergency communications skills, as well as identify areas for improvement of the teams in Southern New Jersey. According to preliminary results this Southern New Jersey Simulated exercise achieved those goals. Several debriefing reports from teams stated, ‘the simulated emergency test was fun while challenging’. These debriefs suggested enhancements in operating procedures, additional training in digital message handling to improve accuracy, and technical ideas to research to upgrade radio networks. Efforts have already started on enhancing future operations.

Article Credit : ARRL Southern New Jersey Section for Ham Radio Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/arrl.southernnj) page, October 11, 2022

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - September 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

1. 2022 Simulated Emergency Test

This Exercise will be conducted on the morning of Saturday, October 1, 2022, between the hours of 0830 and 1100 Hours.

It will be conducted in the comfort of your home or a location of your choice. There will NOT be any requirements to travel or operate your radios in the field. This is strictly an operational test of your radio equipment and your emergency operational capabilities.

You do not have to be a member of Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) to participate in this exercise. Any licensed Amateur Radio Operator can enjoy the fun of being part of this exciting annual ARRL Nation Wide Exercise. If you have questions or would like to participate, simply send an email to Bob Keogh.

Below is an overview of the Severe Weather Related Incident and the Objectives of the exercise.

This is why we Train and Practice our Emergency Radio Communications Skills every Sunday night on the GCARC 147.180 MHz repeater.

We all hope and pray that we never see this type of disaster in our communities but we all need to be prepared.

"Hope for the best but be prepared for the worse"

Simulated Emergency Test Overview

THIS IS A DRILL THIS IS A DRILL THIS IS A DRILL

A band of Severe Thunderstorms with embedded tornadoes and Very Strong Winds are approaching Southern New Jersey from the Mid-West. To make matters worse, at the same time this storm reaches New Jersey, there is an astronomical high tide forecasted along the Atlantic Coast.

These severe storms have caused significant damage and disruption of transportation, power, internet, and other critical services in the Mid-West.

Preliminary weather predictions indicate, that severe storm bands will affect the entire region from Virginia to New Jersey. Forecasters are anticipating flash flooding from the rain fall, up to 3-5 inches per hour in isolated locations. Straight-line winds are predicted in the range of 70 to 90 mph, along with possible tornadoes/waterspouts.

National Objectives for ARRL Simulated Emergency Test

1. To discover the strengths and weaknesses of ARES, NTS, RACES, AUXCOMM, and other groups providing emergency communications.

2. To test the full range of systems under realistic conditions.

3. To provide a demonstration to served agencies of Amateur Radio’s value to the public in time of need.

4. To help operators gain experience using standard procedures and a variety of modes under simulated emergency conditions.

Local Southern New Jersey Section Objectives

1. To be able to set up emergency radio communications and process tactical and formal messages, during simulated severe weather events.

2. To utilize multiple radio frequencies to send and receive messages via repeaters or simplex using multiple modes to support served agencies.

3. To maintain Incident Command System (ICS-214) Activity Logs for all activities, including message handling, significant events, and all operations.

4. To be able to adjust our plan in real time, throughout the simulated exercise, based on changing weather conditions of the storm.

5. To communicate Damage Assessments to simulated served agencies, such as National Weather Service and each of the local county Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs).

6. To send and receive messages, to and from the American Red Cross Headquarters, and at the same time, sending Health and Welfare messages to family members of those people who had to evacuate their homes and are now staying in simulated Red Cross Shelters, across Southern New Jersey.

2. Developing a partnership with the American Red Cross

One of our Emergency Communicators, Doug KD2VQA, discovered a flyer from a Red Cross Recruiting Campaign, that has now led us into a viable opportunity to partner with the Southern New Jersey Chapter of the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is the organization that opens shelters for people who need to evacuate their homes during the threat of a severe storm. 

