Emergency Communications

Emergency communications and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®)

Emergency Communications

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC Participates In Norton Emergency Exercise

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Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC logoThe Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC ARES Team conducted a simulated emergency exercise March 12 in conjunction with the Norton Emergency Management Agency. Norton EMA and Norton’s CERT Team decided to continue with the planned exercise despite the cancellation of the Eastern MA ARES simulated emergency test that day.

In response to the simulated late winter ice storm, stations were set up at various locations, including a “base of operations” at the Norton Fire Department, multiple simulated shelters and two mobile SSTV-equipped disaster assessment teams. K1VQ and W1TW operated WC1NOR at the Norton Emergency Operations Center. K2TGX acted as overall Incident Commander of the drill; N1FLO served as ARES 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 W1SMH at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro. He acted as a liaison to the hospital’s Emergency Department. N1IV and KA1IG operated the Plainville and North Attleboro EOC/RACES stations, respectively.
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. 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 exercise, which lasted for approximately 80 minutes, was cut short when the National Weather Service issued a genuine winter storm warning.

The exercise served as excellent practice for all involved.

—Thanks, http://sturdyradioclub.org

All / Emergency Communications

EMa ARES EmComm Workshop Ipswich 04/02/05

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Chuck Cooper, K1CHC writes:

There will be an Eastern Mass ARES EmComm Workshop on Saturday April 2 at the Ipswich High and Middle School for anyone interested. Workshop will run from 9:00 AM until around 3-4:00 PM.

Please pass the word among the Regions or to any organization that would be interested in attending.

I can best be reached via cell phone at 978-265-5749.

Home phone 978-356-2826
Office Phones 978-356-4343, 978-356-6645
E-mail: detectives@town.ipswich.ma.us, coopsail@rcn.com

73,

Chuck Cooper
Ipswich Emergency Management Director

All / Emergency Communications

Monthly ARES Net Tonight at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater System

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Hello to all….

A reminder that the monthly ARES Net for February is rapidly approaching. The monthly ARES Net for March is Monday March 7th, 2005, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. This is after the RACES Nets earlier in the evening.

Based on last month’s net, we have made some revisions to the net process. Net Control will be advising folks that on the first round, you should check-in with your Call-Sign ONLY and then on the 2nd round, you’ll be asked for your name, location, whether you are fixed, mobile or portable, what MMRA repeater you are checked into and give any traffic, announcmenets or
comments to the net. We’re hoping this will improve the process of getting people checked into the net and make the net flow more smoothly. Please follow net control’s lead with the revised preamble.

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. Thanks to all for your
continued participation!

We will have several interesting announcements for the net this 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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All / Emergency Communications

EMa ARES Exercise 3/12 CANCELLED

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EMA ARES logoEastern MA Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY writes:

The ARES Exercise scheduled for Saturday March 12th, 2005 has been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is that we have had numerous ARES and SKYWARN Activations for what has been a very active winter in Eastern Massachusetts. The latest activation on Monday Evening February 28th into Tuesday Morning March 1st had numerous Amateurs up through the night monitoring coastal flooding, reporting snowfall and reporting damage and power outages from the heavy, wet snow that fell over the region. [Full story]

All / Emergency Communications

ARES Exercise for Saturday March 12th, 2005 Cancelled/Future Exercise Updates

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The ARES Exercise scheduled for Saturday March 12th, 2005 has been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is that we have had numerous ARES and SKYWARN Activations for what has been a very active winter in Eastern Massachusetts. The latest activation on Monday Evening February 28th into Tuesday Morning March 1st had numerous Amateurs up through the night monitoring coastal flooding, reporting snowfall and reporting damage and power outages from the heavy, wet snow that fell over the region. Luckily, damage was not significant enough to result in shelter operations in the areas most affected by damage and power outages, which was Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands.

