Reminder: Eastern Massachusetts Monthly ARES Net for January

Hello to all….

Happy New Year! Given that last Monday was New Year’s Day, the RACES and ARES Nets were moved from the first Monday of the month to the second Monday of the month so this Monday January 8th, 2007 at 8:30 PM will be the first ARES Net for 2007 on the MMRA Repeater System.

Make this coming Monday, Emergency Communications Night, and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net. Thanks to all for their continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Reminder: Monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for December

Hello to all….

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for December is rapidly approaching.

The monthly ARES Net for December is Monday December 4th, 2006, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Make the first Monday of the month, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Eastern MA ARES, RACES Monitors Situation In Danvers

EMA ARES logoRACES logoEastern Massachusetts ARES and RACES closely monitored the situation in Danvers, Massachusetts yesterday in the aftermath of a chemical explosion. Miraculously, no one was killed but the explosion severely damaged scores of home and businesses. Ten people were admitted to area hospitals with injuries. (WCVB, Boston Globe).

No requests for assistance from public service agencies were received, but an informal net continued all day long on the North Shore Radio Association 145.47 Danvers Repeater. ARRL Headquarters web site also carried a story describing the situation.

[See also: Eastern Mass ARES/RACES Groups Monitoring Danvers Major Chemical Explosion, North Shore ARES Stands Down from Danvers Incident at 1800]

North Shore ARES Stands Down from Danvers Incident at 1800

Hello to all….

North Shore ARES stands down their informal ARES Net on the 145.47 Danvers NSRA Repeater at 1800 local time. No requests for assistance have been received at this time and it appears any need for Amateur Radio assistance has passed.

North Shore ARES Emergency Coordinator, Jim Palmer-KB1KQW and North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator, Eric Horwitz-KA1NCF, will monitor any further developments and react to any changes as required. Jim-KB1KQW reported that more than 40 Amateurs checked in on the Danvers Repeater throughout the informal net that started at 3 AM Wednesday Morning.

Special thanks to Eric, Jim, North Shore ARES and the North Shore Radio Association for their efforts today. While no deployments were required, the high level of readiness and monitoring displayed was tremendous. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Eastern Mass ARES/RACES Groups Monitoring Danvers Major Chemical Explosion

Hello to all….

Eastern Massachusetts ARES and RACES has been closely monitoring the situation in Danvers, Massachusetts concerning the chemical explosion. At this time, no requests for assistance have been received and an informal net continues on the 145.47 NSRA Danvers Repeater. ARRL Headquarters has been notified and has posted an article and the link is posted below:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/11/22/100/?nc=1

Please monitor the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site, http://ares.ema.arrl.org for further updates and changes as required. 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
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Reminder: Monthly ARES Net for November

Hello to all….

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for November is rapidly approaching.

The monthly ARES Net for November is Monday November 6th, 2006, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Make the first Monday of the month, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Wellesley ARS Support For Hospital Emergency Communications

Wellesley ARS logoThe Wellesley Amateur Radio Society stands ready, willing and able to assist the Newton-Wellesley Hospital with emergency communications, according to WARS President Dan Brown, W1DAN. Brown writes that the hospital recently indicated a desire to explore a role for hams to assist in emergencies.

“Mike Healy, a Project Manager for Newton-Wellesley Hospital, wants to speak to us about our antenna on the roof of the hospital as well as Amateur Radio emergency communications.”

Brown reports that he and two other WARS members have already contacted Mr. Healy to see how the club might serve the hospital. “At this time, we have not held a meeting, and they may want us as emergency communicators for the hospital during an emergency. We will keep you posted.”

–WARS The Sparkgap, October 2006

Eastern Massachusetts ARES SET Drill Participants Information

Hello to all….

The following is the Eastern Massachusetts ARES SET Drill participants information. This has been posted as an announcement and as a document to the Main Menu of the web site and will be gradually circulated across the email lists. Net Controls and leadership will also receive a document that guides folks through the scenario.

