More than two decades after the deadly West Warwick The Station Nightclub fire, Tom Senarchia KA1VAY (above left) remains mission-driven to promote public health & safety awareness with inclusive whole community outreach.
Tom KA1VAY is the Founding President of RI AEM (the state-wide Association of Emergency Managers). Building on his career as a West Warwick Emergency Management professional, he is now also a Pastor. This September, he opened the doors of the Cornerstone of Faith UMC in Coventry for a long-planned Health & Safety Fair that welcomed the community. It was a blue sky New England late summer day, and people from across RI steadily dropped by to chat with representatives from the United Way’s 211 program and the RI Dept of Health’s Special Needs Emergency Registry, and more. There was food and fun and a chance to discover just how many older women at this event had fond memories of their now-Silent Key dad’s active on Amateur Radio.
Outside, Jeremy Taylor K1JST – our tireless young professional RI Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) – set up the RI ARES table and greeted everyone, listening patiently to understand how best to be helpful. For some, Jeremy K1JST suggested ways to get started. To others, ways to get more involved (or involved again) in ARES.
K1OS Ocean State Amateur Radio Club was represented by club president, Michael Melancon N1VSU. Ocean State Amateur Radio Club (K1OS) participates every June in ARRL Field Day from the Providence EMA with operators Joe Del Giudice, K1CR and Matt Hackman, KB1FUP. They are co-located on ARRL Field Day in Providence with the PEMA RACES team led by Barry Noel, W1BSN – operating with the Amateur Radio call sign KK1PMA.
New possibilities unfolded for how a local faith center or Scout or Senior group could get members licensed and bring Plan-B resilient communication skills to their community.
In-person community outreach and collaboration like this Health & Safety Fair are more meaningful than ever in 2024.
More remarkable RI leaders: New England Division Marine Corp Chaplain Jane Deptula (standing front) who organizes an annual interfaith servant leadership Four Chaplains Memorial Service on the first Sunday in February at the Cornerstone of Faith UMC in Coventry, Rhode Island.
The Service of the Four Chaplains is held in recognition of the Dorchester Chaplains “who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the American troop ship SS Dorchester sank on February 3, 1943, in what has been referred to as the second-worst sea disaster of World War II.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Chaplains
Many thanks to Tom Senarchia KA1VAY for organizing this successful outreach on a Blue Sky day.
Wonderful presentations from today’s lively Amateur Radio Workshop at the 2024 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando reveal the endless ways ham radio operators provide critical ground truth situational awareness “when all else fails”.
Especially check out the keeper stories by Julio Ripoll, WD4R in the YouTube video link below. See especially 1:25-1:33. (And shout out to the wire antenna!)
Many thanks to the conference organizers and videographer Jim Palmer KB1KQW for providing remote access and a YouTube recording to share widely:
2024 National Hurricane Conference Presenters and Moderator: • Moderator: Rob Macedo, KD1CY, VoIP Hurricane Net
• John Cangialosi, Senior Hurricane Specialist, National Hurricane Center
• Special guest speaker Bob Robichaud, VE1MBR, Canadian Hurricane Center
• Special guest speaker Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, Director of Emergency Management, ARRL HQ • Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Station Coordinator
• Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager
• Joe Bassett, W1WCN, SATERN, Salvation Army Team Emergency Response Radio Network
• Rick Palm, K1CE, ARRL ARES E-Letter Editor/Public Service Columnist
• Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations, VoIP Hurricane Net & ARRL ARES Eastern Mass SEC
• Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, VoIP Hurricane Net (Videographer)
YouTube screenshot 1:26:42
Sign up for RHODE ISLAND SKYWARN Training April 30, 2024
Jeremy Taylor, K1JST
Section Emergency Coordinator
Rhode Island ARES® [email protected]
www.riares.org
March 4, 2024
Re: Open Letter to All Amateur Radio Operators, Clubs, Groups and Associations in the Rhode Island Section
Greetings,
As the Section Emergency Coordinator I have two very important duties that I need your assistance with. The first is to promote and encourage the development of local ARES groups. Contrary to popular belief, RI ARES is not a club, nor would I like to see it promoted as one. ARES should provide training, organize and coordinate activities. We are happy to assist people who are interested in learning and improving their operating abilities, but I am by no means an expert. There are many Amateurs who have vast amounts of experience and knowledge they can share with less experienced amateurs. I know there exist many clubs, groups and associations of amateurs in RI (hereafter referred to as clubs), and most have a subset of members who are interested in Public Service. What I propose is that these clubs form a local ARES group as part of their club. This would create an opportunity for people to work together to become better operators and expand their capabilities, making us better prepared to assist during Public Service activities, events, emergencies and disasters. Many of the activities that clubs are already doing together are great ways to improve operating skills that are useful for public service. The ARRL is adding a listing for ARES groups on their website, similar to the ARRL Affiliated Clubs list. Should your club opt to form an ARES Group we can facilitate adding it to the list. Local ARES group members are not required to sign up for RI ARES, but it is encouraged.
