Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club
ARES Past News

ARES Past News

December 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

A delightful story is told about a young man who applied for a job as a telegraph operator. He answered an ad in the newspaper and went to the telegraph office to await an interview. Though he knew Morse Code and was qualified in every other way, seven other applicants were also waiting in the large, noisy office.

He saw customers coming and going and heard a telegraph clacking away in the background. He also noticed a sign on the receptionist's counter instructing applicants to fill out a form and wait to be summoned to an inner office for an interview. He filled out the form and sat down to wait.

After a few minutes, a young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering why he had been so bold. They talked among themselves and finally determined that, since nobody had been summoned to interview yet, the man would likely be reprimanded for not following instructions and possibly disqualified for the job.

Within a few minutes, however, the young man emerged from the inner office escorted by the interviewer, who announced to the other applicants, "Thank you all very much for coming, but the job has just been filled."

They were all confused and one man spoke up: "Wait a minute -- I don't understand. We've been waiting longer than he and we never even got a chance to be interviewed."

The employer responded, "All the time you've been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message: 'If you understand this, then come right in. The job is yours.' So you see, ALL of you were summoned, but HE heard and understood!"

This man knew a valuable life-lesson that most people miss: Wherever You Are, Be There. You're there physically, be there emotionally. Be there mentally. Be there attentively. Be there as fully as you can.

Wherever you are, be there. When you're completely present, you'll make the most of every minute. And minutes lived fully add up to a life lived magnificently. I thought this was also appropriate for disaster communications: You're there physically; be there emotionally, mentally, attentively.

ARES members participated in the state-wide hospital disaster preparedness exercise on Thursday, November 14th. The scenario was a radiological accident to help hospitals prepare for such an incident and to simulate decontaminating patients. Bob Ward, KB6CEY, was at Cottage Hospital, Mike Jogoleff, was at St. Francis Hospital, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, and David Hackleman, KC6VML, worked Goleta Valley Hospital, Barbara Mickelson, KD6HKR, went to Rehabilitation Institute, and Will Tefft, KG6DHK worked at Direct Relief. Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, and Tom Saunders, N6YX, handled traffic at Couty Health Department's Emergency Medical Services, and Bob Levinson, K6CZD, operated for the County Emergency Operating Center. Jack Goodearl, WA6DQK, was the Net Control. The exercise went well, with quite a bit of traffic being transmitted through Amateur Radio. We continued to "fine tune" our procedures for working these events, using the 900 MHz portable phones to pass traffic from the EMS office to the Van, where Claude and Tom actually transmitted traffic to and from EMS. We tried dual repeaters, with modest success. We need to continue to investigate the best way to pass traffic using more than one frequency or repeater. ARES members had a critique following the exercise at a local restaurant to discuss the operation.

We had a couple of ELT responses this month. The first turned out to be an unsolved mystery. On Sunday, Nov. 10th, the Santa Cruz Island monitor heard a 406 MHz EPIRB signal and alerted the ELT system. It appeared to be south of the Island. Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, notified the US Coast Guard and they reported they were working a fishing boat in trouble in the area. However, it was later learned that the disabled boat was not transmitting an EPIRB signal! Bruce even received a call from the US Coast Guard District Office in Alameda because the satellites were not receiving a signal, either. It was never determined where the EPIRB was located and it eventually faded away. This showed how valuable it would be to have the capability to decode the data burst from the EPIRB, as it probably would have given us information on the vessel. Our system was the only one hearing the signal.

The other ELT incident occurred on November 14th, when a number of the sites, including Figueroa Mountain, reported an ELT signal. A call to the Santa Ynez Airport revealed they were hearing it, too. Pete Nicklin, K6TOD, and Buzz Davis, KE6BQC, responded from the Central County ARES group. They met up with a member of the Santa Barbara Search and Rescue Team at the airport and located the ELT in a hangar, just as the mechanic turned off the power.

The Santa Barbara South County ARES unit recently completed a Memorandum of Understanding with Direct Relief International. The MOU outlines the services ARES can supply DRI in a declared and undeclared emergency, as well as non-emergency assistance, and how DRI will assist ARES. This MOU replaced one that was over 10 years old.

