Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE – May 21, 2025

In This Issue:

• ARES® Briefs
• “Med Comms is Providing First Aid at Aid Station Three”
• ARRL Simulated Emergency Test: Operation Pungent Waters
• Letters: Net Control Station Helpers
• K1CE for a Final: WD4R Wins Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award
• ARES® Resources
• Support ARES®: Join ARRL

• WSJT-X installation and setup
• How to operate FT8 and FT4
• Demonstration of each with a homebrew 10 meter antenna as featured in the May/June On the Air Magazine
• WSJT-X specific setup for ARRL Field Day

Check it out! —Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, ARRL Education and Learning Manager

The ARES – Building Relationships in Public Service forum was held Sunday, May 18 at the Dayton Hamvention® with excellent attendance. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, gave an overview of the goals and direction of the ARES program, recent developments, and how partnerships and collaboration are crucial. He reviewed developments in ARES resources that he and his staff have worked on. Johnston noted that we are celebrating 90 years of ARES this year and talked about how community service and emergency communications have evolved recently, and why the Amateur Radio Service is as critical as ever in a robust disaster plan. Johnston also talked about being ready, responsive, and resilient for any incidents and events.

More than 280 amateur radio operators volunteered during the 129th running of the Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025. Operators were working at virtually every location connected with the race, including the starting line, the entire course, the finish line, transportation, and various operations centers, including the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the State EOC Unified Command Center (UCC), and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) Race Operations Center (ROC) in Boston. Combined, they performed communications duties that included logistics support as a primary function and backup support for medical and other public safety requests for the race as needed. “This is one of the largest public service events amateur radio supports in the United States and planning started over 6 months in advance,” said Rob Macedo, KD1CY, of the BAA Communications Committee.

Hurricane Season is Here: Prepare Now–Use the National Weather Service’s (NWS) hurricane preparedness reminders and take the time to find out how rain, wind, water, and even tornadoes could happen far inland from where a hurricane or tropical storm makes landfall. Learn how to prepare for how a hurricane could affect family members living in the more hurricane-prone areas of the country. See additional hurricane preparedness information. FEMA has two fact sheets: “Hurricane Hazard Information Sheet” and “Power Outage Hazard Information Sheet.” The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

Hurricane Prep your Station–Ensure availability of an emergency backup power source, i.e., gas-powered generators, and 12-13 V batteries, check all antenna and radio connections; and check into your local and section ARES nets and become familiar with them (see the ARRL Net Directory).

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), founded on Labor Day weekend in 1965, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025. The net, known for relaying surface observations into the National Hurricane Center, is also seeking volunteers to serve as net control operators. Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, reports HWN is preparing for what could be, yet again, an above­-average hurricane season, and that the net needs more amateur radio operators to help.

“We are starting early this year in preparations and looking to add more net control stations to our roster,” said Graves. “We are looking for dedicated new members willing to train to become net control operators (NCOs). While being bilingual is not a requirement, being fluent in Spanish and English or French/Creole and English is a plus.” If you are interested in training to become a net control operator for the Hurricane Watch Net, please visit HWN’s net control information page.

Armed Forces Day Crossband Test –The annual Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test, hosted by the Department of Defense, was conducted on Saturday, May 10. The event tested two-way communications between military stations and amateur radio operators as authorized by the FCC. The test provided opportunities—and challenges—for operators to evaluate their individual technical skills in a controlled scenario that did not impact public or private communications. The annual DOD message was to be transmitted via RTTY on 14.667 kHz at 1400 and 2000 UTC. Military stations transmitted on selected military frequencies and announced the specific Amateur Radio Service frequencies that were to be monitored. All scheduled transmissions were upper sideband (USB) unless otherwise noted. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event.

One of my favorite running races is held in late April in Minnesota — it’s a good opportunity to shake off the cobwebs of winter. This race is a 5K and 10K along the scenic Mississippi River in the heart of Minneapolis/St. Paul. A half marathon was added, starting near the State Capitol and down historic Summit Avenue.

Medical communications is managed by volunteer hams in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The office has a comms truck that we sign out and use every year to support the event. We partner with the office on the deployment of mesh for video and databases for injured runner tracking as well as D-STAR for high-speed data.

