January 17, 2007
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

The month of December was filled with preparations for a Simulated Emergency Test spanning much of the Virginia Section. The later part of the month was spent in collecting data from the SET. The following is the summary of the training event.

Operation North Wind - 2006

“Operation North Wind” a Simulated Emergency Test held on December 9th in the Virginia Section was a huge success. This emergency communications drill was participated in by at least 87 hams that operated from 57 locations. Much of the activity took place in the 40 county area covered by the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg Virginia. Due to the massive nature of the simulated storm, hams across the Virginia Section participated in supporting the areas that were in the simulated impact area. This event also included the National Traffic System in the Virginia Section. There were two NTS nets that operated simultaneously during the SET, passing health and welfare traffic that was moved outside the impact area by digital modes (packet and Winlink). The traffic was then passed to local areas via the voice and CW nets.

The National Weather Service opened the exercise by issuing simulated forecast bulletins on the 10 repeaters that serve as Skywarn repeaters for the forecast area. These bulletins were issued on December 8th. Skywarn was activated the following morning to open the SET. The Blacksburg office continued to be active throughout the SET. The scenario consisted of a snowstorm reminiscent of a couple of storms that hit SW Virginia in the 1990’s. In the eastern forecast area the simulation was an ice storm with 1” of ice on road surfaces and utility lines. Having the Skywarn nets in operation eliminated the need to utilize “calling trees” and other call-up vehicles to alert the Amateur Radio community as we moved from Skywarn into our role of communications support for many agencies.

This major storm event created stranded traffic on Interstate highway systems along with communications and power failures throughout the impact area. Blocked Interstates created the need for mass migration (40,000 people from I-77), which is a disaster within itself. This required opening shelters, providing 4-wheel drive radio equipped vehicles that provided transportation for stranded motorist and medical transportation. Agencies such as the Red Cross, rescue squads, Emergency Operations Centers, E-911 Centers, hospitals, search and rescue units, shelters and the National Weather Service were supported by ARES units.

There was also a group of hikers that was caught by this storm system while they were backpacking through the Mount Rogers Wilderness area. They were located at an elevation above a mile (5540 ft) above sea level where the simulated snowfall was in excess of 3 feet. These hikers had one ham in the group but the microphone on their HT failed due to getting wet in the storm. There were 2 medical problems with the hikers. The rescue party that was sent to find the “lost hikers” was carrying direction-finding equipment, and APRS. They copied CW sent with the PTT on the HT microphone of the lost hikers. Hams located at Whitetop Mountain Shelter and the Wythe County EOC monitored the progress of the rescue team on APRS mapping software. The hikers were found within about 2 hours after the rescue team began their search.

Hundreds of pieces of traffic were passed on tactical nets across the Virginia Section during this drill.

Most of out our stated goals for the SET were achieved. These included passing traffic between multi-agencies and jurisdictions. ICS-213 forms were used for this tactical traffic. We utilized Radiograms for the handling of health and welfare messages. We utilized many modes and bands to communicate across Virginia and into neighboring states. ARES used HF voice and CW, VHF FM on repeaters and simplex, digital modes such as APRS, packet and Winlink along with VHF direction finding techniques.

We tested our ability to provide vital weather related information to the NWS via our 10 designated Skywarn repeaters. Our mutual support system was also tested as appeals were made to locations all across the Commonwealth of Virginia for supplies, equipment and needed personnel. We used the Section database information to locate hams that had 4-wheel drive vehicles with 2 meters installed from across the state. We had 5 pages of listings on ARES members that had registered their radio equipped 4-wheel drives.

The SET provided a real challenge in operating conditions over a wide geographical area with varied topography. The impact area ranged from over 5500 ft in the mountains to a few hundred feet in Franklin, Henry and Pittsylvania counties. Weather varied from heavy icing to huge snowfall, falling temperatures and extreme winds.

