ARES Team Page

- SMHARC A.R.E.S. TEAM PAGE -
ARES Meetings are now held at 7:00 PM on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, just before the monthly Business Meeting, in the Rice-Webb Auditorium.

It's a Snow Storm, it's an Ice Storm... no it's ARES Team Drill 2007
On Sunday January 28th, the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC ARES Team held an Emergency Drill simulating a severe winter Snow/Ice storm. The full story is on our eNews page and photos are here, below:

Joe Agius - W1TW on the K1SMH Repeater.	John Bellissimo - KA1EWN watching APRS.

APRS Map showing ARES mobile unit positions.	Incoming image from Chief Lamb - N1NVE

- ARES Advanced Field Operations Workshop - 2005 -
Eastern Mass ARES will be holding their 2nd Annual "Advanced Field Operations Workshop" at the Sturdy Memorial Hospital's Rice Webb Auditorium on Saturday August 13, 2005. See the notice on the eNews page for more details.

- 2005 Spring ARES Team Drill -
The Eastern Mass A.R.E.S. Spring Drill was cancelled... however, the Sturdy ARES Team, in conjunction with Norton Emergency Management Agency, pressed on. Ray Cord - K2TGX of Norton Emergency Management decided to continue their planned drill in conjunction with the Norton CERT Team. Ray asked for the club's assistance in the drill which simulated a late winter Ice Storm. Club A.R.E.S. Team Members set up at various locations including a base of operations at the Norton Fire Station, several simulated shelter locations, and two mobile SSTV equipped, disaster assessment teams. The SMHARC Club Station was also activated at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro.
KA1EZH - Net Control, called the Simulated Emergency Net at 10:00 AM from Attleboro. K1VQ and W1TW operated WC1NOR, the Norton Emergency Operations Center. K2TGX acted as overall Incident Commander of the drill with N1FLO as A.R.E.S. Team Incident Commander. North Attleboro's Fire Chief, Peter Lamb - N1NVE was on the air with SSTV video and APRS text messages from North Attleboro's EOC. KB1DRL activated the Club's Station, W1SMH at Sturdy Hospital in Attleboro and acted as Liaison to the Hospital's Emergency Department. N1IV operated the Plainville E.O.C./R.A.C.E.S. Station and KA1IG operated as North Attleboro E.O.C./R.A.C.E.S. - both provided support to Norton.
N1UMJ checked in from Taunton and handled simulated traffic to Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's Region 2 Headquarters. KA1EWN operated as Disaster Assessment Mobile 1 and N1SEC operated as Disaster Assessment Mobile 2 and both sent SSTV pictures back to Norton's EOC. N1MPT set up a mock shelter at Norton Middle School and handled head count traffic as well as mutual aid requests for shelter support. The drill lasted for approximately 1 hour:20 minutes and served as excellent practice for all involved. Formal and non-formal traffic was passed between almost all stations and everyone played a vital roll in making the drill a success. The club would like to thank Ray Cord and the Town of Norton for having the confidence in our team to involve us in their drill. We'd also like to thank N1NVE for involving the Town of North Attleboro and supporting the drill.
John Benson - N1FLO would like to thank the A.R.E.S. Team members who participated in the drill and worked under difficult weather conditions to permit the drill to continue. At 11:15 AM, it was announced that a National Weather Service Winter Storm Warning had been issued and, with concern for the safety of team members and other drill participants, the drill was called.

- GO KIT BOX -



Available at Home Depot and has own "Luggage Cart" style handle and wheels!

EMA ARES Membership: Policy, Instructions and Application.

(This will take you to the Eastern Mass ARES web site!)

The New ARES Net Control Preamble

Download our ARES Brochure - (2.5MB "PDF" File)

- Skywarn Training -

Group photo of the Skywarn Training Class

A group of 38 turned out for the National Weather Service "Skywarn" Training session.

Bill Babcock and Eleanor Valleir-Talbot from the National Weather Service office in Taunton, were on hand to teach Severe Weather spotting techniques. A group of 38 residents of the surrounding area, 15 of which were Amateur Radio Operators, were on hand to become trained Skywarn Weather Spotters. Skywarn consists of large group of volunteers trained by the National Weather Service and available to report Severe Weather events to the local NWS office, as it's happening.This is a valuable asset to the NWS as it supplements their equipment with actual, real-time visual reports from the field.

Rob Macedo - KD1CY, NWS Taunton Communications Liaison and ARES District Emergency Coordinator, was also on hand to assist with the training. Rob has a position at the Taunton NWS Office and operates as WX1BOX during any declared weather emergency. Any Amateur Radio Skywarn Spotters, would usually be reporting their weather data to Rob. He spoke of some of the past situations that have

Bill Babcock explains NWS literature.

