Licking County ARES/CERT LIAISON PAGE
ARES EMCOM Presentation by EC Weldon Mathews ARES and CERT are natural partners in EMCOM. 01/11/2016 Latest Update On the air Training ARES usually has training nets on the first and third Wednesday of each month. CERT members that are now licensed are always welcome to check into those nets at 9:00 PM local time even without ARES membership. They are held on the local Horns Hill VHF repeater which is 146.880 RX ( -.600 MHz TX ) and no tones. If you are too shy to check in, just listen in to become familiar with the procedures used. This net also activates during any severe weather event and check ins with bad weather reports are always welcome. W5UHQ will also be starting a CERT on the Air Training net on the second and third Wednesday at the same time. We will run this net via the UHF local repeater which is 444.500 RX ( + 5.00 MHz TX ) and it needs a CTSS tone of 141.3 Hz to key up the repeater. This tone can be easily programmed into the standard CERT radio described above. We will also monitor the CERT TAC1 frequency to check out and compare simplex coverage to various localities in Licking County. The primary purpose of this net is to get beyond being mike shy and learn some practical operational skills with the radios as well as check out coverage. All ARES and CERT members are welcome to join these training nets.
The September CERT training sessions will used this material.
In October, we will move on to tactical call signs, ICS-213 message formats and practice sending, relaying, an delivering ICS messages.
Training module from Licking ARES ( W5UHQ) on Tactical Callsigns. We will use this training file courtesy of NYC ARES for training on the ICS-213. Click here to obtain copies of the form. There are also copies in the CERT Office. Click here to obtain copies of the ICS-309 Log Form that should be used for CERT Nets. The use of NetLogger is also approved provided the fields in ICS-309 are adopted to that form.
09/01/2013 A draft copy of our new Licking County CERT Radio Plan is available for review. Please forward comments to W5UHQ or KD8TNS. LICKING COUNTY CERT RADIO PROCEDURES
9/12/2013
has been updated to show currently used
frequencies in our and surrounding counties and to add new UHF frequency
channels proposed for Licking Community Emergency Response Team (CERT.)
Of course this is not mandatory, but provides a
framework for coordinating operations and sharing radios when necessary.
There were several requests for additional frequencies but I had to limit
the list and leave some channels at the end of the list for individual
channels.
There is also a pdf file link
http://www.licking-ares.org/LC-ARES EMCOM FREQUENCIES REV
I.pdf
on that page where you can print out a copy for your Go Kit.
Thanks to all who contributed inputs to this new
list. Hopefully, I got everything incorporated.
I have created a dat file for uploading this list
to Bao Feng transceivers. After I fully check it out, I will
post it here or email it to you . I will upload your radio with it, or you can do it from
your PC if you download the BaoFeng VIP programming software.
If you need help uploading to other transceivers,
contact me and I will find someone with upload capability.
A great dealer to purchase a Baofeng UV-5RF from: It may cost a few more bucks than a direct Chinese Distributor or Amazon, but if you want the support from a dealer who will help you out, this folks have a very good reputation.
Hints and Kinks for Programming the UV5-R + and a revisions. Nov 27, 2012 The + and a and e and f models appear to be the same electrically with only a slightly different case. The version of firmware is critical to determine which programming software to use.Click Communications Tab. To check what version of firmware you have by holding down 3 button while powering up unit. The firmware version will flash by fast BFB xxx so watch for it carefully. XXX was 293 for both the a and + units we recently purchased. There was a major firmware change at 291 so look for units greater or equal than 291 on used market. Many folks are having some problems getting the Baofeng USB interfaces to work with Windows 7 and 8 64 bit machines. They seem to work fine with XP but several folks continue to have problems despite following all the work arounds on the internet. If someone has success let me know the driver link and process for Windows 7. For now I am sticking with good old XP solid as a rock ( even with proflific cloned chips once you have the correct driver installed) . If you want to fight Windows 7+ issues, follow the instructions on this step by step exactly. http://radioinc.com/Baofeng/software/UV-5R-Series/ I found this link the best starting point for answering general questions about the radios and programming. http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/ read through this site including all their links and attachments. The one on blind ham use is especially interesting since it contains a lots of hints that apply to sighted persons as well. If you really want to suffer, you might try manually programming your HT. I strongly recommend using the computer, but some folks think they would rather do it. If you do decide on pushing the buttons do it carefully or you will end up with your radio needing major care. This site does take you through all the steps with examples, do so at your own risk. For legal reasons, the only frequencies you can program are in the ham bands for trasmitting. Even GRMS or FRS is illegal.