We are proposing that we (ARES) partner with the ARC, to provide Radio Emergency Communications in those shelters. We will be providing Tactical Communications to and from the Shelters through out South Jersey, to the Chapter Headquarters. We will also provide Health and Welfare messages to and from Evacuees and their family members, when all other commercial communications system have been disrupted.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - August 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

1. What Good is Winlink? (From the desk of Karl W2KBF)

Winlink is a radio messaging system that provides an email gateway between Amateur Radio and the Internet, such that a ham radio operator who is in an area without other means of communication can send an email message by radio to any Internet email address and receive email replies. A Radio Amateur might use Winlink from his/her home station if normal communications were disrupted temporarily due to violent weather, hacking or other disturbances. How else would you let your out of state relatives know that you are OK and not to worry? A Radio Amateur that finds himself in a Red Cross emergency shelter without cell phone or internet access could use Winlink to communicate with Red Cross, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) or other agencies.

Last year Jonathan WB2MNF and the GCARC Skunkworks Crew installed a WinLink Radio Message Server (RMS) at the Clubhouse and they continue to make improvements. W2MMD-3 can be reached on 145.030 MHz using the mode VARA FM or by VARA HF on 7106 kHz. The current antennas limit coverage but the station continues to evolve as the W2MMD Clubhouse recovers from tornado damage. Future enhancements under consideration include adding support for Packet radio and possibly a digipeater. Many other WinLink RMS stations are distributed throughout the USA and the world.

To get started with WinLink, browse to https://www.winlink.org.

2. Bike MS : City to the Shore Ride 2022

Although this is a planned "Public Service" Event versus an unplanned "Emergency Service",  it is great practice for all Amateur Radio Operators.

Rather than trying to describe it myself, take a few minutes and watch this video. You won't be disappointed. https://youtu.be/mou0moNZ2AM

The event this year will be held on Saturday, September 24 through Sunday, September 25, 2022.

Also go to our Club’s website at https://gloucestercountyarc.weebly.com/bike-ms--walk-ms-events.html for the latest links and some past articles from Club members who participated in the event.

3. June ARES Training Nets

June 5 : 15 check ins
June 12 : 15 check ins
June 19  : 17 check ins
June 26 : 15 check ins

ARES Training Nets are conducted every Sunday Night at 2000 Hours on the 147.180 MHz repeater, PL 131.8 Hz and EchoLink W2MMD-R.

You do not have to be a member of ARES to check into this net. All licensed radio operators are welcome.

If anyone is interested in being part of ARES, or if you have any questions about the program, please contact me via e-mail at KD2NEC <at> QSL <dot> net.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - July 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

The articles in the July issue of QST, regarding the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and the new ARRL Director of Emergency Management, Josh Johnston KE5MHV are very exciting.

First, it’s easy to miss the article on page 9, from the ARRL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Minster NA2AA but its very important to hear him start by saying “EMCOMM is a hallmark of our hobby” and that half of new hams become amateur radio operators to pursue activity in emergency communications. He then goes on to talk about the differences between ARES and AUXCOMM and how he plans to better support our EMCOMM field services programs.

The next article you should read is the monthly “Public Services” article on pages 74 and 75. This is an interview with Josh Johnston KE5MHV, our new Director of Emergency Management. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience in emergency field services and how he has been building a committee to create a better line of communication between Headquarters and the Local amateurs and programs in the field. As he said, this has been long over due and exciting to hear.

On page 68, there is a good article about the New Board Committee, to improve, Programs, Services, and Training for EMCOMM. Not any details yet but still very promising.

Last but not least, on page 65 - 67, there is a description of our National Simulated Emergency Test (SET) in 2021, where the Gloucester County ARES team, under the leadership of Karl Frank W2KBF, finished second in the South Jersey Section. The 2022 SET will be in the fall and we could use a few more operators to take first place away from Ocean County. More information will be available as we enter into the fall season.

There are a couple of other articles about ARES activations in this month’s QST magazine. More publicity about ARES than I have ever seen.