There will be a strong potential for failovers from infrastructure such as repeaters, EchoLink and IRLP nodes to Simplex and HF for this exercise. Amateurs participating in the exercise should prepare for those contingencies. This documentation may be updated again over the next couple of weeks.

Below is the participants information:

Date and Timeframe of Exercise

Saturday November 4th, 2006
Start Time 10 AM
End Time: 1230 PM
Duration: 2.5 Hours
-Please allow time for setup/take down of any equipment during this exercise.

Scenario Background

Seismic activity in New England had increased noticeably in the Fall of 2006. Several small earthquakes occurred in the Bangor, Maine area and one of the earthquakes, which measured 3.9 on the Richter scale was felt through much of Southern Maine and New Hampshire and caused power outages and a rockslide closed a road in Arcadia National Park. The increase in seismic activity caused concerns for possible additional and larger seismic activity on other faults along the New England coast that have been inactive for several decades.

A 6.5 on the Richter Scale Earthquake impacts the Cape Ann Massachusetts fault. This quake causes major damage across Northeast Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area with moderate to major damage across Southeast and Central Massachusetts with moderate damage across Western Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands. Concerns for a moderate tsunami are raised for parts of East Coastal Massachusetts. Aftershocks in the 4.5 to 5.5 on the Richter scale range are also possible for the next 24-48 hours. The earthquake causes Eastern Massachusetts ARES to fully activate and to await direction on deployment orders from NGO’s and for backup support to RACES groups where required.

Failovers of infrastructure are likely given the severity of the event and all participants should be prepared for those contingencies ahead of time, much like what would be expected during a major real incident.

Purpose

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will participate in the Cape Ann Earthquake Simulated Emergency Test. The purpose of this drill will be the following:

• Local ARES team coordination and deployment as well as local NTS and tactical message handling.
• Intra district and interdistrict tactical and formal message handling.
• Utilization of HF, VHF, UHF, Packet, WinLink IRLP and Echolink modes of communication with failovers to other communication systems.
• Utilization of EOC or Simulated EOC’s at various points across the section and interfacing with other EOC’s, Simulated EOC’s and SKYWARN liaisons in other sections where appropriate.
• ARES teams are expected to provide damage assessment from the earthquake similar to what would be done for a weather related incident.

• Utilization of the integrated conference server, which is the Echolink *NEW-ENG* conference node and IRLP Reflector 9123 as a command net for ARES/RACES/SKYWARN/MARS operations.

For this exercise, it is expected that all EC’s, SKYWARN Liaisons or their designee to support this drill and what is to be exercised. As always, at the local level, message handling and formation is critical and keeping Hams at the local level busy must occur. Be creative and at the same time be realistic. The drill scenario will follow NTS guided messages that have been used in past drills.

Amateurs are asked to then build tactical messages as well as NTS traffic messages for the exercise. For this drill, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES SEC will be located either at the Acushnet Emergency Management Agency or at the SEMARA, Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association Radio Club or be mobile between those 2 locations. A command net will be run via VoIP and HF.

Given that an earthquake of this magnitude will cause significant damage, we are expecting Amateur Radio Operators to be creative and give realistic and reasonable damage reports that a major earthquake would cause across the area. If you’re having trouble coming up with this information, one way to generate data can be to have each color house in your neighborhood be associated with a certain amount of damage. This type of ideology is done in Damage Assessment exercises. Here is an example that should be utilized as required:

White Houses: Totally destroyed
Blue Houses: Side walls caved in and home structurally unsafe
Red houses: Home damage to siding, awnings with windows smashed
Brown houses: No damage

The same could be done for tree damage:

Trees near white houses: Trees knocked down, landslide in the area
Trees near blue houses: Large trees knocked down only a few untouched.
Trees near red houses: Several trees down but larger tress undamaged.
Trees near Brown houses: 1-3 large trees down in the area.