Another responsibility I have as SEC is to collect reports of public service related activities in our section and assemble them into a report to the League each month. I understand that some people might not support the League for various reasons, but one thing I think we all can agree on is that the ARRL is advocating for Amateur Radio. The public service activity report that each SEC submits each month is used to calculate the value of the time the Amateur Radio community dedicates in service to the public. Our public service function is the very first principle listed in Part 97.1 Basis and purpose of the Amateur Radio Service. Our ability to assist the public is a very important part of how we justify the spectrum allocated to Amateur Radio, which we all know would sell for billions of dollars on the FCC auction block. There are many schools of thought around these reports, but the ARRL’s Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnson KE5MHV and I are of the opinion that these reports should be liberal in their application and include not just activities that are official “ARES” activities, but all activities in the Amateur Radio Community that are applicable.
I am requesting that each club nominate at least one liaison to ARES (even if you don’t opt to form an ARES group) that can report the information and club’s activities each month that fall under the following categories:
Participants
The total number of ARES participants in your group (it’s ok if this is only the liaisons, activities still count, though we welcome everyone with an interest)
Nets (total number of each)
ARES group or other club Training, Practice or Emergency Preparedness Nets held
Includes repeater or simplex nets on any band or mode
Formal, Directed, or Informal nets
Nets that test equipment, coverage, exchange info, handle messages, or practice skills
Of those nets, how many included a NTS liaison
Total number of participants of those nets for the month
Activities (number and total person hours in each)
Exercises (can report local exercises or participation in other exercises)
Training Events (including the training and practice nets reported above, and club activities)
Public Service Events
Community Service Events
Emergency Events (any activation in service to an emergency)
SKYWARN Events (any activation in service to SKYWARN)
ARES group meetings (or the portion of your club meetings spent discussing related activities)
Unclassified Events
Narrative
A brief summary of any activities and any administrative or other comments
We will provide training on what and how to report, but I have devised two methods of reporting. Liaisons can either complete a brief online form to report each activity and I will compile the totals, or they can compile an online summary report form for the month. Liaisons that do a thorough job, report on time each month, regularly participate in statewide practice nets, training, and/or and exercises, and are working towards completing their ARES task books would be eligible for appointment as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator or even Emergency Coordinator. Also, ARRL Affiliated Club stations that regularly participate in ARES practice nets, exercises and activations would be eligible to apply for designation as an Official Emergency Station.
I really appreciate your willingness to help in this matter. One of my goals is to ensure that Rhode Island is accurately reporting data that can be used to advocate for our rich and diverse hobby.
Rob Macedo, KD1CY & the BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee write:
The 2024 Boston Marathon is still in need of Amateur Radio Volunteers. Therefore, Amateur Radio volunteer registration for the 2024 Boston Marathon has been extended until end-of-day Sunday 2/11/2024. Register now at register.hamradioboston.org! If you are unsure if you can volunteer but are interested in volunteering, please register now and just let us know within a reasonable amount of time if you ultimately can’t volunteer! Thanks to all for their support!
73, Rob Macedo, KD1CY and the BAA Amateur Radio Communications Committee
Robert Macedo, KD1CY shared this opportunity and Feb 2nd deadline to register:
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we make an off-topic post on the need for Amateur Radio Volunteers for the 2024 Boston Marathon. In addition, there is a continued need for medical volunteers for the 2024 Boston Marathon and those interested in volunteering as a medical or general volunteer can use the register.hamradioboston.org link and they will be brought to the general volunteer page which can be utilized for those that are not Amateur Radio Operators to volunteer. Further details for Amateur Radio volunteers follow below:
Volunteer registration for the 2024 Boston Marathon is open. Returning volunteers have received an email from the BAA that included registration instructions. In order to make registration as smooth as possible, we are providing specific instructions for our Amateur Radio Operator (ARO) volunteers.
If you haven’t previously volunteered, or have a friend who would like to volunteer, please go directly to the Volunteer Registration page and follow the instructions for new volunteers.
