2005 ARRL Field Day
07/06/2005 |
WE1CT
In case of emergency
The ham radio guys are still here and they stand ready
By Brian Goslow
If you found yourself driving by the National Guard Building on Skyline Drive on the edge of Green Hill Park last Saturday night, you may have noticed a group of guys awkwardly holding an antennae toward the sky while others turned a radio dial, headphones on tightly. They werent searching for extraterrestrial life they were members of the Worcester Emergency Communications Team (WECT) hoping to make contact with the International Space Station and earn points towards this years American Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day activities.
From the early days of radio, amateurs have formed an ad hoc, unofficial network that could serve as a communications system in times of emergency. To keep that dream alive, amateur radio operators in the United States and Canada annually gather in their respective communities for the 24-hour event on the fourth full weekend of June. According to the ARRL Web site, the object is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands. (They also intend to keep themselves prepared for emergency as well as let the public know theyre there and ready.) Points are given for every contact made, with bonus points awarded for operating under emergency power, such as solar energy, and communicating via satellite.
In this age of the Internet and cell-phone technology, amateur radio operators have to fight the general belief that emergency ham operations are a thing of the past. Voice-over IP services dont register on emergency 911 systems, says John Ruggiero (N2YHK), a State Police dispatcher who heads up WECTs satellite communications unit. He says WECT is trying to set up emergency posts inside the citys three hospitals. All of them are connected via leased telephone lines, he says. If those go down, an alternative form of communication is needed. Thats where we come in.
Rubin, The Director of WECT and RACES Officer for the City of Worcester, points out that Nextel, which provides the backbone for much of the nations digital and analog wireless communication services, including mobile telephone and two-way radio dispatch systems, relies on electrical power towers with no backup system. However, Nextel Public Affairs Officer John Redman says all of his companys cell sites have backup batteries which provide four-hour backup during which time theyll usually be able to repair the source of any system shutdown. If not, We bring in diesel generators when theres a power loss, he says.
WECT has operated out of the office of the Worcester Emergency Management Agency, which reports to the Worcester Fire Department and recently went under the supervision of Lt. Tom Gingras. During an actual emergency, most recently the blizzard in January, they also set up at the Emergency Operation Center office on East Worcester Street as well as the homes of its members. If an emergency shelter opens up, a member can go there and can communicate its need for supplies, says WECT volunteer Gil Hayes.
The number of WECTs membership has also taken an eight-week Citizen Emergency Response Team certification-training course. Should the citys public safety radio system go down, the 62 volunteers of WECT can place a ham operator with a radio in each city police car and fire engine. If Worcester lost emergency communications, our hams carry emergency radios with them at all times, says Worcester Radio Amateur Radio Civil Emergency Services Officer Mark Rubin. They have the capability to set up emergency dispatch centers wherever they are needed.
Field Day participants are fast to discuss their readiness in case of such emergencies as blizzards, hurricanes, earthquakes or presumably, tornadoes. When the 800- system goes down, were their backup, says Edward Emco (W1KT), a ham radio operator since the age of 13. We back up the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, anybody who has a need, he says, pointing to a sign over the sign-in station reading, Amateur Radio: When Everything Fails It Works.
They participated in the citys Weapons of Mass Destruction drill at Green Hill Park in 2003 and the Worcester Municipal Airports tri-annual disaster drill last year. Two members recently assisted a biotechnology disaster test in Connecticut. In emergency situations, they work closely with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and if necessary, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Their volunteers can handle the delivery of emergency radiograms, notifying loved ones about the health and welfare of relatives and friends in a disaster area, such as occurred last summer when Florida was hit by three hurricanes. Vernon Mitch Mitchell says he handled a call from St. Thomas about a girl who had been pulled out from under a collapsed hotel and delivered a message to her family that she was all right.
Inside the command center, Hayes (WK1H) is working a ham operator in Ontario. A software engineer at EMC, hes held his ham operators license since 1996. Ive talked with a lot of Ontario stations, a lot of Ohio, a lot of Michigan, someone in South Carolina, and a lot of West Virginia, he says. Among WECTs early contacts were stations on Oland Island (off the coast of Sweden); Kaliningrad, Russia; and Croatia.
One of the obstacles Field Day participants have is that various ham bands only work at certain times of day; high temperatures, daylight and the time of day at the receiving end also affect reception conditions. WECTs challenge is to find ways to get past those difficulties. People want services, Hayes says. Our frequencies arent always going to be good but as a group, youre going to find a way to get a message from Point A to Point B at any time of the day.
Along with points for radio contacts, there are also points given for getting local politicians and officials to drop by. Worcester City Councilors Tom White and Joe Petty who made a QSO on behalf of WECT during his visit visited on Saturday afternoon, as did Deputy Fire Chief Tom Noone.
This will be the final time WECTs members gather on Skyline Drive for Field Day next year they should be housed in new facilities at the Grove Street fire station. Rubin says hes concerned that the loss of the current high terrain transmission and receiving point may compromise its ability to communicate county and statewide from the lower location, a sentiment he conveyed to Deputy Chief Noone during his visit.
By the time this years Field Day ended at 2 p.m. on Sunday, WECTs 28 participating volunteers had made approximately 800 contacts. That included a 20- to 30-second telegraph communication with the International Space Station, which Rubin calls no easy feat. The ARRL will spend the next month calculating the number of contacts each participating community made; the final results will be announced later in the fall.