With these damage examples, you can also create reports of trees down on to houses causing damage, water and/or gas mains that have broken underground. If you have different color houses then the examples used above, you can set up the color coding of homes for damage anyway you see fit to generate reports of damage for your area.

Exercise Objectives

The objectives of this exercise are as follows:

• Have all teams have one liaison that monitors their local RACES Repeater in addition to their local operations.
• ARES teams willing to deploy away teams are asked to do so where possible provided benign weather conditions on the drill date.
• Establish district wide communication utilizing the following modes:
o IRLP and/or Echolink nodes.
o Utilizing the integrated Echolink *NEW-ENG* Conference Node (Node #9123) and IRLP reflector 9123 as a command net.
o HF
o Utilizing Various 2 Meter Repeaters that the ARES teams will be utilizing in the area when necessary.
o Utilize failovers to simplex using the output frequency of your repeater with HF utilized for long-haul communications.
o Utilizing SKYWARN frequencies to give mock tactical reports that meet SKYWARN criteria.
o Monitoring RACES Nets active during the exercise and communicate with RACES stations when/if needed.
o Establish a digital means of contact via Packet or WinLink between areas for those that have WinLink and/or Packet capability.
• Establish contact with other ARES districts and EOC’s via HF (3943 and/or 7245 KHz).
• Test and evaluate the range of Home stations for relay operations.
• Having mobile “roving” Amateurs wherever possible.
• Practice sending many test NTS messages for requests for assistance and status reports to ARES leadership and for RACES stations to send requests for assistance and status reports to their Region I, II or III Managers.
• Practice sending many test tactical messages to ARES/RACES leadership.
• Practice sending out of bulletins and statements from the United States Geological Survey to the various ARES teams.
• Practice sending traffic between ARES members within an ARES team.
• Practice sending traffic between EOC’s within an ARRL Setion.
• Practice sending traffic to the Western Massachusetts section ARES/RACES/SKYWARN personnel where appropriate.
• Assure MARS Liaisons have a way to gather ARES reports to formulate into EEI’s (Essential Elements of Information).

Operational Ground Rules

The following are some operational ground rules for this exercise:

• All communications options should be utilized. DEC’s and EC’s may throw in “failures” to test out “failover” of communications wherever possible as long as they are properly communicated up and down the ARES leadership.
• Many messages of both a tactical and NTS formal nature should be sent within the teams participating, between teams and between districts wherever possible.
• Frequent usage of the phrase “This is a Drill” should be incorporated with any messages, traffic or announcements relating to the drill.

Operational Players

The following is a list of agencies and a general list of EOC’s that will be playing in the exercise.

Acushnet Emergency Management Agency (WA1EMA)

The Acushnet Emergency Management Agency building will be utilized for this exercise to coordinate activities within Acushnet and the surrounding Southeastern Massachusetts area.

SEMARA: Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (W1AEC)

We will attempt to get the Southeastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association Club House active for this drill. Once the details have been worked out, further information will be posted in this exercise documentation.

Home Stations

We encourage home stations across the Eastern Massachusetts section to monitor and check into nets across Eastern Massachusetts district for ARES and SKYWARN assistance. Some home stations can act as “simulated EOC’s” or net controls where appropriate. We encourage stations to generate tactical message traffic for SKYWARN and formal message traffic for ARES where possible.

Mobile Stations

Mobile stations are encouraged to participate utilizing all modes at their disposal and can be utilized as roving stations and can report conditions that they might see if a real hurricane is occurring from their mobile station. We encourage stations to generate tactical message traffic for earthquake damage reports and formal message traffic for ARES where possible.

Amateur Radio Frequency Plan

The frequency plan will utilize existing SKYWARN and RACES repeaters that are well documented via the web. The following links detail these frequencies:

SKYWARN Frequencies:
http://users.rcn.com/freq.htm

RACES/Simplex Frequencies:
http://ares.ema.arrl.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=1804&page_id=9
Please note that SKYWARN Frequencies are more up to date on the first link.