Almost all amateur radio positions are single person assignments. We are not able to group people on a single assignment, but we will try to accommodate which segment you are assigned to in order to allow for similar start/end times.
Don’t delay! Volunteer registration closes on Friday, February 2 at 5:00 PM EST. It would help our planning processes if you could complete your registration by Friday, January 26.
Help us get the word out by forwarding this email to your club and other amateur radio operators who might wish to volunteer. Most volunteers first learn about the event through word of mouth. If you know new licensees who might like to join us, please make sure to let them know about it. Even just a quick mention at your club meeting can be a big help!
If you have any questions about the upcoming volunteer registration period, or the 2024 Marathon generally, please get in touch anytime. Volunteering at the Marathon is a big job and we appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it. We’re happy to do what we can to make your work fun, comfortable, and effective.
“This is the recording of the 2023 Virtual SKYWARN Weather Spotter Training from Saturday May 13th 2023. This presentation helps support taking and passing the online quiz to become a new SKYWARN Spotter or to refresh your SKYWARN training to support the retraining requirement every 5 years. This virtual training was taught by Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator & SKYWARN Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY.”
Stay tuned for virtual and in-person 2024 training options.
Learn how to provide critical situational awareness and support your community.
2. FREE Cloud Charts
Plus great interactive learning tips for every age.
Have you looked at clouds from both sides now and still not sure what you are seeing? Start here!
Did you know? “In the United States today, the 27 cloud symbols are no longer plotted on surface maps. Weather observations became computerized in the 1990s, and these automated observing systems can only detect cloud height, not cloud type. However, weather observations by humans continue in most of the world and include the ‘state of the sky’ using these symbols.”
“During severe weather events, thousands of ham radio volunteers provide real-time information to partners like emergency management and forecasters at the National Weather Service. Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio can help you become one of those volunteers, providing ground-truth information when it is needed most.”
Classic Professional Grade: Davis Vantage Pro Weather Station, runs over $1500
Entry Level Weather Station options are many from $50-$300
Low-Tech – CoCoRaHS Rain Gauge. – Participate daily in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Networkhttps://cocorahs.org/
5. Join a SKYWARN Net
The RI SKYWARN Net meets every Wednesday at 19:30 on the NB1RI Network.
During severe weather events the net activates at least daily at 19:30 and more often as needed. The SKYWARN net is open to all licensed operators and welcomes new participants. Net Manager – Martin N1JMA
For more on SKYWARN and RI ARES nets hosted on the linked NB1RI Repeater network, see:
On November 4, 2023 the nearby Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) opened its underground Bunker to the public to commemorate 60 years since its dedication in 1963, a year after the Cuban Missile nuclear war Crisis. Saturday’s Open House included a pop-up exhibit of Civil Defense artifacts from that time. Informative videos throughout helpfully oriented you to the past and present functionality of the Bunker.
Much has changed in 60 years, but the need for reliable communication has not.
The event was a great opportunity to listen and share ideas about the relevance and value of amateur radio operators and ARES to Served Agencies in 2023 at this time of change.
Chris Grazioso (KB1UTL) – the Director of UAS Operations, Drone Operations Program, Mass DOT, Aeronautics Division put it this way: In his 30+ year career as a Public Safety professional, almost everyAfter Action Report cites a concern about a breakdown in communications, someplace in the report. In his experience, being a ham has helped him be a better trained operator, able to adjust and keep vital communication channels going one way or the other, when others couldn’t.
(Right) Chris Grazioso, KB1UTL – Director of UAS Operations, Drone Operations Program
The dynamic new Director of MEMA, Dawn Brantley (right) was licensed c.2008 when working in Emergency Management in radio-friendly Alaska. Not currently an active ham, it was a welcome conversation to talk about the ease of getting licensed in 2023 using the online, self-study platform, HamStudy.org. Her security detail, Emily, was definitely interested in learning more.
The Rhode Island Section looks forward to continued conversations with our New England neighbors. Especially now with Jeremy Taylor, K1JST, our new RI Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) in place and a new team coming together to reshape RI ARES. Let’s share lessons learned. Pitch the message why amateur radio literacy adds value. And put together the training path that will get us from here to there – whether six months, six years, or a full 60 years on to 2083. We start here, today.
The October ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is a longstanding ARRL opportunity for Sections to come together and evaluate how hams can contribute value to statewide preparedness efforts. Are we organized, reliable, disciplined? A supportive and inclusive team able to problem solve in real time, and collaborate with a sincere interest to provide a public service? Is this a team served agencies can trust to turn to?
