Emergency Communications

Hello to all,

Net Control for February’s Eastern MA Hospital Net will be the Falmouth Hospital ARES group. They will be running the net from the Falmouth Hospital. The net will commence at the usual time of 10am using the following repeaters in the order listed.

W. Bridgewater 146.775 dpl 244
Plymouth 146.685 tone 82.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Simplex 147.42

Returning to W. Bridgewater 146.775 dpl 244 for final comments and net closing.

NET Protocol: When asked to check in by Net by Net Control please use the standard net check in procedure which is:   Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your facility’s call sign, facility name, your first Name. Alternatively If your facility does not have it’s own call sign, Your call sign, Your Name, and the facility you are located at or facility / group represented.

If you unable to reach a specific repeater please monitor the next system in the rotation and wait for the net to arrive. If you lose contact with the rotation and are not sure where the net is currently located, South Shore Hospital will continue to monitor the Plymouth Repeater during the Net. You can check with us (W1SSH) on Plymouth and ask where the Net is currently located.

If any group or organization would like to run the Net from their facility as Net Control please let us know. We would like to rotate the Net Control duty among as many facilities as possible.
 
We would like to extend an invitation to the EOC of any city or town that is served by one of our participating hospitals to join the Net. During an event it is quite likely that these locations will be activated, and the need to communicate with health care facilities via amateur radio may become a real possibility. Any hospital not part of the net is welcome to join. If you are unable to join due to a lack of equipment or personal please contact us or Carl Aveni at caave@peoplepc.com for assistance in getting your location on the air.  
The following list repeaters are available for us to use to conduct the Nets. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month. 

Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3  
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5     
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0 
Fairhaven 145.490 tone 67.0   
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9 
Norwell 145.390 tone 67.0     
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 82.5  
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8       
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5   
W. Bridgewater 146.775 dpl 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2

We look forward to hearing you all on the Net.

Respectfully,
John O’Neill – K1JRO

W1SSH
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South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH

55 Fogg Road, Mail Stop #40
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Good Evening Everyone and Happy New Year.

A reminder that the Eastern Mass Hospital Net will be conducted tomorrow morning commencing at the usual time of 10am.  The Plymouth repeater will be our starting point and which additional systems will be used for the net will be announced at that time.

A reminder that we have added 2 repeaters to the list available for our use. The Falmouth N1YHS Repeater 147.375 with a tone of 110.9 thanks to the generosity of Ralph Swenson N1YHS and the West Bridgewater K1VNU Repeater 146.755 dpl 244 thanks to the generosity of Gary Cumiskey W1GRC.

We are also happy to announce that The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association has their equipment in place at the Falmouth Hospital and have joined the Net. 

If any group or organization would like to run the Net from their facility as the Net Control please let us know. We would like to rotate the Net Control duty among several groups.

We would like to extend an invitation to the EOC of any city or town that is served by one of our participating hospitals to join the Net. During an event it is quite likely that these locations will be activated, and the need to communicate with health care facilities via amateur radio may be a real possibility. Any hospital not part of the net is welcome to join. If you are unable to join due to a lack of equipment or personal please contact us or Carl Aveni at caave@peoplepc.com for assistance in getting your location on the air.  

The following list repeaters are available for us to use during the Net. Only 4 or 5 systems are used each month and are rotated with the selection of those used made by the group acting as Net Control for that month.  If you unable to reach a specific repeater please monitor the next system in the rotation and wait for the net to arrive. If you lose contact with the rotation and are not sure where the net is currently located, South Shore Hospital will also be monitoring the the Plymouth Repeater during the Net. You can check with them on Plymouth and ask where the Net is currently located.

When asked to check into the Net by Net Control please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your call sign, First Name, facility call sign (if different) and facility / group represented.

