October Section Emergency Coordinator's Report

ARRL Ohio Section - FSD-96
Month: October
Year: 2018
Total Number of ARES Members: 1583
Change since last month: 43
Number of DEC's / EC's reporting this month: 10
Number of ARES Nets active: 541
Number of Nets active with NTS Liaisons: varies
Call-signs of DEC's / EC's reporting: (All)
Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 728
Person Hours: 5369
Number of Public Service Events this month: 83
Person Hours: 1356
Number of Emergency Operations this month: 7
Person Hours: 65
Total number of ARES/RACES Events this month: 818
Total Person Hours: 6790
Comments: Ohio SET (Blizzard - Black Swan 2018) was held with moderate results. ARES was tasked on standby for a POTUS visit. ARES helped with security at a Preble County Octoberfest, staging observers at critical points around the county.
Submitted by and call-sign: Stan Broadway N8BHL
Email: stan@standi.com
Files to upload?:

ARES Monthly Activity
October, 2018

District 1
Totals include figures for the Northwest Ohio Traffic and Training Net and District Skywarn. The Northwest Ohio Traffic and Training Net for the month of October handled 183 pieces of traffic in 35 sessions in 608 minutes with 311 check ins. The District started a NORC-2 net in October to be done monthly. NORC-2 means Northern Ohio Regional Communications 2 meter net. This net will test each month the communication ability of all Hospitals, Nursing Home and medical facilities and EOC's in District 1 as well as District 2 following the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio new radio grant program for eligible medical facilities. Included in this report is time spent by myself and Dan Stahl in visiting facilities to do radio set up or testing. Attached is the county by county EC's report. Please include those with the Section final report.

District 2
Defiance Co. and Williams Co. EC's completed IS-300 and 400

District 3
DISTRICT 3 SUMMARY:  100% of Nine Counties reporting: 306 Members (0 change); (68 Voice Net Sessions, 20 Digital Net Sessions (88 total Net Events & 379 Net man-hours); 27 Meetings-Drills-Training-Tests (766 man-hours); 7 Public Service Events (197 man-hrs) and 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hrs); for 121 Total Events and 1342 Total man-hours.

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY:  (23 members, 0 change):  4 weekly voice net sessions (40 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours) and 1 other ARES events (10 man-hours) for a total of 5 events and 50 man-hours.

CLARK COUNTY:  (37 members):  4 weekly net sessions (20 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours) and 2 other ARES events (20 man-hours) for a total of 6 events and 40 man-hours.

DARKE COUNTY:  (14 members, 0 change):  5 weekly voice net sessions (9 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours) and 1 other ARES event (12 man-hours ) for a total of 6 events and 21 man-hours.

GREENE COUNTY:  (57 members, 0 change):  22 weekly voice net sessions, 9 weekly digital net sessions (158 Net man-hours); 2 Public Service Events (48 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 16 other ARES related activities (563 man-hours) for a total of 49 events and 769 man-hours.
     Comments:  Weekly Net participation: GCARES, GCARES/MVMA Mesh Discussion, BARC, UVARC, GCARES Digital, Dayton East Emergency Response Net (DEER), OHDEN, OH EM PREP, D3 Weekly. Other activities: Continuing Mesh and Winlink maintenance, demonstrations, testing & training, served agency radio testing, served agency meetings and tours, SET, four fire department open houses, Jamboree on the Air, Greene County Technician, General and Extra License courses.

LOGAN COUNTY (RACES UNIT):  (10 members):  4 weekly voice net sessions (2 man-hours); and 1 other RACES activity (18 man-hours) for a total of 5 events and 20 man-hours.

MIAMI COUNTY:  (26 members, 0 change):  12 weekly voice nets, 5 weekly digital nets (54 Net man-hours); 1 Public Service (60 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 0 other ARES events (0 man-hours) for a total of 17 events and 114 man-hours.
     Comments:  MCES ARES/RACES Net 145.23(-) held each Sunday evening at 2100hrs, 147.21 (+) held each Thursday at 2000hrs, Digital nets using MT63-2KL on 145.23 held each Sunday at 1900hrs & Wires X net on Sunday at 1800hrs. The club support the Troy Regional Cross Country Meet held 27th Oct in Troy with 10 operators providing communication across the track meet.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY:  (86 members, 0 change):  4 weekly voice net sessions, 4 weekly digital net sessions (16 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Events (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 2 other ARES related events (66 man-hours) for a total of 10 events and 82 man-hours. 
     Comments:  Gary Clark, KC8TND, was deployed as an American Red Cross Volunteer to support Hurricane Michael relief efforts. Approximately 21 amateurs participated in the annual SET exercise. “NVIS Antennas” was our program topic at our MoCo ARES Community Meeting.