Also, take particular notice to the State Police Communications Van and its antennas on the cover page. Impressive, but we still have many roles to play during large regional disasters and interruptions to commercial communication systems. The government and non-government emergency agencies do not have the necessary resources, and recognize the need for volunteers

If anyone is interested in being part of ARES, or if you have any questions about the program, please contact me via e-mail at KD2NEC <at> QSL <dot> net.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - June 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
You may have already read this Gloucester County Times Article (https://bit.ly/39iqCKb) or heard the chatter among some of our GCARC members, regarding this very successful exercise, held on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 in Malaga.
 
It was a full blown, Multi-Governmental Agency Exercise, using Law Enforcement from many of the surrounding counties, as well as the Federal Government, using all the latest technology such as drones, aircraft and a state-of-the-art, Mobile Communication Command Center. Very impressive! See the article for all the details and pictures.
 
I want to take this opportunity to first thank the seven other GCARC Volunteers who participated in this event:

• Irma N2FNF
• Doug KD2VQA
• Karl W2KBF
• Frank W2FJM
• Courtney KD2SPJ
• Jerry K2OOO
• Harry W3DNQ (Photographer)

 
See the picture below.
 
There were several others that were accepted into the CART Program but could not make it to the exercise. There will be other opportunities.
 
Our volunteers were asked to perform duties, such as registering other volunteers that would just show up during events like this, feed leads to the dispatch system and when necessary, deliver those messages to the police road blocks, throughout the area. We also helped serve pizza to the team and clean up after the event ended.
 
Below are messages from the CART Volunteer Coordinator and the OEM Director thanking us for our participation :
 
From : Detective Colleen McCausland...
"On behalf of the CART team, we would like to thank all of you for your time and efforts today. We appreciate how eager all of you are to assist law enforcement and that we can rely on you. We look forward to meeting with all of you again, and hopefully setting up training in the near future."
 
From : Gloucester County OEM Director Dennis McNulty...
"Glad you and your colleagues were able to participate & contribute to what appears to have been a very successful exercise. Thank you for your interest and initiative."
 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - April 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

Weather permitting, during TechSaturday, (April 9th), we will have on display in the club’s parking lot, the Portable Emergency Communications Amateur Radio Station.  So come on out to see this portable station, with multiple Amateur Radios, HF, VHF/UHF and HT, along with antennas and power sources (including solar).  

For the complete story of this “POD”, with pictures, click on the link below.  

https://thepodrunner.com/recent_builds/cooper/

Update regarding the Child Abduction Response Team (CART)

If you have any interest in participating in this program, the County Is still looking for more volunteers.  Simply send an email to the volunteer coordinator at [email protected]   and request the application package.  

If you would like more information regarding the CART program, the best source is Amber Advocates

www.amberadvocate.org/  

The ARRL ARES news letter 

For the latest information from the ARRL, regarding the activities, events and other information regarding Amateur Radio Emergency Services, click on the link below and subscribe to the ARES News Letter.  

http://www.arrl.org/ares-letter

February  ARES/RACES Net Check-Ins

• • Week 1:  17 Check-Ins
  • Week 2:  no net due to NFL playoffs
  • Week 3:  13 Check-Ins
  • Week 4:  14 Check-ins
  • 44 Total Check-ins for February 

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - March 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

1. Update regarding the Child Abduction Response Team (CART)

• We are still in the planning phase, with the Gloucester County CART Program Coordinator (Lieutenant Stacie Lick), for an Implementation Exercise sometime in the spring (date to be determined). We are also still looking for additional volunteers, to add to the (18) GCARC members who have already volunteered. If you have any interest in participating, send me an email at [email protected] or if you would like more information regarding the CART program, the best source is Amber Advocates www.amberadvocate.org.
• Our willingness to participate in the planning and implementation of this program has advanced our relationship with the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management, who is now interested in sponsoring us to start a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the county level, which has been our goal for the past year.

