Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
ARES Past News

ARES Past News

Nov/Dec, 2000 - V.P. Emergency Services Report / ARES Report

ARES MEETING

We had our ARES meeting as usual on the October 9th and several members went through the "Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Training" with Roy Dugger KF6QEJ. This is a start of a series of training meetings that will take through all next year. Several members are also signed up to take a joint CPR/First Aid Class from the Red Cross. More to follow

There was also and call-out to assist LPSAR in a search for an elderly man on last week. We fielded 6 teams and searched most of upper Goleta for almost 5 hours with no success. The good news was the 77 year old took a Greyhound bus to his daughters house in San Francisco. At 77 I guess you can be independent!

The ARES section of the SBARC web site is kept up to date of all of our activities and announcements. The latest addition to the site is the “2001 Application for Membership” form that can be downloaded from the site to join the South County ARES team.

Here are a list of coming activities with the ARES membership.

~ Santa Ynez Arabian Horse Association Competitive Trail Ride ~

Saturday November 4th
Start 0600 at Live Oak Campground (154 next right turn after Lower Stagecoach Road.)
Breakfast on-site and makings for lunch available at campground.
(Note Camping Available Friday and Saturday night)
Finish By 1630 the latest. ( because they don't ride in the dark)

Sunday November 5th
Start 0600 at Live Oak Campground (154 next right turn after Lower Stagecoach Road.)
Breakfast on-site and makings for lunch available at campground.
(Note Camping Available Friday and Saturday night)
Finish By 1500 the latest. ( because they don't ride in the dark)

We will be opening gates and communicating with base camp using our portable repeater. A few of us worked this last year and it was a lot of fun.

NOTE This event was postponed until Spring due to heavy rain in the back country.

~ ARES SET 2000 (Simulated Emergency Test) November 9 ~

This will be our SET for this year as it will be for most of the other ARES Teams in the Section.

We will provide communications for the 2000 STATEWIDE MEDICAL & HEALTH DISASTER EXERCISE This will be very similar to the Hospital drills that we have done in the past for The SB County Health Dept. But with a lot more happening!
0730 hours a simulated Earthquake will occur!
0750 OES Activates
0815 Initial Reports arrive
0930 Status Reports of power outages & structural damage
1000 Phone system failures
1030 Major HAZMAT incidents
1045 Train Derailment
1100 Tsunami strikes coastal area (This is turning into a really bad day)
1200 Exercise ends

There will be a requirement for operators at the following locations
1. Saint Francis Hospital
2. SB Cottage Hospital
3. Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital
4. SB County Health Admin. Building

~ Christmas Parade ~

Yes, it is that time of year again and the Christmas Parade will be on December 1st As we did last year, this will be an ARES event with our members in their ARES shirts. The Van will again be decked out in Christmas Decorations and be not only net control but also in the parade down State Street.

We will be working with the Downtown Association and they usually buy us all dinner after the parade is over. So get the spirit and come out and help us.

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October, 2000 - V.P. Emergency Services Report

It has been another quiet month for our ARES team with no call outs except for a few ELT alerts from our monitoring system. We are expanding our ELT monitoring capability by installing an additional receiver at our site at Santa Cruz Island. This will give us one more strategic location to triangulate received ELT beacons.

The next ARES meeting will be held October 9th at 1900 at the Santa Barbara County Health Auditorium 300 North San Antonio Road. This will be training meeting with the American Red Cross " Introduction to Disaster Services" course. This is a must for all ARES members and anyone who is interested in being prepared for any minor or major incident in our community. So invite your fellow hams and ARES members.

The Santa Barbara Section had a meeting on Saturday 16 at Cachuma Lake hosted by the Central Coast ARES team. One of the many items we discussed was the up and coming SET (Simulated Emergency Test). It was decided that it will be a section wide event encompassing the 2000 Statewide Medical & Health Disaster Exercise on November 9. We are required to have at least one SET per year and there will be more details forthcoming.

A few members (about 6-8) are needed to support the Central Coast ARES team providing communications for a charitable horse ride event on Nov. 4 and 5. As it did last year, the event will conflict with the SCORE bike ride and limit the number of operators available from the Santa Ynez ARES group. We will need 5 or 6 people each day. The ride will basically be the same as last year, except that it will start at Live Oak instead of Rancho San Fernando Rey. Start time will be 0600 and end time 1500 to 1700 each day. We will also be using our portable repeater since our coverage is bad in that area and the Santa Ynez group will be using the WA6BRW repeater for the bike ride. Any member interested in participating please let me know.