It is noted that IRLP and Echolink nodes maybe connected either to the *NEW-ENG* Conference node or IRLP Reflector 9123. This will again serve as a command net to facilitate contact with ARES-SKYWARN liaisons, MARS Liaisons, and city/town EOC’s who have the capability to liaison via this system. Individual Hams and Spotters are welcome to listen and if they have no other means to pass their information, they can pass it over this system but are otherwise asked to use their local SKYWARN, RACES and ARES repeaters to pass their traffic and allow the liaisons to pass the information to the command nets operating on VoIP and HF.

It is also noted that some SKYWARN, RACES and ARES frequencies overlap with one another. Past exercises have proven that there have been no issues with such overlap. This exercise will test that theory once again and will require net controls and ARES/RACES/SKYWARN management to manage their repeater and frequency resources:

The following additional frequencies will be utilized during the drill in the Southeast Massachusetts district:

SEMARA ARES Response Team Frequency:
147.000-Dartmouth Repeater

Fall River (BCRA) ARES/RACES Team Frequency:
145.15-Fall River Repeater PL: 123.0 Hz.

The MMRA Repeater System will be linked up for the two-hour period of the drill and we will attempt to have a Net Control monitoring the system full-time and facilitate traffic at a section level for Eastern Massachusetts. Below is the link for the frequencies that can be linked up utilizing the MMRA System:

http://www.mmra.org

The following are important regional frequencies via HF for this drill:

Regional ARES/RACES Net Primary for this drill:
3943 KHz LSB

Regional ARES/RACES Net Secondary for this drill:
7245 KHz LSB

The following are important Packet Frequencies on VHF/UHF and HF for this drill:

WinLink Frequencies:
145.75: Main WinLink Frequency for Mass. State EOC and MEMA Region 1
3.626 USB: Main HF WinLink Frequency for Mass. State EOC and MEMA Region 1.

Region 1 setup currently down due to interference issues.

Packet Frequencies:
145.01: Packet Frequency supporting MEMA Regions and State EOC
145.09: BBS infrastructure supporting MEMA and NWS main Packet Freq.

There are additional local frequencies that maybe utilized in this drill at your local town/city level or at a regional level. Please contact your ARES DEC or EC for further information on additional frequencies that maybe utilized in your specific area during the drill.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Rhode Island ARES SET Exercise Saturday 10/7 10 AM-2 PM

Hello to all….

I received a note from Mark Titterington-W1EOF, DEC for Rhode Island ARESMAT concerning the Rhode Island ARES SET. Amateurs from Eastern Massachusetts and surrounding areas are encouraged to participate and monitor this SET.

Remember, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Simulated Emergency Test will be Saturday November 4th, 2006 from 10 AM-1230 PM.

Below are the particulars on the Rhode Island SET from Mark-W1EOF:

RI SECTION EMERGENCY TEST
SATURDAY 10/7/2006 10:00 – 14:00

EVENT SITUATION:
A WEATHER EVENT/HURRICANE (See below)

PRIMARY REPEATER:
146.70 (No PL)

SECONDARY REPEATER:
147.105 (103.5)

TERTIARY REPEATER / NTS FORMAL TRAFFIC HANDLING:
KA1RCI Network 145.190 (67.0), 146.985 (67.0), 147.075 (67.0) and others

PRIMARY SIMPLEX
146.440

SECONDARY SIMPLEX:
147.440

HF NET:
3.865 / 7.245 (+/- QRM)

DIGITAL:
PACKET – KE1AB-4 @ 145.05 and KB1FUP-10 @ 145.09
WINLINK 2000 EmComm E-MAIL – KE1AB-10 @ 145.05

We will be working with state of RI Emergency Management Agency and handling formal message handling in a challenging environment. There will be power problems and other “situations” such as repeater failure that will arise to see how we all handle it. Skywarn/RI is also participating.