I found some advantages to using VIP Program. Steve Katz had good luck with Chirp which is a general purpose software which changes almost every day so I am somewhat reluctant to use it until a stable version supports the new Baofeng firmware revs. Both use the same driver so that problem has to be solved on your computer before either one works. VIP does have a few Radio specific programming options that the current Chirp version does not support. The other irritation is that windows decides to change com ports at times when you unplug the USB plug and then plug it back in ( even to the same slot) . This can happen when you unplug the radio to test it as well since you can not hear the speaker when programming cable is inserted. In programming multiple units or the same one after testing it, I found the following steps insure reliable communications and stable com port assignments when doing a batch of radios which requires unplugging the USB cable. Some may not be required, but at this stage at least this sequence worked for me.
Radio Shack Carries external SMA to SO-239 adapters with short jumper of RG-316 cable. 11-26-2012 Model: 278-012 | Catalog #: 278-012 1.64-Ft. (0.5M) SMA Female to SO239 Female RG-316 Cable
You may have to order it, but this kind of adapter makes it easier to attach a mobile antenna. Note the UV5-R will not mate with male SMA connectors without a female to female adapter.
Starter Radios for CERT - Revised 9/29/2013 Assuming that most of the new CERT licensees are primarily interested in CERT communications, your first radio may be different than the average hobbyist. Our CERT communication objectives are fairly straight forward and would be met by any FM HT radio that has UHF ( 70cm or 400-450 MHz ) coverage. Our standard CERT simplex frequencies or channels 71,72,73 will allow inter- communicate tactically with your CERT team on your missions with very little chance for interference ( 2-5 mile range ) and for the most part be able to contact the EOC radio desk which will have a radio on those UHF channels as well as VHF and other EMCOM frequencies. A VHF two meter capable radio is also nice to have but it should be secondary to the primary UHF capability and will allow you to train and chit chat with all the 2 meter local hams and use the mobile relay in the Cert Trailer. It allows a capability to talk both within the pod of UHF radios on the scene and back to HQ via a cross band link on 2 meters only when necessary. In addition, UHF is highly under utilized here in Licking County including a repeater on 444.500 - 449.500 that is hardly ever used. That band may be in danger someday of loss to other services if we do not find ways to utilize it better.. The arrival of low cost VHF/UHF dual band radios from our friends in China has made the choice easy. Up until the past year or so, these dual band radios have been very expensive. Even if you already have a VHF only HT, we urge you to get VHF/UHF capability with these dual band radios. This is the radio I am recommending. Your mentor may have additional ideas but you really should have UHF capability first and foremost for your CERT assignments. And due to the price, you might as well go with dual band instead of VHF/ UHF only. Since CERT will use cross band repeat modes, avoid so called dual band radios that do not allow transmission and reception on two bands at the same time. Many of the commercial and older ham band models do not have this critical feature. Recommended Starter Radio for CERT:
Make sure you get the plus or a+ or e or f model which is the most value for your money and it has many features the UV-5R basic does not have. We already have several CERT members that purchased the UV-5R Plus* UV 5R http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Band-Improved-Stronger/dp/B0097252UK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1380386630&sr=8-6&keywords=uv5r+radio or if you prefer a smaller dealer that will provide customer support for about $10.00 extra. try:
You also may wish to purchase some key accessories:
I purchased all the above for around $40.00 ( as of 9/1/2013) from Amazon. At some point you may want to be able to increase the range of your HT beyond what can be done with the built in rubber duck antenna. HTs are great out in the open, but need to have an external antenna for better range when inside a building or a vehicle. There are several replacement antennas for the BaoFeng on the market now. You might want to get one of the better performers, make sure it is dual band. To extend beyond the unit mounted antenna may require an antenna connection adapter from many places including Universal Radio in Reynoldsburg
Be careful when plugging a stiff cable into the radio. Some hams choose to make a short jumper out of flexible coax instead of the rigid adapter shown above. They both do the same thing electrically, but the flexible jumper would be better if you intend to use it a lot in a vehicle where it would be easy to over stress the antenna / radio interface driving down the road.