With the recent rains, I'm sure the fire departments will soon close the fire season for this year, but we will be ready for next spring. In preparation for this, I am working on making a CD with photos taken by Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, of the Red Flag Alert checkpoints and their GPS coordinates for Bruce Carter, County Fire/OES. The fire department will incorporate this into their PowerPoint training program for volunteers in the Red Flag Alert program.

As a clarification to a statement made at the November SBARC meeting, I want to assure Club members that ARES does NOT receive any funding from the SBARC general fund. If you notice on your Application for Membership, one of the Restricted Funds you can voluntarily contribute to is the ARES General Fund. This is where we obtain our funding each year. Fortunately, this money is carried over to the next year if we don't use it all, so we can cover expenses that may be greater than our donations for any single year. Some of the things we purchase with this money are uniforms for our members, special equipment (such as weather instruments for our fire patrols), binders, copying costs, etc. So thank you for supporting ARES through your donations.

The Van is scheduled to be in the Downtown Holiday Parade on December 6th and our next ARES General meeting will be December 9th.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta will resume in January and are a lot of fun with lots of enjoyable conversation. Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee (or just drop by to say hello) around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yellow shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

Top of Page

November 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

Nineteen members received Red Flag Alert training from Bruce Carter, of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services Supervisor, and Battalion Chief Glenn Odell of the County Fire Department. Now qualified are Noel Alander, KF6LDC, John Butera, KE6DIE, Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, Richard Jenks, KB6LWP, Mike Jogoleff, WA6BMZ, Bob Levinson, K6CZD, Wally Linstruth, K7AMI, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, Norm Salzman, KA6UHP, Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, Mack Stanton, KD6NBZ, Shaw Takeuchi, AE6BL, Bob Tangel, WD6ESU, Will Tefft, KG6DHK, Sig Wathne, W6LGK, and Darryl Widman, KF6DI. This was an amazing turnout, considering we had the class confirmed by the Fire Department two days earlier.

We had no ELT field responses this month, although the system did alarm several times, primarily with carrier signals.

Our regular ARES training meeting was held on Monday, October 14th. A Powerpoint program on the County Health Department's Emergency Medical Service and how ARES fits into the plan was shown and some other topics discussed. The second half of the meeting was devoted to a tabletop exercise in communications. Joe Heumphreus' (K6DXW) grandson helped build a 'five story' structure of Tinkertoys. The challenge was for a team of communicators to describe the gizmo by radio to teams in another room so they could build a replica. John Butera, KE6DIE, and Stefan Landfried, KG6KKQ, took on the challenge describing the widgit. The remaining members of the class were divided into two groups, who could not see each other's creation unfolding. John and Stefen did a good job of describing the figure. It was interesting to see what word was used to describe each piece so it could be identified by the builders. At the end of the descriptive process, each team was allowed to ask questions to fine-tune their designs. One team got their gizmo about 95% to the original; the second team got off to a good start but somehow ended up upside down and inside out - but everyone had a good time and learned how difficult it can be to describe something to others.

On October 18th, Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, and Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, presented a Powerpoint program 'ARES - What It Is and What We Do' at the October SBARC meeting.

Thanks to Will Tefft, KG6DHK for putting together some maps of various sizes for us to use on both Fire Watch and ELT response. He had a very large map laminated, which will be very useful when attached to the outside of the van. Thanks also to Norm Salzman who donated a marine map to be used on EPIRB incidents.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta will resumed in September and are a lot of fun with lots of enjoyable conversation. Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee (or just drop by to say hello) around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yellow shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

October, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

Three of the four Santa Barbara County Emergency Coordinators and the District EC met with USFS officials on Monday, Sept. 9th, to discuss how ARES could help the Forest Service. Some intriguing ideas on training and operational activities were met with enthusiasm on both sides of the table. The Memorandum of Understanding was finalized and signed by the District Ranger and the District EC.

The Santa Barbara group will receive its Red Flag Alert training from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department on October 2nd.

Three ARES members participated in an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) training with Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue on Saturday, Sept. 7th. Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, Bob Levinson, K6CZD, and Claude Gago, KE6JSA, worked the day-long field exercise.

