News of the flooding in Iowa has been leading the nightly newscasts for days. But according to ARRL Iowa Section Emergency Coordinator Jim Snapp, NA0R, "While flooding here in Iowa is a disastrous event to individuals and business affected, only a very small percentage of Iowa's land mass is directly affected by actual river flooding. Thanks to advance warnings from government agencies, loss of life has been very low." Only one fatality has been reported in the Iowa floods.

Snapp said that Iowa amateurs were active in SKYWARN events over several weeks prior to the start of flooding events. On the morning of June 12, the Iowa State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) requested activation of the Amateur Radio station in the SEOC (KC0EEC) to provide alternate communications with Linn County EOC (Cedar Rapids area) and Jones County EOC. KC0EEC was manned around the clock, but Snapp said he knows of only one piece of traffic that was passed.

"We have access to the SEOC e-mail program, since that is where we would enter messages coming in by Amateur Radio," Snapp said. "Many, many requests came in and were handled by SEOC staff. Jones County closed their EOC Saturday and the Linn County EOC dismissed the Amateur Radio operations late on Saturday, June 14 and the KC0EEC station was closed."

Snapp said that on June 16, Iowa SEOC requested information on Amateur Radio communication abilities in southeastern Iowa "in case of communication breakdown in that area. Currently, there is no widespread Amateur Radio activity in Iowa dealing with the floods."

About 20 years ago, Snapp said that Iowa installed a fiber optic backbone to all 99 Iowa counties: "This system has been updated and refined over the years, and is very robust redundant system. All the Iowa County Homeland Security and Emergency Management coordinators have e-mail access directly to the Iowa SEOC for requests or to get questions answered."

The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency at the SEOC has supplied the amateur community with ham equipment: an HF transceiver, an HF/VHF transceiver and tri-band VHF/UHF and dual band VHF/UHF transceiver. "If the Iowa SEOC needs Amateur Radio communications, they will contact us," Snapp said.

Ham radio volunteers from Santa Cruz ARES <http://www.ares.santa-cruz.ca.us/> provided a vital layer of communications to support firefighters, law enforcement, Red Cross and even animal control during the Martin fire in the hills above Santa Cruz over Father's Day weekend. As of Tuesday, June 17, the fire, which covered more than 500 acres, was completely contained. Four people were injured in the fire. Three homes were destroyed and another one was damaged, while eight outbuildings burned down. Santa Cruz, home to University of California, Santa Cruz, is a town of about 55,000 people located on the northern edge of Monterey Bay.

During the blaze, ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Public Information Coordinator Bill Moffitt, AE6GS, said the radios in the Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center were "crackling with traffic as hams across the area transferred information, made requests and made sure the various agencies -- from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's department -- were kept abreast of the progress in fighting the fire and the needs that arose in the area." Yet, Moffitt said, even with all this going on, "ARES volunteers remained completely professional, ensuring the accuracyand effectiveness of the flow of traffic."

"Our group got some valuable practice during the Summit fire a few weeks ago," said ARRL Santa Cruz County District Emergency Coordinator Cap Pennell, KE6AFE, who manned the radio room in the Santa Cruz EOC. "Our people were much more ready for this fire, and the quality of the response shows." The Summit fire burned more than 4200 acres in both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties, destroying 31 homes and 63 outbuildings. Both the Martin and Summit fires remain under investigation.

Helping to evacuate people in the fire's path was an immediate priority, and the ARES teams facilitated communications between the various agencies who were notifying people about their evacuation status. But pets and livestock, including a multi-hundred pound pig, also needed to be moved from harm's way. That's when Santa Cruz County Animal Control organized volunteers from Equine Evacuation, a local animal evacuation organization, to help transport animals out of the fire zone. Several hams are also members of the group, and with their help, Equine Evacuation safely and efficiently removed more than 50 animals, including horses and other livestock, to safe locations.

"I slept about four hours last night," said Hap Bullard, KQ6YV, as he stood next to his ham radio-equipped pickup hooked up to his empty horse trailer at the staging area for the animal evacuation. Bullard is a ham radio operator who also serves with Equine Evacuation. "I'm here to ensure the animal control people can stay in touch with the Emergency Operations Center, but I'll be going to pick up horses if I'm needed," he said. -- ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Public Information Coordinator Bill Moffitt, AE6GS

When severe thunderstorms started to threaten the Midwestern United States with tornadoes, hail, severe lightning and rain starting on June 4, state agencies were quick to call on Amateur Radio operators for assistance.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) activated ARES members to help out with communication efforts, providing radios for those amateurs who offered to help. ARRL Indiana Section Emergency Coordinator Tony Langer, W9AL, said hams were instrumental in many ways , including assisting in Emergency Operations Centers, sand bagging, helping out in shelters and even aiding in rescue efforts.