You will also need an external antenna of your choice that will plug into the radio or radio plus adapter. This is the small Dual band Magnetic Mount Antenna demonstrated by K8NQ in class. He uses it both to augment indoor communications and putting it on the roof of a vehicle and has found it works well on both bands. Note: The Diamond antenna is available also with a SMA connector, but that will limit your ability to use many other antennas that will only mate with the SO-239. The Diamond MR77 2M/440 Mobile Antenna Magnetic Mount PL259 ( mates to SO-239) is available from Universal for $34.95. You might also have to invest in a short piece of low loss extension coax cable if you intend to mount your antenna much further than 8 feet from the radio. Contact your Elmer or sales rep at Universal, they may be able to help you rig up another type of antenna/ adapter using parts out of their junk boxes. Amazon has 30 foot lengths of low loss cable available with PL-259 connectors at both ends. I have three sets with barrels to splice them together. You never want to have too much extra cable at UHF frequencies, so just use the amount you need for each situation. Again, these are only suggestions not requirements. The only requirement I see is the ability of the radio you choose to operate on UHF 70 cm band and 2 meter band and these external antennas are usually not required at the short ranges you would need on a tactical exercise. Hams always have them in their Go-Kits since you never know when you will need the extra range. If you use the small mag mount for portable use, it must have an approximate 19" square or rectangular metalic ground plane or choose a location with a metal flat surface such as a file cabinet or car body. A steel cookie sheet works fine. You can also use an aluminum sheet if you find a small permanent magnet to attach to opposite side of the mount. Aluminum is not magnetic. I also converted an old clip board by taping aluminum tape to the back side of it and making sure it contacts the clip as well. I then attach one of the mini mag mounts as shown above and have a combination ground plane and clip board for notes. When all else fails and you can not find a ground plane, we have found that the antenna sitting right on the ground works better than mounted at 10+ feet without a good ground plane. Ten foot of course is better since it gives you a better line of site range. Programming your UV-5R Plus* UV 5R Radios For those of you that already have your UV-5R+ radios. I will have my PC and remote programming cable at the next COOKEN meeting ( Dec 8 or Dec 15 has not been nailed down yet). We can program your radios for you or show you how to do it on your own PC. We will program in all the key local frequencies and standardize on channel numbers to make them most useful during a CERT mission. For those with other kinds of radios that may need help setting them up for the local frequencies and tones, bring them to meeting ( with your manuals) and hopefully we will have experts there that can help you setting up the critical channels. W5UHQ will also be happy to program your UV5_R radios, just contact him at eldon@softpro.cc On the air Training ARES usually has training nets on the first and third Wednesday of each month. CERT members that are now licensed are always welcome to check into those nets at 9:00 PM local time even without ARES membership. They are held on the local Horns Hill VHF repeater which is 146.880 RX ( -.600 MHz TX ) and no tones. If you are too shy to check in, just listen in to become familiar with the procedures used. This net also activates during any severe weather event and check ins with bad weather reports are always welcome. W5UHQ will also be starting a CERT on the Air Training net on the second and third Wednesday in January at the same time. We will run this net via the UHF local repeater which is 444.500 RX ( + 5.00 MHz TX ) and it needs a CTSS tone of 141.3 Hz to key up the repeater. This tone can be easily programmed into the standard CERT radio described above. This repeater is located east of Hebron and is a little harder to hit here in Newark but easier from some locations. We will also monitor the CERT TAC1 frequency to check out and compare simplex coverage to various localities in Licking County. The primary purpose of this net is to get beyond being mike shy and learn some practical operational skills with the radios as well as check out coverage. Advanced training for EMCOM. See the training tab on this ARES website for more advanced communications training also applicable to ( but not required ) of CERT members. General and Extra Upgrade Elmering As stated in the Technician class. Your Technician license gives you the FCC ticket to perform almost all of any EMCOM assignments expected of you in CERT. However several of you have asked for assistance in training for the General and Extra Class licenses. This would allow you full High Frequency Band privileges and ability to communicate around the world. Those of you that took the test for General should recognize that the technical level of those exams requires much more in-depth understanding of electronics and radio technology. COOKEN per it's by-laws already has a group of volunteers that will stick around after monthly meetings and go over questions you may have as you study for FCC upgrades. This is typically done on meeting days when we do not have that long a program. Another approach is getting with your Elmer and working out some kind of tutoring schedule or studying with a buddy. Going to the General and beyond also requires some hands on experience and should be spread out over several months while you are already enjoying your Technician privileges. This is why we recommend COOKEN membership so you can participate in all the on the air activities we have each year. New CERT Hams Now have their call signs. We have eleven CERT members who earned their Technician Amateur License on November 16th. Congratulations to the following new CERT hams and we at Cooken look forward to working closely with them as CERT members and also as members of this club. This brings to fifteen the total hams that are Licking County CERT members.