A meeting of the County Public Health Department's Disaster Preparedness Advisory Committee was held on Tuesday, Sept. 10th. The majority of the discussion was regarding the next state-wide disaster drill, to be held on November 14th. As usual, ARES participation is requested and will play an important role in this drill. We anticipate an increase in the amount of traffic we will handle during the exercise.

Joe Guzzardi, of the County Emergency Services Office, invited us to bring the Van to display at the 9-11 ceremonies at the County Courthouse during the noon hour. The display featured emergency response vehicles from fire departments, law enforcement agencies, medical responders, Red Cross, etc., on Anapamu Street between Santa Barbara and Anacapa Streets. A huge American flag was raised by two fire ladder trucks, one from Santa Barbara City and one from Santa Barbara County Fire Departments and anchored the display. Thanks to Bob Levinson, K6CZD, and Norm Salzman, KA6UHP, for putting this together at the last minute.

Tanya Bailey, KD6BIR, requested us to present a program on the types of services Amateur radio can provide during an emergency or disaster to the Safety and Disaster Committee at the Pilgrim Terrace housing complex. The group has a very well-organized disaster plan, and members have received their Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, spoke to the group and Bob Levinson, K6CZD, explained the van to some overwhelmed visitors. After learning about some of the services we provide their community, they considered us among the "unsung heroes."

The Tri-Counties ARES leadership met on Sept. 14th at Cachuma Lake. Thanks to the Central County ARES group for hosting the event and providing a delicious lunch. Some of the items discussed were the need for a formalized mutual aid plan so members in one District can easily assist another and the need to work out more Memorandums of Understanding with our served agencies and with individual hospitals.

Earlier this year SBARC received a grant to build some portable APRS units. The project, spearheaded by Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, is now complete and the units were used on the Susan B. Love Breast Cancer walk on Saturday, Sept. 28th. Thanks to Ken Mueller, KG6JMJ, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, and Roy Phillips, AD6PO for helping make this possible. These units have great potential for field work of all kinds, including special events, fire watch, damage assessment, searches, and other field activities.

The only ELT field response this month was on Sept. 20th when a signal tripped the monitoring system around noon. Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, quickly located the offending device in an airplane on the northwest ramp area at Santa Barbara Airport.

Welcome this month to new members David Hackleman, KC6VML, and Mike Wood, KG6GLK.

ARES will be on the program for the October SBARC meeting. Everyone is invited to attend and learn what ARES is all about, from the its roots in the ARRL to the activities performed by your fellow hams in the local community.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta will resumed in September and are a lot of fun with lots of enjoyable conversation. Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee (or just drop by to say hello) around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yellow shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

August, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

A follow-up meeting of the Red Flag Alert committee was held on July 30th, at which time some of the details of the training program were discussed by the officials. Two representatives of the US Forest Service were at this meeting and when they heard about the plans to use ARES so extensively, the Division Chief asked if this eliminated their ability to use us for fire watch activities at other times. The answer, of course, was no. The Chief told the group how valuable we were to them and how much they depended on us to augment their resources during times other than Red Flag Alerts.

Our Red Flag training was scheduled for August 12th, our regular ARES meeting night. Unfortunately, at a quarter to 5 that evening, we were notified by Joe Guzzardi, County OES, that the Montecito fire team who was going to present the program was called out of town on mutual aid at the Sequoia fire. We had a good turnout at the meeting and we used the time to brief the group on the evolution of the Red Flag Alert volunteer program and to show them photos of most of the fixed post locations we have been asked to cover. The final decision on where we will set up will be made by the fire, based on the number of people the ARES District can field and the priorities of staffing the different sites. The Montecito group and Central County ARES groups have had their training.

We participated in the City of Santa Barbara's wildland fire disaster drill on Thursday, August 8th. It was a low-key assignment from our standpoint, as the PD wanted primarily for us to check the new installation in the EOC and to make contact and check equipment with City Public Works and with the County OES. We did find some problems at all locations, but were able to make radio contact with each other on both repeater and simplex frequencies. The PD has been most cooperative in outfitting their sites and all we have to do is tell them what we need. We will continue to work with them to get a communications capability that will fit their needs. Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, and Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, staffed the City PD EOC, Tom Saunders, N6YX, handled the Public Works location, and Bob Levinson, K6CZD, reported to County OES.