Main meeting place on initial call-up at 10:00AM will be on 146.70. Those who cannot make 146.70 should try any of the other repeaters or try HF.

Sample Weather Bulletin from 10/04 Follows:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RI ARES SPECIAL NOTIFICATION
Wed 10/04/06 12E
26.17 N 64.325 W
96kt (110mph)

Saf Sim Category 2
Movement 21kt (24mph)

Hurricane Veronica, a Category 2 hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Veronica has sustained winds of 110 mph. Its current position is
SSE of the Bahamas and is tracking towards the Northwest. NOAA has posted a hurricane watch from Virginia to Cape Cod, MA. A watch means the hurricane has the potential to make landfall within this area.

THIS IS A SET ANNOUNCEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More bulletins will follow to RI ARES amateurs to serve both as reminders and to help with the build-up of a realistic weather event.

73,

Mark W1EOF
DEC: ARESMAT/RI
w1eof@arrl.net

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Eastern Massachusetts ARES SET Exercise Saturday November 4th 10 AM-1230 PM

Hello to all….

Eastern Massachusetts ARES will be having its Simulated Emergency Test (SET) exercise on Saturday November 4th, 2006 from 10 AM-1230 PM. This will be the third and final exercise for the section in 2006. This was announced on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Monthly Net on the MMRA Repeater system.

Details of the Simulated Emergency Test exercise will be announced as we get closer to the event. This is done purposely to cause preparations for the exercise to be completed in a shortened timeframe. This is much like what would be expected of our program if a disaster hit. The scenario will not be a weather related scenario.

We would like to encourage participation of RACES, MARS, SATERN and Red Cross communicators with the SET wherever possible. We’ve had a very active spring and summer with the severe weather and flood events kicked off by the worst flooding in Northeast and North-Central Massachusetts and Southeast New Hampshire in 70 years in the May 13th-15th, 2006 timeframe, however, since early September, the weather has been quiet so the exercise is timely in that it will keep Eastern Massachusetts ARES readiness at a very high level.

Again, further details will be posted later this month. 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
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site Additional Updates

Hello to all….

We have posted additional updates to the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site. Those updates are as follows:

1.) Updated the EMa ARES Overview section under important past events through the September 2006 timeframe.

2.) Have added a link to the Boxboro 2006 SEC Forum put together by Eastern Massachusetts ARES with cooperation from the Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut sections.

Further updates to the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site will be made as required. Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Reminder: Eastern Massachusetts Monthly ARES Net for October on MMRA System

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for October is rapidly approaching.

The monthly ARES Net for October is Monday October 2nd, 2006, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Make the first Monday of the month, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Preparedness Efforts Including Eastern Mass ARES Web Site Updates

Hello to all….

With September being National Preparedness Month, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES staff is working to tighten our preparedness across the section. Some examples include:

-Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, has been doing the Emergency Communications Workshop weekly for the Falmouth ARES team.

-Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, North Shore ARES EC, has started a discussion topic on backup net controls and liaisons on the North Shore ARES email list.

Early last week, I heard from Joe Heck-K1LBG, who is the Red Cross Communications Officer. He mentioned to me that the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Organizationl Chart was out of date. That was updated and fixed last week. Understanding that was the case, it was time to go through the entire web site and update and clean up old/outdated information and other items on the web site. The site should now be very up to date with some fresh content. Those updates include the following:

1.) Eastern Massachusetts ARES Staff organizational Chart is now updated.

2.) The Comprehensive Frequency Listing is updated with PL Tones for the Region 1 and 2 RACES Repeaters. The RACES manual and frequency listing is currently under revision but the information there reflects the last good information given on RACES frequencies.

3.) The Comprehensive Frequency Listing now directs you to a link for the latest SKYWARN frequency information.

4.) The Ema ARES Membership Policy was updated to direct new and existing ARES applicants to the Join Us link while retaining the old Word Document Application.

5.) The Field Day link was updated for the events that occurred in 2006.

