Tag: #drill
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DNC Update #2

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DNC Logo Hello to all…..

EMa ARES will begin a limited mobilization starting next Sunday, July 25th. Many of the germane parts of the Operations Plan (OpPlan) appear in the left column under the heading “DNC OPERATIONS”.

This is the daily updates on our plans to assist participating agencies with the DNC, for Tuesday, July 20th. News items will appear in this column, while permanent material or changes will be posted in the left hand column under the heading “DNC OPERATIONS”.

Please note that the frequency plan for our mobilization will not appear on this website, but will be passed to players under separate cover.

Amateur Radio Operators outside the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts section should first contact their ARES Section Emergency Coordinator for permission to mobilize, as no “self mobilized” hams will be accepted, and will be turned away. Their response to you will depend on whether we have asked for assistance from outside our section, based on how much support we receive from inside the Eastern Massachusetts section.

And now the news…..

1. We held our combined RC/ARES communication drill last night. The drill was very successful, according to Deputy SEC, Rob, KD1CY. Other key players included N1CPE, WQ1O, N1VUX, N1FY, N1BDA, and W1ZSA. Our thanks to everyone who checked in and participated.
2. Bill, N1VUX, will be providing ducting reports in support of our limited mobilization (please see latest report above)
3. Players can expect the updated plan by the end of the week.
Emergency Communications

DNC Update #1

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DNC Logo Hello to all…..

This will be the first of what we hope will be daily updates on our plans to assist participating agencies with the DNC. News items will appear in this column, while permanent material or changes will be posted in the left hand column under the heading “DNC OPERATIONS”.

Please note: Amateur Radio Operators outside the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts section should first contact their ARES Section Emergency Coordinator for permission to mobilize, as no “self mobilized” hams will be accepted, and will be turned away. Their response to you will depend on whether we have asked for assistance from outside our section, based on how much support we receive from inside the Eastern Massachusetts section.

And now the news…..

1. EMa ARES will begin a limited mobilization starting next Sunday, July 25th. Many of the germane parts of the Operations Plan (OpPlan) appear in the left column under the heading “DNC OPERATIONS”.
2. We will be having a communication drill tonight. Please see the updated note in this column. Please note that the frequency plan for our mobilization will not appear on this website, but will be passed to players under separate cover.
3. We have filled most of the required shifts, but we can still use more volunteers. Please contact any of the DEC’s or me if you would like to help. A summary of our requirements appears below.
4. We held a meeting this past Saturday with most of the ARES leadership staff, and some of the participating players to go over the draft OpPlan.
5. Players can expect the updated plan by the end of the week.
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Volunteers Needed for the DNC

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DNC Logo Hello to all…..

***** Call for Volunteers Summary *****

(*Amateurs living outside of the EMa area, please see note below)

Requirements for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) continue to be developed by our clients. In particular, the American Red Cross has solidified their plans and what they are requesting from their volunteers. Amateur duties that the Red Cross is requesting include responding to the Red Cross chapters in Boston and Waltham during normal and potential incident operations.

Other duties expected from our cadre will range from maintaining net watches at home stations to passing status traffic messages directing mobilization. Teams supporting other served agencies such as the Salvation Army will be mobilized as required.

We are also looking for a large number of “stand-by” operators that will be ready to provide additional support if an incident occurs. As per our doctrine, Amateurs volunteering for this duty will always be asked to accept any further deployment, so please consider being part of our standby corps!

The Red Cross is requesting the following support during the week of the DNC to support their concept of “normal” operations:

[Please press “read more” button —>]-Two Amateur Radio Operators deploying to the Waltham Red Cross Chapter from 8 AM-4 PM Monday July 26th through Friday July 30th.
-Two Amateur Radio Operators deploying to the altham Red Cross Chapter from 4 PM-1 AM Monday July 26th through Thursday July 29th.
-One Amateur Radio Operator deploying to the Boston Red Cross Chapter from 8 AM-4 PM Monday July 26th through Friday July 30th.

It is noted that the DNC is still roughly one month away and these requirements listed above could experience several minor adjustments as we approach the week of the DNC.

A Net Control Command Center will be setup to support this activity utilizing the town of Bridgewater Emergency Operations Center (EOC). We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Herb Lemon, KC1ZW, Bridgewater Emergency Management Director and Chairman of the Board of Selectman for his support in allowing us to utilize the EOC for the week of the DNC. Carl Aveni, N1FY, newly named ARES District Emergency Coordinator for Plymouth County, will be coordinating the net control activity at the Bridgewater EOC.

As stated in the previous call to action, the day shift will be most challenging to fill, as the DNC will be taking place during the workweek. The ARES staff cannot ask anyone to take time off from work, but if you can arrange to donate a vacation day or two to help, it would be greatly appreciated. Amateur Operators that have already contacted us in the first DNC Volunteer Call to Action announcement will be contacted again within the next 7-10 days to discuss where they will be best suited to serve in this operation.

In the previous call to action, we asked about what ARES members have received any form of ICS training. While we are still asking ARES members to respond to this question (it would be greatly appreciated since it is not in our questionnaires), you do not need to be ICS trained to assist us in DNC operations. Frankly, we are rather looking for “good old-fashioned” Amateur Radio knowledge, good operating skills and most importantly, a sincere desire to serve the agencies that are requesting support, and being flexible with the situation and conditions of the deployment.

With this entire infrastructure being setup to support the DNC, as was done by the Red Cross and Salvation Army for Boston First Night New Year’s celebrations, it is important to remember that the most likely outcome is that nothing of consequence will happen during the DNC. This was what we experienced during the limited ARES Activation on New Year’s Eve.