(For more information regarding WECT refer www.wect.net)
Brian Goslow may be reached at bgoslow@worcestermag.com. -- WB1ARZ
The ham radio guys are still here and they stand ready
By Brian Goslow
If you found yourself driving by the National Guard Building on Skyline Drive on the edge of Green Hill Park last Saturday night, you may have noticed a group of guys awkwardly holding an antennae toward the sky while others turned a radio dial, headphones on tightly. They werent searching for extraterrestrial life they were members of the Worcester Emergency Communications Team (WECT) hoping to make contact with the International Space Station and earn points towards this years American Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day activities.
From the early days of radio, amateurs have formed an ad hoc, unofficial network that could serve as a communications system in times of emergency. To keep that dream alive, amateur radio operators in the United States and Canada annually gather in their respective communities for the 24-hour event on the fourth full weekend of June. According to the ARRL Web site, the object is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands. (They also intend to keep themselves prepared for emergency as well as let the public know theyre there and ready.) Points are given for every contact made, with bonus points awarded for operating under emergency power, such as solar energy, and communicating via satellite.
In this age of the Internet and cell-phone technology, amateur radio operators have to fight the general belief that emergency ham operations are a thing of the past. Voice-over IP services dont register on emergency 911 systems, says John Ruggiero (N2YHK), a State Police dispatcher who heads up WECTs satellite communications unit. He says WECT is trying to set up emergency posts inside the citys three hospitals. All of them are connected via leased telephone lines, he says. If those go down, an alternative form of communication is needed. Thats where we come in.
Rubin, The Director of WECT and RACES Officer for the City of Worcester, points out that Nextel, which provides the backbone for much of the nations digital and analog wireless communication services, including mobile telephone and two-way radio dispatch systems, relies on electrical power towers with no backup system. However, Nextel Public Affairs Officer John Redman says all of his companys cell sites have backup batteries which provide four-hour backup during which time theyll usually be able to repair the source of any system shutdown. If not, We bring in diesel generators when theres a power loss, he says.
WECT has operated out of the office of the Worcester Emergency Management Agency, which reports to the Worcester Fire Department and recently went under the supervision of Lt. Tom Gingras. During an actual emergency, most recently the blizzard in January, they also set up at the Emergency Operation Center office on East Worcester Street as well as the homes of its members. If an emergency shelter opens up, a member can go there and can communicate its need for supplies, says WECT volunteer Gil Hayes.
The number of WECTs membership has also taken an eight-week Citizen Emergency Response Team certification-training course. Should the citys public safety radio system go down, the 62 volunteers of WECT can place a ham operator with a radio in each city police car and fire engine. If Worcester lost emergency communications, our hams carry emergency radios with them at all times, says Worcester Radio Amateur Radio Civil Emergency Services Officer Mark Rubin. They have the capability to set up emergency dispatch centers wherever they are needed.
Field Day participants are fast to discuss their readiness in case of such emergencies as blizzards, hurricanes, earthquakes or presumably, tornadoes. When the 800- system goes down, were their backup, says Edward Emco (W1KT), a ham radio operator since the age of 13. We back up the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, anybody who has a need, he says, pointing to a sign over the sign-in station reading, Amateur Radio: When Everything Fails It Works.
They participated in the citys Weapons of Mass Destruction drill at Green Hill Park in 2003 and the Worcester Municipal Airports tri-annual disaster drill last year. Two members recently assisted a biotechnology disaster test in Connecticut. In emergency situations, they work closely with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and if necessary, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Their volunteers can handle the delivery of emergency radiograms, notifying loved ones about the health and welfare of relatives and friends in a disaster area, such as occurred last summer when Florida was hit by three hurricanes. Vernon Mitch Mitchell says he handled a call from St. Thomas about a girl who had been pulled out from under a collapsed hotel and delivered a message to her family that she was all right.
Inside the command center, Hayes (WK1H) is working a ham operator in Ontario. A software engineer at EMC, hes held his ham operators license since 1996. Ive talked with a lot of Ontario stations, a lot of Ohio, a lot of Michigan, someone in South Carolina, and a lot of West Virginia, he says. Among WECTs early contacts were stations on Oland Island (off the coast of Sweden); Kaliningrad, Russia; and Croatia.
One of the obstacles Field Day participants have is that various ham bands only work at certain times of day; high temperatures, daylight and the time of day at the receiving end also affect reception conditions. WECTs challenge is to find ways to get past those difficulties. People want services, Hayes says. Our frequencies arent always going to be good but as a group, youre going to find a way to get a message from Point A to Point B at any time of the day.
Along with points for radio contacts, there are also points given for getting local politicians and officials to drop by. Worcester City Councilors Tom White and Joe Petty who made a QSO on behalf of WECT during his visit visited on Saturday afternoon, as did Deputy Fire Chief Tom Noone.
This will be the final time WECTs members gather on Skyline Drive for Field Day next year they should be housed in new facilities at the Grove Street fire station. Rubin says hes concerned that the loss of the current high terrain transmission and receiving point may compromise its ability to communicate county and statewide from the lower location, a sentiment he conveyed to Deputy Chief Noone during his visit.
By the time this years Field Day ended at 2 p.m. on Sunday, WECTs 28 participating volunteers had made approximately 800 contacts. That included a 20- to 30-second telegraph communication with the International Space Station, which Rubin calls no easy feat. The ARRL will spend the next month calculating the number of contacts each participating community made; the final results will be announced later in the fall.
(For more information regarding WECT refer www.wect.net)
Brian Goslow may be reached at bgoslow@worcestermag.com. -- WB1ARZ
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