Transcript Slide 1

http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
1

You should be able to define
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Why Amateur Radio?
Discuss of proper Public Service operations
What is the Communication Plan?
Practice Test scenarios Experience
Get something from Communications Exercise
Cache County ARES
2
Every year Amateur Radio Operators volunteer their time and
equipment to help support a wide variety of events. These
events include, but are not limited to, parades, walks, runs, and
bike tours. While Amateur Radio operators are primarily
communicators, they in many cases get heavily involved in the
actual operation of the event. Whether it be helping to plan
logistical support or responding to event emergencies, Amateur
Radio Operators play a vital role in the health and safety of
event participants and overall event success.
Cache County ARES
3

Public Service Events are an important way to display Amateur
Radio's capabilities to the general public and to practice with
our equipment in a non-emergency situation. Many of the
functions amateur radio communicators perform at these
Public Service Events are identical to those performed during
incident and EmCom situations. They're also a great place to
learn how to be a better operator. Public service events are a
great place to get some experience and training before "the
Big One" strikes in your area, and you get to be an Emergency
Communicator.
Cache County ARES
4
Cell phones and public service radio (especially newer
computer controlled) systems can be among the first to
“crash” or become overloaded in major events.
Effective, accurate, and timely communications during disasters
and other emergencies will make a difference between additional
loss of life, injury and loss of property.
Amateur Radio is a communication “system” that utilizes multiband, multi-mode, wide-area networks that are INDEPENDENT of
the “infrastructure” or commercial power sources.
Cache County ARES
5

Your job is to pass traffic
◦ Use the most efficient means available
◦ Not limited to amateur or any kind of radio
◦ Use the phone, fax email or bicycle

This requires planning and preparation
◦
◦
◦
◦
We
We
We
We
need
need
need
need
to
to
to
to
train ourselves and others
prepare ourselves.
prepare our event staff
develop comm plans
Cache County ARES
6


Know the chain of command
Observe the chain of command
◦ This promotes efficient communication

Everyone takes their role seriously
◦ Work with people, not around them
◦ There are egos involved




Look professional, be professional and you’ll be
treated like one
Offer suggestions to minimize chaos, don’t add to it
Staff will be exhausted, be polite, friendly and smile
Tackle any extra task that needs doing
◦ Even the if the Event Director asks you to take out the
trash, make coffee and direct traffic.

Don’t forget Job #1
Cache County ARES
7
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
8

Listen to traffic
Only critical information goes over the air

Do not editorialize

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification

Keep chatter off any nets

Mind background noise at Net Control and in you
Vehicle

◦ Others are listening
◦ Stick to facts and exact message text
◦ Some explanations may not be given on air
◦ Know what to say BEFORE pressing PTT
◦ Chatter is for the simplex frequencies
◦ There are headphones but operators are working
Cache County ARES
9

Use plain English
◦ Never use jargon (no 10-codes, Q-codes)
◦ “Condition Codes” are an exception
◦ Speak Clearly – Don’t rush, slur or mumble




Avoid contractions
Use ITU phonetics when spelling
Pronounce numbers individually
Minimize extra words
◦ Clear, Monitoring, Standing by, etc. are unnecessary


Acknowledge all instructions
Nothing goes over the air unless cleared by PIO
Cache County ARES
10
Agreed upon words to represent
the letters of the “roman alphabet”.
The boldfaced syllables are
emphasized. The pronunciations
shown in this table were designed
for those who speak any of the
international languages.
The pronunciations given for
“Oscar”, “Papa” and “Victor” may
seem awkward to English-speaking
people in the US.
A
Alfa
AL FAH
B
Bravo
BRAH VOH
C
Charlie
CHAR LEE
D
Delta
DELL TAH
E
Echo
ECK OH
F
Foxtrot
FOKS TROT
G
Golf
GOLF
H
Hotel
HOH TELL
I
India
IN DEE AH
J
Juliet
JEW LEE ETT
K
Kilo
KEY LOH
L
Lima
LEE MAH
M
Mike
MIKE
N
November
NO VEM BER
O
Oscar
OSS CAH
P
Papa
PAH PAH
Q
Quebec
KEH BECK
R
Romeo
ROW ME OH
S
Sierra
SEE AIR RAH
T
Tango
TANG GO
U
Uniform
YOU NEE FORM
V
Victor
VIK TAH
W
Whiskey
WISS KEY
X
X-Ray
ECKS RAY
Y
Z
Yankee
Zulu
YANG KEY
ZOO LOO
Cache County ARES
11
1—WUN
2--TOO
3--THU-REE
4--FO-WER
5--FIFE
6--SIX
7--SEVEN
8--ATE
9--NINER
0--ZERO
Cache County ARES
12

ANSWER

QUESTION
◦ To be used when you have the definitive answer to a
question currently being discussed on the air
◦ To be used when the asking of a question can't wait
 For example, use when the mayor is standing next to you and
requesting you to get information using your radio

INFO
◦ To be used when information needs to be transmitted
rapidly but is not related to what is being said on the air
 for example, if an event that net control needs to know about is
going to happen in the next few seconds or if waiting for the
end of an exchange will negate the value of the information

PRIORITY
◦ To be used to report an important but non-life threatening
situation such as a traffic accident that just happened
Cache County ARES
13

MEDICAL
◦ To be used to report a minor medical incident that
affects the operator in some way
 For example, having to leave his/her post for a few minutes
to walk someone with a minor cut over to a med tent

EMERGENCY
◦ Only to be used to report an ongoing life or property
threatening or damaging incident

YOUR CALL SIGN
◦ An indication that the operator has traffic that can
wait and does not require the cessation of the
ongoing exchange. This tag is an expectation to be
put on hold and in queue for transmission
Cache County ARES
14
By using Tactical Call Signs, the net can be
conducted without regard to which operator
is at the radio. They identify the position and
not the operator.
Cache County ARES
15


Use the Tactical Call Sign to identify your
transmission and address another station
by its Tactical Call Sign.
No call sign is necessary in a two-way
conversation once communications has
been established.