This storm brought 12 confirmed tornadoes to 11 Indiana counties, with some communities reporting up to 11 inches of water, Langer said; 20 counties were under a State of Emergency. On June 9, President Bush declared 29 counties in central Indiana a major disaster area, opening up the region to receive federal aid and FEMA assistance. Four people perished in the storms.

In a call put out to Amateur Radio operators on June 8, IDHS said, "The flood waters have impacted several counties here in Indiana severely. Ham Radio operators have been operating continuously since activated and are growing weary. Some counties do not have a vast amount of active hams to relieve these tired operators." Specific areas needing amateur assistance were overnight relief operators at the Bartholomew County EOC, as well as the EOC and three shelters in Columbus County.

Marion County (Indiana) Emergency Coordinator Mike Palmer, N9FEB, called on ARES members in his area to help out. "People might think, 'Why not just use telephones or cell phones?' Well, many phones are not working down there at this time. With the high waters, electric transformers are out all over; even those servicing cell towers are out. Even with today's technology, we find ourselves looking at ham radio to assist. If you can spare a few hours or an entire evening, please consider helping."

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels called in the United States Coast Guard to assist in evacuations and rescues. The Coast Guard responded by sending two helicopters to the state along with boats and personnel. The Indiana National Guard was called out to assist in evacuation and direct traffic and enforce road blocks on the many flooded roads.

Torrents of rain also brought flooding to Wisconsin. On June 9, five counties had requested aid from Amateur Radio operators, ranging from backup communications to disaster assessment and flooding communications. One county called on ARES members to provide patrols of the flooded areas overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to ARRL Wisconsin Section Emergency Coordinator Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO, approximately 90 ARES members responded to the call for assistance. "In Columbia County, ARES members provided dam monitoring communications early in the flooding. These communications gave critical information to public safety officials about two dams that were nearly compromised. Due to falling water levels, this activity has been discontinued, but hams remain on standby due to the threat of additional heavy rain," Niemuth said.

Richland County ARES members remain activated, Niemuth said. "Hams are providing a variety of services, including fielding information calls in the County's Emergency Operations Center and providing specialized communications for disaster assessment by hover craft and airplane. These communications are in addition to providing traditional ham radio communication links between the EOC and evacuation shelters."

On Thursday, June 12, more rains inundated the state and more counties requested aid from area Amateur Radio operators. Niemuth said Winnebago County ARES members are providing damage assessment assistance in the county and in the City of Oshkosh, while hams in Fond du Lac are helping out with shelter communications. ARES teams in Marquette and Outagamie are providing back-up communications and flooding reports to their respective Emergency Operations Centers. -- Information provided by ARRL Indiana Section Emergency Coordinator Tony Langer, W9AL, and ARRL Wisconsin Section Manager Don Michalski, W9IXG

On Saturday, May 31, WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), held their annual Communications Test from 1300-2100 UTC. According to WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, this annual test has two purposes: To verify that ham radio equipment will not interfere with any equipment at the NHC, and to ensure proper performance of Amateur Radio equipment at the NHC.

During the test, NHC Director Bill Read, KB5FYA, addressed the Amateur Radio community on the VoIP Hurricane Net and on the Hurricane Watch Net <http://www.wx4nhc.org/Bill-Read-QST.mp3>. Read spoke about the importance of Amateur Radio in hurricane-related disasters and thanked Amateur Radio operators for their support in past hurricanes. He encouraged hams to continue to provide that strong support as WX4NHC enters its 28th year of service and the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season begins. Read made several contacts with Amateur Radio operators during
the test.

"We all know how important it is to maintain communications during a hurricane to relay our hurricane warnings to those in the affected area which may have no other means to receive this vital information," Read said. "We are also very appreciative for the surface reports from those in the storm which add to our database and help our forecasters better visualize what is actually happening at the ground level in real time. As our own ham radio station, WX4NHC, celebrates its 28th year of volunteer service at the National Hurricane Center, we extend our thanks to all ham radio operators that continue to support our mission to help save lives."

Ripoll, calling the annual test "very successful," thanked all the amateurs involved and called on them for their support as the hurricane season starts up. During the test Ripoll and his crew also completed antenna work in preparation for the season.