Repeater, Freq, Tone                                                                                               

Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3  
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5     
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0 
Fairhaven 145.490 tone 67.0   
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9 
Norwell 145.390 tone 67.0     
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 82.5  
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8       
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5   
W. Bridgewater 146.755 dpl 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2
Simplex test: 147.420

The Net will return to the Plymouth repeater for final comments and net closing.

Respectfully,
John O’Neill – K1JRO

We look forward to hearing you all tomorrow morning,
W1SSH
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South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Mail Stop #25
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Good morning everyone,

The Eastern Mass Hospital Net will be conducted this Saturday December 1 commencing at the usual time of 10am. The Net this month will be run from the South Coast led by Ed Caron KA1RSY. 

We have made a change to the repeaters and simplex frequencies used for the net. Starting in December we will including the Falmouth N1YHS in our repeater rotation thanks to the generosity of Ralph Swenson N1YHS.  The Falmouth repeater is on 147.375 with a tone of 110.9. Additionally, due to a lack of participation on the Danvers & Salem repeaters we are temporarily removing these repeaters from the list as well as the simplex frequency of 146.565. 

We are also reducing the number of repeaters used during the net. Rather than including all of the systems we have available, we instead are going to start rotating the repeaters used monthly with Net Control for that month determining which systems they would like to use. This will allow for a shorter net while at the same time testing all of the available systems.
 
If any group or organization would like to run the Net from your facility and be put into the Net Control rotation please let us know. It would be great to rotate this duty among several groups.
 
We are happy to announce that The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association has their equipment in place at Falmouth Hospital and will be joining the net. 

We would like to extend an invitation to the EOC of any city or town that is served by one of our participating hospitals to join the Net. During an event it is quite likely that these locations will be activated, and the need to communicate with health care facilities via amateur radio may be a real possibility. Any hospital not currently part of the net is welcome to join. If you are unable to join due to a lack of equipment or personal please contact us or Carl Aveni at caave@peoplepc.com for assistance in getting your location on the air.  

The following repeaters will be used in the order listed starting at 10AM unless otherwise announced at the beginning of the Net. If you can not reach a specific repeater please monitor the next system in the rotation and wait for the net to arrive. If you lose contact with the rotation and are not sure where the net is currently located, South Shore Hospital will also be monitoring the the Plymouth Repeater during the Net. You can check back with them on Plymouth and ask where the Net is currently located.

When asked to check into the Net by Net Control please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your call sign, First Name, and facility or group represented.

Repeater, Freq, Tone                                                                                               

Plymouth 146.685 tone 82.5
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9                                                            
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0             
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5                    
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3            
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Norwell 145.390 tone 67.0
Fairhaven 145.490 tone 67.0
Simplex test: 147.420

The Net will return to the Plymouth repeater for final comments and net closing.

Respectfully,
John O’Neill – K1JRO
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South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Mail Stop #40
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Hello to all..

**EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES STANDBY LIFTED AS OF SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 2012 AT 1220 PM EDT AS HARDEST HIT SECTIONS OF NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND, AND CONNECTICUT RECOVER FROM HURRICANE SANDY’S IMPACTS**

Having received ARES standdown messages from the Southern New Jersey and Connecticut sections, Eastern Massachusetts ARES has lifted the standby for the possibility of Amateur Operators deploying in an ARESMAT to the New Jersey, New York City/Long Island and Connecticut sections. We thank all those who offered their availability for this potential and we appreciate the fact that people gave availability and did not self-deploy to the area. Please see the link below where it was requested from the most impacted sections NOT to self-deploy to the affected area:

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-requests-hams-do-not-self-deploy-to-areas-affected-by-hurricane-sandy