2. The ARRL ARES Newsletter

• For the latest information from the ARRL, regarding the activities, events and other information regarding Amateur Radio Emergency Services, click on the link and subscribe to the ARES News Letter - http://www.arrl.org/ares-letter

3. Local Training Nets

Besides the weekly GCARC-ARES Training Net on Sunday Nights @ 2000 Hours, below are a few other local resources you might want to take advantage of :

• The DigiNet : Digital Data Mode Training, conducted by Gary Mirkin, WA3SVW, on the first Monday of every month, using the Club's 147.180 MHz (PL 131.8) repeater and EchoLink W2MMD-R.
• The Five County Digital Training Net : To receive instructions for this training, you should send an email to Barry Feierman, K3EUI at [email protected] and have him add you to [email protected].
• WinLink Wednesday : This is an excellent way to improve your WinLink skills, after you have WinLink installed and at least working on Telnet. Send an email to Tim Tonnesen, NJ2N at [email protected] and request that he add you to [email protected].

4. January ARES/RACES Net Check-Ins :

• Week 1 : 15 Check-Ins
• Week 2 : 18 Check-Ins
• Week 3 : 10 Check-Ins
• Week 4 : 15 Check-Ins
• Week 5 : 18 Check-Ins
• 76 Total Check-Ins

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Amateur Radio Emergency Services Update - February 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator

1. ARRL CEO, David Minster's comment on a new committee focused on "Field Services".

• Here is an excerpt from David's article in the December 2021 issue of QST, starting on page 9 :
• "The Board has established a new standing committee focused on both EmComm and Field Services and we have hired a dedicated Field Services Manager, Mike Walters W8ZY, who has jumped right in, developing relationships and communications with Section Managers, as well as working to revitalize clubs through new initiatives”.
• This gives me hope that the ARRL will be modernizing the Emergency Services Programs such as ARES, in the near future. I will be looking for signs of this happening and will keep you all informed.

2. New Initiatives :
Gloucester County Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Program

• Immediately after sending the email out over the reflector to the GCARC, we received 18 messages back from Club members, stating that they wish to participate in this program. When I sent this to the Gloucester County Officials, they were very happy with our response and are ready to move forward with us.
• This program has reopened the door to the County OEM. The director has told me that he and his staff hope to use the same volunteers for other emergency programs, at the county level, where they should reside.
• So, please think about being part of the new Emergency Field Services Program by sending me an email stating that you would like to participate.
• I will talk more about this on the Sunday Night ARES/RACES Net.

Harrison Township Emergency Services

• Doug Dersch KD2VQA, who lives in Mullica Hill, has made contact with one of the Harrison Township OEM people and this has opened another door for us to provide our Emergency Field Services. Doug and I will hopefully be meeting with the OEM leadership in the near future, to determine how we should proceed.
• Yes, the recent tornado that ripped through Gloucester County in September has all of our OEMs looking for new ways to better manage emergencies and disasters.
• We should all be contacting the OEM in our respective townships to see how we can help them in the future. If you make the initial contact, I will be happy to attend a meeting with you.

3. ARES/RACES Net :
Due to the holidays in December, we only held three Sunday Training Nets :

• December 5, 2021 : 14 Check-ins
• December 12, 2021 : 15 Check-ins
• December 19, 2021 : 10 Check-ins
• Total for December 2021 : 39 Check-ins

4. Exercises : 

• Due to the holidays and the new EC still getting his feet wet in December, we did not have any field exercises.

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Our County OEM Is Asking For Our Support - January 2022
By Bob Keogh, KD2NEC - Gloucester County Emergency Coordinator
 
At last, our Gloucester County Director of Emergency Management, (Dennis McNulty) has come to us (GCARC), to request our Participation in the Child Abduction Response Team (CART - https://bit.ly/34vVC6K), that is in the process of being formed. This is HUGE and we cannot let him down. Many of you have told me that the primary reason you became involved in Amateur Radio was to provide a service to our community. This is our opportunity to do it!
​ 

We’ve all seen the Amber Alerts on the bottom of our TV screen, on posters, and on our Smart Phones. The last time we had one here in Gloucester County was 10 years ago when Autumn Pasquale was abducted in Clayton NJ. That case was all over the news and social media for days and tugged at all of our hearts.
 
Our role as volunteers will be to provide support services to the County Justice Department, which has overall responsibility for the CART program. These services could include, behind the scenes tasks, such as distribution of posters, distribution of food and water, staff hot line calls and providing Emergency Communications during a search. So, you could even include your family members.
 