This exercise scenario will be utilized at another time, potentially for the Fall SET in the October-November timeframe. A scenario had been drawn up for this exercise in advance and will simply need a frequency plan and some minor edits and the exercise will be fully planned.As far as further exercises, Eastern Massachusetts ARES will have a remote support role in the TOPOFF exercise that will be occurring in Connecticut the week of Monday April 4th through Friday April 8th. Most ARES personnel in the section will be asked to support that remote function in some form and further details will follow in later postings. In addition, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section will be attempting to organize an ARESMAT to support Connecticut ARES with a team sent into Connecticut to perform the various functions Connecticut ARES has requested. Those that we select for the ARESMAT team will be done by invitation only with the invites being sent by myself or the DEC for the appropriate area contacting specific individuals to see if they are interested in supporting the ARESMAT. There shall be no self-deployments into Connecticut for TOPOFF as if you have not been properly registered and have credentials, you will not be allowed to participate and could result in serious legal consequences if you show up without going through the proper process. Also, during the week of the TOPOFF exercise, MARS will be having an exercise on Sunday April 9th and further details on that exercise will follow in later postings.

After the exercise in early April, a Statewide Hurricane Exercise will be done on the first Monday of June 2005. This is typically a MEMA Region II exercise but this year, it will be expanded to be a statewide exercise. Further details on this exercise will also follow in later postings.

This is shaping up to be another active year for Eastern Massachusetts ARES in 2005. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact your local EC/DEC or myself with those questions or feedback.

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 1

All / Emergency Communications

Monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Report for February 2005

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Hello to all…

The following is the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Report from Monday February 7th, 2005 utilizing the MMRA Repeater System. There were 25
check-ins for the February Net.

N1BDA-Steve-Concord, Mass. (NCS)
KB1EKN-Mark-Hingham, Mass.
KD1CY-Rob-New Bedford, Mass. @ W1AEC
N1FY-Carl-Brockton, Mass.
N1FLO-John-Attleboro, Mass.
K1EJ-Darrel-Chelmsford, Mass. (Marlboro Repeater, Battery Power).
N1DM-Dom-Natick, Mass. (146.82 Repeater, RACES Radio Officer for Natick)
KB1BXQ-Bob-Wellseley, Mass.
WC1PLV-Jim-Plainville, Mass.
N1XTB-Phil-Middleboro, Mass. (Air Force MARS/RACES Radio Officer)
KD1XX-Pat-North Attleboro, Mass. (Army MARS Liaison)
N1HY-Richard-Bedford, Mass. (Bedford RACES Radio Officer, Fixed, Quincy
Repeater)
W1ZSA-Roger-Walpole, Mass.
WA1OEZ-Bob-Taunton, Mass. (Region II RACES Radio Officer)
W1PLW-Ron-Marlboro, Mass.
W1EAV-Chris-Marion, Mass. (Echolink)
AA1VS-Charles-Lowell, Mass.
K1YCQ-Byron-Somerset, Mass.
NG1L-Rick-Everett, Mass.
KA1RDZ-Dan-Everett, Mass.
KB1LOY-James-Ashland, Mass.
W1RBF-Dick-Sandwich, Mass.
N1UMJ-John-Taunton, Mass.
N1CRC-Rich-Concord, Mass.
W1BRI-Bryan-Milford, Mass.

Comments from the ARES Net

KD1CY-Rob @ W1AEC:
Cape Cod ARES will be holding an exercise on Saturday February 12th, 2005 from 10 AM-Noon. It will be an outdoor mobilization in the cold and snow. This drill was cancelled from the original date of January 29th due to recovery from the blizzard.

There will be a section wide exercise for Eastern Massachusetts ARES on Saturday March 12th, 2005 from 10 AM-1 PM. Further details will be posted on the web site and for next month’s ARES Net.

There will be an Emergency Communications Workshop Saturday April 2nd, 2005 from 9 AM-4 PM at the Ipswich High School. Further details will be posted on the web site and for next month’s ARES Net.

Carl-N1FY:
Carl announced their Weekly SKYWARN/Emergency Preparedness Net on the 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater, PL: 67.0 Hz meets every Saturday at 8 PM.