I support the medical director, bringing my team. We recruit the medics, and the director’s team recruits the hams. The crossover is remarkable. The last time I worked this race I was assigned as the medic at Station One.

This year, Peter Corbett, KD8GBL, and I were assigned to Station Three. The barricades were already up but I grabbed a temporary parking spot for the radio pickup and medical briefing. I moved the barricade (we were in a Minneapolis park) for the arriving St. Paul command truck. I was handed a Motorola APX 6000; I made a note to order a desk charger for these radios for our van. We were on a public safety talk group, with a two-meter FM repeater as backup.

At the medical briefing, I asked about the use of Epi pens on the course. The answer was if there is a bee sting, call 911. “Epi pens are expensive and perishable, so we don’t issue them.” The MD said rectal temps were the only way to get a reliable internal temperature; over 104 degrees was a sign of trouble. The overall idea was to handle the minor issues if qualified to handle them. The major issues? “Don’t hesitate to call 911.” At the last minute, the medics for Station Three were asked to staff a temporary station at Seven for the 5K/10K, and then move.

Peter and I stopped at Seven. There was already a Med Comms volunteer there, so we went to our stop, which was hard to find with the main road and related intersections closed off. It did not actually have a street address, just a dot on a map. (Street addresses are generally required for 911.)

It was 08:30 with our 1,700 runners due at 09:30. Our medics were not present. We hoisted the medical flutter flag up with help from the fluid station captain. We opened the large medical suitcase and located the AED, which was blinking, a good sign. There was a cooler and ice, but no towels for heat stroke treatment (it was 50 degrees so they probably wouldn’t be needed anyway).

We found a rented UHF medical radio set on the medical channel, but we were told to move to the race ops channel. I called in, and the doc answered. “Med Comms is here at Three, with no medic yet.” Peter called in on the Med Comms radio with the same message. After 9 AM, we made a decision: Since I had current CERT, AHA Basic First Aid, and CPR/AED certifications, I was assigned as Medical Lead. Peter was assistant medical lead and Comms. I put on the medical vest. Peter had his bike but no “mobile” first aid kit.

At 9:30, we saw the first runners. I called in to Doc, “Med Comms providing Basic First Aid at Aid Station Three.” They wanted a nearby street address. With my CERT training, triage became easy: “Are you OK?” If the runner asks for a bandage for a blister, good. If the runner is face down (or face up) on the pavement or having chest pain or is beet red (heatstroke?), call 911.

Around 10:00, our medics arrived, walking in from the distant parking lot. They were friendly. I handed over the orange vest and we settled into our backup role. We had one person ask for ibuprofen, and another asked for Vaseline.

Lessons Learned

In our experience, there is limited government demand in 2025 for highly trained and credentialed emergency radio communications-only volunteers. On the other hand, our events (and increasingly, disaster recovery operations) are in need of cheerful, trusted volunteers to step slightly outside the box. Medical professional and volunteer shortages still pose challenges. Properly-trained volunteers can provide basic first aid and CPR, and use of an AED is permitted.

The scenario was a 500-year flood, similar in scope to the Midwest Flood of 1993. CERT was deployed to the Katy Trail trailhead near the Duckett Creek water treatment plant. This plant was almost lost to flood waters in 1993 so the scenario was realistic. CERT members would undertake sandbagging operations at Duckett Creek while the Emergency Communications Association (ECA, sponsoring corporation for St. Charles County ARES) communications trailer was staged at Bible Baptist Church in St. Charles, close to the sandbag site.

The scenario involved rising waters that could soon overcome the sandbagging operation. Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio Service (AF MARS) was contacted to bring in Corps of Engineers assistance with Portadam assets to help keep flood water out of the treatment plant. AF MARS traffic into the St. Charles County Regional Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was relayed to staging and from there to the CERT at the Duckett Creek sandbag site.

This exercise required the participants to keep track of formal messages using ICS-213 forms and logging radio traffic on QLOG5, which served as the ICS-309 radio log. ICS-214 forms were used to keep track of personnel assignments and time in each position.