In that scenario, this will lead to quite a bit of time where we are monitoring the event with nothing happening, and we are just sitting watching and waiting. While it may not be exciting or glamorous, the agencies we are serving view this stand-by and limited deployment by us as providing them a huge advantage in case something does happen. Moreover, serving in this capacity at these agencies’ request give us tremendous credibility with their organizations and is greatly appreciated. We ask that those that deploy to the served agencies to bring a book, game, or something to entertain them during this potential for large periods of “down” time. The ARES staff, however, will be utilizing the DNC as a great training opportunity to practice an ARES-MAT, fine-tune net control skills as we will have regular call-ups of nets every few hours, pass routine NTS status traffic messages. We will continue to exercise our net call-ups and regular NTS traffic nets every evening, and practice home station usage and message handling. If, on the low probability that some type of incident occurs (and an incident could range from a wide variety of different things through man-made or natural causes), activity could rapidly ramp up and quickly transition routine nets to heavy use for important and vital emergency traffic.

More updates to this call to action will follow over the next few weeks. We ask that interested Amateurs please contact Mike Neilsen, W1MPN, and Robert Macedo, KD1CY during this timeframe if you live in the Eastern Massachusetts section via email. Their email addresses appear below:

W1MPN-Mike Neilsen: w1mpn@ema.arrl.org
KD1CY-Rob Macedo: rmacedo@rcn.com or kd1cy@comcast.net

*Amateur Radio Operators outside the Eastern Massachusetts section should first contact their ARES Section Emergency Coordinator. Their response to you will depend on how much support is received from inside the Eastern Massachusetts section, before we ask for support outside the section.

The ARES Staff would like to extend our sincere thanks in advance for your efforts!

Respectfully Submitted,

Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
Eastern Massachusetts
Section Emergency Coordinator
w1mpn@ema.arrl.org
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
978.562.5662 Office
978.389.0558 FAX

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
Deputy Section Emergency Coordinator
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator
SAMARA 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

rm
All / Emergency Communications / Public Service

Hurricane Drill (update)

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RACES Logo A Hurricane Drill will be held on Monday 21 June at 1900 throughout the Commmonwealth. Please use your RACES repeater. Please press the “read more” button below to view the exercise including action “envelopes” that are to be reacted to during the exercise. Any questions please contact Tom at n1cpe@amsat.org, or leave message at 508.820.1428. Good luck!RACES/ARES Hurricane Drill

June 21, 2004, 7 – 9 p.m.

Scenario: Hurricane Yolanda is making its way up the coast at a rapid pace. The East Coast is bracing for a category 3 Hurricane as it is moving North- Northeast and is just 50 miles offshore of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Procedure: The drill will be conducted in 3 stages: beginning (checking in and reporting preparedness status), middle (at the height of the hurricane), and end (wrap-up and status reports). Each stage is described in a separate section below, together with the expectations for RACES and ARES participants.

Notes: Primary communication will be on the frequency listed as primary for your community in the Massachusetts State RACES Plan. Get the Massachusetts State RACES Plan here, or at http://www.qsl.net/n1cpe/racesplan.pdf. The drill will also be held on HF (75 meters likely, 40 meters possible). Stations capable of using packet are encouraged to do so, particularly with lengthy or summary traffic. Refer to the RACES plan for details on frequencies being used.

Every message should begin with the words “THIS IS A DRILL” as part of the text, and [all] other radio communication pertaining to the scenario should [be preceded with] include this qualification as well. If the ham operator is working this drill with the representative of his/her served agency (for example, the local EMA Director), messages should be signed by that representative’s name and title. If the ham operator is working alone, messages should be signed by the title only (no name) of the served agency’s representative.

Examples:

Signed, Jane Doe, EMA Director, Town of Smallville Signed, EMA Director for Smallville
All RACES traffic is addressed to and signed by a government official. The objective of this drill is to exercise the system, provide practice in order to improve emergency readiness (for EMA directors and served agencies as well as hams), and discover opportunities for improvement. Your feedback after the event is welcome. And your participation is deeply appreciated!

STAGE 1

TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members

FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

WHEN: Beginning of exercise (7:00 – 7:15 p.m.)

The National Weather Service in Taunton Massachusetts in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida has issued a Hurricane Warning for all coastal areas of Massachusetts. The National Weather Service in Taunton Massachusetts has issued an Inland High Wind Warning for Hurricane Force Winds for all interior areas of Massachusetts. A Tornado Watch is in effect for the entire state of Massachusetts. A Flash Flood Watch for rivers and streams is also in effect for the entire state of Massachusetts. Hurricane Yolanda is presently located near latitude 40.1 North, longitude 74.0 West, or a little less than 100 miles South-Southwest of Long Island, New York. Hurricane Yolanda is moving toward the North-Northeast at 25 MPH with winds up to 125 MPH, and the present movement is expected to continue for the next several hours with the center passing over Narragansett Bay into Southeast Massachusetts. With the center passing over Southeast Massachusetts, heavy rains of 6-10” with higher amounts are expected with significant river and stream flooding expected across Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts. This includes Berkshire County. The strongest sustained straight-line winds and wind damage with possible structural damage is expected across Eastern Massachusetts with 2-6” of rain expected with locally higher amounts in interior areas. Lower rainfall amounts are expected across the South Coast of Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands but this area has the greatest threat of significant wind damage affecting structures along with a 12-18 foot coastal storm surge across south and east facing beaches. Severe Weather with pockets of wind damage from microbursts, macrobursts and isolated tornadoes is possible anywhere in the state of Massachusetts.

RACES Stations: Now please go to your EOC and report to your MEMA Region Headquarters:
(1) your community
(2) status of your EOC
(3) number of shelters currently open
This message should be formatted in NTS format per the Massachusetts RACES Plan.
ARES Stations: Please report now to your Section Emergency Coordinator or designee. Use an NTS
Format message to report:
(1) your ARES appointment (if any)
(2) what frequency you will monitor during this activation/exercise
(3) what served agency you are supporting (if any)
Training Opportunity: Emergency Managers and Served Agencies should use this time to discuss
their present course of action. Discussions should include reviewing your plans, checklists, and
resources. For ARES groups, this would mean having go-kits prepared for shelter and other public
safety communications.

STAGE 2

TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members

FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

WHEN: Middle of exercise (7:45 – 8:15 p.m.)