Interested in becoming an ARES Member? The only requirement is to have a current ham radio license and be over 18 years of age. No experience is require just an enthusiasm to learn emergency communications and a desire to provide service to ham radio and the community. Call or drop me a line and I will send you the membership form.

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September, 2000 - V.P. Emergency Services Report

ARES has not had any call outs in the last month. Instead of having our bi-monthly meeting we had a majority of our team out supporting the Communications Fair/Hamfest in uniform. Those of you at the event should have noticed the abundance of yellow shirts present from not only our group but from North County also. We brought the SBARC/ARES Van to the event along with the generator trailer. It was a very successful event especially considering it was the first time we have had most of the public safety groups present.

As usual we also had some ELT activity but only false activations. But, is has again proven that our monitoring system is one of the best in the country.

The next ARES meeting will be October 9 prior to the board meeting. We will be presenting a video and full presentation on Disaster Preparedness from the American Red Cross. This is an open meeting and everyone is invited. Here are the details: October 9 @ 1900 hours at the County Health Auditorium 300 North San Antonio Road, our regular meeting place.

73s, George Richardson, K6HOZ

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July, 2000 - ARES-ELT/EPIRB

After a fairly quiet spring, July had several ELT/EPIRB alarms from the SBARC monitoring system. In addition to three moving signals that went away by themselves, ARES was involved with shutting off four beacons.

The first, on July 2, was an EPIRB which we thought might be in the harbor because it was heard only by La Cumbre peak and Lavigna hill. Bill, W1UUQ, called the information to Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC). They didn't have the signal then but called Bill back 10 minutes later with first pass satellite data. Bill gave Los Padres S&R the owners Carpinteria address and word from the Harbor master that the boat was on a trailer. Meanwhile, Brian, KB6NVH, plotted the satellite coordinates near Carrillo and Miramonte streets. S&R and the Sheriff found that the boat had been sold twice and traced it to a house near the satellite position. They contacted the Santa Barbara PD who went to the house and shut off the EPIRB. ARES was on standby in case a DF search was needed.

On July 13, an ELT signal started a bit before noon. A bearing toward the south end of the airport and a loud signal at UCSB Library suggested an airport location. Bill, W1UUQ, was "out & about" and was asked to confirm this while members of Los Padres Search and Rescue team were gathering. At the south side of the airport, Bill got a bearing to the southwest, away from the airport. What?? The signal was not showing the usual signs of motion but had changed strength several times. Bill traced the beacon to the Marine Sciences building near Goleta Point and met S&R there. The beacons were old marine class B EPIRBS that sound just like ELTs. They had been replaced by new 406 EPIRBS so they gave them to ARES for conversion to practice beacons. Thanks folks!

A couple of days later, another ELT "pinged" the monitors. This one was east of Goleta, moving and getting stronger. Bill, W1UUQ, went out in the yard to get a bearing and found that he was tracking a plane as it turned from base to final for runway 15. He called the tower and shortly thereafter, the signal abruptly quit. Nice shooting, Bill.

Finally, on July 21, an ELT was heard by all monitors a little before 4 PM. Initial bearings again were toward the airport and the UCSB Library had a strong signal. Initially, the search was assigned to the Airport Patrol. At 5:30, dispatch asked for assistance from Search & Rescue and ARES. Search and Rescue responded with a team led by Bob Tangel, WD6ESU and Bill, W1UUQ and Bruce, N6OLT, responded for ARES. It quickly became apparent that the beacon was west of the airport. A coordinated effort quickly located the beacon in a garage for an apartment off Cannon Green. It seems the pilot that lived there threw away an obsolete beacon with 5 year out of date batteries, thinking it no longer worked. Wrong!! He was suitably impressed by our response. Only luck prevented this from being a real stinker of a search. The trash had been picked up less than an hour before he threw the beacon out.

Bruce N6OLT

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April 1, 2000 - ELT Alarm

It wasn't a dark and stormy night but late on a sunny Saturday morning when the phone rang. Bill Talanian. Did I know about the ELT going off? No. There had been no ELT alarm from TZ, my receiver or the new receiver at La Cumbre peak. A quick check showed no signal from any of them. C'mon Bill, this is April 1. Enough already. Then I checked the UCSB Library receiver, which does not alarm.