Each July QST issue has, for decades, highlighted each Section ARES and other teams that have come together to participate in the annual October SET challenge. It is one measure of a Section’s preparedness maturity to be able to follow up in this way and self-report their own progress year over year. RI ARES has not been in a place to report results for at least a decade. But the good news is that is changing in October 2023.
The RI ARES official SET started this Saturday October 21 and will run until Sunday at 10pm. We held two nets so far this weekend, with this summary of Saturday reports to date:
15 check-ins
8 airport weather traffic reports for 4 RI airports
accurately passed to at least 2 MARS members
via 80m and 2m voice, and so open to all license classes,
including a new Technician ham licensed less than 2 months. (wow!)
The Sunday SET nets will begin October 22nd at Noon, with the last one at 10pm.
Want to join the momentum? Please see RIARES.org and the Incident Action Plan put together by A-SEC, Jeremy Taylor, K1JST.
For more on the Practice Exercise held two weeks ago , please see:
23 radio amateurs contributed 26 results during last weekend’s RI ARES MARS Airport Weather Practice Exercise. Thank you!
It was open to all anytime from 10am Saturday to 10pm Sunday October 7-8, 2023. As noted, 23 hams joined in. Two of these reported hearing nothing and one of the 26 submissions was a landline verification report. These are not shown in the data summary charts below.
Given this generous 36-hour window of time in which to submit results from home, 23 hams participated. Is this a large turnout, or less than expected? Too early to say. For comparison, the 2m RI ARES VHF Simplex net last night lasted about 45 minutes and had 15 check-ins from across 4 of the 5 RI counties. The month before, the RI ARES Simplex net had 20 check-ins across all 5 counties. Just FYI as we seek to understand baseline interest and commitment – and work to build aligned skill-development opportunities and continued outreach.
Top Challenge: AM Aviation Band (108-137MHz) awareness & solutions for your FM radio, scanner, or SDR
The Practice Exercise asked hams to listen on their radios and report what, if anything, they heard when tuned to 5 specific frequencies between 120-135 MHz, on the AM Aviation Airband.
Listed below are two of the FM radios used by this weekend’s practice exercise participants. These familiar ham radios do include the ability to receive on the aviation band.
5w Yaesu FT-60R (c. $190) w Diamond wide receive SRHF40A
50w Icom 5100 base
Add to the mix: reviewing how to program a new frequency, the benefits of a wideband receive antenna, and making time and effort to participate within the timeframe.
Location still matters: Nancy, KC1NEK used the Yaesu HT to clearly hear 4-5 airport weather stations over the last week from Middletown, RI. But then heard nothing when testing from the grounds of the New England Wireless & Steam Museum in East Greenwich.
This Practice Exercise was also an opportunity to learn about FM modulation/demodulation and slope detection. (Thank you, Steve, WA1GVM from Coventry!) Some people got creative with police scanners and planned SDR solutions. Yes, it was a good practice exercise. Stay tuned!
Join us tonight, Wednesday October 11, 2023 at 7:30pm on Zoom to share your experiences and tips. (For the Zoom link and more events, please see the RIARES.org calendar.)
What changes, if any, do you plan to put in place before the actual Simulated Emergency Test planned for Oct 21-22?
County [ham entries]
TF Green
Newport
N. Central
Block Island
Westerly
Bristol* [0]
Kent [5]
5
1
1
Newport [9]
5
9
3
3
1
Providence* [2]
2
1
Washington [6]
1
1
2
4
Outside RI [1]
1
*Requesting ambassadors especially for Bristol and Providence Counties. ARES looks to the team-building leadership role of the DEC and ECs to build this prepared capacity. This is a great opportunity to encourage, mentor, and learn while supporting a state-wide shared mission.
All interested RI licensed radio amateurs are welcome to join RI ARES Members for a MARS situational awareness practice exercise this weekend. We will be discussing this further on the RI ARES 1st & 3rd Tuesday night repeater NB1RI network nets, and in a Zoom meeting. (Details below.) This marks the beginning of RI ARES training exercises and monthly Zoom meetings scheduled for the rest of 2023. We welcome your participation.
Introduction
The following is the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) for the Rhode Island Section for the calendar year 2023.
We appreciate the leadership and support provided by Chuck Chandler, WS1L, the Western Massachusetts (WMA) Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) and Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, US Army MARS Region One Director as your new RI Section and ARES leadership put together a SET/Practice Exercise in time for ARRL’s SET.