The full force of Hurricane Yolanda has hit Massachusetts with winds of 115 to 130 miles per hour with higher gusts. Governor Romney has declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has been fully activated. There are widespread
commercial power and telephone outages. Torrential downpours have caused localized flooding, and coastal flooding will be a serious threat with the approach of high tide. In the central and western parts of the state, funnel clouds have been sighted. Wind damage has downed trees and power lines in pockets across numerous communities in this area. Many downed electrical wires are alive and dangerous. Emergency Management Directors /RACES Stations: You now have the option to pick another local
action or happening to go along with Hurricane Yolanda. This incident may be large or small and may be directly or indirectly related to the hurricane itself. Please pick one of the following:
HAZMAT Spill
Fire
Public safety communication outage needing full ham radio backup
Tornado
River or stream flooding
Coastal storm surge flooding
Microburst or macroburst wind damage
Medical emergency at a shelter
Other (feel free to be creative)
After you decide, notify your MEMA Region Headquarters of the type of emergency/disaster. Use Massachusetts RACES Radiogram format to report the type of event and (if appropriate given the scenario you select) the number of residences affected. Optional: initiate other traffic that might be expected in an actual emergency situation. For example, contact the EMA Director of a neighboring town to request additional shelter supplies.
ARES Stations: Report your personal availability to staff a Shelter for individuals affected by
Hurricane Yolanda or other events that may happen as a result of the storm to your Section
Emergency Coordinator or designee in the form of an NTS Message.
Training Opportunity: Emergency Management Directors should be using this time to combat the
effects of Hurricane Yolanda. The Emergency Management Directors should also be coordinating the
local effects of any other emergency/disaster put into the exercise working with ARES groups as
required.
ARES groups backing up RACES and Emergency Management, supporting SKYWARN efforts, Red
Cross, Salvation Army and other agencies can work based on the scenarios picked and combat the
issues that these specific scenarios would cause. This would include insuring solid radio
communication and being able to communicate shelter needs and issues.

STAGE 3

TO: Massachusetts EMA Directors, ARES Served Agency communications coordinators,
ARES Members

FROM: Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

WHEN: End of exercise (8:45 – 9:00 p.m.)

The National Weather Service has canceled all warnings and watches. Hurricane Yolanda is no
longer a threat to Massachusetts residents. Recovery missions have already begun in numerous
communities.
RACES Stations: Now please report to your MEMA Region Headquarters in Massachusetts RACES
Radiogram format the following information:
(1) your community
(2) number of homes destroyed
(3) number of homes damaged
(4) any additional status reports as needed.
ARES Stations: Please report to your SEC or DEC in NTS Format:
(1) the name of your served agency, if any
(2) whether it is activated in the aftermath of Hurricane Yolanda
Training Opportunity: Emergency Management Directors and other served agencies should use this
time for recovery discussions. Please stress damage assessment and documentation. Discussion
should highlight Federal/State Disaster Declaration reimbursements.
ARES Groups should report their activity to their local EC, DEC, or SEC where appropriate and
communicate any issues that they had during the event. The report should include what went well
and what went poorly and ways to improve what did not go as expected.
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6m SSB Net Feb 27th

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K1RMS Jim – K1RMS writes:

Please mark your calendar and join us on Feb 27th at 7pm for the Quaboag Valley Amateur 6meter Net on 50.165 USB. This will be the first net which will be held monthly on the last Friday of every month. This is the perfect time to check the operation of your antenna, radio and ability on 6meters.

Quaboag Valley Amateur 6meter Net
Feb. 27th @ 7p
50.165 USB
Net Control: Jim – K1RMS

Hope to hear you and please tell your friends, this is the only 6meter Emegency Net in progress for Central MA on USB. This Net is sponsored by the Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club.

[Photo courtesy of K1RMS site]
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Possible Blackouts Today (expired)

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Freeze strains Northeast power grid
Report: Lethal temperatures kill 5 in Michigan
Friday, January 16, 2004 Posted: 9:33 AM EST (1433 GMT)

FORECAST WIND CHILLS
For Friday morning:
Caribou, Maine: Minus 45 F
Portland, Maine: Minus 35 F
Boston, Massachusetts: Minus 40 F
New York: Minus 25 F
Source: CNN

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) — Temperatures remained below zero across New England on Friday morning after plunging to near record lows, straining power grids and bringing life to a near standstill in some places.

Officials asked residents to conserve energy voluntarily or face rolling blackouts.

The Midwest also is enduring bone-rattling temperatures that proved fatal for five people in Michigan, The Associated Press reported.

Vermont Gov. James Douglas appeared live on the state’s largest television network to urge New England residents to save energy and help prevent rolling blackouts, which may be needed in an extreme circumstance.

ISO New England Inc., the company responsible for maintaining the region’s power grid, is preparing to shut off power to some customers Friday if necessary to keep the grid working.

But early Friday no blackouts had been reported.The weather has created high demand for electricity, and as a result some power generating plants ran out of natural gas Thursday and increased the burden on other plants, according to ISO New England.

Steve Costello, a spokesman for the Central Vermont Public Service Corp., said it would be a first for the region if rolling blackouts are needed.

“We’ve never had to resort to that to maintain the stability of the system,” Costello said. “But there has been very, very high demand in New England today.”

CNN weather forecaster Galen Crader predicts the subfreezing temperatures will remain through the middle of next week.

Early Friday, the wind chill dropped to around 32 below zero in Boston and 17 below in New York, making it dangerous to expose any part of the body to the frigid air.

“These values can produce frostbite in just 10 or 15 minutes,” a National Weather Service advisory said. “If you don’t have to travel or be outside late tonight or early tomorrow, then stay indoors.”

In Maine, where wind chills could dip to 50 below zero Friday morning, Gov. John Baldacci declared a state of emergency in hopes of convincing federal highway regulators to allow longer driving hours for truckers carrying fuel oil.

“These conditions threaten public health and safety and endanger public property if fuel oil cannot be delivered to Maine homes and businesses,” Baldacci’s declaration said.

