QRZ! Ham Radio 1/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - December 1993.iso/ucsd/races/mismisc2.txt

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MISMisc2  Version 1. 3     3/1/92



MISCELLANEOUS, Part 1  [CATEGORY: MIS)

WHY VOLUNTEERS MAY BE REFUSED
   In briefings for potential volunteers, several local
government officials have brought up the following points on why
the services of volunteers may be refused. It is only fair that
potential volunteers understand the following items, if
applicable, in advance:
  1. A designated government department, agency, or organization
is usually the primary response and responsible agency.
Volunteers, therefore, must be either members of that government
organization or have an agreement with that agency.
  2. Volunteers offering to help during or after the incident are
usually too late. Governments who use volunteers prefer to orient
and train them in advance. The volunteers then know in advance
where to go and what to do.
Those are the two most common inputs we receive from government
agencies. We are not talking about the one time volunteer, of
course, but those who participate in frequent incidents and other
activities of their government. We urge any volunteer to
associate yourself with that government agency or organization
that has an OFFICIAL response responsibility. RB178

WHAT ABOUT CITIZENS BAND?
QUESTION: You usually talk about Amateur Radio, the Civil Air
Patrol, and public safety radio services in your Bulletins. Isn't
Citizens Band radio viable anymore in emergency services
agencies?
ANSWER: Yes, in some areas. Because it is short range and local
in nature, CB radio is best suited to city and county
communications. Like any other volunteer service this can vary
from area to area. In many areas the REACT or Radio Emergency
Associated Communications Team organization is a highly
developed, dedicated and professional group that is a pleasure to
work with and a credit to the community. CB radio now also
includes the GMRS or General Mobile Radio Service. More and more
REACT organizations are using GMRS. This enables a professional
quality base, mobile and repeater operation in the UHF-FM band.
A CB radio should be part of any city and county Emergency
Operations Center even if there is no organized or dependable CB
radio organization. It can be an immediate source of information
or reports in some instances. It is an inexpensive communications
resource that should not be overlooked in any local area
Emergency Operations Center. RB163

CALL WAITING AS A COMMUNICATIONS TOOL
Call Waiting is an inexpensive option that most telephone
companies offer that enables you to accept another call when you
are already on the phone. You may answer the caller without
losing your first call. This enables you to receive alerts,
callouts and emergency calls, for example, without those callers
getting a busy signal from your phone. It is recommended for
every emergency responder, manager or public safety worker. RB001
(1988, new numbering system began)

TSUNAMI
A tsunami is a seismic seawave usually caused by a submarine
earthquake. A tsunami warning is generally automatically issued
after a quake off the coast of Alaska of Richter 6.8 and Richter
7.5 if offshore British Columbia and the western U.S. A Warning
means immediate evacuation of low lying areas is required. A
Watch means a Warning may follow. Authorities will cancel Watches
and Warnings whenever sufficient information permits the
decision. Emergency workers and the media must know (1) the
difference between a Watch and a Warning, and (2) that a tsunami
may be several waves over several hours. It is not, repeat not,
just one wave.
TRAINING DISCUSSION: People who use the term "tidal wave" should
be corrected whenever possible. The correct term is tsunami. The
tsunami is a shock wave that travels over the open sea at speeds
close to 500 miles per hour. One cannot see this shock wave in
the open ocean. As it approaches land, several things happen. It
slows down. The water frequently recedes from the ocean bottom,
leaving fish flopping in vast tide pools. This can often attract
people to catch fish with their hands instead of heading
immediately for high ground as they should. Then the tsunami
bores in at speeds ranging from 30-100 mph and from 20 to over
100 feet high. Your being above the runup is the only escape from
a tsunami. There may be several waves over a period of time.
Subsequent waves may be larger than the first of preceding waves.
There are no rules that govern the speed, height, and how many
waves will affect any given coast. When you are told to
evacuate--don't be a dead hero. Get out! Civil Defense warning
sirens and the Emergency Broadcast System should be activated
simultaneously two hours prior to the ETA of the first wave in
your locality. CAP aircraft in Hawaii are equipped with
electronic sirens and P.A. systems that effectively warn
fishermen, campers and swimmers away from the shorelines. RB
87-12

RICHTER SCALE
Earthquakes are measured and reported in the Richter Scale. It is
a log scale. This means that a Richter 3 is 10 times greater than
a Richter 2, and Richter 4 is 100 times as great as Richter 2.
Richter 3 can cause slight damage in the local area, 4 moderate
damage, 5 considerable damage, 6 severe damage, 7 widespread
heavy damage and is called a Major Earthquake, and 8 is a Great
Earthquake capable of tremendous damage. Southern California is
due for a Great Earthquake. 86 - 27.