Mark-KB1EKN:
Announced that the Boston Marathon is looking for volunteers and that support is still needed. He mentioned the Boston Marathon web site for sign-up at http://www.bmarc.info/

Mark also mentioned the MEMA training web site for those interested in taking MEMA training classes as the training calendar is no longer being published in paper form. Go to http://www.mass.gov/mema for more
information.
Technical Issues

We had problems where the 146.610-Marlboro Repeater could hear the link but
people checking in on that repeater were not heard through the rest of the
MMRA system. From W1AEC’s location, a barely audible station was heard
underneath the Marlboro Repeater putting out tones. It is unclear what
caused the issue and Bryan-W1BRI was going to look into the issue with the
system. This underscores the importance of running the monthly net as its
good practice for net control and it helps to work out any issues
technically by more frequent use of the system.

Preamble Changes

Preamble changes will be made to ask for the call-sign only on the first
round and then get everyone’s name, location, title, comments/announcements
in the second round of the net. It is expected that these preamble changes
will make the net flow better for next month’s net in March.

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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All / Emergency Communications

Cape & Islands ARES Exercise, Feb. 12, 2005

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Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O writes on mass_races_ares_skywarn@yahoogroups.com:

There will be a Cape & Islands ARES Exercise this Saturday Feb. 12th from 10am-12pm. It is a rescheduled exercise that was postponed due to the Blizzard of 2005.

Several stations, including our primary field team will be using NVIS 40m at 7232khz +-10khz. A
secondary will be at 7275khz +-10khz. Any stations wishing to check in are welcome to do so. We will also be operating 6m, and will attempt to use the 6m MEMA RACES repeater and some possible SSB at 50.225mhz.

Our primary field site will be utilizing multiple bands/modes. Simultaneous operation will be conducted on 2m,6m,440,75m, and packet 145.010.

Thanks

73 Frank WQ1O
Cape & Islands ARES DEC

All / Emergency Communications

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Exercise Set for Saturday March 12th, 2005

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An exercise for the Eastern Massachusetts Section has been scheduled for Saturday March 12th, 2005 from 10 AM-1 PM. All ARES teams across the section are urged to participate in the exercise. The scenario will be finalized and announced within the next couple of weeks.

Exercises are very important to an ARES organization particularly in a section like Eastern Massachusetts which rarely sees a major mobilization due to significant infrastructure loss over a wide area. Exercises have been the main-stay of the ARES organization in Eastern Massachusetts for several years and we look forward to your participation and cooperation.Further information on the exercise will follow in the next several weeks. If you have any immediate questions please contact me or your ARES DEC or EC. Look for further updates via email and on the ARES Web Site.

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 1

All / Emergency Communications

Reminder: Monthly ARES Net After the RACES Nets–Monday February 7th

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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 1

All / Emergency Communications

January Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Report

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The following is a report on the monthly Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net that was held on January 3rd, 2005 at 830 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. 21 Amateurs, including the Net Control Station, were on frequency. The following were the check-ins:

1. KB1EKN-Mark-Hingham, Metro Boston DEC
2. K1BTH-Blake-Hull, Field Ops DEC
3. N1FLO-John-Attleboro, Sturdy ARES Emergency Coordinator
4. N1BDA-Steve-Concord, Middlesex County ARES DEC
5. K1EJ-Darrel-Chelmsford, Northern Middlesex ARES EC
6. KB1KTR-Kevin-North Billerica, Billerica ARES EC
7. W3EVE-Steve-Wrentham, Norfolk County ARES DEC
8. KA8SCP-Terry-Westford, Region I RACES Radio Officer
9. N1BE-Bob-Stow, Stow ARES Emergency Coordinator
10. WC1PLV/N1IV-Jim-Plainville, Plainville RACES
11. K1ZIK-Ed-Wilmington, Air Force MARS/Wilmington RACES/EMA
12. N1AEW-Ernie-Westford, Region I RACES Radio Operator
13. N1HY-Richard-Bedford, Bedford RACES
14. N1CPE-Tom-Framingham, Mass. State RACES Radio Officer
15. W1PLW-Ron-Marlboro, ARES
16. KB1BXQ-Bob-Wellesley, RACES Radio Officer
17. W1JMC-John-Acton, RACES Radio Officer
18. AA1VU-Marian-Cumberland, RI
19. KB1JLI-Mark-Peabody (Mobile)
20. W1ZSA-Roger-Walpole, Walpole RACES/EMA Director
21. W1AEC/KD1CY-Rob-South Dartmouth, Eastern Mass. ARES SEC (NCS)
Comments/Net Discussion:

Comments and Net Discussion were kicked off by Rob-KD1CY as Net Control. Rob discussed an upcoming ARES DEC Staff Meeting where training and exercise plans for the year were being finalized. Rob is looking forward to a great year for ARES that builds on the momentum gained for 2004 with the DNC and First Night mobilizations for the Red Cross. Rob also mentioned wanting to keep continued active involvement in SKYWARN and that the SKYWARN training schedule is also being worked on as well.

Mark-KB1EKN announced that the MEMA Training Calendar is no longer being published and for further information on training going forward, go to the MEMA web site at http://www.mass.gov/mema

Mark also mentioned ICS classes being run by MEMA in January and that all ARES and SKYWARN members should be prepared to activate for Winter Weather on your local ARES/RACES/SKYWARN repeater.

John-N1FLO mentioned that the 147.195 Attleboro Repeater is being worked on and that the 447.975 machine is now the repeater that the Sturdy Memorial ARES team is utilizing until the 147.195 Repeater is functional. To contact the Sturdy team directly, a liaison needs to be sent to the 440 Repeater. Work is ongoing on the 147.195 repeater. John also mentioned that the monthly ARES Net is a good way for ARES members to practice net control skills and would like to see different people running the ARES nets going forward.

K1ZIK-Ed, who is the Wilmington EMA Director and Air Force MARS Liaison, will be making an announcement to all personnel on the MARS nets to check into this ARES Net and get more involved in ARES in general.

W1JMC-John and KB1KTR-Kevin both mentioned wanting to do more utilization of digital modes. The ARES staff will take that information under advisement and try to work that into a future exercise.

All Amateurs on the air were pleased with having the ARES Net on the same night as the RACES Net and were looking forward to checking into the net next month.

The net ran from 8:30-9:30 PM and special thanks were given to the MMRA Repeater System for use of the linked system.

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 1

All / Emergency Communications

EMa ARES Mobilization Begins 1/22 at 1600 ET

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EMaSEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY writes:

“All Eastern Massachusetts ARES personnel are requested to go to Standby Moblization effective 4 PM Saturday, January 22, 2005. A major Nor’easter/blizzard will impact Eastern Massachusetts with 20-30 Inches of snow, potential for snow/wind damage, and moderate coastal flooding. The greatest threat for major infrastructure damage is first and foremost on Cape Cod and the Islands and East Coastal Massachusetts. With Blizzard Warnings now expanded to much of Eastern Massachusetts, there is now a risk for severe and possibly damaging conditions well inland even into parts of Western Massachusetts and that threat will need to be monitored. Once the storm begins, travel will rapdily deteroriate and become potentially life-threatening across the region.

For the standby mobilization, we ask all ARES members to go to their nearest SKYWARN repeater and relay reports of snowfall, wind damage etc. for NWS Taunton. If you are a capable net control or liaison, offer your services in that capacity to help SKYWARN Net Controls. Please see the Blizzard Coordination Message to be posted on the EMa ARES web site and via the SKYWARN email list tomorrow morning for the final email update on SKYWARN Operations.

Given the potential for travel to be paralyzed, any type of ARESMAT or ARES mobilization for shelters that might occur if conditions are bad enough may wait until later in the day Sunday or even Monday. Keep that in mind if such mobilzation is needed. Have your Go Kit prepared and ready to go and any battery operated equipment or generators for home used prepared and ready to use in case the storm warrants use of such equipment. Please stay in touch via Amateur Radio by going to your local SKYWARN Repeater during the event or ARES/RACES repeater once we are in the recovery phase of the storm.”