PREBLE COUNTY:  (14 members):  4 weekly net sessions (2 Net man-hours); 3 Public Service Event (79 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 1 other ARES events (12 man-hours) for a total of 8 events and 93 man-hours.
     Comments:  Preble participated in security operation for the West Alexandria Oktoberfest on a Friday and Saturday night, 7pm to 7am. Coordination was made between local police and event organizers. This yearly activity made for a long cold night and the dedication of the members are greatly appreciated. Donuts for everyone! We conducted communications for the annual West Alexandria Oktoberfest antique car rally. Preble has been operating this event since 1978, 40 years. Operators were stationed around the county at check points that included scenic covered bridges. Time stamp and numbers of cars as they passed the check point were recorded and transmitted back to event organizers. New operators were teamed up with veteran operator for training. New procedures were implemented at NCS to make the flow of traffic more accurate and traceable. With both activities, security and car rally, it really stretches the members to commit and perform the activities—little sleep and being out of their comfort zone. This is a good exercise of what actual activations might be like. There has been a discussion opened up by the county EMA office and ARES to have members become CERT trained. And to reach out to our neighboring counties to expand fellowship and cooperation in operations. It is thought that the Eastern Indiana counties are an essential part of our "area" communications.

SHELBY COUNTY:  (39 members):  4 weekly net sessions; 2 digital net sessions (32 man-hours); 1 Public Service Event (10 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 3 other ARES events (65 man-hours); for a total of 10 events and 107 man-hours.
     Comments:  6 Oct. 2018 - SET Simulated Emergency Test BS2018; 20 Oct. 2018 VEC Test Session; Monthly Meeting / Training; 31 Oct. 2018 Witch Watch Halloween Sidney, Ohio.

DISTRICT 3 ACTIVITIES:  5 District 3 ARES weekly voice net sessions (46 Net man-hours); and 0 other District 3 activities (0 man-hours); for a total of 5 events and 46 man-hours.

District 4
Brown County: We think Rick Coburn (NV8C) for his service as EC. We are in search of the next leader to fill this role.

Warren County: The County EMA reached out to the EC to determine staffing possibilities for an immediate activation related to POTUS visit. Clinton County: A very educational SET (8 ops for 72 person-hours.)

Hamilton County: SET participation (local/regional/beyond), Queen Bee Half Marathon (with help from volunteers from KY District 6), standby for a telephone outage in the Wyoming suburb.

District 5
Stark County, Terry Russ N8ATZ Stark County ARES completed 5 public service nets for the month of October that totaled 105 check-ins. There were no public service events during the month but we participated in an information table at the Massillon Hamfest that included equipment demonstrations and numerous handouts. We continue to encourage our team members to register with the ARES Connect System.

District 6
No comments submitted

District 7
Marion County: Hosted the Fall/Winter version of the National Weather Service SKYWARN. Very different but quite informative. Quiet month but a welcome break from our busy summer.

Fairfield County: Our ARES Team successfully completed a year-long project, making contact with the ISS, Astronaut Serena KG5TMT at 2:56 Zulu 10-31-2018 at tallmadge school Lancaster Ohio. All equipment was operated off grid.

Franklin County: FCOHARES participated in two public service events this month; The Crop Walk and the Columbus Marathon. Both of these events totaled 164 man hours as calculated by ARES Connect. Those figures may change as they are compared with handwritten notes. This month included a microwave node installation at Franklin County EM&HSoffice. That node installation completes a grant that connects the Ohio EMA, Franklin County EM&HSoffice and Delaware EMA. End point equipment remains to be connected at each location. The Delaware microwave link is approximately 24 air miles.

Union County: We had a good turnout for the SET in October. We worked with the Union County EMA and the Hope Center and Hospital. During the SET the EMA sent test messages out using Active 911, what they use to activate EMA members. I updated our ARES members with that information as also activated our ARES group for the SET. We focused on using FLDigi on 2 meters simplex this year using MT632KL to send out lists of information between the Hope Center and the ECC and the Hospital and the ECC. We discovered we needed a better antenna when we were at the hospital and also we needed to get everyone more familiar with FLDigi and get a couple more Signal link boxes to have on hand to use. The result from the SET was forming Union County ARES nets on Monday nights. We decided to model them after the Marion ARES groups Digi net. At 9 pm we start the net on the repeater, -145.35 tone 127.3, take check-ins and ask that stations indicate if they will be participating in the simplex diginet immediately following the repeater net. We then ask for any stations with traffic for the net, make announcements for our ARES group, and ask if anyone has any other information for the ARES group. Then we end the repeater net and QSY to 145.60 and start up the simplex digital net. We use a combination of voice and digital. We go through the check-in list from the repeater net, then ask for any other check-ins. We then go down through the list so everyone can send a digital message and determine who received it. If someone didn't receive it, the message will get re-transmitted by someone closer to that station. Everyone that participated in our first simplex diginet really enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun. The 3rd Monday of the Month we will have our face to face ARES meeting, so there won't be an ARES net on the repeater or a simplex digital net on those days. The Marion group meets on the last Thursday of the month (I think) so they don't have their diginet on that day.