As we summarize this storm, it is hard to believe that with close to 400,000 power outages across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts caused by Hurricane Sandy at the height of the storm that we would being saying, ‘we are lucky’ but comparatively with the New York City area and New Jersey, we were indeed lucky. Hurricane Sandy prompted an Eastern Massachusetts ARES stand-by and the staffing of the MEMA Region Two Bridgewater facility, various city and town Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs), shelters, and Red Cross chapters as well as SKYWARN activation with Operations at the Amateur Radio Station at the National Weather Service in Taunton, WX1BOX. Several hundred reports of wind damage, storm surge flooding and wind measurements were received and put into NWS Taunton Forecast products on Monday October 29th. Some of the wind measurements, which exceeded hurricane force in wind gusts, were even put into National Hurricane Center advisory statements as WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center was also active for Hurricane Sandy interfacing with Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN operations along with other operations in the mid-atlantic and Northeast US region. The storm’s impacts were largely over by late Monday Night 10/29 but a rogue line of severe thunderstorms associated with ‘Post-Tropical Storm Sandy’ caused a microburst in the Wareham/Onset Massachusetts area and scatttered wind damage, flash flooding and even large hail over other parts of Eastern Massachusetts on Tuesday Evening October 30th, 2012 prompting a self-activation of SKYWARN.

Post-Hurricane Sandy SKYWARN Coordination Messages continue to be issued. To see those updates, please go to the http://www.wx1box.org web site for those updates and more specific impacts on Hurricane Sandy in Southern New England.

To close, there is a potential for a nor’easter to impact the region in the Wednesday to Thursday timeframe. This storm could cause some impacts to the region but at this time, the impacts are expected to be far less than Hurricane Sandy but will be monitored for any increased potential of causing more issues than currently expected. This storm could prompt a SKYWARN Activation with Ops at the NWS Taunton Amateur Radio Station, WX1BOX, later this week.

Thanks to all for their continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

Hello to all…

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES CONTNUES STANDBY FOR POSSIBLE ARESMAT DEPLOYMENTS TO NYC/LI/NEW JERSEY AREA DUE TO MAJOR IMPACTS IN THAT AREA FROM HURRICANE SANDY.***

Hurricane Sandy caused impacts similar to Hurricane Irene across Southern New England from a storm surge and wind damage standpoint but less issues with regard to rainfall which was largely as expected. Approximately 400,000 lost power in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and approximately 600,000+ lost power in Connecticut. All of this with Sandy tracking into Southern New Jersey. ARES support for various agencies across the area came to an end on Tuesday. An update on storm impacts can be seen via the Post-Hurricane Sandy Coordination Message #1 and will be updated again later today. That message can be found on the NWS Taunton Amateur Radio SKYWARN home page at http://www.wx1box.org

Across New Jersey, New York City and Long Island, the issues were even more significant. New Jersey has 2.6 Million people without power (approximately double what Irene did) and there were major impacts across New York City and Long Island from wind damage and storm surge flooding. For this reason, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES standby remains in place for the next 48 hours for the potential of an ARESMAT to this region. Coordination is taking place with the ARES Section Emergency Coordinators of Northern New Jersey, Southern New Jersey and the New York City/Long Island sections in case support is requred.

We are looking for any folks interested in doing an ARESMAT deployment to this region. When sending your availability, please send the following: Name, Call-sign, License Class, Capability (HF / VHF / UHF), Availability, and any other special notes we should be aware of. We ask that as you contact your DEC, please send a copy of the message to hurricane@nsradio.org where multiple members of the EMA ARES Leadership will be able to access your availability.

What is ARES Stand-By mode?

ARES stand-by mode is to alert Amateurs within ARES that a mobilization is possible on a wide-scale and that some localized mobilizations are or could be taking place in isolated areas. It means to take a look at your Go-Kit and have batteries and equipment ready to go and charged up and take care of any requirements at home in case a mobilization is required and you can participate. Do NOT self-deploy. Wait for guidance from leadership for any deployment. It is an honor to be ready even if you don’t deploy for the event. Hopefully, this is just another exercise of our preparedness and capabilities. If not, the ARES leadership looks forward to working with you if any wide scale mobilization is required after the impact of this major storm to the region is fully understood.

Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton Massachusetts
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Hello to all…

***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES PLACED ON STAND-BY FOR ALL AREAS EFFECTIVE 8:30PM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO POTENTIAL IMPACTS FROM HURRICANE SANDY***

Hurricane Sandy is moving away from the Bahamas on a Northwest Track. Sandy continues to expand with a wind radius now 275 miles. The storm will likely expand further and likely have a wind field greater than 350 miles wide. Sandy is then expected to move parallel but offshore of the US East Coast. Multiple computer models are depicting a scenario where Sandy, either as a tropical system or a hybrid/nor’easter system with both tropical and non-tropical characteristics tracks into either the northern mid-Atlantic or Southern New England providing either a moderate to severe impact to the region. A scenario where Sandy moves out to sea is now off largely off the table. 

It is also important to note that most computer models have now begun to trend more towards the North into Northern New Jersey and even Long Island, which would result in a scenario with significant impact to our region.  You should not focus directly on the center of the official National Hurricane Center track, as Sandy will feature a very wide and expansive wind field radius of well over 350 miles.  At the least, this track would create a scenario where most of Southern New England experiences hurricane force wind gusts, at least moderate to perhaps major coastal flooding, and several inches of rain resulting in significant urban flooding.  For further meteorological updates, please see the NWS Taunton SKYWARN home page at http://www.wx1box.org

In advance of the storm, please advise your local EC/DEC/ADEC of your availability to support a potential deployment anytime from Monday morning, 10/29 through mid-week. We are creating a list of availability for ARESMAT deployment if needed for various local EOC’s, Red Cross, Salvation Army, NWS Storm Survey Teams, and hospitals as required. Keep your situational awareness level high for any updates from ARES leadership by checking your email for updates and our ARES web site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org and monitoring local SKYWARN/ARES/RACES frequencies for any updates on this developing situation.

When sending your availability, please send the following: Name, Call-sign, License Class, Capability (HF / VHF / UHF), Availability, and any other special notes we should be aware of. We ask that as you contact your DEC, please send a copy of the message to hurricane@nsradio.org where multiple members of the EMA ARES Leadership will be able to access your availability.

What is ARES Stand-By mode?

ARES stand-by mode is to alert Amateurs within ARES that a mobilization is possible on a wide-scale and that some localized mobilizations are or could be taking place in isolated areas. It means to take a look at your Go-Kit and have batteries and equipment ready to go and charged up and take care of any requirements at home in case a mobilization is required and you can participate. Do NOT self-deploy. Wait for guidance from leadership for any deployment. It is an honor to be ready even if you don’t deploy for the event. Hopefully, this is just another exercise of our preparedness and capabilities. If not, the ARES leadership looks forward to working with you if any wide scale mobilization is required after the impact of this major storm to the region is fully understood.

Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton Massachusetts
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Good Afternoon Everyone,

As you know, due to the Labor Day holiday the Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net will be conducted one week later on Saturday September 8 commencing at the usual time of 10am. Net Control for this months drill will be done by members from the South Coast Hospital Group. Going forward, if any group or organization would like to assist and run Net Control from your facility please let us know. It would be great to rotate months among several groups.

We would also like to extend an invitation to the EOC of any city or town that is served by any of our participating hospitals to join the NET. During an event it is quite possible that these locations will be activated and communications with health care facilities solely via amateur radio is a possibility. 

The following repeaters will be used in the order listed starting at 10AM unless otherwise announced at the beginning of the NET. If you can not reach a specific repeater please monitor the next system in the rotation and wait for the net to arrive. When checking into the Net please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your call sign, Name, and facility or group represented.
 
It should be noted that the Plymouth Repeater is being skipped this month and has been taken out of the list. Through the generosity of the Genesis Amateur Radio Society system will be in use for coordinating a large road race in Plymouth.