In Boston, the temperature reached a high of minus 2 degrees Thursday. The city’s largest homeless shelter, which provides 700 beds, has been packed.

But one woman on a Boston street said New Englanders know how to deal with bitterly cold weather:

“Dress in layers, keep moving and just try to have that old, good New England character,” she said.

Water used to douse a house fire in Oswego, New York, quickly became icicles in the bitter cold.
Business was off Thursday at a Waffle House restaurant in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, said cook Sandra Starke. “It’s awful, very cold,” she said. “We just got a dusting [of snow], but it’s so cold nobody wants to come out.”

New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Observatory, which boasts of having “the world’s worst weather,” recorded temperatures as low as 43 degrees below zero early Friday, coming close to the state’s all-time low temperature of minus 47.

Thursday evening, the observatory reported a wind chill of 97 below zero, with a combination of wind speeds gusting at 92 mph and an outside air temperature of minus 39.

“It’s actually very wonderful to be up here, to just be able to experience the weather extremes here that Mother Nature throws at you,” meteorologist Tim Markle said from a weather station on the mountain. “A lot of people don’t like the cold, but we’re loving it up here.”

CNN’s Laura Bernardini, Thom Patterson and Adaora Udoji contributed to this report.

All / Emergency Communications

Limited ARES Mobilization (expired)

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***** Limited ARES Mobilization during Boston “First Night” Activities *****
**** Metro Boston District Only. All other Districts will be on Standby Status ****

Hello to all…

There will be a limited ARES Mobilization during Boston “First Night” Activities in the Metro Boston District Only. All other Districts will be on Standby Status to provide any needed support to the Metro District. SEMARA ARES and the SEMARA club emergency team have been mobilized for this event by South Shore/Bristol MA DEC, Rob, KD1CY.

Please consider yourself on 24 hour notice for activation. The scheduled time for the mobilization is from 1800, 31 Dec to 0100, 1 Jan. Please do not self mobilize to any location. Your DEC will contact you directly should your services be needed elsewhere. Please plan on providing relay services from your home during the “in-disaster” phase of an incident. Please review these procedures on our website, as well as helpful family preparedness info at http://www.ready.gov. Please guard the RACES repeater for your area at all times during the mobilization, including assuming net control until relieved. Please make liberal use of other frequencies/nets as established by your DEC. “Post-disaster” activities will be determined subsequent to this message.

Additionally, the mobilization in the Metro District will be in direct support of dedicated and contingency operations of our two of our major clients; the Red Cross (RC) and the Salvation Army (SA). The latter organization will also mobilize their Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) at the Boston Headquarters. SATERN usually draws from selected ARES and Boston Amateur Radio Club (BARC) for manning.

Mass Bay Chapter Red Cross will mobilize at the Waltham Chapter facility, and has specifically requested ARES support. Metro DEC, Mark, KB1EKN will lead our efforts there as an ICS leader. I will collocate with Mark to perform my section coordination duties, and to substitute for Mark should he be called away to deal with real world problems. As of this writing, it seems unlikely I will be taking up my duties at the SEOC.

[Please press “Read More” to view Mark’s OpPlan, the frequency plan, and VHF/UHF Repeater and 75m net activation preambles.]

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
Eastern Massachusetts
Section Emergency CoordinatorAMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE

METRO-BOSTON DISTRICT

FROM: Mark Duff/KB1EKN,
Metro-Boston DEC

TO: ARES Members

SUBJECT: ARES Activation UPDATE 1

DATE: 12-28-2003

Apparently my E-Mail about the ARES activation on the 31st was not as clear and understandable as it should have been and therefore I will attempt to do a better job of explaining what is going on.

Due to the Orange Terror Alert Status, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross will be staffing their EOC’s during New Years Eve. This is not a full-blown activation for these agencies but there will be a limited amount of people on duty. The Salvation Army will be operating from their Hqts. in downtown Boston. The Red Cross will be operating out of their field office in Waltham. ARES will be supporting both agencies. This is a limited ARES activation in Metro-Boston.

I am requesting assistance in three areas on New Years Eve between 1800 and 0100 hours. You do not need to commit to that entire time. I am just trying to get a handle on who is available and who is interested in helping. This E-mail is only being sent to a limited amount of ARES members, as I need people I can depend on and trust.

The three areas needing attention are the following:

Home Stations,
If you plan on being home during the evening and can get on the air IF NEEDED, please let me know. Home stations are a vital part of the ARES organization and I encourage all ARES members to be prepared to operate from home. You do not need to be on the air, I just need a commitment that can get on the air if needed.

Red Cross EOC, Waltham
If you are available to staff the Red Cross EOC in Waltham for any where between two and four hours please contact me. There is a duel band antenna at the facility. All that is required is a 2-meter mobile radio and power supply. I will supply a radio and PS if needed. I do not expect a lot of activity at this assignment but it is important that we have someone there.
If possible I would like to run this in shifts and have two hams on duty between 1800 and 0100. Two, four-hour shifts work best but other arraignments may be possible.

Field Assignments
No Field Assignments are anticipated at this time. In the event that a field assignment is required, it will depend on the specific incident and the needs of that incident. Needless to say safety will be the primary concern with any field assignment and no assignments will be given to any ham unless it is considered totally safe and has prior approval by the ARES leadership.
Again, I am just looking for availability.

If you plan on being in Boston as part of the First Night Festivities, I encourage you to carry your HT and enjoy the evening!

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 781-749-7664 or by E-Mail if you have any questions. This is an opportunity for Amateur Radio to shine and for us to practice our skills. I don’t want to let it pass us by.

Metro-Boston ARES Frequency Plan for Operations on 12/31/03-01/01/04

The following frequency plan is being established for operations during the evening of 12-31-03 into Jan 1st. The Metro-Boston ARES Activation will be primarily a 2 meter event. The additional frequencies listed are being established in the event that expansion of the plan or additional communications are need. If additional repeaters are required or simplex operations becomes necessary the plan allows it for it in an orderly and systematic manner.