Rob Macedo - KD1CY explains ARES.

happened in the New England area and how they were handled. He also gave a brief synopsis of resources available to both Ham and non-ham weather spotters. The list of Amateur Radio operators in attendance reads: N1FLO, KB1DRL, KB1CRZ, KA1EWN, KA1CQD, N1IV, W1XS, W1TW, WB1DJM, K2TGX, KA1IG, KA1EZH, WB1CWK and KB1JLU... an excellent turn out for ham radio. The Sturdy club hosts a Skywarn Net on the Attleboro Repeater in times of actual severe weather events and twelve members were trained in this session. The number of non-ham attendees was even more impressive... 24 people interested in severe weather spotting and becoming NWS Skywarn volunteers.

The presentation was broken up into three parts and the duties were split between Bill, Eleanor and Rob. Some background information on severe weather was followed by some specifics on how to recognize the different types of severe weather. Specific details were then given on the 4 types

of thunderstorms and how to determine what type you are seeing and where to look for severe weather symptoms. A segment on Hurricanes was next and was very informative, especially where we are likely to see this type of scenario on a regular basis. This was followed by winter weather reporting criteria and what to expect in our area. The evening came to a close with the presentation of our Skywarn Spotter I.D. Cards.


Eleanor discusses Doppler Radar.	Bill - WB1DJM, gets his Skywarn I.D. Card.

We'd like to thank everyone who attended, Sturdy Hospital for the use of the Auditorium, Barbara Miele of Food Services for the coffee and snacks, SMH Security for directing people to the Auditorium, the SMHARC members who helped setup and tear down and Rob Macedo - KD1CY, for making this event possible. We'd especially like to thank Bill and Eleanor for their expertise and insight and the National Weather Service for allowing them to expand this program. We also look forward to working with the many new spotters who received their cards tonight. If you're a non-ham and would like to listen to how we run the Skywarn Net, tune your scanner to 147.195 Mhz any time you think their may be an activation. Thanks again and good luck! ... the Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club


The group intently listening to Bill!	In line for Skywarn I.D. Cards!

- ARES Team News Briefs -

Eastern Mass ARES - Spring Drill

SMHARC Hosts Eastern Mass ARES/RACES/Skywarn Emcom Workshop

Steve Schwarm - W3EVE, addresses Workshop attendees at the Sturdy Auditorium.

We were very proud to have been given the opportunity to host an ARES/RACES/SKYWARN Emergency Communications Workshop at the Hospital's Rice-Webb Auditorium. The workshop was run by Eastern Mass ARES members Mike Neilsen - W1MPN, Rob Macedo - KD1CY, Steve Schwarm - W3EVE and Frank O'Laughlin - WQ1O on Saturday, October 26th. Amateur Radio Operators and ARES Members from Eastern Mass and Rhode Island were in attendance. A Continental Breakfast was served compliments of SMHARC and the workshop got underway. Mike - W1MPN, our Eastern Mass SEC started things off with a discussion about the ARES Program and expectations for it's members. He then conducted the first workshop segment entitled "Net Control Operations I" Mike's talk was followed by Steve - W3EVE with segment #2 on "NTS Traffic Handling". This was followed by a Pizza Luncheon which was coordinated by Marty Pyne - KB1DRL.

Frank - WQ1O assembles an antenna!

WQ1O assembles a "Quick Antenna" from a "Go Kit"

The afternoon session began with a very informative segment #3 on "Go Kits" by Frank - WQ1O. Frank brought several different levels of "Go Kits" with him for us to view. Frank is the ARES DEC for Cape Cod and the Islands and has several different "Go Kits" based on the nature of the Emergency and probable length of time to be spent in the field. They were all organized in easily transportable cases, some with their own, built-in luggage cart. He had several different Net Control Operations consoles built into their own cases, also. This is an aspect that John - N1FLO, is currently working on, so the talk was very enlightening to members of our club.

After a short break, Rob - KD1CY, Eastern Mass Skywarn Coordinator began the "Net Operations II" segment #4 and talked a little about the earlier Skywarn/National Weather Service test, that morning. Via the 40 Meter Band, members of Skywarn were able to link NWS Taunton, NWS Bath, ME and NWS Albany, NY together using a relay station in Western Mass.

When Rob finished, Steve - W3EVE began segment #5 on how ARES handled the "911 Disaster" during the New York City mobilization. It was also a very informative talk and highlighted some of the problems encountered and how they were quickly overcome. It also gave a little more insight into what to expect in an actual disaster situation to those of us who have yet to experience one. Steve's last segment was followed by a "Q & A" session and some photos were taken for the various publications and web sites.

We'd like to extend a sincere "Thank You" to Sturdy Memorial Hospital for hosting the event in their Auditorium, to Barbara Miele - Director of Food Services at Sturdy and her staff for their assistance in setting up the room and providing us with a fantastic Continental Breakfast, to Marty Pyne and Will Rollinson for help in setting up that morning and to all the SMHARC club members in attendance for the workshop. We'd also like to thank Mike Neilsen and his staff for giving us the opportunity to host the event... it was a significant PR opportunity for the club.

