Emergency Coordination

Previous articles can be found under the "Emergency Coordination" link

Files for download can be found at the bottom of this page.

The terms Amateur Radio Emergency Service and ARES are both registered trademarks of the American Radio Relay League Inc. and are used by permission.  

Questions and comments regarding the content of this web page and articles are always welcome and encouraged. 

Send an email to the address shown below.

Lew Maxwell, KB5HPT

Amateur Radio Emergency Service

DEC, District 6, WTX Section

Email: ldmax12@yahoo.com

++++++WINLINK TUESDAY++++++

This net will run each Tuesday (except 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s) for 24 hours. Check in anytime during the 24 hour period. Address messages to Lew, KB5HPT, DEC, Dist.6, WTX Section unless otherwise noted. 

If you are an ARRL Field Appointee please use your Position/Title for the messages. 

All others please use Radio Operator for your position/title. 

The stations checking into this net are encouraged to use their ARES GO-BOX with the NVIS antenna. The use of EOC and club  stations are also encouraged.

***Sending Messages***

Use VARA HF Winlink through a gateway or Telnet or VARA HF P2P. See below for VARA HF P2P information.

***VARA HF P2P***

My HF station will be listening to 7116.5 MHz center frequency, 7115.0 MHz (dial frequency). Bandwidth is 500Hz. 

***VHF/UHF***

[El Paso Locals] The VHF/UHF mode of the week will be VARA FM. Please use the KB5HPT-10 VARA FM RMS on 439.010 MHz simplex as primary target. 

***NOTE:*** 

MAKE SURE THAT THE REQUEST READ RECEIPT IS CHECKED AT THE TOP OF THE MESSAGE. DON'T FORGET TO MARK THE MESSAGE AS WINLINK MESSAGE, P2P WINLINK or RADIO-ONLY. TO GET CREDIT FOR THE NET ALL SENDERS MUST RECEIVE A MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BACK. WE ENCOURAGE THE USE OF RF  UHF/VHF/HF RATHER THAN TELNET. 

***Form for the week Jul 28***

Important! If the new message update or Winlink Express program update screen pops up when opening Winlink Express update them before beginning this exercise.

If you do not receive the Form of the Week from the CMS on Monday morning go to https://www.hamradioelpaso.com/emergency-coordination and scroll down to the Winlink Tuesday posting. You will find the form of the week there.

This week we will use the After Action Review (AAR) Form. After Action reviews help provide participants and team feedback on mission and task performances in training and in actual disaster situations. After-action reviews identify how to correct deficiencies, sustain strengths, and focus on the performance of specific training objectives.

***READ CAREFULLY***  

You are the radio operator (RADO) in a Central City shelter. The shelter manager has given you the information shown below and ask to send the AAR form to KB5HPT located at the Central City EOC. The AAR form is found in the Template Manager.

1. Click on the MESSAGE>>NEW MESSAGE>>SELECT TEMPLATE>>EXPAND STANDARD TEMPLATES>>GENERAL FORMS>>AFTER ACTION REVIEW.txt. Double click the form. The form will open in the browser window.

2. Click on SETUP at the top left corner of the form and enter Winlink Tuesday Exercise.

Box 1. Incident Name: enter Winlink Tuesday Exercise.

Page #: enter 1.

Box 2. Operational Period (Date/Time) From: enter 20260728/0800 hrs.

To: enter 20260728/2000 hrs.

Box 3. Name: enter Simon Crum.

Box 4. ICS Position: enter Shift Supervisor.

Box 5. Home Agency and Unit: enter Central City ARC/SHELTER OPS

Box 6. Resources assigned: enter the following.

line 1. 

a. Name enter: Sam Jones 

b. ICS Position: enter shift worker

  c. Home Agency and Unit: enter Central City ARC/SHELTER OPS

line 2. 

a. Name: enter Edmond Smith 

b. ICS Position: enter RADO 

c. Home agency and unit: enter Central City Amateur Radio Club/RADO

Box 7a. What was planned? enter EXERCISE, EXERCISE. Establish a shelter for evacuee intake. 

Box 7b. What Actually Happened? enter EXERCISE, EXERCISE. Team arrived at the shelter location and setup a shelter for evacuees.

Box 7c. Why did it happen? enter EXERCISE, EXERCISE. All team members were ready to get the shelter set up and ready to go.

7d. What Are We Going To Do Next Time? enter EXERCISE, EXERCISE. Have additional team members present. 

Box 8. Prepared By: enter Simon Crum 

Click on the Date/Time box to enter the current date/time. 

3. Go back and review your AAR to make sure everything is correct and nothing has been over looked.

4. OPTIONAL. When finished you can save the data for use later with a new AAR Form by clicking on Save AAR Data button at the bottom of the page..

5. Click on Submit then OK.

6. Close the browser.

7. Back on the Enter a New Message page in Winlink Express be sure the Send As: block is correct.

a. Peer-to-Peer Message for sending P2P mode.

b. Winlink Message for routing message via an RMS.

c. Post Office Message for routing a message to a VARA FM RMS that is setup to receive Post Office messages.

8. Be sure the Request Message Receipt box IS NOT checked. 

9. Address the message to KB5HPT or my tactical address TXEPCARESDEC.

10.Post the message to the out box.

11. Listen for a clear frequency and send the message. 

P2P Information: ***(READ CAREFULLY)***   

On the Winlink Express page in the Open Session box select VARA HF P2P from the drop down menu. Then open the session. The morning 40 meter P2P session is from  8AM to 10AM (MDT). Lew, KB5HPT will be listening on 7116.5 KHz center frequency, 7.115.0 MHz dial frequency. For the Mode use USB-D. Bandwidth= ***500Hz ONLY.***  When sending the message to an HF P2P station try to maintain an average level 5 (177bps) after you start SENDING the message. [SENDING (msg no)] is displayed on the Session window.  The P2P message window is only 2 hours long. We want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to send their message during this time. 

Be sure to set your Retries (VARA Modem>>Settings>>Retries) to 3 or 5. If your are going to have a successful connection in P2P mode VARA will connect on the first or second try.

While connected in P2P Mode keep your ALC setting to 3 on the ALC Scale. Adjust your DRIVE LEVEL on the VARA MODEM SOUND CARD page. You can do this while connected.

In P2P mode even though you created one message and addressed it to two or more people when you post the message to the OUT BOX you will have two or more separate messages waiting to be sent.

Feel free to distribute this to friends/groups. Ask them to participate.

Lew Maxwell, KB5HPT

Amateur Radio Emergency Service

DEC, District 6, WTX Section

Tactical Address: TXEPCARESDEC

TX. RACES: DRO-8A

++++++EPCARES Mission Statement:++++++

WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF BUILDING A VIABLE ARES ORGANIZATION THAT IS PROPERLY TRAINED AND ADEQUATELY STAFFED WITH THE END GOAL OF FUNCTIONING PROFESSIONALLY IN ANY EMERGENCY THAT MAY COME OUR WAY.

Our Core Values Are: 

 Confidence             Commitment         Excellence

Respect                   Integrity