We are requesting that all ARES stations operating in the Metro-Boston District operate on 145.23 or 146.64. The Boston 145.23 repeater is currently operating at reduced capacity. We will continue to plan to use it as the Boston Primary Repeater. It is expected that MMRA will be linking the 146.67/Quincy, 146.985 /Brookline, 447.875-Brookline (UHF) and 146.715/Stoneham repeaters during the evening of the 31st. The MMRA linked repeaters will serve as back-up for both Boston and Waltham, and may be used for any ARES communications.

Metro-Boston 2 Meter ARES Repeater Frequencies
Boston Primary 145.23/88.5 [Repeater located in Boston] Waltham Primary 146.64 [Repeater located in Waltham]

{Additional 2 Meter repeaters if required} [Expected to be linked] Boston North 146.715/146.2 [Repeater located in Stoneham] Boston West 146.985/88.5 [Repeater located in Brookline] Boston South 146.67/146.2 [Repeater located in Quincy]

2 Meter ARES Simplex Frequencies
147.42
146.415
146.430
146.445
146.460
146.475

2 Meter RACES Repeater Frequencies
RACES Primary 146.64 [Repeater located in Waltham] RACES Secondary

HF Frequencies
3.943+/- LSB (Primary)
7.245 (Secondary)

220 Frequencies
Primary 224.40/ [Repeater located in Quincy] Secondary 223.78/ [Repeater located in Belmont]

70CM Repeater Frequencies
Boston 447.175/110.9 Rep. Located in Boston
Boston 446.575 Rep. Location in Boston
Brookline 447.975/88.5 Rep. Located in Brookline
[Linked to Boston North and Boston West]

New England Network of Echolink and IRLP Nodes and Repeaters

The New England Network of IRLP and Echolink Nodes and Repeaters will be linked on New Year’s Eve Night providing coverage across portions of Eastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Echolink Node # 9123 or IRLP Reflector Node# 9055 will get you access into the network. With Echolink, you could get into the system from your PC with either dial-up or broadband Internet access. The following are repeaters in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island that will allow for connection into the New England Network:

145.390-Scituate, Mass.
443.800-South Dartmouth, Mass. PL: 88.5 Hz
447.025-Johnston, RI PL: 77.0 Hz

Additional HF Frequencies:

KB1DAV-Mario Bruno, CT Disaster Services State Lead Director provided the following additional HF Frequencies:

3.915 MHz. Statewide amateur (Tri-state frequency)
7.280 MHz. Backup.

SATERN RI Simplex Net:

Frank Murphy-N1DHW from Boston Salvation Army mentioned that RI SATERN would be having a net at 2330 on 146.58 Simplex. The SEMARA Club will attempt to make contact with them at that time. N2NCL-Dennis will be running the net.

75m Preamble

Calling the Boston First Night Limited ARES Activation Net….
Calling the Boston First Night Limited ARES Activation Net….

This is at the mic, my name is and I am located in . The purpose of this net is to have a brief call-up between all served agencies that are involved in monitoring Boston First Night activities. We will have two call-ups. The first call-up will be a roll-call of all served agencies and a call for ARES leadership who are monitoring to check-in and state whether they have traffic or announcements for the net. The second call-up will be for any licensed Amateurs to check into the net. We will then have a brief round of comments from all stations that have checked into the net.

The first call-up will be for stations participating in the activation. Please state whether you have traffic or announcements for the net:
-Calling Boston Salvation Army Headquarters….
-Calling Mass. Bay Red Cross in Waltham….
-Calling MEMA Framingham State EOC….
-Calling ARES SEC or DEC leadership….

The second call-up will be for any stations wishing to check into net. Any stations wishing to check into net please say, This is….pause and give your call-sign, name and location. Stations wishing to check into the net, please call now:

Hearing no other check-ins, this is wishing to thank all stations who stood-by while the net was conducted. Eastern Massachusetts ARES would like to thank all repeater trustees, Amateurs and Radio Clubs for their cooperation and use of the frequency. We will return the frequency back to normal Amateur Radio use but ask Amateurs to leave sufficient pauses to allow for emergency traffic. The next net call up will be at XX:XX Local time. This is saying 73 for now and signing clear.

VHF/UHF Repeater Preamble

Calling the Boston First Night Limited ARES Activation Net….
Calling the Boston First Night Limited ARES Activation Net….

This is at the mic, my name is and I am located in . The purpose of this net is to have a brief call-up between all served agencies that are involved in monitoring Boston First Night activities. We will have two call-ups. The first call-up will be a roll-call of all served agencies and a call for ARES leadership who are monitoring to check-in and state whether they have traffic or announcements for the net. The second call-up will be for any licensed Amateurs to check into the net. We will then have a brief round of comments from all stations that have checked into the net.

The first call-up will be for stations participating in the activation. Please state whether you have traffic or announcements for the net:
-Calling Boston Salvation Army Headquarters….
-Calling Mass. Bay Red Cross in Waltham….
-Calling MEMA Framingham State EOC….
-Calling ARES SEC or DEC leadership….

The second call-up will be for any stations wishing to check into net. Any stations wishing to check into net please say, This is….pause and give your call-sign, name and location. Stations wishing to check into the net, please call now:

Hearing no other check-ins, this is wishing to thank all stations who stood-by while the net was conducted. Eastern Massachusetts ARES would like to thank all repeater trustees, Amateurs and Radio Clubs for their cooperation and use of the frequency. We will return the frequency back to normal Amateur Radio use but ask Amateurs to leave sufficient pauses to allow for emergency traffic. The next net call up will be at XX:XX Local time. This is saying 73 for now and signing clear.

All / Emergency Communications

EMa ARES Update (expired but UHF info still needed)

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***** EMa ARES Update *****
***** ARES relay stations may be needed *****
***** Please test the UHF repeaters listed below during windstorm *****

As of 0045, most of the section is enduring a bruising from an early winter
storm, with only minor damage so far. This may change overnight or during
the day Sunday.