COMMUNICATIONS AUXILIARY DEFINED
Staff personnel in charge of Amateur Radio Auxiliary support
groups may have a more useful and flexible group of communicators
than they realize. And there may be more "outside" resource
groups available to augment your in-house communications during
emergencies that strain your system capabilities.In addition to
RACES (Radio Amateur Communications Emergency Service)
volunteers, you might find that such organizations as the Civil
Air Patrol, the various military MARS organizations, and the ARES
(Amateur Radio Emergency Service) can supply experienced and well
trained radio communicators. To search out such resources that
may be available in your area is an obvious task for your Radio
Officer.All this may seem a difficult and even an unnecessary
task for a busy professional to take on, in addition to all the
others which make demands on both time and energy. However, it is
a truism that no major disaster situation ever happens without
overwhelming normally quite adequate communications systems.
Professionals in emergency communications organizations may not
be aware of the quality people available to them in the Amateur
Radio Community. Even though not all Amateurs are interested in
being a part of an organized and trained "communications
reserve", even a small percentage of the half million licensed
Amateur Radio operators in the country can be a formidable group.
Likewise, not all Amateurs are physically, psychologically, and
technically qualified to fit into an organization that trains for
and deals with major disasters.
Reserve law enforcement officers and volunteer fire department
personnel are usually screened for these roles. Similar selective
routines are needed for your "communications reserve" people.
Once properly selected and trained, however, your Amateur Radio
auxiliary can be equally effective in the communications field as
the other - and perhaps better known - police and fire support
people.One more thing to consider - a trained and competent
Amateur may be just what you need to operate some of your own
regular communications gear in an emergency. Given the needed
training in advance, they can be as professional as your regular
staff.
By: Bill Musladin, N6BTJ Assistant State RACES Officer RB181

THE IMPACT OF AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ON HIGHWAY SAFETY
by James J. West, N6AAD Assistant State RACES Radio Officer for
Calif. Depart. of Transportation.
Each day the over 60,200 licensed Amateur radio operators in
California make a significant contribution to the public as they
travel the roads and highways of our state.
Many people are misled by the designation of "Amateur". It
denotes that the FCC license for the Amateur Radio Service is not
for commercial use. Although the Amateurs have equipment that
could easily compete with the best commercial service, this is
not permitted. He is even restricted from using an Amateur radio
telephone phone patch to phone ahead for a hotel reservation.
At any moment in time, hundreds, if not thousands of these
operators are traveling on the roads and highways of California.
Many of them have varied skills that make them anything but
amateur. Their ranks include doctors, lawyers, firemen, policemen
and their fraternity includes skills as varied as a high school
student to the position of King to his country.
Each day these radio operators use their skills and equipment to
summon aid to a location, to aid in fighting fires, calling
police to handle accidents, alerting police dispatchers as to the
needs of injured traffic accident victims.
Because of new technology available within the Amateur Radio
Service many city, county and State government agencies have
begun to take advantage of the billions of dollars of equipment
within the Amateur Radio Service. At long last, these operators
are being allowed to support emergency management programs with
the encouragement they deserve from government.
The low power walkie-talkie is a powerful communications tool
when its signal is received and boosted to high power through a
mountaintop repeater. While walking down a street with his hand
held radio, he is able to talk to radio stations over a hundred
miles away with the sound clarity of his home or office
telephone.
The computer has been married to the Amateur Radio equipment to
greatly increase its message handling capability. With a program
called "packet" his station is almost fully automated, giving him
a wide range of receiving, storing, transmitting and hard copy
printing services.
With appropriate software programs, he can set up his own
electronic mailbox system, call an on-line bulletin board system
for information or news items, or send messages several thousand
miles to a specific Amateur Radio computer station.
Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) is one of the
latest agencies to begin the procedures necessary to utilize the
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), a program that is
outlined in the Federal Communications Commission regulations and
coordinated by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
The FCC regulations do not make a RACES program. It is the
contributions of Caltrans employees who will provide the energy
required in our department. A successful program will save lives,
protect property, and aid in deploying the appropriate people to
face the task of making California a safer place to live. RB 087,
088