Staging operated out of the communications trailer with two dual-band operating positions: one HF transceiver (Icom IC-7100) into a GR-2259 NVIS antenna and one logging position. One lesson learned from the exercise is to ensure the remote tuner was mounted at the base of the bottom pole of the NVIS antenna, not placed on the ground.

This exercise featured several aspects of training that are required for new members to have signed off in their ARES Position Task Book. St. Charles County ARES has several new members and some older members who need to complete their skills books. The following are directly related to the training requirements:

• Proper documentation of deployment using ICS-214
• Proper documentation of traffic using ICS-213
• Traffic logging using ICS-309 (QLOG5)
• Participation in SET or similar exercise
• Use of tactical call signs in a net
• Participation in net operations

Initial communications between staging and Duckett Creek were sketchy but after some troubleshooting and changing the antenna, communications were clear and easy. The ICS-205 allocated HVTAC 7 (146.595 MHz) as the primary frequency for staging to Duckett Creek with HVTAC 6 (146.505 MHz) as the backup frequency.

Staging to EOC was via the 145.490 MHz repeater with the RBARC 145.410 MHz repeater as backup. For local communications, the CERT team used FRS channel 5. HF frequencies used were 7.263 MHz as primary for AF MARS and 8.263 MHz as backup. The Red Cross passed its traffic on the 145.49 MHz repeater.

Lessons Learned

All participants did a great job handling the traffic, and cooperation between agencies was exceptional. There were lessons learned with regard to safety, traffic handling and antenna installation.

The exercise was constructed in four phases: Deployment; First Operational Shift; Second Operational Shift; and Demobilization. This allowed rotating communications crews and learning the mobilization and demobilization processes with different teams. All attendees had a part in the various aspects of the exercise with cross training in the skills required. The exercise then concluded with a hot-wash critique and lunch.

Participating agencies included AF MARS in Washington County, Missouri; American Red Cross of St. Louis; Bible Baptist Church in St. Charles, Missouri; State Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson City; St. Charles County Regional Emergency Management, O’Fallon, and O’Fallon CERT.

With what has happened in the southeast during last year’ s hurricane season, this exercise scenario seemed appropriate. Planning started months in advance and included several meetings over lunch, video conferences and telephone discussions. Thanks went to all the entities involved, and to the participants themselves for making it a very successful test. —Bill Grimsbo, NØPNP, District C Emergency Coordinator; Emergency Coordinator, St. Charles County, Missouri

NCM (Net Control Manager)

NetLogger

N3JFP Net Manager

ECARS Logger

W3KM Net Control

This is an area of interest to many hams and with severe weather season already upon us, it would be a timely topic. — Ward Silver, NØAX

In 1980, Dr. Neal Frank, then Director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), requested an amateur radio station in the center to facilitate communication with the Caribbean during hurricanes. Julio was chosen for this important task. What is now WX4NHC handled its first hurricane that year, and Julio’s initial two-year assignment with the NHC has since extended to 45 years, covering over 100 hurricanes.

In 2010, shortly after the Haiti earthquake, Julio was tasked with setting up and managing operations between the University of Miami (UM) Hospital in Florida and the UM field hospital in Haiti. He swiftly coordinated with US and Haitian officials, organizing a team of amateur radio operators from across the US to run HH2/WX4NHC in Haiti. Beyond the field hospital, the team provided vital communication links to the US Navy hospital ship Comfort, facilitating helicopter and speed-boat patient transfers that saved many lives. Julio and his team’s use of amateur radio in public service demonstrated significant merit, earning high regard for amateur radio capabilities.

Having worked with Julio since the mid-eighties, and attending amateur radio workshops at the annual National Hurricane Conference with him over the years, I have seen him demonstrate the ability to energize his team of operators for the mission of the National Hurricane Center. He has a magnetic personality, sense of humor and most of all, excitement, professionalism, confidence and skill, all factors in the huge success of the amateur radio-weather service connection, a symbiotic relationship nurtured by decades of service. Congratulations, Julio! —Rick Palm, K1CE

• Download the ARES Manual [PDF]
• ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF]
• ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF]
• ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word]
• ARES Plan
• ARES Group Registration
• Emergency Communications Training

How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form and submit it to your local Emergency Coordinator.

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