It is important that you stay in place until we request that you do
otherwise. SKYWARN will certainly need reports and ARES may need relay
stations during the day tomorrow. This request follows our shelter-in-place
doctrine which is detailed at
http://ares.ema.arrl.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=2904&page_id=67 .

While you are assisting in the ways listed above, we request that you gather
signal reports from the list of repeaters listed below DURING the windstorm.
Please list:

Your location and time
List of repeaters worked
Whether home or mobile
Power on input
Antenna type
Other comments (i.e. unusually good or bad location, etc.)

Please send reports to me at w1mpn@ema.arrl.org

List of repeaters:443.450-Westport Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

443.700-Gloucester Repeater No PL Listed

444.200-Bourne Repeater PL: 118.8 Hz

445.175-Newton Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz

446.575-Boston Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

449.925-Marlborough Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz Part of
MMRA System

446.725-Stoneham Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz Part
of MMRA System

447.075-Kingston Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

447.175-Boston Repeater PL: 110.9 Hz

447.325-Truro Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

447.575-Concord Repeater PL: 110.9 Hz

447.975-North Attleboro Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

448.125-Framingham Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

448.975-Walpole Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz

449.075-Waltham Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

The following repeaters were considered Good location, good local coverage,
may have extended coverage and has linking capability (to either other
repeaters, IRLP, Echolink or a combination of each):

442.450-Westford Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

443.350-Pack Monadnock, NH PL: 110.9 Hz

443.500-Dennis Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz Part
of Cape Cod Link Sys.

443.800-Dartmouth Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

444.200-North Truro Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz

444.250-Falmouth Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz Part
of Cape Cod Link Sys.

445.175-Barnstable Repeater PL: 141.3 Hz Part
of Cape Cod Link Sys.

447.875-Brookline Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz Part
of MMRA/Has Echolink

446.675-Marlborough Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz Part of
MMRA System

The following repeaters have good location but unknown or questionable
coverage. Some of these repeaters may have IRLP or Echolink coverage:

441.075-Chelmsford Repeater PL: 100.0 Hz

441.400-Assonet Repeater PL: 192.8 Hz

441.400-Plymouth Repeater PL: 100.0 Hz

441.500-Medfield Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

441.750-Seekonk Repeater PL: 192.8 Hz

441.850-Bradford Repeater PL: 127.3 Hz

442.250-Marlborough Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz -Has Echolink
capability

442.500-Braintree Repeater PL: 118.8 Hz

442.800-Danvers Repeater PL: 136.5 Hz

442.900-Pepperell Repeater PL: 100 Hz

443.200-North Andover Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

443.600-Norwell Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz -Has Echolink
capability

444.100-Wilmington Repeater PL: 123.0 Hz

444.300-Saugus Repeater PL: 123.0 Hz

443.350-Fall River Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

444.550-Bridgewater Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

444.600-Newton Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

444.700-Boston Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

446.525-Reading Repeater PL: 151.4 Hz

446.875-North Reading Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

446.925-Medford Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

447.025-Peabody Repeater PL: 110.9 Hz

447.275-Haverhill Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

447.625-Lawrence Repeater PL: 88.5 Hz

447.675-Natick Repeater PL: 203.5 Hz -RACES?

449.650-Belmont Repeater PL: 67.0 Hz

449.725-Cambridge Repeater PL: 114.8 Hz

449.825-Woburn Repeater PL: 136.5 Hz

Please also visit the website to vote in the poll about UHF usage. Thanks
in advance for your help.

Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN, EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Voice
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary Voice
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
w1mpn@ema.ares.org

All

HF Comms During WX Event (expired)

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From WA1R,

All,

As you probably know by now, the Weather Service has issues a winter storm
watch for tomorrow night and Saturday. In addition, there is the possibility of
coastal flooding in southern New England, according to Skywarn and NWS.

Given this possibility, please guard 3.943 starting about mid-afternoon
tomorrow in case the storm becomes a reality and our assistance is needed
either by RACES or NWS or local/state EMA.

Given band conditions of late, I think it would be a good idea to keep 7.245
handy in a second VFO in case we need to run a net on that frequency.Also, I’d like to suggest here that we go into informal session beginning
between 1600 UTC and 1700 UTC Friday.

Also, I’d like to suggest a slight change in net operation, following this
week’s RACES drill. In future, if it becomes apparent that 3.943 +/-5 is too
crowded or there’s lots of QRM within 3 minutes of the start of the net, please
move up to 7.245 and run the net on 40. It was fairly clean Monday night.

I was able to hear the net well on my primary HF rig, but, I lost all phone
output. In fact, I am putting out plenty of power on AM/FM/CW, but, I have no
phone capability. I’m going to look through my service manual on this problem,
but, I may also be taking a run up to Groton Electronics tomorrow p.m. to drop
the offending rig off.

All this means is that I won’t have three HF stations for a bit, just two, the
FT-100 and my IC-706. I’ll probably use the 706 on HF as it has a the matching
longwire tuner. In place of my loop, I’ll be using a longwire and only 100
watts on 80 as that’s all the autotuner can handle.

73,

Marc, WA1R
mstern@wa1r.com
All / Emergency Communications

SEMARA ARES Self-Activated

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New EMA ARES Hello to all…

SEMARA ARES was self-activated by ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator, Tony Duarte-N1XRS, as a power outage gripped an area from the Plymouth area to Cape Cod and Islands and appeared to extended from roughly Dartmouth/Westport eastward across much of South Coastal Massachusetts.

The ARES Net was started at 6:30 PM and preempted a Swap Net that would typically be held at 7 PM that evening on the 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater. [Please read on by pressing link below – W1MPN]A total of 20 check-ins were recorded. Amateurs relayed information of where the power was out, any public safety issues and when power was restored to their specified areas. I was enroute home from work when the event occurred and when notified by Tony-N1XRS, I went to man the Southeast Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (W1AEC) so that additional district coverage could be maintained from our affected area to other parts of the Eastern Massachusetts section. Southeastern Massachusetts district relay was done to the Metro Boston Area and the Cape Cod districts via the 146.685-Plymouth Repeater where contact was made with Metro Boston ARES District Emergency Coordinator, KB1EKN, Mark Duff and Cape Cod and the Islands District Emergency Coordinator, WQ1O, Frank O’Laughlin. Liaison was also maintained with ARES DEC’s and ARES Section Emergency Coordinator, Mike Neilsen, W1MPN via AOL Instant Messenger during the latter portions of the event.

