Volunteer Staffing Pattern CERT & ARES/RACES
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
* Friday evening, August 8, 6 - 10 p.m. - 21 volunteers needed * Saturday, August 9, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. - 25 volunteers needed * Sunday, August 10, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. - 25 volunteers needed Initial Staffing  8/6/2008(Most positions will rotate during the event)
................................................................. 7/14/2008Frequency Plan- #1 NCS Voice - 440.350 +5.000 PL 127.3 #2 Secondary Voice - 147.400 simplex #3 APRS - 144.390 simplex #4 D-STAR HS data - 1294.400 simplex #5 D-STAR Voice and LS Data - 147.560 simplex ................................................................. 7/14/2008RESTAT – Resource Status Unit - A functional unit within the planning section, which is responsible for recording the status and accounting of resources committed to an incident and evaluation of resources currently committed to the incident, the impact that additional responding resources will have on the incident and anticipated resource needs. (ICS) SITSTAT – Situation Status – A functional unit within the planning section, which is responsible for analysis of the situation as it progresses. Reports to the planning section chief. (ICS) Alpha identifiers for lost child reports would help those situations. = Net preamble was not repeated often enough. Also, we need a formal written preamble. (Look in the Hand Book) = Air Show Radio needs more gain for the forced inside antenna, especially on 2 meters. = Shuttles worked well when driven and dispatched by ARES personnel, not so much when not in our control. One shuttle with absolutely no connection to HPD (and thus not yanked away from us without warning) would be very helpful. = Continuity of command and control would benefit from Net Control being on site first thing, at the same time as Check In and Command Post. = I know Ernie has mentioned this before, but it needs to be mentioned again- the importance of Knowing Your Equipment! It is understandable that on an HT with 3 functions per tiny button that you are not going to remember how to use all those many, many, dozens of features that-most of which- you probably have never needed to use at all; but the basic operation of your radio should be and needs to be second nature for emergency operators. (I am not talking about D-STAR, which is something of a work-in-progress.) = We need better info on availability of power at the First Aide tents prior to the airshow. After packing my 60 pound battery around for use at FA3 this weekend, we discovered that power was available at the tent. The battery was not needed. I could have brought my 3 pound switching power supply rather than the 60 pound battery! Equipment-wise, we just scraped by with a mag-mount antenna (no ground plain) at FA3. I would like to see a better and more through job done of planning what equipment would be brought to the show by various people so we have what we need. The mast\antenna setup I brought from Beaverton EOC for use at FA3 was re-assigned to FA1 on Saturday morning which left FA3 with a poor mag mount setup. KE7AUB FA3 on Saturday was not happy about this as I had told him I was bringing the mast/antenna for FA3 and nothing more was needed. IF I had known that more\better antennas were needed, I could have brought them. And you were lucky I happened to have that 100 ft of coax for your ID-1! = Several people who weren't originally scheduled to work more than one day stepped up to help out as needed to cover for Ken, N7QQU's unfortunate timing to get sick. Thanks Dan KK7DS, Ken KE7OSO to name a couple. The D-RATS people who were knowledgeable were more than willing to troubleshoot the software on the fly and help those who weren't familiar with the software get to the point of being functional. D-RATS was very helpful for times where it was more difficult to hear voice communications. People unfamiliar with the D-RATS software were able to obtain basic functionality with a minimum of training needed and adapted very well. Checkin with all units PD, Fire, Medical and ARES/CERT being at the same location in the building reduced a bit of confusion for figuring out where someone needed to report. Several issues with D-STAR locking up on people forcing a restart of the system. (Presumably related to military radar or radio.) Some communications weren't as brief as they could have been while others were too brief requiring repeats. (Fortunately none of them were mission critical causing an unsafe delay in response) Some people were a little too focused on the "new technology" to the point where they weren't paying attention to the primary communications method and started to cause delays in completing certain functions both on and off the field. = Big Thanks to Nyla KE7UXB for delivering the rest of the crucial N7QQU equipment! Big Thanks for Dan KK7DS for working long at CP – the ID1 set up would have been a challenge for me (the antenna set-up with Kenn KA7VQH was the easy part). We need better quality coax for the ID1 rig to antenna connection. KK7DS pointed out that the loss is greater then I thought (too much HF in my brain). So time to get better coax. Echoing John KY7XT, ad hoc equipment required planning is dead. We need to do a better job in identifying equipment required at each fixed station and then writing down who supplies what. Also, a more definite knowledge in AC power at fixed stations (more so for First Aid Tent locations) availability. With D-Rats and its increase importance in what we can now do better than before, more equipment and power is required. Also, backup plans in case of failure (like AC power failure. Perhaps, those 60lb batteries are not such a bad thing to lug around). Spare copies of the latest version of D-Rats on USB memory sticks are a MUST. With the ‘extra’ equipment, we need better access to the field – laptops, power supplies, radios and so on, require better access to transport all this gear to the locations on the field. Handcarts are functional, but far from optional. Also, I am reluctant to leave other peoples gear on the field in a not so secure manner, overnight. Perhaps coordinate better with the military onsite in supporting them, if they have a ham who can contact us via their radio – which seemed to happen on Sunday – with all the traffic in trying to figure out who asked for water and where and so on. Perhaps think ICS at bit more – in planning and setting up for these events? Excellent overall teamwork! In spite of ‘some’ issues, it was an excellent Washco ARES Air Show performance! = 2007 After Action Comments
