2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference WEM Ham Radio Station: What We Do and How to Use It Joseph Senulis, N9TWA 1

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference How many of you are involved with Emergency Operations Center (EOC) communications? 2

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference To provide effective communication via ham radio between local EOC’s and the State EOC at Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) you need to know: Who at WEM you want to communicate with What communications capabilities we have in common How to establish communication in the first place 3

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference In the interest of time, please hold your questions to the end. I will be here all day today and tomorrow. 4

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Question for you: How would you want someone to address a message to your EOC? 5

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Messages should generally be addressed to a served agency, not WEM Your served agencies/EOC should know who the message should be sent to at the State EOC. You may have to do some prodding to get the name/role of the recipient. ICS-213 and ARRL Radiogram forms format both work Most traffic is between hams to establish communications circuits 6

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Messages should generally be addressed to a served agency, not WEM Your served agencies/EOC should know who the message should be sent to at the State EOC. You may have to do some prodding to get the name/role of the recipient. If you don’t know the addressee, we will work it out at our end. ICS-213 and ARRL Radiogram forms format both work 7

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Possible addressees: 8

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Dedicated Radio Room for the EOC Separate room adjacent to the EOC Intercom from the EOC Messaging and situational awareness through a WEM computer via E-Sponder Participate in briefings as appropriate 9

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference I have talked about how to address your message, but now we need to discuss how we transmit the message. 10

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Technologies HF voice, CW, digital (PSK31 and others) 2m FM voice 70cm FM voice WinLink 2000 digital mail Access to WeComm repeaters 11

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference 12

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference 13

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2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference HF Voice, CW, Digital (PSK31 and others) Yaesu Mark V FT-1000MP Watt Kenwood TS-440S Broad-band dipole 80, 40, 20, 10 m trap dipole 40-10m vertical (Yaesu only) Rockwell Collins - 1 kWatt Multi-band vertical 16

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference HF Digital Kenwood TS-440S Standalone computer MixW2 PSK31 MT63 17

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference 2m/70cm FM Voice Two Kenwood TM-V71A dual band radios Dual band vertical for local communications Dual band vertical beam on a rotator for longer range communications (Baraboo Hills is an obstruction) All TM-V71A radios have the same memories for redundancy 18

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference WinLink 2000 Kenwood TM-V71A dual band radio (same programming as the voice radios) for 2 m (other half of the radio could be used for voice) Motorola commercial 70cm radio Dedicated computer with Internet access Internet access (under repair) 19

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Access to WeComm Repeaters VoIP via X-Lite Uses same computer as WinLink 2000 System functions, but still under construction. 20

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference That is all good, but how do we make contact with each other in the first place? 21

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference You can't talk with us if we aren't there. State EOC activation ARES/RACES may be activated with rest of EOC ARES/RACES staffs station on our own ARES/RACES staff monitor net frequencies from home ARES/RACES leadership requests activation (SET) Direct request by local ARES/RACES units to support exercises 22

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Establishing Communication Our initial plan – if all else fails races.org/Documents/Activation_Appendix_C.pdf We will be listening on frequencies/modes that we think you are likely to use. This is a bit of a hit and miss proposition. 23

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference WISCONSIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ARES/RACES STATION ACTIVATION PLAN Activation Plan Appendix C W.E.M. ARES/RACES Station Initial Communications Plan When the ARES/RACES radio station at the Wisconsin Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center, 2400 Wright St. has been activated, District Emergency Communications Plans on file at WEM will be the primary means of establishing initial communications, when applicable. Additionally, the following frequencies and modes will be monitored for initial communication as conditions permit. 1. The WEM ham call sign for all modes is WC9AAG. 2. Radio frequencies will be monitored as follows: (a) HF: i. Phone: A. Primary 3967 kHz LSB B. 1st Alternate 3975 kHz LSB C. 2nd Alternate 7250 kHz LSB D. 3rd Alternate 7245 kHz LSB ii. The Badger Emergency Network (BEN) will be monitored when possible: A. Primary: 3985 kHz LSB iii.Digital: A. BPSK31: Primary: kHz USB Alternate: kHz USB (b) VHF i. FM phone repeaters: The most likely repeater to be reachable by the local ARES/RACES group needing to contact WEM will be primary: A. Cambridge WeComm repeater MHz (PL 123.0) B. Madison: MHz (PL 123.0) C. Baraboo: MHz (PL 123.0) ii. FM phone simplex, as requested: A B iii.WinLink 2000: A MHz and MHz (WC9AAG-5) (c) UHF i. FM Phone repeaters: The most likely repeater to be reachable by the local ARES/RACES group needing to contact WEM will be primary: A. Wisconsin Interstate Network linked repeater system. Check for your local link. 3. Other WEM ARES/RACES station contacts available only during an activation: (a) Phone: or x (b) DMA.HAMS(at)wisconsin.gov (c) FAX:

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Establishing Communication Your DEC is the primary link between the local response and WEM DEC’s are less likely to be affected by a communications failure. DEC’s are likely to know what frequencies, modes and repeaters the local unit is using or could use. Helpful to have district communications plans on file at WEM VHF/UHF relays may be needed because of poor HF propagation 25

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference WEM Station Staffing 9 primary operators Have WEM/DMA credentials Maintain the station between activations Mostly from Dane County Familiar with EOC procedures 26

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Station Staffing During Activation At least one primary operator and a total of one operator for each voice/CW mode plus one extra Other operators are ARES/RACES members, generally from Dane County Primary station operators when not on shift are encouraged to monitor frequencies from home as a backup. 27

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference WEM Backup EOC There is none, although probably at Volk Field. Where ever it is, our expectation is that a local ARES/RACES group will set up a Field Day type of operation in support, with some staffing from the primary operators who know the WEM EOC procedures. 28

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference SUMMARY Knowing who we serve at WEM will help you get your message to the correct place Knowing our joint capabilities will help you in your planning and actually sending messages Knowing how to establish communications will enable us both to serve our agencies more quickly 29

2010 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference Questions? Joe Senulis Wisconsin ASEC for WEM/RACES Deputy Chief Radio Officer 30