Power started being restored across the area at approximately 7 PM and was fully restored to all areas by 8 PM with South Dartmouth, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard being some of the last areas where power was restored. Amateur Operators checked in from the area as power was restored and also reported if they still did not have power. With Frank, WQ1O, tied up talking with Emergency Management directors, I established contact with Nantucket Island RACES Radio Officer, N1NBQ-George Allen and he told us when power was restored for the island via the main line power cable.

The ARES Net was secured at 8:30 PM. The following Amateurs checked in on the 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater.

1.) KB1FYF-Brian
2.) K1AHA-Dick
3.) W1RJC-Rick
4.) W1AEC/KD1CY-Rob
5.) K1KID-Carl
6.) KB1HJL-George
7.) W1VRP-Joe
8.) N1XKD-Peter
9.) WA1CRA-Dick
10.) W1EAV-Chris
11.) W1GYL-Henry
12.) N1EBW-Ray
13.) KB1EVX-Ray
14.) W1DBX-Larry
15.) WA1ZCB-Ed
16.) K1IBR-Bill
17.) N1NBQ-George
18.) N1VDM-Bob
19.) N1ZZN-Jeff
20.) N1XRS-Tony (NCS)

Mike Neilsen-W1MPN, when informed of the ARES Self-Activation and the response of the Amateurs from the SEMARA club, was tremendously pleased and thankful for the efforts of the SEMARA ARES team. He stated that he was pleased that the workshop and exercises were increasing awareness and resulting in such a strong response to a real event and was very impressed with the fact that SEMARA ARES responded quickly to an event that had no advanced warning.

Please let me know if any check-ins were missed during this event or if there are any additional major points that should be included in this report. Thanks!

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
All

Possible High Wind Mobilization

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***** ARES Net Controls Requested to Place Themselves on 18 hour Standby *****
***** Shelters May Open in Response to Anticipated Utility Damage *****

New EMA ARES ARES Net Controls are requested to place themselves on 18 hour Standby. Shelters may open in response to anticipated utility damage. The mobilization would be effective at approximately 1800 tomorrow. Updates will appear first on the website, followed by email messages. If you have any questions about the mobilization and the particulars for your local area, please contact your EC and/or DEC

I am expecting heavy winds with high enough wind gusts to cause some utility damage throughout the section, requiring our networks to be brought up. Some shelters may need to be opened due to the expected cold wx with this event. Please monitor Rob, KD1CY’s messages concerning the event.

I will be working from my home during the first part of the event, moving to the SEOC if they so desire. While at my QTH, I will guard 146.64, 146.955, 53.31, and listening on 449.925 and 3943/7245 KHz. I also have Echolink capability.

I hope we escape the brunt of this, but if not, I look forward to working with all of you.
Thank you and 73,

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
Eastern Massachusetts
Section Emergency Coordinator

All / Emergency Communications

ARES Stand-down

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Please stand down from storm preparation activities, except specific areas along the coast, at the discretion of South Shore, Bristol, and Cape/Islands DEC’s.

Hurricane Isabel has crossed the 75th meridian and is in the process of making landfall on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Please see latest advisory issued by SKYWARN chief, Rob, KD1CY, below, and/or direct links to NHC provided here:

For the latest position briefing on the Hurricane, please refer to the 5-day Hurricane diagram. For the most up-to-date discussion, please refer to the latest NHC discussion of Hurricane Isabel

s/Micheal P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN, EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Voice
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary Voice
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
w1mpn@ema.arrl.org
All

Hurricane Watch Net Activation

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HWN LogoFrom K5MP:

As a “heads up” on Hurricane Isabel, if the storm continues on present course and speed, we could see land fall as early as early Thursday morning somewhere on the shores of North Carolina. Isabel is a very dangerous storm, forecast at CAT 3 at land fall, and continuing through the Chesapeake Bay with winds in excess of 100mph.

Our plan is to activate the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz at 1400 UTC on
Wednesday and to be there through the duration of the storm. Our primary objective on Wednesday will be to 1) disseminate the Public Advisory
information on a regular basis as those bulletins become available from the
National Hurricane Center (NHC), and 2) to collect a list of amateur radio
stations in the forecast path of the storm who can report their observed or
measured weather data to us for conveyance into the hurricane forecasters in
the NHC via WX4NHC, the amateur radio station at the Miami center.

As the hurricane achieves initial land fall, the HWN will focus specifically
on storm reports into and out of the immediate affected area and into the
forecast path of the storm. It is essential that Health and Welfare traffic
be directed to other net frequencies set up specifically for that purpose.
I have been advised that the Salvation Army net (SATERN) plans to begin full
H&W support beginning Thursday morning, 1400 UTC on 14.265 MHz. As in the
past, it is expected that localized emergency nets will also be in
operation. I’m not aware at this time of those specific plans.

Here is a suggested Internet resource for bulletins and graphic plots of the
hurricane forecast track.

The Hurricane Watch Net web site is at www.hwn.org. On our main page, click
on “Isabel” in the Active Storm table. On the next page, in the column
under the Isabel heading can be found the current Public Advisory, Marine
Advisory, Discussion used by the forecasters, and at the bottom tag
“Graphics” is the plot of the forecast track.

Thanks,

Mike Pilgrim, K5MP
Manager
Hurricane Watch Net

Please reply to mpilgrim@bellsouth.net

All / NTS

SEC Traffic (Priority)

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***** EMa ARES Leadership Action Plan *****
***** Please initiate at approximately 1400 today *****

Hello to all….