We now have a completed and signed Statement of Understanding between the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Santa Barbara District (County) of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. This replaces a very outdated one that was primarily between the local Santa Barbara ARES and Red Cross and is based in large part on the National SOU between the ARC and ARRL. We also have a signed Memorandum of Understanding between Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue and the Santa Barbara County Amateur Radio Emergency Service outlining standard operating procedures during Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) activities.

In another development on the Memorandum of Understanding subject, recent meetings of the Red Flag Fire Alert committee brought the activities and capabilities of ARES to the "front burner" of the US Forest Service plans. Our old MOU was developed in 1992 and needed to be updated. The Forest Service recognizes the value ARES communicators are to their organization, both during a fire and in the prevention of fires. I met with two FS representatives (both retired fire officials) who wanted to discuss the plans they have for ARES groups. These activities not only include Red Flag posts and fire watch patrols, but responding to an Incident Command Post to assist with dispatching and other communications, driving and setting up their Comm Van, providing radio relay for fire crews in deep canyons, and other technical assistance. Read the article under Public Service "ARES/RACES and Wildland Communications" on page 67 of the September issue of QST to get an idea of the potential for training and working with the Forest Service. They will be meeting with the four Santa Barbara County Emergency Coordinators to finalize the plans and sign the MOU.

ELT activity has been relatively quiet again this month, with our only field response coming on Sunday, August 25th. The ELT monitor on Santa Ynez had a strong ELT and Santa Cruz was receiving a weak signal and tripped the alerts at 1900 hours. Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, worked with the US Coast Guard and the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue. The Coast Guard felt the signal was near El Capitan, based on some marginally reliable satellite reports. SBCSAR asked ARES to respond a field team so Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, and Bob Levinson, K6CZD answered the call. They drove to Refugio Beach Park, Gaviota Beach, up Highway 101 to about Nojoqui, then back to Refugio Road up to West Camino Cielo, with no success in hearing the signal. They drove to Santa Ynez Peak and were able to get a rough bearing down the coast. This information was passed on to the Coast Guard and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (responsible for coordinating inland search) and they returned home. Good planning on Bill’s and Bob’s part. Bob brought his direction finder along, so when they were unable to acquire a signal with one DF they could check with the other to make sure they equipment was working. Also, the mobile rig in Bill’s car went out, but both had brought HTs and they were able to remain in radio contact. Good planning, guys!

Welcome this month to new member John Lynch, WB6WHS.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta will resume in September and are a lot of fun with lots of enjoyable conversation. Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee (or just drop by to say hello) around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you’re interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yellow shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

July, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

We held our first Fire Watch Patrol for the US Forest Service on Thursday, July 4th. We put four teams out, three of them with three members and one with two members. We assigned the personnel so that we had people with differing levels of experience in each vehicle to maximize the training. In the future, we will be able to field two-person teams with more experience. We received a nice e-mail from Forest Service Battalion Chief Mike Preasmeyer:

?THANKS again. We know our detection was effective. People gave good comments about seeing us here with all the fires going on in the West. Your personnel added to our ability to cover the area. There no doubt will be additional needs for your group. I look forward to working with your personnel.?

The patrols started at about 1800 hours and concluded after the fireworks shows in Santa Barbara and Goleta, about 2200 hours. Several of the teams sent slow-scan TV pictures from the field. A County Fire Battalion Chief and Sheriff?s Sergeant who visited the van were very impressed with the capability of the slow scan.

Participating were John Butera, KE6DIE, Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Rich Emerson, KG6GMO, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Michael Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, Bob Levinson, K6CZD, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, Norm Salzman, KA6UHP, Tom Saunders, N6YX, Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, Shaw Takeuchi, AE6BL, Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, Will Tefft, KG6DHK, Sig Wathne, W6LGK, and Ingrid Steele, KB6MQN. Everyone was treated to cake and lemonade upon return to the command post (van).

Thanks to Sig Wathne, W6LGK, who donated a sling psychrometer (humidity measuring instrument) to replace one that was accidentally broken several years ago. We will use the proceeds of our bake sale at the Bazaar and Hamfest to purchase several more of these devices. Thanks also to Doug Gould, N6SAS, who donated a brand new Yaesu FT 1100 2M/440 mobile rig. We will probably set it up in the van.