Repeater, frequency, tone
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Wrentham 147.09 146.2
Norwell 145.390 tone 67.0
Fairhaven 145.490 tone 67.0
Simplex 147.420
Simplex 146.565
 
The Net will return to the Bridgewater repeater for final comments and net closing.
 
Respectfully,
 
John O’Neill
KB1QEM

Hello all,

On Saturday 04 Aug. 2012 at 1000hrs. the Eastern Ma. Hospital Net will be conducting their monthly exercise. The Net Control Station for this month’s drill will be St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. I would like to invite all ARES and RACES Stations including EOC’s to participate in Saturday’s Drill.  The frequencies that will be used are listed below ,if you cannot make contact on a frequency please QSY to the next frequency or repeater and stand by for the net. The most important part of the drill will be the simplex portion of this test so we can see if there are stations out there that may be able to operate as relays between Hospitals if the need ever arises.This will be a great oportunity to test our ARES capabilities here on the South Coast. If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me.The drill will begin on 147.180 Bridgewater repeater at 10am.

Frequencies to be used areas follows:

Bridgewater 147.180 pl 67.0
Sharon      146.865 pl 103.5
Attleboro   147.195 pl 127.3
Danvers     145.470 pl 136.5
Norwood     147.210 pl 100.0
Dartmouth   147.000 pl 67.0
Salem       146.880 pl 118.8
Wrentham    147.090 pl 146.2
Norwell     145.390 pl 67.0
Fairhaven   145.490 pl 67.0

SIMPLEX:
147.420
146.565

Again if there are any questions please feel free to contact me.

Submitted by,

Edward A. Caron (ka1rsy)
Bristol County, Ma.
Asst. ARES District Emergency Coordinator
ka1rsy@arrl.net
ka1rsy@comcast.net

Hello to all..

Cape Cod ARES will be holding an ARES drill this Saturday July 21st, 2012 and Amateur Operators and ARES members outside of the Cape Cod ARES district are welcome to participate.

Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator, Frank O’Laughlin-WQ1O said “We’ll be looking for other stations in MA/RI/NH for HF contacts. We will also be looking for stations on 2 meters in the Southeast Massachusetts area.”

A complete drill document write-up can be seen at the following link detailing what drill activities will occur and what frequencies and modes will be utilized:

http://ares.ema.arrl.org/local/CCARESdrill_47V1.3Doc07-17-12.pdf

Please take advantage of this training opportunity if possible. Thanks to all for their continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org

Please see posting from John O’Neill-KB1QEM of South Shore Hospital on the Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net.

Good Afternoon Everyone,

We will be hosting the Eastern MA Hospital Net this Saturday July 7th commencing at 10am. If any group or organization would like to assist and run Net Control from your facility please let us know. It would be great to alternate or rotate months among several groups.

In addition to 2 meter voice communications in the future it might be beneficial to include voice communications using HF and also point to point (non-bbs) packet communications using 2 meters. We have tested some programs and RMS express has proven so far to be successful using both telnet and packet (BBS) and point to point (P2P) in addition to it’s ability to compress messages. Compressed packet messages may play a very important role in communications between health care facilities. We look forward to everyone’s thoughts on this as one standardized program and protocol should be used.

We would like to extend an invitation to all city or town EOC’s that are served by one of our participating hospitals to join the NET. During an event it is quite possible that these operation centers would be active also and the need to communicate between health care facilities and local government may be necessary.

We will be using the following repeaters in the order listed starting at 10AM. If you can not reach a specific repeater please monitor the next system in the rotation and wait for the net to arrive.

Repeater, frequency, tone
Plymouth 146.685 tone 82.5
W. Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
Wrentham 147.09 146.2
Norwell 145.390 tone 67.0
Fairhaven 145.490 tone 67.0
Simplex 147.420
Simplex 146.565

We will return to the Plymouth repeater for final comments and net closing.

When checking into the Net please use standard net check in procedure which is: Here is, un-key, wait for 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your call sign, Name, and facility or group represented.

John O’Neill
KB1QEM

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