Hurricane IsabelThe present forecast is a nominal solution, even though the present consolidated prediction has the storm hitting land in the Carolinas and moving well inland away from us. Still, a run straight at us has not been ruled out as of yet, and a strike east of NYC (which is not a big change of direction from where it is now), could bring very undesirable effects into our area. Please don’t let down from your vigilance or preparations for this storm until Rob or I give an all clear.

Here is the action plan. Thanks to Frank WQ1O for putting pen to paper on this. [Comments within brackets are that of the author of this message for clarity and continuity]. Please press on the “read more” link.

(USN COAMPS Model Valid 12Z Thurs 18 Sep 03)We had some prelim items before entering 72 hours, we are virtually past that now, [but it was] mostly a check of leadership availability, including ECs [and key] ARES members. Note: this is just availability, not a standby or alert

We are almost near the 72 hour trigger, [which is slated to] start at 9-15….1400 local. [We]need to begin with coordination emails sent by Rob to Skywarn list..general [Done]. DECs should begin situational awareness updates mostly for information purposes…leading to preparedness. No mention of assignments or deployment, as it would raise premature wantings to step too far ahead..DECs need to contact their ECs or any other ARES member to see if any requests have come from EM directors or ANY served agency member that compression of timeline can occur if speed estimates change comments on 72 hour preps? [I] forgot to mention that the chain of info works both ways, [as] you need to make sure that requests and info goes both up and down the chain to ensure uniform knowledge.

At 48hours you should begin your calldown to your ECs and down to the members [and] log any discrepancies or issues. MAKE IMMEDIATE preps to secure your own property! You can’t help anyone if your worried about the thing you did not get done for personal readiness! Coordination messages should continue from skywarn to their general list. The skywarn messages are CRITICAL to decision making.

We will go on to 36 hours. [You should] begin the] second call down to ARES EC and the membership lists. You may find that people that were not available in the first call down are now available. The opposite is also true. In a drama like this…plans can change quickly. You need to have as close to real time avail. lists as possible. It also gives those vital #s that Mike needs for Situation reporting. This is the next step, [to] initiate comms with other DECs and the SEC. If we don’t, we are likely to miss something major in the process. [We] also [want to] stress the EC-DEC up and down chain of reporting on served agency requests and possible sources of otherwise unknown info from EMs..

24 hour preparations. Initiate a FULL statue [status] report from the DEC level to Mike (SEC). [The] SEC MUST know what weaknesses exist in order to make decisions. Send as many as you feel the need to do. Often is BETTER! Also..if time permits, a meeting of leadership can be called on IM, in person, or via conference call.

For EC’s and EMA reps to ARES: Please report your status ASAP to your DEC upon reading this.

For DEC’s: Please forward a preliminary report upon receipt of this notice.

IMPORTANT: Future updates will appear first on our website, then by email if time and conditions allow.

FOR ALL: Please complete home preparations now, and review contact and mobilization policies posted on our website (listed below by my name).

I look forward to working with you in the following days. Best to you and your families. 73,

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN, EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Voice
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary Voice
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
w1mpn@ema.ares.org
All

Hurricane Isabel Preparations

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Hurricane IsabelIn view of the possibility that the U.S. East Coast could be impacted by Hurricane Isabel sometime this week, please indicate your availability to help with your DEC, and/or SKYWARN coordinator, KD1CY as soon as possible. Please be sure to update those officials with your phone and email changes since the last time you spoke.

All / Emergency Communications

ARES/RACES Repeaters in Standby

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Hi Folks,

New England area ARES/RACES Amateur Radio Operators went into full standby mode late this afternoon as word of the massive power outage filtered in. In the Eastern Mass Section, SEC Mike Neilsen – W1MPN placed all ARES/RACES Stations on Standby at 17:00 Thursday evening.

Several RACES/ARES stations checked in and monitored 3.943 Mhz for Massachusetts communications. WC1MA, the Mass State EMA Headquarters checked in and advised that they were on full alert. The Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC held their normally scheduled ARES Net and were joined by Rob Macedo – KD1CY, operating W1AEC, the Southeastern Mass ARC club station. Most ARES/RACES Teams had contacted their respective city/town EMA Directors, checked into their local repeaters and awaited further instructions. As word of the gradual restoration of power was made available, most stations were advised to “stand down” and were thanked for their assistance. The response was quick and organized, showing that our recent drills and training sessions have proved beneficial.

Thanks to all the local and regional ARES/RACES personnel that have given of their time to train our people in the techniques required to handle these situations. Also, thanks to the ARRL for their work with the ARECC (Amateur Radio Emergency Communicatons Course) program.

73,

Jim Duarte – N1IV
ARRL Public Information Coordinator
Eastern Mass Section

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Text of original instructions and press release follow:****** MASSIVE POWER OUTAGE ******
***** PLEASE BRING UP RACES/ARES IN STANDBY *****

A massive power outage has been reported in NYC and many Midwest cities including Canada. Media reporting “natural” occurrence not terrorism. It may or may not spread to our area.

NCS please bring up all ARES/RACES repeaters in standby mode. Advice of your presence, and require time between transmissions.

s/Michael P. Neilsen
Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN, EMa SEC
978.562.5662 Voice
978.389.0558 FAX/Secondary Voice
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
w1mpn@ema.ares.org

This is a precautionary move as many cities to our west including midwest and Canada have lost power. Terrorism in NOT suspected, but is felt to be part of an accidental breakdown. ISO New England has declared our power supply secure.

s/Michael P. Neilsen, W1MPN
Eastern Mass. Section Emergency Coodinator

Hi All!

In the Eastern Mass Section, SEC Mike Neilsen – W1MPN placed all
ARES/RACES Stations on Standby as of 17:07 this evening. Several RACES
Stations are already checked in and monitoring our 75 meter frequency.
Most ARES/RACES Teams have been in contact with their respective
city/town EMA Directors and are awaiting further instructions.

Regards,

Jim Duarte
Public Information Coordinator
ARRL Eastern Mass Section