I attended the County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Disaster Preparedness Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday morning. We critiqued the recent County-wide exercise. The group was very complimentary towards ARES participation county-wide. Special thanks given by Goleta Valley Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute, both of whom said their ARES guys (Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, and Ken Mueller, KG6JMJ, respectively) saved the day for them regarding their Medical Network system. The next exercise will be a state-wide operation on November 14th.

I was contacted by Sgt. Dave Gonzales of the Santa Barbara Police Department and the city wants us to participate in a simulated wildland fire disaster drill on Thursday, August 8th.We will be working with him to work out the best use of our resources.

We made $63.30 from our sale of coffee, sodas, and donuts at the SBARC Bazaar in July. This will enable us to purchase another psychrometer for our Fire Watch. Special thanks to those of you who donated donuts and sodas to make this a profitable venture.

A meeting was held at County Fire Headquarters on July 19th to discuss the inclusion of ARES and MERRAG (Montecito Emergency Response and Recovery Action Group) in upcoming Red Flag Alerts. Attendees include representatives from Santa Barbara City and County Fire Departments, Montecito Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, Santa Barbara City Police Department/OES. Goleta City Police Department, Westmont College, ARES, and MERRAG. Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, and Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, attended from South County ARES, while Wayne Heil, KB6OQJ, represented Central County ARES and Fred Davison, N6ZV, came from North County. The Red Flag Plan is a bit different from the fire patrols we do for the Forest Service in that they will be primarily fixed posts from which we will do public relations and information, handing out information to people and answering questions. Posts include front country and also in the Santa Ynez Valley. Joe Guzzardi, County Fire/Office of Emergency Services, asked us to bring our Van for ?show and tell.? Bruce set up the slow scan TV, which was a great hit, showing its capabilities for almost instant feedback from the field. The City Fire and Sheriff were extremely interested. Montecito Fire will be developing a mandatory training program for the volunteer groups, which will be given at locations throughout the county prior to the Red Flag program.

A Disaster Preparedness Symposium will be held at Vandenberg AFB on August 17th. Topics covered will include communications, air capabilities, safety, local assets, disaster coordination responsibilities, and other technical subjects. It has been a few years since the last search and rescue symposium at VAFB, so we will be looking forward to this one (should be warmer, too, than the usual December outing!).

We recently placed an order for 39 jackets, including some for San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and ?north? Santa Barbara County units. This enabled us to get a good discount. Our source for gold jackets had disappeared until we met some folks from Equine Evac at the Disaster Preparedness Fair. We are also ordering shirts for other units with our submissions.

Welcome this month to returning ARES member Ingrid Steele, KA6MQN.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta are on hold until Club meetings resume in September.

If you?re interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yellow shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

June, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

The most significant event of the month was the county-wide emergency preparedness exercise conducted by the County Office of Emergency Services (OES) and County Public Health De-partment's Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The disaster involved a "train derailment" in the Goleta area, resulting in a report of a tank car leaking chlorine. Later in the exercise, an "air-plane crash" was reported.

We set up the SBARC/ARES Communications Van at the County EMS parking lot and activated the telephone switchboard, running a "hard line" to the EMS room with the ARES operator. We had two nets set up, one for county-wide traffic on 147.00/224.12 MHz with Will Tefft, KG6DHK, as Net Control, and the other for the south county (local) traffic on 146.79/224.08 MHz with Bob Levinson, K6CZD, as net control. They, in turn, were in contact by radio and telephone with Glaude Gago, KE6JSA, who was in the EMS room. Claude also handled traffic on the Med Net. For the first time in several years, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was opened at EMS. Fortunately, we did not have a lot of traffic from EMS, which made our testing of this new procedure a lot easier. We will be doing more fine-tuning for the next exercise. Staff-ing the hospitals were Noel Alander KF6LDC, at Cottage Hospital, Mike Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, at St. Francis Hospital, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, and Ken Mueller, KG6JMJ, at Rehabilitation Institution (a new installation).