There are meetings planned for evaluation and critiquing of this training exercise. The first will be held at the Carroll County Virginia EMS building located on Floyd Pike in Hillsville Virginia on January 22 at 7:30 p.m. There will be a second meeting held in the Roanoke Valley to review this training event. The second meeting date will be announced at a later date. These meetings are open to the public with the ham community and agencies encouraged to attend and contribute their input.

All reports on “Operation North Wind” have not been submitted at this writing but from those that we have received, our score is over 2700 points for this one exercise. We have learned a tremendous amount from this event and especially the new ARES members. These new hams have also grown in confidence due to their participation. One county had 15 of their 25 members that met the criteria as new hams for this exercise (licensed since Jan of 2002). Our score on this SET along with other local SETs should place us among the top Sections in the nation again this year.

In the early planning this Simulated Emergency Test was planned as a local SET but continued to grow in scope and interest as the plan unfolded. Next year it would be great to have a planning committee from across the Section and make the SET a true Section wide event. I want to extend a special thanks to all the Section and ARES leadership for their time and effort in making this training a great experience for all.

73,
Glen Sage, W4GHS
Virginia Section Manager

December 18, 2006
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

As I compose this report two recent actions of the FCC will modify the world of Amateur Radio for the foreseeable future. The R&O 05-235 has now gone into affect and the transition appears to be smooth. I have received both favorable comments and those of disapproval from membership across the Section. Most of the disapproval came from the lack of accommodation of automated digital modes that allow for the most effective use of Winlink 2000 on the 80 meter band. It appears that these problems may be somewhat resolved with the digital ruling concerning the frequencies of 3.585 to 4.000 MHz.

The bulletin that addressed R&O 04-140 (the proposal for the elimination of the code requirement for licensing requirements for all classes of Amateur Radio license) indicates that the FCC has approved the rule change. This ruling also gives the Technician class licensee all privileges that the Technician plus licensee now enjoys. This ruling should increase the number of hams moving up to both the General and Extra class license.

All these changes will provide both adjustments and opportunities. Part of the opportunities will be in the area of traffic handling and emergency communications on the HF bands with increased participants. At this point we can continue to argue the pros and cons of these decisions made by the FCC or move forward to capitalize on the opportunities. The time for productive debate on the issue of the elimination of the code as a testing requirement is past. Let's join together in welcoming those that will be upgrading to the higher class of license.

We are completing the season for Simulated Emergency Test. There was a SET in Western Virginia on December the 9th. This test focused on the 40 county area covered by the Blacksburg National Weather Service office. This also included counties in other states. We utilized hams from across the Section, as well as the Section traffic system and the Old Dominion Emergency Net. The traffic count ran in the hundreds and it appears that the number of ARES members supporting this SET will also total around one hundred. We will have a complete report on this event on the December Section report.

The Section Traffic Manager and the Section Emergency Coordinator's reports are posted on the Section site and the ARES site at the following addresses. The Section page is here and the ARES page is found here. I have continued to visit clubs and ARES units during the past month. In looking to the year 2007, I plan to have a major focus on visiting clubs, ARES units and other Amateur Radio associations in the western section of Virginia. In this past year I have visited almost exclusively in eastern and northern Virginia. I will continue to be available for any special need anywhere in the Section.

As Section Manager, I will be working with our SEC and his assistant as they tackle the task of writing a Section Emergency Communications Plan for the Virginia Section. Another goal for 2007 is to put together teams of ARES members that remain ready and committed to providing a quick response to localities that have their local resources overwhelmed by communications emergencies or disaster. Secondary teams will be prepared to provide relieve to the local ARES unit and those that have responded as part of the initial response effort.

Efforts to compile contact information, training, related experience and skills of our ARES leadership and members continue. Our Assistant SM for Administration Dave Potter, W4RPI is heading this effort up for the Virginia Section. To update your records or to register for ARES follow this link to the ARES Registration page.