It was receiving a very non-standard yowl. Uh Oh!.

It seems that this was a marine beacon (EPIRB) that had been heard intermittently on Friday by the Coast Guard and hampered a search offshore for another beacon. Further, the serial number picked up by satellite came back to an EPIRB reported stolen last year. The Los Padres Search and Rescue Team (LPSAR) was out on an training exercise so could we help the Airport Police locate it? Sure thing! Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ and I grabbed our DF gear and went to the Airport Police office. On the way, we found that we could only hear the beacon for a few blocks beyond the airport.

At the Police office, we learned that they had found a strong signal near a boat stored near the Cinema Theater. The DF pointed that way so we set off with some apprehension, knowing that someone may not want to be found. On the way, the police heard that the suspected boat had been moved. Were we going to have to give chase? Apparently not, because the DFs led us not to the yard where the boat had been or to the building with lots of antennas but to the busy recycling yard.

At the entrance, we noted that the signal indicated that the EPIRB or something close to it was moving. The big compactor machine and its conveyor were operating and a semi truck was being loaded. The thought of a bailed EPIRB or one at the bottom of a truck wasn't appealing.

Fortunately, one of the yard workers had seen it earlier, realized that it wasn't recyclable, and tossed it by the truck scale. The "motion" was from the skip loader working next to it. While battered, the OFF switch still worked, bringing a nice silence. The serial number matched and it was turned over to the police. Another fun hour with the ARES!

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March 1, 2000 - NWS Spotter Training Session

The National Weather Service will be conducting several spotter training sessions in Late February and early March 2000. Here are the details for the Santa Barbara session:

Please RSVP by February 29 by calling NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Tim Mc Clung at (805) 988-6623. If Tim is not available please leave a message indicating that you intend to attend.

Besides receiving spotter training, this will be a great opportunity for spotters to meet one another and discuss questions and/or interest they may have. If you have any friends that would like to be spotters, please invite them to the session. The NWS really appreciates the volunteers that comprise the NWS Spotter Program.

See you there.

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February 14, 2000 - ARES Meeting

The South County ARES meeting on February 14 (yes we were brave and had in on Valentines Day), was well attended by not only our own group but by several members from North County ARES groups. They were not there for the short business meeting but for the interesting program for the night.

Bruce Gordon N6OLT presented a great program on "ELTs: Everything you wanted to know - and more", Advanced ELT Location Course, (Classroom Instruction).

Bruce, some of you might know, is considered the nations expert on Emergency Locating Transmitters direction finding equipment. He and Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, have a local company called "L-Tronics". They are a premier manufacturer of ELT direction finding equipment. SBARC's ELT monitoring system on our repeaters was developed and install by Bruce. He just returned from a similar presentation to the Annual Cactus Remote Base Convention in Las Vegas. Their equipment is used by government agencies, Search & Rescue teams, repeater operators and individuals worldwide.

The presentation to our group utilized the new laptop computer from the SBARC/ARES Van and the clubs LCD projector. The bright and clear images on the 9' x12' screen were very educational and professional. Everyone was given a several page handout and manual to take home and study. We will follow this presentation with hands on field training this next month in our series of training events for this year.

Lou did most the work behind the scenes by putting the handouts together and provided the cookies and coffee for the break.

After the almost one hour presentation Bruce answered questions form individuals. Everyone socialized, especially the XYLs (see picture) and had great eyeball QSOs.

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January 11 to February 8, 2000 - VP Emergency Service & ARES Report

This last month has been a slow month for the ARES group. We have been focusing on equipment servicing such as the van and dealing with administration issues.

We have had no call-outs or request from the agencies for our assistance. Kind of like the lull after the long anticipated Y2K drill.

The AEC had our monthly meeting and are working on finishing our new MOU with LPSAR and dealing with membership issues.

Our regular ARES meeting will be on February 14, (Valentines Day) at 1900 at our normal meeting place at 300 N. San Antonio Road, County Health Auditorium. The program will be the much awaited exciting training on ELT Training presented by Bruce Gordon N6OLT and Lou Dartanner N6ZKJ (bet that was a surprise!).

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