There will be more definitive information provided in the near future, including a presentation by the County CART Coordinator, Lt. Stacie Lick.
 
As your GCARC Emergency Coordinator, I’m asking for you to please consider participating in this program.
 
Thank you!

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ARRL SET - October 2, 2021 Highlights
By Chris Prioli, AD2CS

Here are some photos of Mike Mollet, N2SRO and myself in Mike's ham shack operating as NCS operators for the SET. Mike was command and control NCS, while I was general traffic NCS. It ran from 0900 Hours to 1100 Hours and it went very well.

ARRL Simulated Emergency Test Update - September 23, 2021
By Karl Frank, W2KBF, Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator

The Gloucester County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (GC-ARES) will conduct their annual Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 9:00am to about 12:00pm. All Radio Amateurs are invited to participate, whether or not you are registered with ARES. We will find something for you to do, particularly if you have FLDIGI and/or WinLink capabilities.

​More information and practice in message handling will be provided during the weekly Sunday evening ARES/RACES Training Net at 8:00pm on the W2MMD 2 Meter repeater and EchoLink W2MMD-R.
​

The 2021 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) Is Just Ahead

The weekend of October 2 - 3 is designated for holding the annual ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET), although local and Section-level exercises may take place throughout the fall.

The SET is ARRL's primary national emergency exercise and is designed to assess the skills and preparedness of Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers, as well as those affiliated with other organizations involved in emergency and disaster response. It encourages maximum participation by all radio amateurs, partner organizations, and national, state, and local officials who typically engage in emergency or disaster response.

The SET encourages maximum participation by all radio amateurs, partner organizations, and national, state, and local officials who typically engage in emergency or disaster response.

In addition to ARES volunteers, those active in the National Traffic System (NTS™), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), National Weather Service (NWS) SKYWARN®, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and a variety of other allied groups and public service-oriented radio amateurs are needed to fulfill important roles in this nationwide exercise.

The SET offers volunteers an opportunity to test equipment, modes, and skills under simulated emergency conditions and scenarios. Individuals can use the time to update a go-kit for use during deployments and to ensure their home station's operational capability in an emergency or disaster.

To get involved, contact your local ARRL Emergency Coordinator or Net Manager.

Article Credit : The ARRL Letter for September 16, 2021 - www.arrl.org

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Amateur Radio Demonstration - September 21, 2021
By Karl Frank, W2KBF
 
The East Greenwich Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) was given a demonstration of Amateur Radio at their Meeting on September 21. Bob Keogh KD2NEC set up an ID-880H radio at the East Greenwich OEM, connected it to a temporary outdoor antenna and at approximately 7:15 PM called an ARES Demonstration Net on the W2MMD 2 Meter Repeater. Stations checking in included Frank Messick W2FJM, Greg Ciraula W5DO, Charlie Wahl KC2STO, Steve Farney W2SEF, Jerry Patterson WW2WTF, Doug Dersch KD2VQA, Chris Prioli AD2CS, Mike Mollet N2SRO, Mike Harla N2MHO, Lee Marino N2LAM, and Karl Frank W2KBF. Ten members of the CERT group were in attendance along with their Emergency Management Coordinator, Lt. Kyle Messick.
 
Following Bob's radio demonstration, Karl Frank W2KBF provided an overview of the capabilities of radio messaging via WinLink. Everyone in attendance expressed their appreciation for the radio demonstration and presentation and there were many questions that were answered. As a member of East Greenwich CERT, Bob looks forward to working with the CERT leadership to develop and test a Communications Plan for Emergency and Planned Events in that Township and hopes that similar programs can be established in other Municipalities in and around Gloucester County.
 

Bob Keogh, KD2NEC

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Amateur Radio Demonstrations - August 5 and September 21, 2021
By Karl Frank, W2KBF, Gloucester County ARES Coordinator

As Bob Keogh, KD2NEC, announced on the Sunday, July 25, 2021 ARES/RACES Net, he is planning a demonstration of Amateur Radio at the East Greenwich CERT Meeting on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 around 1915 Hours. He is looking for contacts via the W2MMD 2 Meter Repeater and EchoLink W2MMD-R during his demonstration. So pencil in this date.