Ripoll said that the WX4NHC Annual Station Test started very early on Saturday with three of the operators replacing the main HF dipole. "The dipole runs from the 100 foot tower to the top of the Hurricane Center Building and was reinstalled with a better orientation so that the main effective lobes run SE and NW," he said. "This will improve reception to the Caribbean, as well as the US Gulf area. It took three hours of bringing the dipole up and down to fine tune the SWR down to 1:1.2, but it was worth the effort. Stations monitoring our antenna tests reported improvements of 3 to 6 dB at their locations. We are very happy with the results of this new antenna installation."

It was good timing for the test as the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season started on the same day, albeit one day earlier than it was scheduled: Tropical Storm Arthur formed from the remnants of Pacific Tropical Storm Alma over Central America. Arthur did weaken, but was responsible for very heavy rains and flooding over portions Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. This is the second straight year in which a tropical system formed prior to the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

WX4NHC made 346 contacts during this event: 291 on HF and 55 on EchoLink/IRLP. They heard from 23 states and US territories, as well as such foreign locales as Bermuda, Curacao, Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, Estonia and Canada.

"The WX4NHC Coordinators and Operators extend their thanks to all ham radio operators that participated in our Annual Station Test," Ripoll said, "and look forward to your continued support during the hurricane season."

ZCZC AX05
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 5 ARLX005
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 29, 2008
To all radio amateurs

SB SPCL ARL ARLX005
ARLX005 National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Sets On-The-Air Station Test

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami takes place Saturday, May 31, from 1300-2100 UTC. "The purpose of this annual Station Test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible. This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise. New equipment and software will be tested, and some operator training will also be conducted," says WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. He adds that WX4NHC also will be testing new computers and software as well conducting operator training.

WX4NHC will be on the air on HF, VHF and UHF, plus 2 and 30 meter APRS. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3.950, 7.268, 14.325, 21.325 and 28.525 MHz, +/-QRM; WX4NHC reports that they will mostly be on 14.325 MHz and will make announcements when they change frequencies.

WX4NHC also will be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1700-1900 UTC (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference) and on South Florida area VHF/UHF repeaters and simplex.

Stations working WX4NHC exchange call sign, signal report, location and name plus a brief weather report, such as "sunny," "rain" or "cloudy." Non-hams may submit their actual weather using the On-Line Hurricane Report Form. QSL to WD4R and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Do not send cards to the NHC. Due to security measures, no visitors will be allowed at NHC during the test.

NNNN
/EX

The National Weather Service has announced a Web page for hams and others to report outages of the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Transmitters (NWR). The Web page <http://www.weather.gov/nwr/outages.html> explains how to report a transmitter that may be off air in a listener's area. -- Joe Lachacz

The Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) recently teamed up with Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) in Denver to donate a 2 meter, 70 cm and 23 cm D-STAR system stack.

According to ARRL Colorado Section Manager and CCARC Board Member Jeff Ryan, K0RM, the two groups hit upon the idea of issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to Colorado radio amateurs. "We received three excellent proposals," Ryan said, "and on March 21, CCARC and HRO awarded the D-STAR system to the Colorado D-STAR Association, a consortium of Denver area individuals, clubs and ARES groups."

Ryan explained that the goal of the CCARC, which also serves as Colorado's frequency coordination body, was "to spur the interest and use of digital Amateur Radio technology. This is the first D-STAR system that will go on the air in Colorado. The hope is that it is the first of many such systems, ultimately linking the entire Amateur Radio community throughout Colorado and beyond."

The 3-band D-STAR system, serving the Denver Metro area and the Front Range of Colorado from Ft Collins to Castle Rock and points east, will be installed this summer at a mountaintop site. The system will have a coverage area of more than 5400 square miles, nearly the size of Connecticut. Ryan said that the RFP placed "special emphasis" on the D-STAR systems being available to ARES groups in the served area, "and also requires the host group to link to any other requesting D-STAR system that comes on the air in Colorado."

I have released my final collection of Maidenhead Grid Squares in ESRI Shapefile (.SHP) format.

Two and Four character grids can be found here.  There is also the ability to drill down at that location to download specific four character grid files based on the four character prefix (useful in EmComm and Search and Rescue overlays) with six character resolution.

A collection of all the four character grid files is located here.  Keep in mind, it's big at over 350MB compressed and there are 32,400 files in the archive.  It is arranged in a directory structure such that you can drill down by grid square to get to the individual files.  Each grid square file is subdivied to the sixth character.  For example, the AA00.SHP file is subdivided into and labeled AA00aa, etc.