We will run:
1) a Practice Exercise open to all interested RI licensed radio amateurs
from Saturday, October 7, 2023 beginning at 10:00 local (14:00 UTC), through Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 22:00 local (10/9/23 02:00 UTC).
2) the RI ARES Simulated Emergency Test will be held two weeks later:
from Saturday, October 21, 2023 beginning at 10:00 local (14:00 UTC), through Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 22:00 local (10/23/23 02:00 UTC).
Separate Instructions will be sent for the Simulated Emergency Test.
Rhode Island’s five Airport Surface Weather Observation Stations (ASOS/AWOS)
SITUATION
Repeated patterns of wet weather have been experienced throughout New England, leaving soils saturated and incapable of absorbing additional rainfall. Several instances of flooding have already led to road washouts impacting the transportation sector.
The first arctic cold front of the season approaches with a large pressure differential producing a sudden onset of high winds. With root systems already weakened in soft soil, large numbers of trees are felled throughout the region. Multiple roads become impassable. Wire and cable damage has led to degradation of the Public Switched Telephone, internet and cellular networks. Calls placed without GETS/WPS are taking up to one hour to complete. Limited internet access is available in some areas, with other areas suffering extended outages. High demand has made VoIP communications impossible.
Resource requests for high priority items are ready to transport via air to local airports but with no ability to receive local weather conditions at those airports ARES has been tasked with reporting local airport weather information.
MISSION
RI Radio Amateurs interested in participating will attempt to receive local airport weather broadcasts in the VHF-AM Aviation Band from 119-136 MHz. A list of local airport weather frequencies will be provided. Any weather reports received will be transcribed for later reporting.
For the Practice Exercise, participants will report their information via a Google Form located at:
A Simulated Emergency Test is a structured excercise. RI Radio Amateurs will attempt to receive local airport weather broadcasts in the VHF-AM Aviation Band from 119-136 MHz. A list of local airport weather frequencies in scope will be provided. Participants may elect to establish a temporary station at an advantageous position in order to improve their chances of receiving one or more airports.
For the Practice Exercise, participants who are able to receive these reports will transcribe the weather reports so that they may be reported to US Army MARS via the Google Form.
Participants who are unable to receive airport weather reports are requested to report that fact, along with their location, in order to alert authorities to any airports that may not be operational, or may have degraded weather reporting capabilities. Participating in this exercise also helps to build baseline awareness about who can hear what Rhode Island airport weather stations under good conditions. For the Practice Exercise, this should all be reported via the Google Form.
Two weeks later, the Simulated Emergency Test will involve passing this airport weather traffic over the air via one or more radio nets, or via WinLink.
ADMINISTRATIVE & LOGISTICS
This SET will require the following ICS forms:
ICS-202 Incident Objectives (summarizing this operations plan)
ICS-217 Communications Availability Worksheet (listing the five Rhode Island airport weather channels in scope)
ICS-213 General Message (printable Information Gathering Template)
The Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator will notify ARES members of this exercise in advance and solicit their participation. Any licensed amateur who expresses an interest is encouraged to take part.
An after-action review will be conducted soon after the conclusion of the Practice Exercise. Lessons learned will be implemented for the SET planned for two weeks later, October 21-22, 2023.
COMMAND & SIGNAL
The Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator has submitted this SET + Practice Exercise Operations Order to the Section Manager for their approval. Once approved, it will be disseminated to RI ARES members and those who have expressed interest in RI ARES for whom we have email addresses on file. It will also be announced on the RI ARES Repeater Net and posted to the RI section website: https:ri-arrl.org
The actual SET is anticipated to run for a 36-hour period from 1000 local on Saturday 21 October 2023 until 2200 local on Sunday 22 October 2023. This will allow participants to have sufficient time to monitor airport weather broadcasts and to report them. Participants may submit their Google Form at any time during the exercise period.
Participating in the Basic Practice Exercise is an important first step designed to be accessible for any interested radio amateur. All are welcome to give this a try.
Additional challenges and MARS crossband exercises are possible. The ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book for Level 2 presumes annual participation in a Simulated Emergency Test, such as RI ARES is offering this October 2023. Please join in!
NOTES
You are invited to review additional documents at:
(The form will be available for practice before hand, but only data reported during the exercise will be utilized.)
Congratulations to Jeremy Taylor, K1JST for stepping up to put much of this together on short notice. Many thanks for contributing additional capacity to take on the new role as your volunteer RI Division Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator.