Mike Harla N2MHO is planning a similar demonstration on August 5, 2021. See the message below.

Hello,

Cumberland County ARES/RACES will host a demonstration of Amateur Radio modes & techniques on Thursday, August 5, 2021 at the Port Elizabeth School on Route 47 from about 1700 to 2030 Hours.

It would help if operators could listen during this period for our station call KC2TXB/2, to be available on the other end for contacts we might make.

We plan on doing demonstrations of HF and VHF voice, WSPR and possibly other digital modes.

We will use the repeater on 146.805 MHz/PL 118.8, with 145.490 MHz/PL 179.9 repeater as backup. We will also monitor the SCERN C4FM network as time allows.

We will try to hold a net on 146.805 MHz between 1930 to 2030 Hours. Other nets may be scheduled as time allows.

Please join us on August 5th as we work to build awareness of Amateur Radio.

Thanks,

Michael Harla, N2MHO
ARES/RACES Officer
Cumberland County
Vineland, NJ

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FM Simplex Test
By Karl Frank, W2KBF

On Sunday, March 21, 2021, Gloucester County ARES/RACES conducted a FM Simplex Test as part of the weekly net that is held 8 PM every Sunday on the W2MMD 2M Repeater. The purpose of this test was a) to gather data on how messages might be passed during a communications emergency in the event the repeater is not available and b) to allow operators to evaluate how well their stations are getting out. All radio amateurs were invited to participate and we had several check-ins from Salem, Cumberland, and Camden Counties. Upon check in, each station was asked to QSY to 146.535 MHz and make a brief test transmission, then return to the repeater frequency. All other participating stations also tuned to 146.535 MHz and recorded signal reports, which were forwarded to GC-ARES Coordinator Karl W2KBF. Results are shown in the following table :

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Gloucester County ARES Participates in American Red Cross Drill
By Karl Frank, W2KBF, GC-ARES Coordinator

On Saturday, November 14 hundreds of radio amateurs across the USA participated in a joint ARES/ARC emergency communications drill. The purpose was to test the ability of ARES operators to deliver digital messages to the Red Cross using the WINLINK Radio Messaging System. Two Gloucester County ARES members, Jerry WW2WTF and Karl W2KBF, successfully transmitted drill messages using WINLINK and received confirmation of receipt from the appropriate Red Cross Divisional Clearinghouse Station (tactical Call ARCNORTHEAST). Digital messaging using FLDIGI and WINLINK has gained importance in the EMCOMM community and is practiced during the weekly GC-ARES/RACES Training Net on Sunday evenings over the W2MMD 2 Meter repeater.
 

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ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
By Karl Frank, W2KBF
Update : October 3, 2020

The SET went well today. Thanks to all who sent and received drill messages and special thanks to Bob KD2NEC for serving as NCS, Michael N2SRO for serving as alternate NCS and Liaison to OEM and Jim N2GXJ for serving as SKYWARN liaison. By my count, we handled 7 reports of severe weather and 5 reports of severe damage. Eight of these messages were digital, either with FLDIGI/FLMSG or Winlink. Perhaps we can collect feedback during the Sunday night ARES/RACES Net when Bruce KD2LBU will be NCS.

Participants :

• KD2NEC, Bob (NCS)
• N2SRO, Michael (alternate NCS and OEM liaison)
• N2GXJ, Jim (SKYWARN liaison)
• WA3SVW, Gary
• W2FJM, Frank
• W2KBF, Karl
• W2OC, Mark
• KD2URI, Jerry
• WA3KOL, Bob (Salem County ARES liaison)
• KD2LBU, Bruce
• KC2VAR, Marc
• KB2RTZ, Steve (NTS liaison)
• KC2STO, Charlie
• WB2ALJ, Tom (DEC)