We are approaching the 400th anniversary (2007) of the Commonwealth of Virginia as an English settlement. Special event station operations have been planned from some key historical areas of Virginia. We would like for clubs and special interest groups to have a special event station across the state every weekend during this 400th anniversary. We are asking that you select an operating location that has historical significance.

A registration form will appear on the Virginia Section website in the near future. Now is the time to sign your club up and avoid a conflict in scheduling with stations from other areas.

I want to thank the many hams across the Section that have devoted countless hours to make the NTS, ARES, Official Observers, PIOs and PIC, Technical Specialists, Scouting and Youth programs, and State Government Liaison work. We also wish to thank our webmaster Dan Edwards, AG4YU for his tireless efforts.

73,
Glen Sage, W4GHS
Virginia Section Manager

November 17, 2006
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

October has been a time of accelerated change for hams across the nation and in the Virginia Section. The American Red Cross has come out with a new policy concerning background checks for volunteers and there own employees.

The FCC has acted on the Omnibus R & O. This ruling appears to be in need of some "fine tuning". We all are eager to begin to enjoy using these new voice frequencies after 12:01 EST on 12/15/2006. We are also beginning to see a steady influx of Simulated Emergency Test reports flowing in. We have one more major SET to take place. This will involve many of the counties across the 40 county area served by the Blacksburg National Weather Service office.

ARES continues to record steady growth as we approach the 1100 member mark. Many of our membership have yet to complete their ARES registration online form. This form is also to be used for changes of contact information, training courses, SET participation etc. If you have completed the form, you may make changes by going back and entering you call and just the information that has changed. The registration form is found at here. We are also rapidly approaching the 400th anniversary (2007) for the establishment of the first English colony in Virginia. We are planning special event stations across the Section during this yearlong celebration.

Due to the fact, that national statements from the American Red Cross (ARC) have been confusing and have created misunderstanding and many decisions of nor-compliance, I decided to check with service area ARC. I have a confirmation from our ARC Chapter Solutions person (Diane Green) that the "exception clause" listed in the example below applies to Amateur Radio under ARES.

"Additionally, the American Red Cross often works side by side with partner organizations. Example: A church in a disaster prone area may partner with the American Red Cross to serve as a shelter for local residents during a disaster. If the church members are supervised by their own leadership, the church would set their own standards for volunteer screening and background checks. However, if the church members go through Red Cross training and offer to work under the supervision and management of Red Cross supervisors in a Red Cross shelter, they will be asked to register as a volunteer and submit for a Red Cross background check."

My understanding of the statement above is that we are considered as a "partner organization" and if we are working as an ARES unit as opposed to an American Red Cross volunteer we are not required to undergo this background check. For many years hams have had strong feelings about going into a disaster area to serve under ARES as a communications volunteer then be ask to fill out a second registration as a Red Cross volunteer. This recent policy reinforces the need to have a national credentialing and background check. This has been provided for in the new Communications Act for the 21st century. Without "First Responders" ID, organizations active in disaster may be subject to any number of background checks required for assisting various organizations. This will cut into the number of available volunteers for many organizations.

I have submitted and received my background check for the ARC. I will not attempt to force others to make that same decision. A number of the Virginia Section and ARES leadership have communicated an unwillingness to comply. Several of these have held security clearances that required much more in-depth investigations but feel for various reasons a lack of interest in this background check by Red Cross.

The pending Simulated Emergency Test for the Blacksburg NWS forecast area (40 counties) is scheduled for December 9th, beginning at 8:00 am EST. Weather bulletins will be given on the night before (December 8th, form 9-10pm) on the 12 designated Skywarn Repeaters. These can be found at http://www.wx4rnk.org/. This scenario is of a major winter storm similar to a couple that was experienced in this area in the 90's. To the east of the Blue Ridge, counties will experience a major ice storm. Currently we have over 50 hams signed up to participate. Many agencies are also participating in this exercise. Hams to the east of the coverage area are encouraged to participate; we will be looking for support from non-affected areas. No materials will be moved. This is a communications exercise. See the SET website for additional information and signup.