The following comments are not in any order......... other than when
they were submitted.Some feedback from the 2007 airshow, volunteer perspective, on Saturday: The volunteer check-in location worked really good. We were able to request shuttle service for the Tuality people. A suggestion would be to move Net Control to that location. It was not bothered by crowds, stayed fixed, was not in the middle of the show, and had facilities nearby (restroom, food, water, shelter). Some problems with 440.350 - I heard some sort of simplex carrier on Saturday. No PL tone was coming out. Wavered in and out at times. Background noise was almost like an engine running. No idea where it was coming from. As for 147.360 - glad we had a backup. We had a scanner that was programmed to handle the Washington County 800 MHz trunked system, and used it to monitor the Inside/Outside police activity. Found it interesting to hear what was happening, when the amateur radio wasn't busy. Rick Thinking through my comment on 147.36 a little more, I believe I was listening to the repeater output freq. and I was only able to hear net control side of conversations. Did the net control station have enough power and a good antenna to reach Tigard if running simplex on the output freq.? If so that would explain my only hearing one side. I'm at 360 feet with near line of sight to Hillsboro Airport. The only dirt in the way may be the peak of Murray Blvd. (145th). I also monitored the 440.35 with solid copy. It is line of site from my house. Some people still talk way to fast (not you), making call signs and other comments hard to capture . "tent 3" came across as "10-3" when I first started monitoring but I finally figured it out after several transmissions through logic not audio. Some operators don't allow the repeater to open before talking. In some cases short responses contained almost no intelligence. It's noble to not waste air time, but it takes more time to call for a repeat. There is also the matter some of us old guys ears receive, but the brain doesn't process input as fast as the young. :-) Good job though. I'm glad I spent some time Friday afternoon with Tom setting up. D-Star exposure was good. Next year I will plan to be a full volunteer. Side note: I listened to the repeater input during the 7pm net and I hear Ben at about S-6. The repeater is solid S-9. John was also strong direct. Richard Stack K7TKK 2006 After Action Comments
The following comments are not in any order......... other than when
they were submitted.I was very impressed with the overall performance of the group, particularly considering how tired the leaders were by Sunday PM. I recommend having a different Cert Leader for each day of a particular event. Fresh minds work better than tired ones and it allows more members to get much needed experience, particularly since Sharon is overseeing the event and would be available to step in if needed. That brings me to my second point. It’s invaluable having Sharon free to patrol the grounds in a mobile unit. My recommendation would be to designate her as “Emergency Manager” (which she is), overseeing the Cert Leader, and not have her designated as one of the roamers. That would resolve any chain-of-command issues that could arise between the net-control and the roamers and preserves the protocol of the team. 73’s Steve KE7JSS While it is fresh in our minds..... please send in your thoughts about the air show and our participation. Would like to improve: 1) our skill sets The skill set was actually pretty good. The group that volunteered all seemed to be well prepared for the routine of the day. Radio traffic was controlled and handled well. I did notice that people tended to fill in the blanks on some of the voice traffic with information that may or may not have been correct. This is a bad tendency and can lead to incorrect actions being either taken or assumed to have been taken. It is also too much of a common problem in most communications I monitor. People can to be too helpful at times and fill in with what they think they heard without being sure. The APRS went better than I expected from my end of the operation. 2) equipment Sharon’s VC HI cameras need to be checked for operation. Neither of them seemed to be receiving pictures. More shade for the equipment and the laptop display is important so the display could be viewed. We should plan on a back shade to keep at least keep the equipment in the shade the complete time. That is of course, if we have an air show again. But that goes for other outside events as well. 3) preparation It was pretty obvious that some of us are not well organized with our equipment needs very far in advance of the setup. It was a little hectic getting things going but it all happened. It was sort of a field day setup that required a lot of things to come together. We have done better prep in some past shows that I worked on. So maybe we need to have a special equipment setup meeting to make sure we know what we are going to setup and that all the pieces are together and ready to go. I know we use our stuff for more