Karl Frank, W2KBF
Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator

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ARES 2020 Simulated Emergency Test Is Scheduled For October 3, 2020
By Karl Frank, W2KBF
Update : September 21, 2020
 
Gloucester County Radio Amateurs are preparing for the annual ARRL/ARES 2020 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) that will take place on Saturday, October 3rd. The purpose of the annual SET is for amateur radio operators to apply their emergency communications skills in a realistic simulation of an emergency event that could occur. The SET is not a contest, but an opportunity to practice operating. All interested Radio Amateurs are invited to participate; membership in ARRL, ARES, or RACES is not required. If you are interested in emergency communications, but have not registered with ARES or RACES, you still can give EMCOMM a try by contacting Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator Karl W2KBF (w2kbf (at) arrl (dot) net) and I will find a role for you.
 
GC-ARES has requested and received permission from GCARC to use the W2MMD 2-meter repeater to coordinate this exercise (we also will use 146.535 MHz FM simplex). Activation of the SET will be announced over the repeater on Saturday and stations checking in will receive assignments. We will be simulating a communications failure due to a “Derecho” weather event and will focus primarily on serving the regional office of the National Weather Service and County Office of Emergency Management. Volunteers may be asked to compose and send reports of simulated storm damage and/or relay messages from other stations using simplex. Due to the Pandemic, social distancing will be observed and it will not be necessary for anyone to operate outside of their own home or mobile stations. Doesn’t this sound like good, clean fun with radio?
 

ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
By Karl Frank, W2KBF
Update : August 31, 2020

The Annual ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will take place during the weekend of October 3 and 4 (see pg. 64 of the September QST) and Gloucester County ARES will participate. Why am I sending this to the entire GCARC Membership? While I anticipate participation mainly from GC-ARES and GC-RACES personnel I also am open to participation from radio amateurs who are interested in Emergency Communications but are not registered with ARES or RACES. I suspect that, during an actual communications emergency, several Radio Amateurs may be on the air trying to help out, whether or not registered with ARES/RACES, and I would rather have you participate during this drill rather than remain on the sidelines.

This test has multiple purposes but, fundamentally, is meant to test the strengths and weakness of ARES, RACES, NTS and other groups in providing emergency communications. I am not authorized to reveal specific details but can tell you that it will involve a simulated weather-related disaster during which normal communications are disrupted.

At this time, I am NOT looking for commitments, but simply a list of people who MAY be interested in participating so that I can follow up later.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SET 2020 will NOT require us to congregate at any point - all operations can take place without leaving our personal home and/or mobile stations. In particular, I will be looking for people who can serve as :

• Net Control Stations (we may have more than one Net)
• Digital Traffic Coordinator (we will use FLDIGI and Winlink in addition to traditional voice messaging)
• Liaison to other groups, e.g. SKYWARN, NTS, S.C.E.R.N. and served agencies (such as OEM and American Red Cross)
• Relay stations (in the event that we use simplex)

All stations will be encouraged to use emergency power for at least part of this exercise. This will be a great opportunity to test those batteries and generators.

Karl Frank, W2KBF
Gloucester County ARES Emergency Coordinator

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​ARES Net, Sunday evenings at 8 PM on the 147.18 MHz (PL 131.8) repeater in Pitman, NJ. All Amateur Radio operators are welcome to join in. Our mission is to provide Emergency Communications capabilities to Gloucester County, NJ using the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
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We are affiliated with the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club and the South Counties Emergency Radio Network (SCERN). Are you an Amateur Radio operator living in or near Gloucester County, NJ with an interest in Public Service and/or Emergency Communications? Come join us!

Gloucester Alert

Gloucester County uses Gloucester Alert to immediately contact you during a major crisis or emergency. Gloucester Alert delivers important emergency alerts, notifications and updates to you on all your devices:

• e-mail account (work, home, other)
• cell phone
• text pager
• BlackBerry
• Palm pilot and/or PDA

When an incident or emergency occurs, authorized senders will instantly notify you using Gloucester Alert. This alert system is your personal connection to real-time updates, instructions on where to go, what to do, or what not to do, who to contact and other important information.