- SMHARC ARES Team -

In an effort to raise awareness of our club at the municipal level and let local government agencies know that we are here, our ARES Team was formed. The team will meet separately to draft a plan to present ourselves as a group of trained radio operators who are not only available, but more than capable of providing Emergency Communications services in a time of need. The Team consists of:

John Benson	N1FLO	Club President/Committee Chairman
Ray Cord	K2TGX	Norton EMA & Committee Secretary
Bruce Bumpus	N1OFC	EMA Director - Plainville
Scott Bumpus	N1SEC	Deputy EMA Director - Plainville
Ken Reynolds	KA1EZH	Committee Member
Jim Duarte	N1IV	Plainville EMA
John Bellissimo	KA1EWN	Committee Member
Pete Guimond	N1EZT	North Attleboro EMA
Marty Pyne	KB1DRL	Vice President/SkyWarn Spotter
Fred Sanford	KA1CQD	Committee Member
Carlos Silva	KB1CRZ	Rehoboth EMA
Joe Agius	W1TW	Committee Member/SkyWarn
Bruce Alexander	KA1IG	Committee Member
Clayton Coleman	KB5TBB	Committee Member
Allan Cox	K1VQ	Mansfield EMA

The "Old Magic Beans" Project - Our 40' Portable Tower!

The ARES Practice Net was formed and will be held every Thursday evening at 8:30 P.M. on the 147.195 (K1SMH) repeater. The purpose of the Net is to train club members and to practice our Emergency Communications/Public Service skills and traffic handling abilities. All club members and anyone else interested in ARES/Emergency Communications training are welcome to join in. Watch for more info here and any club members with suggestions, feel free to contact John Benson or Ray Cord with your ideas. Download the Net Control Preamble here.

- OUR MISSION STATEMENT -

In an effort to raise awareness of our club at the municipal level and let local government agencies know that we are here, an ARES Team was formed. The purpose of the Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club ARES Team is to develop an organization of capable and willing communications volunteers. Through a Roster of these trained and capable radio operators, they may be called upon to provide backup communications in the event of an emergency, disaster or a normal communications channel failure.

They are also capable of providing radio communications for public service events such as road races, parades and walk-a-thons. They will promote ongoing training programs, hone their skills and develop new methods and technologies. They will also strive to develop and maintain a good working relationship with the agencies and people they serve. ARES meetings will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 7:30 P.M., just before the Business Meeting, in the Rice-Webb Auditorium.

- From the ARRL Web Site -

What do Amateur Radio operators do during and after disasters?

Amateur Radio operators set up and operate organized communication networks locally for governmental and emergency officials, as well as non-commercial communication for private citizens affected by the disaster. Amateur Radio operators are most likely to be active after disasters that damage regular lines of communications due to power outages and destruction of telephone lines.

How do Amateur Radio operators help local officials?

Many radio amateurs are active as communications volunteers with local public safety organizations. In addition, in some disasters, radio frequencies are not coordinated among relief officials and Amateur Radio operators step in to coordinate communication when radio towers and other elements in the communications infrastructure are damaged.

What are the major Amateur Radio emergency organizations?

Amateur Radio operators have informal and formal groups to coordinate communication during emergencies. At the local level, hams may participate in local emergency organizations, or organize local "traffic nets" using VHF (very high frequencies) and UHF (ultra high frequencies). At the state level, hams are often involved with state emergency management operations. In addition, hams operate at the national level through the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) which is coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) which is coordinated through the American Radio Relay League and its field volunteers. In addition, in areas that are prone to tornadoes and hurricanes many hams are involved in SKYWARN, operating under the National Weather Service.

Is Amateur Radio recognized as a resource by national relief organizations?

Many national organizations have formal agreements with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and other Amateur Radio groups including:

· Federal Emergency Management Agency
· National Communications System
· American Red Cross
· Salvation Army
· National Weather Service
· Association of Public Safety Communications Officials

What are some examples of emergencies involving Amateur Radio?

· World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks -- September 2001
· Flooding in Texas and Louisiana (Storm Allison) -- June 2001
· Earthquake in India -- January 2001
· Earthquake in El Salvador -- January 2001
· Ice storms in Southwest -- December 2000
· Tornado in Alabama -- December 2000
· Flooding in Arizona -- October 2000
· Tornado in Ohio -- September 2000
· Avalanche in Alaska -- March 2000
· Fires in Los Alamos, New Mexico -- May 2000
· Hurricane Floyd -- September 1999
· Tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas -- May 1999
· Colombian Earthquake -- January 1999
· Tornadoes in Arkansas and Tennessee -- January 1999

For further useful information, checkout the links below.

- Eastern Massachusetts Net Directory

- ARRL Emergency Communications Page

- ARRL Radiogram Form

- ARRL Radiogram Instructions

- ARRL Numbered Radiograms

- National Traffic System

- "Q" Signals

- ITU Phonetic Alphabet

- RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services)

- ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services)

Local Links