The Section Traffic Mangers report is posted on the Virginia Section website. The Section Emergency Mangers report is posted on the Virginia ARES page.

The focus of my visits across the Virginia Section in October was in the Northern Virginia area. Turnout was great and many questions was raised concerning the direction of the Section and Amateur Radio in general. These meetings were very productive.

73,
Glen Sage, W4GHS
Virginia Section Manager

October 17, 2006
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

September was an active month across the Virginia Section. There was the Roanoke Division State Convention held at Virginia Beach on September 16th and 17th. Several members of the Section cabinet attended and participated in this convention and forums that were held. The Section Emergency Coordinator, Henry Wyatt, K4YCR, one Assistant Section Manger, Woody Thompson, W4TU and the Section Manger spoke at a special forum with a focus on Emergency Communications. Other areas of interest were also addressed and discussed during this meeting. This discussion included the important role of the Section Traffic system and how their role blends with the overall emergency communications plan.

Our next major Hamfest or convention will be held in 2007 with the Virginia State Convention being held at Richmond Virginia on February 24th (The Frost Fest). The Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society is sponsoring this event. Our plan is to have a forum there that will address questions and outline future plans and programs for the Section.

This month has been a time of intense activity within the ARES program with tropical storm Ernesto dropping heavy rain along the east coast including the Commonwealth of Virginia. A number of ARES units made a direct response with other units making preparations for a response if needed. For more details on the ARES response to this event and other ARES activities go to the ARES VA website. The Section Emergency Coordinator's monthly report is also posted on this site. I would encourage you to visit this page frequently because it is not static but has new articles and news appearing on the site on a regular basis.

I would also encourage you to go the VA Section Website that is maintained by Dan Edwards, AG4YU with assistance from Emmett Price, K3EP. The ARES VA and VA Section website are two separate domain names. Both the ARES and Section website is constructed and updated by the same staff. We also have a more limited VA Section webpage on the ARRL server. This webpage should be checked from time to time for critical announcements and alerts. If there is an event that may require ARES activation or other actions, a posting with be made at the league webpage. If you are registered for the "Members Only" feature on the ARRL Website, you will get an alert when you bring up the ARRL webpage. This will notify you that you have an alert on the ARRL Virginia Section Website and you may then click on a hotkey to take you to the site.

Information that pertains to the Section wide programs in Virginia is posted on the Section Webpage. Our Section Traffic Manager's monthly reports are posted there. Those that participate in the program of traffic handling are a dedicated group of hams, that in many cases, are active on nets on a daily basis. The skills that they develop are invaluable in times of emergency.

Don't forget the youth activities coming up this month. The "School Club Roundup" is being held the 3rd week of October (October 16-20. For additional details go to this web page. The Scouting JOTA is being held on October 21 and 22nd. Follow this link for additional information. Invite a scout troop to your home or local club station and watch the excitement as they talk with other scouts from all over the world.

The annual Simulated Emergency Tests (SET) that is so vital to our continued training and preparedness has been taking place across the Section. During the designed SET weekend of October 6th and 7th, a number of jurisdictions participated. There will be more details on this exercise in next month's report. Our Simulated Emergency Test needs to be completed by the end of December and reports should be sent in by mid-January. The report forms can be found here. When this report is completed, please send a copy to your DEC, SEC and Steve Ewald, wv1x@arrl.org.

Now is the time to begin to make plans for your club or special interest group to set a date and develop plans for a special event station for the 400th anniversary celebration of the settlement of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is ideal to operate from a site that has historical significances. Please inform Glen Sage, W4GHS, of your intentions. Send him your date of operation, location, times and bands of planned operation, QSL or certificate policy and historical significances of the site.