The Power Point File we used in class can be downloaded or viewed from. http://www.cooken.org/cert/powerpoint.pps Text used in FCC Class : ARRL License Manual, Second Edition VEC Exam Sessions:
Nationwide Exam Schedules are available from this link
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session Take a look around some of the local and national ham radio websites to gain more familiarity with the fraternity. www.cooken.org Cooken Ham Club ( Licking County) http://nara.eqth.info/ Newark Amateur Radio Association ( Manages the Horn's Hill VHF/UHF repeater system ) www.arrl.org The National Organization which most hams belong to www.licking-ares.org Webpage of the Licking County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. RF Safety Calculator: http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=11352 Calculate the safety of your antenna. http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/ This site selects random questions from each section of the pool for practice exam study. Use this to augment a study schedule , not as the only source. Ham Radio and CERT working together as a team. http://www.naem.com/connection/4/washington4.html http://www.naem.com/connection/4/seminole4.html http://n5fdl.com/davids-blog/2011/4/20/is-cert-the-future-of-ares-qst-article.html CERT Communications Options A comparative study. http://www.naem.com/connection/6/communications42.html
Hints and Kinks for Programming the UV5-R
+ and a revisions. Nov 27, 2012
The + and a models appear to be the same electrically only a slightly different case. The version of firmware is critical to determine which programming software to use.Click Communications Tab.
We are having some problems getting the Baofeng USB interfaces to work with Windows 7 64 bit machines. They seem to work fine with XP and Vista but several of us continue to have problems despite following all the work arounds on the internet. If someone has success let me know. For now I am sticking with good old XP solid as a rock ( even with proflific cloned chips). I found this link the best starting point for answering general questions about the radios. Keep checking back to this source, it seems to be the most current of any source on the internet, I found some advantages to using VIP including easier setup of cross banding and dual watch. Steve Katz had good luck with Chirp which is a general purpose software which changes almost every day so I am somewhat reluctant to use it until a stable version supports the new firmware revs. Both use the same driver so that problem has to be solved on your computer before either one works. The other irritation is that windows decides to change com ports at times when you unplug the USB plug and then plug it back in ( even to the same slot) . This can happen when you unplug the radio to test it as well since you can not hear the speaker when programming cable is inserted. In programming multiple units or the same after testing it, I found the following steps insure reliable communications and stable com port assignments when doing a batch of radios.
I have also found that it is very critical to follow this sequence when programming multiple units.
Starter Radios for CERT - Revised 11/23/2012 Assuming that most of the new CERT licensees are primarily interested in CERT communications, your first radio may be different than the average hobbyist. Our CERT communication objectives are fairly straight forward and would be met by any FM HT radio that has UHF ( 70cm or 400-450 MHz ) coverage. Once we pick our standard CERT simplex frequencies or channels ( we will be announcing them soon) you will be able to inter- communicate tactically with your CERT team on your missions with very little chance for interference ( 2-5 mile range ) and for the most part be able to contact the EOC radio desk which will have a radio on those UHF channels as well as VHF and other EMCOM frequencies. A VHF two meter capable radio is also nice to have but it should be secondary to the primary UHF capability and will allow you to train and chit chat with all the 2 meter local hams. The reason for this is that eventually we want to set up a cross band repeater link from a pod of UHF CERT radios to a cross band repeater ( in the EMA mobile command post or the new CERT trailer). It will allow a capability to talk both within the pod of UHF radios on the scene and back to HQ via a cross band link on 2 meters only when necessary. In addition, UHF is highly under utilized here in Licking County including a repeater on 444.500 - 449.500 that is hardly ever used. That band may be in danger someday of loss to other services if we do not find ways to utilize it better.. The arrival of low cost VHF/UHF dual band radios from our friends in China has made the choice easy. Up until the past year or so, these dual band radios have been very expensive. Even if you already have a VHF only HT, we urge you to get UHF capability with these dual band radios. This is the radio I am recommending. Your mentor may have additional ideas but you really should have UHF capability first and foremost for your CERT assignments. And due to the price, you might as well go with dual band instead of UHF only.