Licking County; Had a busy first of the month with gearing up for the Ohio SET which went good and "Thanks" to those who were able to help. The EOC was open and operating but was unable to work HF. Work on the Red Cross is nearing completion with a few things to wrap up. Have kept in contact with the EMA Director Sean Grady about the incoming rainfall and flooding issues that have happened in the past here in the county. Planning for 2019 events and exercises have started. Looking forward to the rest of the year, with things starting to slow down a bit, it will be a good time to catch up on some on-line courses. Hopefully everyone remembered to set their clocks back! EC: Bret Stemen KD8SCL Delaware County: No report Pickaway County: No Report

District 8
 Counties reporting: Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto EC comments:

Athens: EC/DEC attended FEMA Mass Fatalities course in Jackson. ACARA/SCARF supported the Buckeye Trail Marathon in Shawnee on October 6 and the Komen Athens Race for the Cure on October 14. Next ACARA/SCARF event will be the Bobcat Trail Marathon at Burr Oak Lake on Saturday, November 10. ACARA is planning their annual Technician license preparation course Mondays, January 7 to March 11, 7-9 PM at the Athens Red Cross office.

Hocking: W8TUZ, N8BUS & W8RDS will be covering Hocking county from November 1st through the 14th.

Lawrence: Lawrence County ARES has been busy this month. In addition to the annual SET Exercise, our members took training in Damage Assessment. Weather Communications, and First Aid

Pike: Will participate with Scioto Co. for annual SET exercise Nov. 10th. Inter-county comm's will be tested.

Scioto: Planning November SET of Regional Power Outage effecting Southern Ohio and Northeastern Kentucky with communication capability verification with Kentucky and adjacent Ohio counties as well as County Dispatch and Shelter locations and hospitals to EOC
DEC comments: New antennas have been erected at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio Chapter Office in Athens. They have dual band VHF/UHF capability, VHF packet/APRS/Winlink plus HF using a Hustler 5 BTV and end-fed Zepp antennas. Final coax routing is needed for the HF antennas then testing will take place. Will look at checking into W8SGT nets. Also working with Athens County EMA to reset VHF/HF capabilities for the planned new EOC west of town. Last minute report from Gallia sub EC.

District 9
COSHOCTON CO: Main exercise was SET we had a good turn out with lots of knowledge learned. This year we set up a Station at the EOC as all antennas we removed for new roof. NCS was also set up that morning at the airport with high ground. We passed received lots of traffic Sat. Worked with OHDEN, w8sgt, 60m, OSSBN. Good job by all, with KC8PUW as exercise coordinator.  WX8OH continues to be active in various emergency nets, w8sgt net, OSSBN, SATERN net control station with 2 hurricane activations and 14 hours spent. NFLEN Hurricane Michael Recovery Activation 3.950/7.251 (Northern Florida Emergency Net) 13 Check-ins over two weeks providing relays by HF, Remote, Text and Emails. Monitored 16 hrs a day for 14 Days. EC: Steve Wheatcraft, AA8BN

GUERNSEY CO: Guernsey ARES participated in the annual SET on October 6th. The EOC was opened and manned. Contact with the state EOC (W8SGT) was established. Coshocton County provided us a gateway for the OHDEN. 24 messages consisting of simulated emergency, Priority, and Welfare were transmitted or received. Additionally, 60 meter operations of Black Swan was monitored and three bulletins received. Also, contact was made with Ohio government station and checked into the statewide net. There were a total of 12 ARES members participating for a total of 36 hours. ARES group assisted with the Byesville Halloween parade for a total of 14 hours. EC: Richard W Wayt, WD8SDH.

JEFFERSON CO: Spending in-person and on air time become more proficient with NBEMS/FLDIGI. EC: Robert M Carson Jr, N8CUX

WASHINGTON CO: Monitored some of the Black Swan stations and made contact on 60 meter with one of the government stations and 80 meter W8SGT. EC: Joseph Wigal, W8JTW.
DEC/9: Sad to report the loss of Morgan County EC Russell Wilson, KD8RW, Morgan Co , who passed away suddenly at the age of 48. DEC: Sonny Alfman, W8FHF.

District 10
SET was Oct 6, and 3 counties participated, with Medina and Lorain leading the way. FLDIGI Training in Elyria on Oct 21 was a big hit! Our district leadership meeting was well attended on Oct 27. Good plans and ideas were generated for 2019. Look for big things coming next year!

Ashtabula County: No comments submitted.

Cuyahoga County: We had a good turnout for the SET on October 6th with 23 members participating. This month's meeting featured a training on ARES Connect. October 20th we had to establish a severe weather net. We wound down our public service season with the American Cancer Society's 5K run.

Geauga County: No comments submitted.
Lake County: Twelve operators tracked the progress of 555 runners in the Northern Ohio Marathon and Half Marathon. The course started at Headlands Beach ST. PK. through the Village of Grand River, the cities of Mentor, Willoughby and back along the Lake Erie shoreline to the State Park. The eight hour event went well with no major issues. Eight ARES members attended a field trip to the N.W.S. office at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. A presentation and tour of the N.W.S. office was conducted by Service staff. Now for the fun stuff. Five members manned our Radio Room at the Lake county History Center for Trick or Treat night. A fun time was had handing out candy to all the little goblins, witches and super heroes.

Lorain County: Lorain County Activity: OH SET/BS-18 Home Depot Fire Safety Day Fldigi Training from K8JTK Assisting Ohio State Patrol/ Pumpkin Patrol 3 Night Event
Medina County: District 10 leadership meeting was very productive.