All / Emergency Communications

Cape Cod ARES Stands Down…Reschedules This Weekend's Exercise

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Hello to all….

….CAPE COD ARES STANDS DOWN AFTER THE BLIZZARD OF 2005….

At approximately 6 PM Monday, Cape Cod ARES stood down after participating in shelter and field operations for the Cape Cod Red Cross Chapter. Operations lasted for roughly a 48 hour period with support at the Red Cross Chapter EOC and with shelters around Cape Cod. The support Cape Cod ARES provided was tremendous and lasted for a long continuous period. Since that support was given and the Hams of Cape Cod ARES need time to dig out and be watchful of yet another storm for the middle of the week, Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator has postponed his exericse for January 29th and has rescheduled it for Saturday February 12th, 2005 at 10 AM. Further details on the drill will be posted as we get closer to the exercise.The Blizzard of 2005 is the first blizzard that Southern New England has experienced since the April Fools Day Blizzard of April 1st, 1997. It brought sustained winds of 30-50 MPH with wind gusts of of 75-84 MPH over the Southern New England coast line. Moderate Coastal Flooding occurred along portions of the Northeast Massachusetts coast line with numerous shore roads flooded in Scituate and Hull and splashover reported in other parts of the East Coastal Massachusetts area. In addition, the extreme cold has made it very difficult to dig out from the storm.

Conditions this week will remain extremely cold. A moderate snow storm is expected at mid-week and there is a low probability of yet another coastal storm in the Sunday-Monday timeframe of next week. These threats will need to be monitored.

A HUGE THANK YOU to the tremendous support given by ARES and SKYWARN for this event. The National Weather Service had a tremendous response with all the reporting of severe winter weather and ARES personnel that manned EOC’s and shelters in parts of the section did a tremendous job. It is an honor and a privilege to lead such a profesional volunteer organization.

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

All / Emergency Communications

ARES Drill Report from Saturday October 30th, 2004

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The following is an ARES Drill Report from Saturday October 30th, 2004. The purpose of the drill was to be able to relay messages and make contact into and out of the main affected area for this drill, which was Cape Cod as Cape Cod ARES had devised a specific scenario for the drill. The main bands utilized in the drill were 6 Meters, 40 Meters HF and Packet, though local 2 Meter informal nets were held outside of the district with full formal nets run on the 146.955-Barnstable Repeater on Cape Cod.Along with our drill, New Hampshire ARES was also having their statewide SET drill on the same day. They used some voice but concentrated on a special blend of PSK technology that they’ve adapted for emergency traffic. Attempts were made by Carl-K1KID, who is a PSK guru, to contact New Hampshire via PSK but the attempt failed. Numerous NH ARES and SKYWARN Contacts made contact with Eastern Massachusetts via the 146.64-Waltham Repeater and via HF. Out of state contacts between Eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire went very well.

In addition to the drills, the city of Boston had a parade for the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series with around 3 Million people in attendance. Metro Boston ARES utilized the drill to monitor events with the parade in case there were any issues and remained on stand-by 90 minutes after the drill ended until 1:30 PM to monitor the parade until its conclusion. Having an exercise on the day we selected helped to enhance the New Hampshire drill and to have Hams ready in case issues occurred in Boston due to the parade.

Several traffic messages were passed via the HF Net and on the Barnstable Repeater on Cape Cod. Contact was made with stations within the section over HF, 2 Meters and 6 Meters where appropriate. Contact was made with all stations by several means and the purpose of the drill was executed with few issues. Message traffic was also handled on a tactical and NTS basis between Eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire and was deemed successful.

The following is the list of check-ins via HF and on 2-Meter Nets where we have received reports. This portion of the report maybe updated if more net reports are received:

The following is the net report from the 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater Informal ARES Net:

1. W1AEI-Arthur-Swansea
2. WA1ESO-John-Tiverton, RI
3. N1YCQ-Wheat-Swansea, Massachusetts
4. K1KVV-Bob-South Dartmouth at W1AEC assisting with NCO duties on this net and on HF.