To comply with FCC rules, add your FCC call
sign to your last transmission in a series.

It is not necessary to add the receiving
party’s call sign, just your own.
Cache County ARES
16
Example:

Water Two:
Water Two

Net Control:
Water Two

Water Two:
The lead Marathon runner just passed
this point. Over

Net Control:
I copy, N7RXE
Out.

Water Two:
K7LRX
Out.
Using Over and Out may be omitted if it will not cause
confusion. Signing with your FCC call sign will signify ending
your transmission.
An easy way to remember is to establish contact using your
Tactical Call and end the contact with your FCC Call….
Cache County ARES
17

Open/Closed Nets
◦ Open Nets
 Free form
 Low or sporadic traffic
 Listen before talk
protocol
 Normal operations
◦ Closed (Directed) Nets
 Net Control Station (NCS)
 Only transmit when
approved by net control

Types of Nets
◦ Tactical Net
 The front line net
during the incident where the action is
◦ Resource Net
 Used to recruit
operators and
equipment to support
tactical effort
◦ Command Net
 Interagency and
managers
Cache County ARES
18

Emergency
◦ Immediate threat to life or property

Key Words
◦ Emergency, Break Break Break, Help

FCC declares an emergency and posts rules
◦ Any special conditions and rules to be observed

Remember
◦ Emergency traffic always has right of way
◦ FCC follows Good Samaritan rules and will forgive
those that help
◦ The FCC also punishes those that are fraudulent
Cache County ARES
19

Dos
◦ Assume the emergency is real
◦ Open the frequency
 Stop your contact
 Take the emergency call

Don’ts
◦ No false emergencies
 You can lose your license and go to jail for declaring a
false emergency
 You can be held liable if you interfere with emergency
traffic
 You will be required to pay the cost of the search and
rescue effort
Cache County ARES
20

Practice these skills on the air
◦ Take some turns as net control


Program all the event frequencies into your
radio
Know how to program any frequency into
your radio
◦ Be able to program frequency/shift, set and enable
tone



Be familiar with your equipment
Keep your contact info current
Participate during activations
Cache County ARES
21
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
22

Cache County Ecomm Plan
Cache County ARES
23

Cache County Ecomm Frequency list
Cache County ARES
24
Cache County ARES
25
 LOTOJA
◦
Radio Communications Procedures

Traffic precedence



◦

1. Emergency traffic (e.g., need medical assistance)
2. Safety communications (e.g., locating support vehicle, reporting of support vehicles who are
hazards)
3. Race communications (e.g., requesting cyclist transportation or support, asking race official for
clarification, reporting cyclists who have dropped out)
4. Other communications
LOTOJA Hotline



◦
Communications
The LOTOJA Hotline - 435.261.2272 is provided for sensitive, off-the-air, back-up, lengthy, or
other communications. This number can receive voice calls or text messages. Leave a message if
nobody answers. Be sure to have this number programmed in your cell phone for quick access.
Report race incident or accident details (including bib numbers) to this number promptly after
the incident.
This number can be used to have operators make contact or pass important messages to/from
cyclist support crews.
Radio Communications Guidelines


Each support vehicle or station is assigned a tactical call sign (such as Yellow 2, Blue 13, or
Rover 3). Use tactical call signs for all communications. You must use your FCC-assigned call
sign at least once every 10-minutes while actively conversing or at the end of a conversation or
series of communications. You do not need to identify with your call sign with each
transmission, but only every 10 minutes or at the end of a conversation.
There are four net control areas - Cache, Bear Lake, Star Valley, and Jackson
Cache County ARES
26

LOTOJA Frequency List
Cache County ARES
27

Little Red
Cache County ARES
28

LRRH Frequencies
Cache County ARES
29
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
30

Scenario #1

Net Control this is Victor 12

Go ahead Victor 12

“ A runner is down at Mile 14.”

As stand alone information is of no use to anyone.

More proper is
◦ “ Runner number 555 is down at mile 14. He is bleeding, and
needs medical attention. Please send medical to this location.”
◦ or Runner number 555 is down at mile 14. He is bleeding, we
have medical on scene attending to him.”
Cache County ARES
31

Scenario #2

Net Control this is Victor 12

Go ahead Victor 12

Rider 555 is Dropping out

Should be rider 555 is dropping out at Afton. Can you locate
his support vehicle and have them meet him at the Afton
Feed Zone”
Cache County ARES
32






Scenario #3
Don't know what you guys think but I like to state my
traffic kinda in the blind it some times leads to doubles
but I feel it cuts down on traffic. using the above
Scenario
Instead of
V-7 "Net Control Victor 7“
Net Control "Victor 7 Go ahead“
You give all the important info all at once
“Net Control Runner number 555 is down at mile
14. He is bleeding, and needs medical attention. Please
send medical to this location Victor 7.”
Cache County ARES
33



V-7 “ Runner number 555 is down at mile
14. He is bleeding, and needs medical attention.
Please send medical to this location.”
If there is traffic though, you would need break in
traffic and it would need the more formal work.
I have not heard the use of Mayday on our
Events usually Triple Break or Emergency
(Callsign), Traffic(Callsign)?
Cache County ARES
34







Scenario #4
Net Control Rover 4
Go ahead Rover 4
We’ll be out on a potty break
Net Control Victor 1
Go ahead Victor 1
We’ll be out on a potty break
Cache County ARES
35
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
36
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
37
http://www.barconline.org
http://www.barconline.org/about/ares
Cache County ARES
38