Randy Sly, W4XJ has recently been appointed as the Public Infomration Coordinator for the Virginia Section. Randy is beginning to be a heavy contributor to our websites and the news media. He is also working to develop a list of program presenters and resource people that clubs can use if and when they need the name of someone to present a fresh program to their local club. This list of people and contact information will be posted on the Section Website

73,
Glen Sage, W4GHS
Virginia Section Manager

September 16, 2006
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

As Section Manger, I was busy in the early days of August visiting radio club meetings and hamfest. I attended the Roanoke Hamfest on August 5th and participated in a forum along with other cabinet members. On August 11th I was the guest of the Lynchburg ARC followed by meeting with the QCWA on August 12th.

In late August the Section begin to brace for the impact of tropical storm Ernesto. Early forecast models had the storm passing through the eastern section of the state with the center of circulation projected to pass near the state capital of Richmond Virginia. All Amateur Radio interest in the projected storm path began early to prepare and those in areas outside the corridor of impact did some rechecking of their "Go Kits". Hams in central and western Virginia also began to think in terms of ARESMAT assistance if required.

Some of the specific preparations and responses to this heavy rainmaker is as follows; Hampton - Earlier in the month they conducted their first ever shelter drill where Hampton opened all three hurricane shelters. Amateur Radio had an outstanding turnout with 10 people responding. Emergency Management was extremely pleased that we had such a turn out in the middle of the business day. They also installed (2m/70CM) in the Buckroe Fire Station for CERT use.

Newport News: Amateurs made preparations for the arrival of tropical storm Ernesto. The storm impacted the area on September 1st so details will follow in the September reports. The ARES unit had a meeting with the Newport News Sheriff's Department to discuss the role of Amateur Radio operators in support of the Project Lifesaver, a program which used radio direction finding equipment to locate missing Alzheimer's patients.

Gloucester/Mathews Counties- A/EC and RACES RO Joe, K4JJS attended a meeting at Gloucester County Social Services to discuss shelter activations and policies. The county envisions enhancing the five shelter teams with CERTS members and Amateur Radio operators. The county is planning to sponsor a Technician licensing class in late October or early November with Joe, K4JJS as primary instructor. This is being done to help bolster the ranks of available operators to support the county EMCOMM requirements. Joe Safranek, K4JJS also attended a shelter walk-through meeting prior to the arrival of TS Ernesto. Representatives from emergency management, school system maintenance, Red Cross, sheriff's department, social services etc. toured the three primary shelters and were briefed on the results of a recently conducted emergency power survey. Amateur Radio was given assigned space in the shelter with access to emergency power.

Skywarn nets throughout the Virginia Section were placed in the standby mode prior to the arrival of TS Ernesto. The storm didn't arrive until September so the response to the heavy rainfall, evacuations, high winds, flooding and power outages will be reported next month. The After Action Reports from the impact area showed an ARES system that was willing, ready and able to meet the emergency communications requirements for this event.

A number of ARES members from District 14 participated in a Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) on Tuesday August 15th. This was an exercise that was designed to simulate a catastrophic regional incident. This training involved emergency management, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, rescue, fire, police, FEMA, SAR, Red Cross, Twin County Regional Hospital, ARES/RACES etc.

October 7th and 8th is the days designated for the nationwide Simulated Emergency Test (SET). October 21 and 22nd is JOTA. For additional details on JOTA go the the Section Website at http://www.arrlva.us/. To view the Section Traffic report go to the Section Website. To access the SEC monthly report go to the ARES website at http://www.aresva.org/aresva.html.

73,
Glen Sage, W4GHS
Virginia Section Manager

August 16, 2006
Glen Sage, W4GHS
VA Section Manager

As I continue to cross the Commonwealth of Virginia, visiting clubs and Hamfests, I am impressed with the quality of leadership I encounter. I also have a deep sense of appreciation for the level of dedication of those that serve. Even with some groups that are small in number, they are not lacking in commitment and service.