The HF Net Operations were run on 40 Meters HF out of the Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (SEMARA) building under call sign W1AEC. The following Hams checked in and passed traffic via this net.
.
1. KA1TUZ-Dick-Newton, Massachusetts
2. WC1MA-MEMA Framingham HQ
3. N1XTB-Phil-Middleboro, Massachusetts
4. W1MSA-Frank-Salvation Army HQ-Boston, Mass.
5. K1NGJ-Nick-Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
6. N1HY-Richard-Bedford, Massachusetts
7. KB1JJE-Ben-Mansfield, Massachusetts
8. K1PBO-Red Cross Hyannis, Massachusetts
9. N2JWW-Mike-Marstons, Mills, Massachusetts
10. N1FY-Carl-Bridgewater, Mass. EOC (Town EOC)
11. K1UI-Rob-Cape Cod ARES Field Site
12. KD4CLJ-David-Attleboro, Massachusetts
13. N1BDA-Steve-Concord, Massachusetts
14. K1EJ-Darrel-Chelmsford, Massachusetts
15. N1UMJ-John-Taunton, Massachusetts
16. WA1JSE-Paul-Osterville, Massachusetts
17. WA1WOK-Cal-New Hampshire State EOC, Concord, NH
18. K1KID-Carl-Wareham, Massachusetts
19. KB1EKN-Mark-Hingham, Massachusetts
20. AA2T-Jerry-Leominster, Massachusetts
21. KB1IZU-Bob-Western Coos County, New Hampshire

The Drill ran from 10 AM-Noon with all objectives met. A reminder was given to all Amateurs to closely monitor the situation and events in the run-up to the November election and to have a HT with them in case it’s needed due to a possible terrorist incident. Luckily, no issues were reported on Election Day.

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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All / Emergency Communications

Cape Cod ARES Supporting Shelter Operations After Nor'Easter!!

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Cape Cod ARES is supporting shelter operations in the wake of the nor’easter that dumped 10-20″ of snow and the weight of the snow coupled with winds of 40-60 MPH has resulted in many power outages, some of which, may last through the overnight hours. Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator and Cape Cod Red Cross Communications Officer, Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, has two Amateurs assisting him with shelter planning and limited communications support.Frank reports that a handful of shelters are open and a couple of those shelters are sheltering people. Its not clear when power will be restored to the hardest hit areas of Cape Cod but it is feared it could last through the overnight hours. Frank has placed Cape Cod ARES on stand-by and is using a small cadre of operators to help with shelter planning and limited communications assistance. Frank reports that the communications infrastructure remains in tact but had shelters needed to be opened during the storm, communications would have been a more significant issue.

SKYWARN was active much of the day Sunday starting in the North Shore of Massachusetts and then spreading across much of the rest of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island Sunday Night. Support was done from the SEMARA (Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association) Club in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts to obtain snowfall and wind/snow damage reports along with coastal flooding reports to Southern New England under call-sign W1AEC. SKYWARN remained active through the night to monitor the extent of infrastructure damage to the region. More damage was reported but luckily temperatures dropped and prevented an even more serious issue with power outages as the lower temperatures made the snow lighter versus the heavier wet snow that fell during Sunday Night. Some areas had power outages for a few hours while other areas, particularly on Cape Cod, have pockets of cities and towns that still do not have power.

At this time, Frank does not anticipate any assistance needed from ARES groups outside of Cape Cod and he will keep the ARES staff appraised the situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Cape Cod and the small number of Hams supporting the Red Cross as we hope power gets restored as soon as possible.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator
SEMARA ARES 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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All / Emergency Communications

EMA ARES Net Change

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EMA ARES logoRob Macedo, KD1CY writes:

“Effective January 3, 2005, the EMA ARES Net will be held on the first Monday of every month at 8:30 PM on the MMRA linked repeater system. The net will immediately follow the rolling RACES Nets that occur in Massachusetts across various RACES repeaters on the first Monday every month. If a holiday falls on a Monday, the EMA ARES Net will be moved to the second Monday of the month, like the RACES Net schedules.” [Full story]