than air show events, so it does get taken apart and put together lots of different ways. 4) training Seems to have gone pretty well with the training level of those that volunteered. More work on message passing and paying better attention to the radio could be worked on at both ends of the radio link. Most times a call was answered rapidly, but a few times calls were not heard. Maybe not bugging net control with other duties at the tent would be helpful. And of course the speakers and the planes made hearing difficult at times. At least the roamers all had headphone or ear pieces to try to take care of the outside noise. Most of us need to learn how our equipment works better than we do. Some personal time spent on reading the manual and testing all the controls and menu is essential to becoming familiar with our stuff. I am not guilty of reading the manual too much either. I was worried about the D7 menus and controls. It can be easy to forget what to do to make things happen correctly with this little do-it-all ht. It would be good to assess the skill level of all our volunteers to better understand were we stand on training needs and the level of training required. I know we have some members that are not comfortable with running equipment, passing messages, or even talking on the radio. More experience usually overcomes most of that hesitance, so how do we make that happen. 5) planning Pretty much overlaps with preparation. The planning meeting prior to the show was really useful to get everyone on the same level for what is expected. The frs radios actually worked for the short distances we used them. I noticed the first aid tent coordinators were also using frs to keep in touch. 6) enjoyment I was too tired to enjoy it much during the event. I was happy to get back home each night. It was good that we had the run of the place and no one objected to us helping ourselves to water, soda, and snacks and a cool place to sit from time to time. It was a real miracle that no one on the ground was hurt or killed and the fire was as limited as it was. I drove by the area today. It was still blocked off so as not to be able to see the actual damage. I do not envy the fire department’s task getting equipment to the scene. There are no direct ways to drive there, and it was at the rear of the development. Ben N7OGM Hi Ken, I agree completely with Steve ( KE7JSS), especially his thoughts about experience. If you remember our chat on Saturday, this all could come together for all to benefit. More than experience gained would be the emphasis of knowing personally the people on the "team". With a "Shadow", for lack of a better name, program the focus would be continually to reinforce the interaction of all for the common cause. We would build a very strong group of people who are comfortable with other. This should make us more homogenous and more relaxed in our radio relationship. 73's John KA7BRZ This was my first air show, both from a spectator and a CERT volunteer. In keeping with your request, I am submitting my responses in the feedback outline you sent to us: 1) our skill sets: Judging from the assignments and responsibilities, our skill set seemed satisfactory. I feel strongly that all CERT members should be CPR/First Aid certified. Especially as a CERT volunteer, clearly identified as a person who might be in the position to render emergency assistance until medical help arrives, I am personally glad I went through the first aid and CPR certification training. All eyes are always focused on emergency responders at any event and I think we would have been viewed as such if the circumstances were different. There was an abundance of medical assistance available, but you never know what simultaneous events would require of us. Given the dedication of the CERT team I know I would hate to feel helpless should a medical emergency arise where I could have done something until the pros arrive and couldn't because of lack of training. 2) equipment - think we were well equipped here with the possible exception of making sure each team had a digital camera. I saw a couple of cameras, they were quite large and bulky and maybe smaller compact cameras would have served our purposes here and not have been so cumbersome. 3) preparation - The written training material and briefing we had are exceptional. We were given ample opportunity to ask questions and I felt that procedures were well thought out and clearly explained. 4) training - Again, our CERT training and the Air Show briefing were outstanding. 5) planning - very well done. The best part of this experience to me in terms of planning and execution was that the rules established and procedures outlined and developed were followed. Kudos to our CERT leader for this. 6) enjoyment - Aside from the tragedy of the day, I loved being part of this experience. I was impressed with the communication between our net radio and the teams. A great deal of effort was made to keep track of the teams and their well-being. Great job Steve and Ed. I would like to add a note here about lost child procedures. The plan of bringing lost children/parents to tent 2, on paper was a good thought. In practice, Tent 2 was away from the general population and bringing a child/parent to that location would have removed them from the line of vision of the parties looking for the lost person. I think a better idea would be to keep them at the First aid station closest to where they were identified as lost, or even if age appropriate, ride the person/child around in the CERT golf cart to reunite the child with the parent. I have worked these type of events many times in the past and instant reunions are very gratifying as well as a way to quickly resolve the situation. While I was riding with Sharon (Bravo Roving) we retrieved a 9 year old from tent 1 CERT and rode to where she had lost her family. On the way we passed someone on Air Show staff who told us where the family was gathered and we were able to bring the child there immediately. Roberta Brecher Hi. APRS looks to be a very powerful tool. And so I have a few thoughts and questions. 