In addition to our normal role of providing communications for the EMS to and from the hospi-tals and other medical facilities, we also used this exercise to assist OES in conducing a radio path survey. The test ran from their new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Camino del Remedio to all south county EOC locations, as well as the medical facilities and Red Cross Chapter headquarters, using a two meter simplex frequency. The test was successful and a tower of at least 20 feet, with some directional antennas, would give maximum performance. Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, used a portable push-up mast mounted on his pickup to test the path at 10', 20', and 30'. We were also able to get a usable path to the Lompoc and Figueroa Mountain re-peaters with the antenna at 30 feet. Staffing the County EOC were Fred Davidson, N6ZV (who is the North County ARES EC), and Shaw Takeuchi AE6BL. While the EOCs were non-existent at Carpinteria and Goleta, we wanted to do radio checks from the sites anyway, so Jack Goodearl, WA6DQK, and Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, provided that service. Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, checked in from the Red Cross Chapter headquarters. Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, EC, coordinated the south county resources.

All ARES members at the medical facilities got the opportunity to practice using the Medical Network (Med Net), which is a simplex radio system allowing each hospital and county EMS to talk to each other. Some operators at the EMS also got training on setting up and using the EMS portable satellite telephone.

We got a nice e-mail from Joe Guzzardi, Emergency Services Planner/Coordinator of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services thanking us for our help in this exercise:

"Lou,

Please forward our appreciation to all your members for the ARES participation in Friday's ex-ercise. As always, the ARES folks were punctual and efficient. Our community is fortunate to have a group of capable individuals who epitomize volunteerism, and bring such a high level of professionalism to our shared mission. Please accept our gratitude for your continued efforts.

Joe."

Eleven ARES South County members attended the Standardized Emergency Management Sys-tem (SEMS) class on May 13th, hosted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Red Cross. Instructed by Bruce Carter of the County Office of Emergency Services, the class outlined how SEMS is used to manage disasters. We had the opportunity to see this in action at both the OES and EMS EOCs during the drill on May 31st. Certified at the class were Noel Alander, KF6LDC, John Butera, KE6DIE, Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Michael Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, Paul Sheffield, W6VLM, Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, Mack Stanton, KD6NBZ, Shaw Takeuchi, AE6BL, and Darryl Widman, KF6DI. Also attending were Fred Davidson, N6ZV, and Mary Meyer, KF6BNC, from North County, and Wayne Heil, KB6OQJ, from Central County.

Our CPR/First Aid class on June 1st certified 10 people. Attending were Claude Gago, KE6JSA, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Michael Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, Bob Levinson, K6CZD, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, Tom Saunders, N6YX, Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, Shaw Takeuchi, AE6BL, Will Tefft, KG6DHK, and Wayne Heil, KB6OQJ. Many, many thanks to Mary Meyer, KF6BNC, of North County ARES, and Red Cross instructor, for putting on this class and to her employer for loaning us CPR manikins and books for the class. (It seems a Tech Sgt at the hospital at Vandenberg re-members ARES from helping with communications during some of the "demonstrations-protests" they have had and was glad to assist.) So, we were able to get the cost down to $3 per student, which South County ARES paid out of petty cash from money earned selling "goodies" at the Bazaar and Hamfest.

Welcome this month to new ARES member Rich Emerson, KG6GMO. Rich works with Wayne Heil, KB6OQJ, the Central County (Santa Ynez) EC. Wayne has been trying to get Rich to get his ham license and join ARES for a long time and Rich finally gave in. But we have to say, "Thanks, Wayne," because Rich lives and works in Goleta - so he's in our group!

Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, conducted an on-the-air exercise in May, requesting everyone check in to a Mondy night net on a 2-meter simplex frequency. It was amazing how well this went and how well most people could hear each other without the repeater. Stay tuned to more interesting activities on our nets.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta are on hold until Club meetings resume in September.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yel-low shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page (www.sbarc.org), or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

May, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

On Saturday, April 27th, we participated in the Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) Emergency Preparedness Fair at the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta. We took the opportunity to use the event as a training opportunity for those members who were interested in van operations and setup so Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, met Bob Ward, KB6CEY, and John Butera, KE6DIE at the fire station for an orientation on getting things going. Sig Wathne, W6LGK, drove the van over to the Marketplace. Taking the "early shift" for set-up and staffing until noon, in addition to the van "crew," were Mike Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, Claude Gago, KE6JSA, Noel Alander, KF6LDC, Buzz Davis, KE6BQC (from Central ARES), Barbara Mickelson, KD6HKR, and Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ. Stefan Landfried, KG6KKQ, who picked up an applica-tion at the last SBARC meeting, brought it over to the display and we issued him an ARES vest and put him to work! Welcome, Stefan! Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, also came over in the morning. Helping in the afternoon, in addition to some of the morning crew, were Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, Bernie Wright, W9ROH, and Tom Saunders, N6YX. Chet Hadley, KF6OIF, came down and set up a National Traffic System table and managed to convince at least one person to send a Radiogram.

