Local Cape Cod ARES Participation Guidelines

Transcription

1 Eastern MA ARES Section Exercise Document Local Cape Cod ARES Participation Guidelines Frank Olaughlin WQ1O Cape Area ARES DEC Version 1.1 Revised

2 Table of Contents Purpose... 1 Scenario... 2 Exercise Objectives... 2 Operational Ground Rules... 2 Any Communications Options may be utilized... 2 Message Handling... 3 Setup and Timeline... 3 Operational Disclaimers... 3 Available modes and frequencies to be used... 3 Operational Players... 4 Emergency Operations Centers... 4 Sandwich EOC... 4 Other EOC Players... 4 Home Operator Stations... 5 NET Operations... 5 Primary Tactical NET... 5 Other Operations Nets... 5 NVIS Regional Tactical NET... 5 Normal HF Operations... 6 Liaison Functions... 6 Critique and Evaluation of the Exercise... 6 This is a Beginner Level Exercise... 6 Exercise Frequency Usage... 7 Repeater Usage Courtesy... 7

3 Cape Cod ARES Zone Map

4 Date of Exercise February 21st, 2004 Setup time: 9:00am Start Time: 10:00am Duration: 2 hours Purpose The Cape Cod ARES District will participate in the Eastern MA Section Wide ARES exercise on February 21st. The exercise will simulate a weather related blackout in the Eastern MA area. It will test ARES ability to activate, respond and pass necessary messages concerning the event. This will be a drill to test our EOCs, primary stations and other ARES member home stations. The exercise will attempt to utilize HF NVIS, VHF/UHF repeater and simplex FM. Communications will be attempted with other ARES districts and their EOCs (where available). This drill will involve mainly EOC and Home stations. There will be little or no field operations. This exercise will absolutely NOT count as the 19th operational drill for the Cape and Islands District. That larger exercise will likely occur in April or May. This February exercise will be to coordinate with the rest of the Section and serve as a small interim exercise before the upcoming drill #19 this Spring. 1

5 Scenario A winter storm has affected the Southern New England area causing a widespread blackout of electrical services. ARES has been asked by emergency management and the Red Cross to prepare to help with emergency communications. The other Eastern MA Districts will be doing the same. Amateurs will be asked to check into their local ARES/RACES repeater or Alternate repeater. A Net will begin soon there after. Home stations are requested to participate as liaison stations to area EOCs and to fill in coverage gaps. Exercise Objectives The objectives of this exercise are as follows: Activate a Net on the local ARES/RACES district repeater Take check-ins from the local District AREA Pass tactical and NTS status reports on local blackout conditions Contact off Cape Districts on NVIS HF and VHF (2m and/or 6m) Test and evaluate zone relay operations with Home Stations Practice using tactical identifiers in operational usage Operational Ground Rules Any Communications Options may be utilized Any communications options for this exercise may be used in the exercise. All stations will start by monitoring the RACES repeater for Net and other information. 2

6 Message Handling Several tactical voice messages will be passed for the purposes of this exercise. Sample messages will also be created by operators to pass in NTS format. EOC operators are also encouraged to create realistic messages to be sent to the appropriate destination stations. Setup and Timeline Setup will begin at 9am. The exercise will begin promptly at 10am. It will last approximately 2 hours and will end at 12pm. Timelines may be adjusted accordingly in response to turnout and early completions of primary objectives. Operational Disclaimers Due to the proliferation of radio scanners and the possibility of misconstrued information by the public, all messages passed will be preceded by the words This is a Drill. In this time of national public concern, we must make all efforts to ensure that the general populace is not misled and that amateur radio is not portrayed in a negative manner. Available modes and frequencies to be used ARES field and EOC operators may attempt to utilize any of the designated bands of our frequency utilization sheet, which are available to them. This is with the realization that equipment for all the designated spectrum, may not be available to all stations. 3

7 Operational Players Emergency Operations Centers The CCARES emergency operations Center will be at the Red Cross in Hyannis. It will be manned for a total of 2 hours. The EOC will be staffed by at least two operators at all times. It will be the central communications command for our Mid-Cape area and for communications to other Cape ARES/RACES EOCs. Sandwich EOC The Sandwich EOC will serve as a data collection and relay point to and from the ARES District EOC in Hyannis. It will also serve as a backup relay to and from Region II MEMA. The unit will consist of at least 3 operators and will be active until closed by the incident commander. Other EOC Players Because there has been short notice on this exercise, any other Cape and Islands EOCs will be invited to play on an available basis only. Any and all are welcome to do so. 4

8 Home Operator Stations Home operator stations will be used to bridge possible gaps in our coverage area. They will serve as VHF relay stations. We will continue our test of home stations and their ability to serve as backup EOCs. Home stations can be the primary anchor points for our zones of operation within the district. This exercise will give our member s home stations a chance for testing of any new or experimental equipment, as well as, their emergency power backup systems. NET Operations Primary Tactical NET The primary tactical NET will operate on the RACES repeater operating frequency of (PL 88.5) using FM. This NET will coordinate the passing of most of the priority (P) traffic of the exercise. This will be the first net to be activated. Tactical call signs will be issued before the start of the exercise and will be used for the duration of the drill. Other Operations Nets Other operations Nets will be started on a as needed basis. The number of participants and messages will determine if this is necessary. NVIS Regional Tactical NET A regional NVIS tactical net will be established on 40m to enable the passing of traffic to and from the Islands area. This net will be used by ARES / RACES stations in the Districtarea. Primary frequency is 7232khz and backup on 7275khz. 5

9 Normal HF Operations Normal 40m HF operations will likely be conducted on the MA/RI Emergency Net frequency of 7245khz. The Cape District will be passing traffic to and from the State EOC on this frequency. Liaison Functions The Net control station of the primary tactical net will designate stations to be used for liaison functions between the other off Cape ARES district nets that are in operation. Liaison stations will be requested to monitor alternate frequencies as needed. Critique and Evaluation of the Exercise We will have a exercise review on the air at the next regularly scheduled 2m ARES Net conducted on the RACES repeater PL 88.5 This is a Basic Level Exercise Although CCARES has had some large exercises in the past, this will still be a basic level operations drill. We will resume our advanced level exercises in April or May. 6

10 Exercise Frequency Usage ( Exercise frequencies are all utilized from our frequency allocation sheet Primary Tactical NET: (PL 88.5) FM Repeater Upper Cape Operations NET: FM Repeater (Only if available and approved by FARA) Primary Simplex 2m: FM Simplex Primary 2m SSB: USB Primary NVIS 40m: 7232 khz LSB Secondary NVIS 40m Backup: 7275 khz LSB State Wide HF 75m MA/RI Emergency Net 7245khz LSB Primary 6m FM: Simplex Primary 6m SSB (Local and off Cape Liaison): SSB (USB) Primary 440 FM: Simplex Consult Latest Frequency Utilization list for Cape Cod ARES. Repeater Usage Courtesy A repeater courtesy usage request will be submitted for all repeaters used in this exercise. 7