6.) The IRLP/EchoLink section was updated to reflect how they are utilized for Emergency Communications.

7.) Updated the Voice Nets section to reflect the correct timeframe for the Monthly Eastern Mass. ARES Net.

8.) Updated the Workshops section to accurately reflect how we are running our workshops.

9.) The Interoperability link’s formatting was tough to read and has been cleaned up and fixed.

10.) The Massachusetts Statewide Hurricane Hope Drill After Action Report has been uploaded to the web site.

11.) We have added a section on past information and PR from the May 14th, 2006 Floods from the ARRL, the ARES web site and from the North Shore Radio Association (NSRA).

12.) Updated the calendar to include various weekly nets and the Eastern Massachusetts Monthly ARES Net. Removed the scheduled events link from the right side of the web site.

These are all the updates have been made to the web site to improve preparedness and readiness within the Eastern Massachusetts ARES/ARRL section.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Department of Homeland Security Declares September National Preparedness Month

Hello to all….

The Department of Homeland Security has declared the month of September, National Preparedness Month in the United States. For us, as Amateur Radio Operators particularly those involved with ARES/RACES/SKYWARN/MARS/SATERN/Red Cross and other organizations, National Preparedness Month should strike a strong tone within our ranks. For us, we should be prepared at home for when natural or man-made disasters arise and have the necessary supplies at home so that we can survive for at least 3 days and in some cases as long as 7-10 days. We also need to be prepared for the potential of deployment for Emergency Management and NGO’s that we have worked with over the past several years. The press release on DHS National Preparedness Month and other associated information on preparedness can be seen from the following link:

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0988.xml

The ARRL, as an organization working with DHS on raising the awareness of preparedness, is one of many organizations involved with National Preparedness Month. The ARRL has declared Amateur Radio Awareness Day for Saturday September 16th, 2006. Below is a link to an ARRL article on DHS National Preparedness Month and ARRL Amateur Radio Awareness Day:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/09/01/1/?nc=1

As your Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator and ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton, September is a very appropriate month for National Preparedness Month. While the extremely active severe weather season has waned, we are entering the peak of the Hurricane Season and while the season has not been as active as expected, there remains a threat from the Tropics in the Eastern Massachusetts section until early October, when cooler waters should then protect the region from serious impact from a land-falling hurricane.

Several items have been completed this week to increase our section’s preparedness and the details will be posted in separate announcements via the various email lists and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site.

Thank you for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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RACES Nets/Eastern Massachusetts Monthly ARES Net Next Monday 9/11/06

Hello to all…

The Eastern Massachusetts Monthly ARES Net will be next Monday, September 11th, 2006 due to the Labor Day holiday this Monday. RACES Nets will also be next Monday September 11th, 2006 due to the holiday.

Make next Monday, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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EMCOMM Training Available Via MEMA On-line

MEMA logoTom Kinahan, N1CPE writes on mras_general:

As a follow up to the presentation at Boxboro by Don Carlton and myself, I want to pass on to everyone the new MEMA training web page. This includes class listings, descriptions and online registration.

Surf to:

http://www.mass.gov/mema

On the right side of the page, is “Training Registration System”.

This is where you want to be.

The training and registration is Free.

All hams involved in EMCOMM with local communities and served agencies should take: ICS-100, NIMS-700 as well as ICS-200 if you are involved with any community’s EOC.

-Tom Kinahan N1CPE

Reminder: Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for August

Hello to all…

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for August is rapidly approaching.

The monthly ARES Net for August is Monday August 7th, 2006, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Make the first Monday of the month, “Emergency Communications Night” and check into your local RACES Net and then check into the ARES Net on the MMRA Repeater System. We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ares.ema.arrl.org

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo
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Eastern Massachusetts ARES Stands Down From North Shore Red Cross Assistance

Hello to all…

….Eastern Massachusetts ARES stands down from support of the Northeast Massachusetts and Massachusetts Bay Red Cross Chapters from the Floods of May 2006….

