Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Oct 20 2017 09:12 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2086, for Friday, October 20, 2017
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2086, with a release date of Friday,
October 20, 2017, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams step up and give support during California's
wildfires. Amateur donations help rebuild Caribbean communications after
Maria. It's Jamboree on the Air time - and it's almost Halloween! All
this, and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2086, comes your way,
right now.
(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)
**
CALIFORNIA AMATEURS ASSIST WILDFIRE VICTIMS
CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: Our top story this week focuses on the California
wildfires. Paul Braun, WD9GCO, spoke to some hams who found themselves
in key roles helping the affected communities.
PAUL: The wildfires in California have burned over 220,000 acres,
destroyed close to 6,000 structures, and have killed over 40 people
so far.
Once again, amateur radio operators have been called in to help with
communications support. In the Sonoma area, the Sonoma Auxiliary
Communications Service, or ACS, was pressed into duty, supporting
shelters in the Petaluma area. I spoke with Steve Fischer, K6ETA,
about their role.
FISCHER: We've coordinated the delivery of over 500 cots, breakfasts
from the Redwood Empire Food Bank, and many donations and volunteer
offers, that the public has been generously bringing forward. Those
sorts of efforts actually can cause as much confusion as they can help,
so we helped do the triage, and get the logistics folks just what they
needed.
PAUL: The head of the main local food bank is also a ham, and he's
been working with ACS:
FISCHER: David, W9FOG, has been working with us over the local repeaters
to coordinate very large food deliveries. Actually the very first
morning, they had their act together, and were ready to serve breakfast
to all the new evacuees, so we had to coordinate with him, and find out
what facilities they had at each of the shelters, and line it all up.
PAUL: Part of ACS's function is to coordinate with community support:
FISCHER: The community at large was very helpful. We were the link
between the Salvation Army, and the Petaluma logistics team. The Marin
RACES folks, our colleagues to the South, offered mutual aid, and helped
us track down information about overflow, when our evacuation shelters
reached max. Our logistics team needed information about the Marin
shelters, and didn't have access to it. We used our contacts at Marin
RACES to answer those questions.
PAUL: According to Fischer, even when primary communications are still
online, there is a place for amateur radio:
FISCHER: The ACS is usually a secondary or tertiary communications
channel, and usually we're called in when all else fails. So, we're
sort of the effort of last resort. But in this case, we had all of our
Internet and cell phones working. However, we were still needed to fill
in any gaps that existed, due to the situational awareness challenges
of having multiple fires.
PAUL: The weather forecasts show possible rain moving into the Napa
Valley, so hopefully the fires will finally be extinquished. But, the
cleanup and recovery efforts will be ongoing and, as always, amateur
radio operators will be there. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul
Braun, WD9GCO.
**
REBUILDING COMMUNICATIONS IN DOMINICA
CHRISTIAN/ANCHOR: The ham radio community is known for its generosity,
and right now, no one knows that better than residents of storm-hit
Dominica, as we hear from Bobby Best, WX4ALA.
BOBBY: The damage done by Hurricane Maria's powerful punch continues to
ripple through the Caribbean, where the long process of repair and
restoration enters its second month. Amateur radio organizations,
manufacturers, and donors, are rallying around Dominica, where the ham
radio capability was virtually wiped out by the storm. The effort is
being led by the Yasme Foundation, the Foundation for Amateur
International Radio Service, Yaesu USA's Amateur Division, and a group
of private pilots who are also hams, including Brian Machesney K1LI,
Dave Bridgham, N1AHF, and Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN.
More than $30,000 worth of ham radio equipment has been deployed to
Dominica, where hams are now working with the Dominica Amateur Radio
Club, and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in
Dominica, to set up the stations, and train new operators, so Dominica
is better prepared in future emergencies.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Caribbean, post-Maria conditions have
prompted the cancellation of the 2018 ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention,
which was to be held on January 26th through 28th in Hatillo. Organizers
said the coliseum that was to be the convention's venue was too badly
damaged to be ready in time.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA.
(ARRL)
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