1) Would it be better operating practice to use special Group and Message identifiers? To eliminate reception of non-event APRS stations as well as to provide some limited audience for APRS messages (though Net Control didn't send any at this event?). 2) Would it be better operating practice to use a special frequency for an event like this so as to prevent 'chatter' on the national APRS frequency, local 'peaters, and gateways? 3) My favorite orientation aid was the gps map I made by marking the location of the three tents on my GPS unit. I did this while 'roving' and during lunch break. I think if this was useful, it could be done faster by having the '"Tent'ers" announce their suitability to be used as waypoints for everyone on APRS. At least on my unit, the waypoint can be 'fixed' by re-namig the waypoint. This could possibly be done for any other points of interest and would accomodate any daily changes. A kind of dynamic map making. Or better yet, someone more knowledgable like Ken, N7QQU, knows ways to collect, collate, and distribute waypoints to the APRS connected GPS units either as locations or via APRS messages? 4) Would it be useful to have an event map for the the GPS units? I've figured out how to do this for Garmin units (Visio for graphics, airport layout from Jeppesen on the internet, cgMapper to create the .img file and 'sendgps20.exe' to download it to Garmin units.) Though I have no idea of how to do this for other gps manufacturers. It's possible this is already well known. 5) Have GPS map equipped APRS navigators for 'kart' drivers either full-time or for 'pick-up'. A sprightly gent of 90+ wandered out past the B-36 tpward the fuel kiosk. We were told he needed a ride and was somewhere 'out' there. We had a long and garbled general description and search vector I would have dreaded to send verbally. Luckily, we commandeered Dave's (the nurse) kart briefly for search and retreival to tent 3 before the requested kart arrived. If this was mission creep, I apologize, but was concerned for such a frail gent in that heat. It appeared to me that in and beyond the static display it might be hard to 'place' anyone accurately and quickly without a description of an aircraft name and model. If a rover found someone on the ground having a heart attack, it might be easier to say "home on me", increase your TX rate, and begin administering CPR (I had a mouth guard in my pocket and am CPR trained. ) Thank you for allowing me to participate. A tragic ending but miraculous that no one else was killed or seriously injured. If only the pilot had known. I'm sure his was total concern and anguish for the homes under his wings. Jim / aj2k Hi all, I thought this was a good experience and provided some valuable real world training for some the newer members like myself. I think we might have been well served creating a new map (using APRS along with the map we had) first thing Saturday of the current year's layout, and then making sure we had printouts of it available at our HQ for our use, and perhaps even distribution to the Air Show information booths for their use. Something I would like to see added to our website is a short "biography" of our membership that included pictures. That would help us newer people know the veterans we're working with and let the veterans be aware of skill sets that the newer members may be able to bring to the table. Great trust in your partners is vital in emergency operations, and it's difficult to have that type of trust until you know someone. Being able to put a face and a thumbnail biography together quickly in your head would help quicken the process of knowing the team members you're working with. 73's Tom Dixon KE7FTE Thoughts on the AirShow: As you said, we think everyone did a very professional job. Our comments are all praise: Everyone's equipment functioned reliably...the APRES and SSTV equipment sure speeds up the searches for lost parents or kids. The voice transmissions were short and to the point.... Problems were handled quickly and well. [The weather sure cooperated too....!] Having the CERTS teams there is a big help in grounds coverage, and the FRS radios worked well. It worked well to have a "field" NCS and and an "Air show Radio" station; the Air show station can hear the traffic NCS is receiving and be thinking ahead to act or to pass information along . Suggestions: Prepare to keep the roaming teams "fed and watered" to keep their blood sugar levels up and their response times fast. It uses more energy than one realizes to wander the crowd slowly. And the Volunteer food tent is "not all that adequate"...everyone should carry energy bars. Claire 'n Ernie I thought everything was well done, we had very few responder incidents and those were handled well. The only observation I have is that not one communication was through the TRS handset. All communications were through the ham radio, as if the CERT members not on ham radio did not need to be informed of any happening. While I realize that each team included a ham operator, having no communication left me feeling like I was not in the loop, so to speak. Either put all comm out on both channels, or set it up from the start with one communication channel per team and just use that. I have no problem with having just a ham link. If we had been told that the TRS radios were reserved for backup, that would have been OK. It was just the fact that we were issued equipment and told in the training class that we would be using them for communications, and not one message was issued. My 2 cents. In general I thought we did everything asked of us efficiently and well. Regards, Marshall Wills |
8/25/2008