TRAINING WRITEUPS WANTED
Attention: Amateur Radio emergency services instructors, managers
and others with emergency experience. Here is an opportunity to
share your advice with others. Many hams with little or no
experience are asking for guidance. A role of this office is to
collect and distribute guidance to hams interested in becoming a
professional volunteer resource to emergency response agencies.
Anything worth doing right should be put into writing. Now is
your chance to speak up and be heard -- or rather -- read. We
know there are many fine instructors, managers, members out
there. Send in your contributions now. Any topic. As many as you
want, no limit. Mail or packet them to me. Authors will be
credited. Items we edit will be sent back to the author for final
approval prior to release. RACES and ARES units are constantly
asking us for training materials and outlines. This can and
should be a joint effort for all who have good advice or
procedures to share with all Amateur Radio operators seeking to
sharpen their skills. Topics should include management,
operations, technical or policy.
Questions? Call me at 916-427-4281, write, or packet W6HIR @
WA6NWE.Ca.#nocal.ca.. Sgd/ STANLY E. HARTER, KH6GBX, Amateur
Radio Service Coordinator, 2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA
95832 RB87-42

RACES BULLETIN NUMBERING SYSTEM
The State RACES Bulletin numbers will begin with 001 with the
next bulletin in January 1988 and run consecutively thereafter
and without starting over every year. This will facilitate future
reference and filing. The WESTNET packet numbering will be
RACESBUL.001, etc. An index of past bulletins is available to any
agency from this office. RB 87-47

THANK YOU, EMERGENCY RESPONDERS
I want to thank all of the Amateurs in California for the support
you have given this past year. Without the help of RACES, ARES,
VIP, ARRL, club members and individual hams to the State and
local governments, we would not have had the superior
communications we enjoyed during our heavy fire season. The
Director and staff of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services
is most appreciative of your dedication, skill and
professionalism. Again, thanks a lot, Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year to you all! FOR THE DIRECTOR: Jon Madzelan, Chief,
Telecommunications Division. RB 044

EARTHQUAKE ACTIVITY
In 1980 four earthquakes registering 6.0 and over on the Richter
scale occurred in the Eastern Sierra within two days. Each year
since then the area has recorded one or more quakes with a 5.0
and up magnitude.
Moreover, geologists have noted that since the mid-1970s the
Earth's surface has lifted more than a foot in Long Valley, a
depression near Bishop that was formed 700,000 years ago in a
volcanic eruption that scientists believe was hundreds of times
more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Oregon's Mt. St. Helens.
The U.S. Geological Survey issued a warning in 1982 that a major
volcanic eruption would be possible. They say that the most
recent quakes may not be directly related to the previous
volcanic activity because they were centered about 20 miles from
the Long Valley caldera. But they warned that intensified
activity would probably continue and predicted that quakes with a
magnitude of 6 or more could be expected. Amateur Radio operators
in public service everywhere should self-analyze all the "What
if?" questions that come to mind.
RB 86-32

DISPATCHERS CONGRATULATED
National Dispatcher's Week is April 12-18 throughout the nation.
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services salutes all
dispatchers, telecommunicators, 9-1-1 operators and others who
work around the clock in public safety communications centers.
Seldom seen and appreciated by the public, they are the front
line link between the public safety agencies and the public they
serve. RACES operators should visit a nearby dispatch center and
receive a briefing on their duties and skills required to better
appreciate the workload and stress. It can be a tough job.
Dispatchers--we salute you. RACES members: let them know they are
appreciated! Show them this bulletin.
Sgd/Stan Harter, KH6GBX, State RACES Coordinator.    RB87-09