All / Emergency Communications

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Monthly Net Change

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The Eastern Massachusetts ARES Monthly Net has been changed. Starting on Monday January 3rd, 2005, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net will be on the first Monday of every month at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Linked Repeater System (http://www.mmra.org). This immediately follows the rolling RACES Nets that occur in Massachusetts across various RACES repeaters on the first Monday every month. If a holiday falls on a Monday, the net will be moved to the second Monday of the month just like the RACES Nets are handled for Monday holidays.The ARES Monthly Net has not been held over the last several months. Over the course of 2005, we plan to reinvigorate the monthly nets and we’d like your help in making that happen. We’d like to hear from you on what you’d like to hear on the nets to entice you to take time out of your busy schedules to join us on the net monthly. We will certainly be providing announcements on ARES training, SKYWARN Training, drills, and upcoming public service events but we’d like to hear from, you, our ARES membership on what additional things we can do during the net. Perhaps a discussion topic each month where everyone can make comments or perhaps message handling practice each month or on certain months of the net.

We’ll also be looking for Net Controls. Running net control is a skill that comes with experience. Even though a monthly net is fairly routine in nature, it allows for the ARES membership to practice some basic skills on net operations which will be useful in the event of an ARES activation.

If you have suggestions on topics or if you’re interested in running the ARES Net. Please contact the following people:

W1MPN-Mike Neilsen at w1mpn@ema.arrl.org
K1BTH-Blake Haskell at k1bth@arrl.net
KD1CY-Rob Macedo at kd1cy@ema.arrl.org

We look forward to hearing you on our first ARES Net in 2005 on the MMRA repeater system on Monday January 3rd at 8:30 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator
SEMARA ARES 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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All / Emergency Communications

ARES Web Site Activity and Best Holiday Wishes and Thanks for Your Support

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Over the past few weeks, the ARES web site has been relatively quiet as our staff prepares for the holiday season as many of our members are doing as well. Also, the Eastern Massachusetts ARES staff has been hard at work on a “Calendar of Events and Training” for 2005 as well. As holiday preparations wind down, we will have several topics that will be covered here on the web-site.

We had an excellent ARES Drill in late October and a report on that will follow in the next few weeks. We also had an excellent SKYWARN Recognition Day where Eastern Massachusetts was well represented with active stations at the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts and with the Boston Amateur Radio Club Station setup at the Blue Hill Observatory. An update complete with pictures will be posted in the coming weeks as well.

2004 was an extremely successful year for Eastern Massachusetts ARES. In addition to flawless support and execution for SKYWARN Activations, ARES drills and Emergency Communications Workshops, the biggest ARES mobilization in recent years was completed for the Democratic National Convention. While no incidents occurred during the DNC, the fact that Eastern Massachusetts ARES could mobilize and support a sustained 4-day event for 16 hours per day is a testament as to how far the organization has grown. While there is much work to be done and we have yet to be tested in a true disaster-type situation, the growth over the past several years has been self-evident and the ARES staff truly appreciates the tremendous support from ARES members in the section. It is hoped that we will also have a report on the DNC in the coming weeks as well.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, our staff is monitoring for any threats, weather or otherwise, that could cause an ARES mobilization and this web-site along with the various email lists that are maintained are ways for the membership to stay in touch. On behalf of the entire Eastern Massachusetts ARES staff, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season. This is a wonderful time for friends and family to get together. Don’t hesitate to contact the ARES leaadership if you have any questions or concerns.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Deputy 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 1

All / Emergency Communications

Brigham And Women’s Hospital To Incorporate Amateur Radio Into Emergency Plans

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Boston ARC logoBrigham and Women’s Hospital is planning to include Amateur Radio in its emergency plans, according to Boston ARC Vice President Blake Haskell, K1BTH. Haskell met recently with representatives from Boston Emergency Management Agency and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The hospital is working on installing an antenna and feedline from the roof to a small room that would be used by amateurs in the event of an emergency.

—Thanks, Boston ARC The SPARC, December, 2004