After over a week of support for the NWS Taunton SKYWARN program and ARES activations for Masaschusetts Bay Red Cross damage assessment and distribution of care and clean up kits by the Northeast Massachusetts Red Cross chapter, ARES is standing down its operations as assistance is no longer required.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES had been reactivated to support the Northeast Massachusetts Red Cross distribution of comfort and supply kits to people in Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts and possibly other surrounding areas. At 10 AM Saturday, Dave Belsky-K1DBB requested ARES support for their operations of doing community outreach and distribution of comfort and clean-up kits to various cities and towns including Ipswich and Gloucester by contacting Eric Horwitz-KA1NCF and Jim Palmer-KB1KQW. This latest assistance occurring after working with Mass. Bay Red Cross and completing the damage assessment work in the Peabody, Danvers, North Reading, Salem, Saugus and surrounding areas of Central and Southern Essex County and Eastern Middlesex Counties.

Participating in the operations for the Northeast Massachusetts Red Cross Chapter on Saturday included the following Amateurs:

N1VUX-Bill Ricker
W1KPI-Rich Moroni
KB1MRH-Matt Dempsey
KX1KTY-Gordon Gravelese
K1BTH-Blake Haskell (Home Station Support)

Coordinating Saturday’s efforts were Jim Palmer-KB1KQW, North Shore ARES Emergency Coordinator and Eric Horwitz-KA1NCF, North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator. Rob Macedo-KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator also visited the base of operations which was at the Beverly office of the Northeast Massachusetts Red Cross chapter.

On Friday, Eastern Massachusetts ARES was able to cover the needs for damage assessment on Friday. The following Amateurs participated in the operation Friday:

N1ZJ-John Zornig
W1CAC-Colin Campbell
W1LN-Bud Hartman
K1YTS-Gary Busler
W1KPI-Rich Moroni
K1DYO-Dan Howard

Net Control at the town of Brigewater EOC, which serves as the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Command Center, was done by Carl Aveni-N1FY and Dan Howard-K1DYO. When Carl-N1FY left at 3 PM, Blake Haskell-K1BTH took over net control duties from his home location. In addition, KB1KQW-Jim Palmer, North Shore ARES Emergency Coordinator and KA1NCF-Eric Horwitz, North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator went to the Peabody office and assisted with coordination and planning for the potential weekend operations.

Below are those Amateurs that participated in Thursday’s Operation:

W1FBI-Ed Gustat
K1DAC-Dave Cuscuna
KB1FLH-Matt Chaves
K3GRN-BK DeLong
N1QEH-Al Williams

Overseeing the operations and coordination with Massachusetts Bay Red Cross at the Peabody Office on Thursday were KA1NCF-Eric Horwitz, North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator, and KB1KQW-Jim Palmer, North Shore ARES Emergency Coordinator. Jim and Eric worked the phones and coordination with Red Cross and recruited Amateur Radio Operators. Net Control was done by Carl Aveni-N1FY from the town of Bridgewater EOC.

All Damage Assessment operations were on the 145.47-Danvers Repeater PL: 136.5 Hz. Special thanks to the NSRA Club for their use of the repeater for ARES Damage Assessment and SKYWARN Operations during the Floods of 2006. Also, special thanks to WI1U-Charles Anderson for use of the 145.13-Gloucester Repeater on Saturday for outreach and distribution of supplies in the Gloucester area as the Gloucester Repeater has better coverage in that area.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo

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Eastern MA ARES Activates to Support North Shore Damage Assessment

EMA ARES logoAt the request of Massachusetts Bay Red Cross, Eastern Massachusetts ARES will activate starting Thursday Morning for damage assessment operations in the North Shore. This operation could last several days and more volunteers maybe needed from across the section.

There may also be a need to support Damage Assessment operations for the Greater Newburyport chapter of Red Cross as well per Dave Belsky, K1DBB, Greater Newburyport Red Cross Communications Officer. [Full story]