It was a very successful event, in several respects. We set up the HF rig outside the van under the awning and made contact with the other three areas of the Santa Barbara ARES District on 40 meters, using the wire dipole on the van tower, plus some other contacts in the State to other ARES members who heard us on the air. We met the Goleta mayor and a couple of council-women who were making the rounds and gave them all a "cook's tour" of the van and explained the other displays we had up. There was a fair amount of interest in the ELT Monitoring System display - nothing like bright orange EPIRBs to draw attention! Tom was having great luck with HF contacts in the states and had one 10-year-old who was anything but mike shy. Tom talked to several potential hams in the afternoon; in fact one of his students stayed to help us take the equipment down. Bruce had the slow scan display up, using his new LCD computer monitor and that was terrific! The screen on the portable was barely visible in the daylight, but the LCD was bright and clear. People got a kick out of seeing their pictures come in over radio. We also had the fire watch display up and that had some interest, too. It was windy, windy, windy and we had to tie the canopies to the light post and the van awning to keep them from walking away, but the crowd was enthusiastic. We also made some good personal contacts with other groups for poten-tial public display events, fire watch expansion, and training ideas. Thanks to all of you who worked the event and who came by and said hello.

Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, has been appointed Training Coordinator for the ARES group. Joe brings a wealth of knowledge and background on training and preparedness and will be an valu-able asset in the leadership tier.

Last month, the Santa Barbara ELT Monitoring System alerted with a strong ELT signal. Pre-liminary investigation showed the likely source was at the Santa Barbara Airport. The County SAR was contacted and asked ARES to respond to and locate the ELT. Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, responded and at 1241 had isolated the signal source to the Garrett Hangar, met with their secu-rity, located the 406.025 MHz ELT in a new Bombardier Aerospace Global Express aircraft be-ing customized at Garrett, and shut it off at 1254. The Rescue Coordination Center reported they received the first satellite information at 1210 hours (our time), 20 minutes after our alert and 30 minutes after the ELT was activated. In addition to Bruce, Bill Talanian, W1UUQ, who was re-turning from Ventura, was diverted to Bates Road at the county line to see if he could hear the signal and get a bearing. He could not hear it. Lou Dartanner was mission coordinator and Jack Goodearl, WA6DQK also participated. We had a couple of other alarms that went off the air prior to any search response.

We held our bi-monthly ARES meeting Monday, April 8, and had Rob Griffin, K6YR, as our guest speaker on NTS. Rob did a great job in explaining what NTS is, the hierarchy, and some of the problems in getting traffic through beyond our region. He also talked about how and when NTS will be used in an disaster or emergency and what its limitations are. We also polled people regarding upcoming activities and events and got an idea of how many of the two dozen attend-ing would be able to support them. We will be offering some training courses at times other than our regular meeting.

Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, did a communications exercise on the fifth Monday of April and had all net participants check in on 220 or 440 if they had the capability instead of 2 meters.

Thanks to Bill Berger, K6WHB, we now have our license plate frames which say PUBLIC SERVICE at the top and EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS at the bottom. They look great and cost only $6.

Upcoming events and training include the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) class on May 13th, to be given by the American Red Cross, the county-wide emergency drill on May 31st, the First Aid/CPR training, to be given by Mary Meyer, KF6BNC, on June 1st, and of course our regular ARES bi-monthly meeting on June 10th. Of course, be sure to tune in to the Monday night net at 7:30 and see what we're up to.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta are a lot of fun. I'm sure the other restaurant patrons are glad when our food arrives so we will quit laughing! Last month the wait-ress fit right in and we got much amusement watching Barbara, KD6HKR, skin strawberries. Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee and good conversation around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yel-low shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page, or listen to and/or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page

April, 2002 - ARES Update by Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ

On our Monday Night ARES net on March 4th, we had a repeater "failure" (caused by Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, shutting it off). This forced all net participants to "switch to 146.79 simplex," as instructed in the preamble of each net. We had a lot of members and guests checking in and it was quite interesting how many people could hear each other on simples. On March 25th, we asked net participants what they would like in the way of training opportunities. Responses in-cluded traffic handling and net control, ELT DF training, van operation, and simplex operation. We'll try to include these subjects in upcoming months.