 I have tested these files in Xastir, PostGIS and qGIS and they have worked flawlessly.  I highly recommend qGIS if you want to make your own maps.  You can import a world base map, overlay it with grid squares and plot contacts.

As always, if you have questions, please let me know through the contact page at www.n1ics.net 

From Weavers Words (2008-04-28):

"Is it legal, and if so when, to handle business traffic during emergencies?"

This is a frequent question by amateurs. The question partly comes about as a result of changes made by FCC in Part 97 in December 2006.  The changes dropped reference to Emergency Communications Declarations (ECD) by the FCC. The result of this change is that the FCC no longer declares when an emergency exists and, therefore, when amateurs may deviate from FCC Amateur Radio rules to protect the public.

The bottom line is that other clauses in Part 97 allow amateurs to deviate from standard Amateur Radio practices when legitimate emergencies warrant such actions. Provided the purpose of businesslike communication is to protect life and property during an emergency, hams should have no fear of being threatened with enforcement action.

The Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) announces the first Ohio State Parks On The Air Contest to be held on Saturday, September 6, 2008, from the hours of noon to eight p.m. EDT (1600Z to 2400Z).

For hams throughout the State of Ohio this contest presents an opportunity to visit and enjoy the amenities offered by the seventy-three beautiful State Parks here in Ohio. You can spend the day or even spend the weekend at the park of your choice. No matter whether you are camping or staying at one of the outstanding lodges or resorts you will find that the parks are one of Ohio's greatest assets. Find out more about the parks and all that they have to offer at
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/default/tabid/80/Default.aspx.

This contest places a premium on working stations at the State Parks.  That means that it is critical to have as many parks activated as possible. The challenge for Ohio stations will be to work HF in the 50 to 300 mile range. Contacts can be made with any mode on the HF and VHF bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 meters and all contacts have the same point value. This is a great chance to try something new, like an NVIS antenna or two meter SSB.

Individuals and clubs can operate high or low power park stations and there is a special award for the club that activates the greatest number of parks! Non-park stations in Ohio as well as outside of Ohio can also compete with each other.

So get to an Ohio State Park and get On The Air in September. Have some fun with this contest!

You can get complete information, including rules, forms and FAQ's, at http://parks.portcars.org, or contact the contest chairman, Chuck, K8CMP, at k8cmp@portcars.org. Check back at the web site for future announcements about additional prizes.

From the April 23, 2008 ARRL ARES E-Letter:

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The VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Net operates by combining both the Echolink and IRLP linked repeater networks, while handling critical wide area communications during major severe weather and tropical events.

These operations have gained national stature in recent years, and provide excellent service. Whenever tropical weather is imposing a threat to the U.S. mainland and certain other areas of interest, the VoIP WX-NET will be fully operational. See <http://www.voipwx.net/>.

From the April 23, 2008 ARRL ARES E-Letter:

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The Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) meets on 14.300 MHz and is composed of hams who serve and assist those in need of communications on the high seas.

According to its Web site <http://www.mmsn.org/>, the primary purpose of the net is for handling traffic from maritime mobiles. The network is recognized by the United States Coast Guard and has an excellent working relationship with that agency. The MMSN has handled hundreds of incidents involving vessels in distress, medical emergencies in remote locations and passing health and
welfare traffic in and out of affected areas.

They also work closely with the NWS and NHC by relaying weather reports from maritime stations.

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From the April 23, 2008 ARRL ARES E-Letter:

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The SATERN Net (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network), provides emergency communication support to the Salvation Army and populations at large.

They also handle health-and-welfare traffic. SATERN holds high profile nets on 20-meters (14.265 MHz) during major hurricanes, and has a long history of excellence, discipline and service. Refer to the SATERN Web site <http://www.satern.org/>.

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From the April 23, 2008 ARRL ARES E-Letter:

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Monitor major HF hurricane networks during events this season.

The Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz, is one of several key players. It serves either the Atlantic or Pacific during a watch or warning period and coordinates with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami.

Frequent, detailed information is issued on nets when storms pose a threat to the US mainland. In addition to hurricane spotting, local communicators may announce that residents have evacuated from low-lying flood areas.

Other amateurs across the country can help by relaying information, keeping the net frequency clear and by listening. See <http://www.hwn.org/>. The net works closely with the hams at the NHC station WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.com/>

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