ARES Teams Handle Hurricane
Over the past week, Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) teams in the ARRL Northern Florida Section went on alert and some activated to support emergency communication before and during Hurricane Michael.
Miller Norton, W4EMN, the Communications Watch Officer at the Duval County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Jacksonville, Florida, was monitoring SARnet — a UHF-linked repeater network in Florida — when he heard an urgent call for help that needed to be sent to the State EOC in Tallahassee. All other forms of communication were out, but Norton was able to relay the message to via Amateur Radio. He also passed along messages and requests from the Jackson County EOC to the American Red Cross. Norton said officials in Tallahassee and Jackson County were both “incredibly grateful” for the way the SARnet system functioned during the weather emergency.
Jackson County Emergency Coordinator Ricky Whittington, KD4AST, deployed to the county EOC in Marianna.
“We took a direct hit by the center of the storm at 140 MPH,” he told Clay County ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) and Public Information Officer Scott Roberts, KK4ECR. “[The] county maintenance building across the road from the EOC was picked up and slammed into the north side and over the roof of the EOC just prior to the eye passing over.”
The incident took out the HF antenna, which has since been restored. Whittington said the internet failed, as did cell service for a while. Hams have been passing material and resource orders to the State EOC via HF and SARnet.
Whittington reported “total devastation of Bay, Jackson, and Gulf counties,” with loss of electrical power and water service, in addition to damage in Franklin, Holmes, and Leon counties. “[The] only mode of communications after the eye came across was ham radio, until we got minimal cell service a few hours ago,” he reported on October 11.
ARES teams in other counties reported activations, although some teams remained in monitoring mode.
- Escambia County ARES activated on October 9 at 2300 CDT to support two shelters — special needs and pet-friendly — until they closed on October 10 at 1700 CDT
- Although the Alachua County EOC activated at Level I, the ARES volunteers never activated beyond Level 3. However, AEC Susan Halbert, KG4VWI, spent a day at the EOC coordinating with emergency managers in case they needed to open a shelter for local evacuees or for host county operation. No hams were needed for shelters, but one or two shelters opened for outside evacuees.
- The Gilchrist County EOC activated at Level 2 and shelters opened. The local 2-meter repeater was excellent, and no power outages were reported. ARES primarily remained at Level 3 in monitoring mode. Daily nets were held for hurricane weather briefings and the Northern Florida Section Emergency Net on HF was able to provide up-to-date storm location information to the State EOC when it lost internet service.
- Citrus County ARES was called to activate on Monday, October 9, at 5 PM CDT. At that time, emergency managers had opened four shelters, serving 38 clients (and 13 pets). Telephone and internet service remained operational throughout the weather event, although ARES volunteers staffed two shelters on a precautionary basis, as well as the EOC at activation. All shelters closed by 6 AM on Wednesday, October 11. Citrus County ARES volunteers covered two back-to-back 12-hour shifts at the EOC. ARES personnel stood down at 6 PM on Tuesday, October 10.
- Duval County activated to Level 3 monitoring status along with the activation of the Duval County EOC. No shelters opened in Duval County, and there were no reports of serious damage.
- Clay County also activated to Level 3 monitoring, when two tornadoes touched down in the county. No shelters were opened, and no official activations were requested.
- Source:ARRL
Digital Modes
FT8DMC 3rd Anniversary-Activity Days 2020
To commemorate our 3rd anniversary, special event stations will be on air during the FT8DMC Activity Days from 1. to 31. July 2020. All stations will... Read more
K1JT , JOE TAYLOR HINTS AT POSSIBLE NEW MODE!
In a post to the WSJT-X email group today, Joe Taylor K1JT hinted at some ongoing experimentation of a new digital mode with sub-modes. His post was a... Read more
WWSA GACW Contest Rules.
WWSA GACW I – Dates Second weekend of June of every year. From Saturday 15.00 UTC until Sunday 15.00 UTC. 24 hours period. II – Goal To co... Read more
Review
Warrantless Search Of Ham Radio Operators? No Fourth Amendment Rights?
Responding to comments and recent videos here on Youtube. Is there a big threat to amatuer radio operators fourth amendment rights? Are we opening out... Read more
Baofeng UV-9R TP 18-watt Power Testing | UV9R Plus HT
Baofeng UV-9R TP 18-watt HT Ham Radio Unboxing and power testing – let’s see if this 18-watt HT does what it is advertised to do! Read more
ACOM – Manufacturers Showcase
ACOM team to discuss the latest amplifier technology. Tune in and ask the team questions. Read more
Ham Radio vs CB
Ham Radio vs CB, Citizen’s Band Radio – Ham Radio compared to CB frequencies and modes – which ones is better? Today let’s tal... Read more
Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network
The article “Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network,” appeared on February 9 in Eos, Earth & Space Science News — an American... Read more
Equipment
New Firmware Icom Updates for the IC-705, IC-7300, IC-9700 to include Smoother FT8 Mode Operation
Icom will be releasing new firmware for our IC-705, IC-7300 and IC-9700 transceivers. The updates are planned to improve the user experience and incor... Read more
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress?
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress? Read more
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More [Small Size But All-Purpose] Unlike other FM/AM/NOAA radios, the RW3 is a Blue... Read more
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch Read more
Yaesu M-70 | Desktop Microphone
The Yaesu M-70 is a new desk top microphone from Yaesu, it is ideal for the new FT-DX10 model but will function with other Yaesu Models. More info so... Read more