Make sure you get the plus model which is the most value for your money and it has many features the UV-5R basic does not have. We already have several CERT members that purchased the UV-5R Plus* UV 5R You also may wish to purchase some key accessories:
I purchased all the above for around $90.00 from Amazon. At some point you may want to be able to increase the range of your HT beyond what can be done with the built in rubber duck antenna. HTs are great out in the open, but need to have an external antenna for better range when inside a building or a vehicle. This requires an antenna connection adapter from many places including Universal Radio in Reynoldsburg
Be careful when plugging a stiff cable into the radio. Some hams choose to make a short jumper out of flexible coax instead of the rigid adapter shown above. They both do the same thing electrically, but the flexible jumper would be better if you intend to use it a lot in a vehicle where it would be easy to over stress the antenna / radio interface driving down the road. You will also need an external antenna of your choice that will plug into the SO-239. This is the small Dual band Magnetic Mount Antenna demonstrated by K8NQ in class. He uses it both to augment indoor communications and putting it on the roof of a vehicle and has found it works well on both bands. Note: The Diamond antenna is available also with a SMA connector, but that will limit your ability to use many other antennas that will only mate with the SO-239. The Diamond MR77 2M/440 Mobile Antenna Magnetic Mount PL259 ( mates to SO-239) is available from Universal for $34.95. You might also have to invest in a short piece of low loss extension coax cable if you intend to mount your antenna much further than 8 feet from the radio. Contact your Elmer or sales rep at Universal, they may be able to help you rig up another type of antenna/ adapter using parts out of their junk boxes. Again, these are only suggestions not requirements. The only requirement I see is the ability of the radio you choose to operate on UHF 70 cm band and these external antennas are usually not required at the short ranges you would need on a tactical exercise. Hams always have them in their Go-Kits since you never know when you will need the extra range. Programming your UV-5R Plus* UV 5R Radios For those of you that already have your UV-5R+ radios. I will have my PC and remote programming cable at the next COOKEN meeting ( Dec 8 or Dec 15 has not been nailed down yet). We can program your radios for you or show you how to do it on your own PC. We will program in all the key local frequencies and standardize on channel numbers to make them most useful during a CERT mission. For those with other kinds of radios that may need help setting them up for the local frequencies and tones, bring them to meeting ( with your manuals) and hopefully we will have experts there that can help you setting up the critical channels. EMCOM Training Coming to Licking County Soon If you are anxious to get a head start. ARRL has the book we will be using for the CORE subjects on their website. http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Public-Service-Handbook/ or you could sign up for the on-line version ( acceptable but not recommended). General and Extra Upgrade Elmering As stated in the Technician class. Your Technician license gives you the FCC ticket to perform almost all of any EMCOM assignments expected of you in CERT. However several of you have asked for assistance in training for the General and Extra Class licenses. This would allow you full High Frequency Band privileges and ability to communicate around the world. Those of you that took the test for General should recognize that the technical level of those exams requires much more in-depth understanding of electronics and radio technology. COOKEN per it's by-laws already has a group of volunteers that will stick around after monthly meetings and go over questions you may have as you study for FCC upgrades. This is typically done on meeting days when we do not have that long a program. Another approach is getting with your Elmer and working out some kind of tutoring schedule or studying with a buddy. Going to the General and beyond also requires some hands on experience and should be spread out over several months while you are already enjoying your Technician privileges. This is why we recommend COOKEN membership so you can participate in all the on the air activities we have each year.
ARES EMCOM Presentation by Weldon Mathews The Power Point File we used in class can be downloaded or viewed from. http://www.cooken.org/cert/powerpoint.pps Text used in FCC Class : ARRL License Manual, Second Edition VEC Exam Sessions:
Nationwide Exam Schedules are available from this link http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session Take a look around some of the local and national ham radio websites to gain more familiarity with the fraternity. www.cooken.org Cooken Ham Club ( Licking County) http://nara.eqth.info/ Newark Amateur Radio Association ( Manages the Horn's Hill VHF/UHF repeater system ) www.arrl.org The National Organization which most hams belong to www.licking-ares.org Webpage of the Licking County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. RF Safety Calculator: http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=11352 Calculate the safety of your antenna. http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/ This site selects random questions from each section of the pool for practice exam study. Use this to augment a study schedule , not as the only source. Ham Radio and CERT working together as a team. http://www.naem.com/connection/4/washington4.html http://www.naem.com/connection/4/seminole4.html http://n5fdl.com/davids-blog/2011/4/20/is-cert-the-future-of-ares-qst-article.html CERT Communications Options A comparative study. http://www.naem.com/connection/6/communications42.html
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