One group of about 12 hams in Stafford County joined together and had a decision reversed to impose a $7,500.00 application fee on the construction of ham towers. They also used the opportunity to enlighten the community about the vital role of Amateur Radio in times of communications crisis. We have PRB-1 in place at the national level and our state has its version of this preemption law. In spite of these laws there continues to be those seeking ways to make the presence of antennas difficult for the Amateur Radio community. We need to maintain our vigilance in order to provide for the emergency needs of our communities and to enjoy the hobby that means so much to all of us.

The hard work of the ARRL and local ham in Manassas Virginia have focused attention and brought results on the issue of BPL. BPL has continued to created interference to the local Amateur Radio community in Manassas. Currently moves have been made to insure that the FCC follows legislative mandates in protecting all radio services from this type of interference problems.

The ARES® registration forms have undergone some major revisions and are intended to capture additional vital information from those that serve. These new online forms are designed to glean contact information, training and courses completed, SET involvement, experience in actual activations, specialized skills, etc. The information submitted on these forms will be passed to DECs and ECs for their home area. In addition to the local records, a copy will be maintained at the Section level.

There is some expressed opposition to a database that is maintained beyond the local level. Reasons offered are sincere but not always valid. One is that "as an EC or DEC, I don't need any help in keeping my records." This reason assumes that Sectional leadership doesn't trust the record keeping ability of local leadership. This is not the case. The reason for record keeping at the Sectional level is to provide mutual support to units large or small in widespread and massive disasters. Even in the largest and most active districts there is not enough Amateur Radio resources to provide for a long-term massive disaster. If an EC or DEC is out-of-service due to the disaster or other circumstances and this person is the only one with the records of local contacts, those coming in from the outside have lost a great resource. We have districts in the Hurricane vulnerable areas of the east coast with thirteen, twelve and five active ARES® members. (These numbers are not counties but districts) In any of these small membership districts, it is possible that all the ARES® appointees may all be out-of-pocket during disaster. It is vital that we have a strong system of mutual support from nearby districts and across the Section to assist one another in times of major events. It is all-important that vital contact information be made available to those coming in to assist.

In recent time an EC became a "silent key" and on his monthly reports he had listed 14 members for his local ARES® unit. At his death, his ARES® records were also lost. A year later ARES® leadership was still trying to find these members. If we would have keep a Sectional dababase this would not have been a problem.

Another reason offered as an objection is the issue of privacy. Most of the information being asked for is a matter of public record. If we know a call sign, we can find the mailing address. If the person doesn't have an unlisted phone we can secure a phone number. Many email addresses can be located online, most of the other items are things that hams frequently discuss or brag about on the air, such as type of equipment or training they have completed such as ICS, NIMS and ARRL Emergency Communications Courses, EC-001, 002, and 003. These forms will not ask you for bank information, Social Security number, Age, weight, etc. In times of disaster we don't have time to research information on those that we might need to contact. A few ECs and some DECs see their unit information as their own personal property and we don't even have the calls of those registered in their unit. All records regardless of the level they are maintained are the property of the ARRL and ARES® if that information has been gather under the umbrella of ARES®.

Others are concerned that the roster might be given to some other communications group. I would hate to be the person to do that and leave myself open to liability for violation of the actions of the ARRL on the ARES® trademark board ruling of July 2004. These rosters do not belong to any of the field/service organization or me but are the property of the ARRL. The only exception to this roster ruling is if an ARES® unit has been registered with their County or City Emergency Management as the local RACES unit. These people wear two hats and switch when required. They can supply a roster to the EM, but they must maintain two rosters, even if the same information is on both rosters. One of these remains the property of the ARRL and ARES®.

We are approaching the peak of the hurricane season, lets do all that we can to prepare and serve. Please register at here or click on the "Join" button at the top of the Virginia ARES® website. Even if you filled out the form a couple of months ago, please reregister; the new form has been modified.