On Saturday, March 9th, we had five members participate in the big SCOR bike ride in the north county. Over 4,000 people were entered in the race, the proceeds of which go to send children with heart disease to summer camp. We were particularly interested in the use of APRS. The Santa Ynez group had portable APRS units for the SAG trucks. They had the computer running in the room with net control, and the map and APRS information projected on a screen to make it easier to see. We were quite impressed with the possibilities this capability will have here in South County, not only for ARES operations such as fire watch and searches, but for event communications in SAG wagons. Traveling "over the hill" to participate were Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Barbara Mickelson, KD6HKR, Harry Rouse, K6PDQ, and Will Tefft, KG6DHK, who all reported having a great time.

I attended a meeting of the Santa Barbara County Disaster Preparedness Advisory Committee on March 12th. Of interest to us is the fact that the County Emergency Operations Center will be moving to a location at the Camino del Remedio complex. This will require new antennas and a support structure at that location. Bruce, N6OLT, has been working with the people at County Fir to assist. Also, the Rehabilitation Institute of Santa Barbara moved from its location on Camino del Remedio to the old Cottage Care Center, 2415 De la Vina Street, near Cottage Hos-pital downtown. The facilities people were extremely cooperative in arranging to install the an-tenna and coax drop at their hospital. The coax drop will be near the first floor nurses' station and we have an alcove with desk opposite the Med Net. The other important announcement at this meeting was a large, county-wide disaster drill on Friday, March 31st (the weekend after Memorial Day). This will require maximum participation by ARES personnel.

The Santa Barbara Section (Tri-Counties) ARES leadership met on Saturday, March 16th. This quarterly get-together allows us the opportunity to share experiences of our various groups, dis-cuss upcoming events, and help each other with problem-solving. Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, and Roy Dugger, KF6QEJ, presented a briefing on the American Red Cross and how ARES can assist them during disasters, especially with long-haul health and welfare traffic. Another topic of discussion was the changing role of ARES. Since the events of September 11th, we know it's important to keep our training current, keep members interested, and how to meet these chal-lenges without frequent, regular use. There was some discussion as to whether the ARES role (function) had indeed changed or whether it is the application of changing technology in the ways our customers now do business has influenced our participation. Just about everyone agreed we must continually modify our use of technology and resources to be able to meet chal-lenges of a disaster and the needs of our customers.

A week later, the ARES District leadership (Santa Barbara County) met to discuss some items of concern to our units. Included on the agenda were use of APRS, ATV/SSTV, packet, HF, sim-plex frequencies, SEMS/ICS, alerting, HF, and ELT response. Since the installation of an ELT monitor receiver on the SYV repeater on Figueroa Mountain, we have to work out a county-wide SOP for responding to these operations.

On March 18th, seven ARES members attended a Red Cross Communicators class, in which Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, introduced the students to the Chapter's radio system and explained how the Red Cross communications network is set up. Attending were Noel Alander, KF6LDC, Bruce Gordon, N6OLT, Bob Levinson, K6CZD, Barbara Mickelson, KD6HKR, Paul Sheffield, K6VLM, Hubert Stamps, KC6NAH, and Will Tefft, KG6DHK.

Our before-the-SBARC-meeting dinners at Carrows in Goleta are a lot of fun. I'm sure the other restaurant patrons were glad when our food arrived so we would quit laughing! Come join us for dinner, dessert, or coffee and good conversation around 5:30 p.m. before the regular Friday SBARC meeting.

If you're interested in ARES, we cordially invite you to attend one of our meetings (second Monday of every even-numbered month), see one of us at the SBARC meeting (look for the yel-low shirts), visit the SBARC web site and look at the ARES page, or listen to or check in to our regular Monday night net, 7:30 on the 146.19/146.79 K6TZ repeater.

Top of Page