Amateur Radio donates thousands of man hours of supplementary public service communications in civil emergencies, official drills and events such as parades and marathons each year. Such events show Amateur Radio in its best light, and it is critically important that ARRL bring documentation of this public service work to the attention of the Congress, the FCC and other public officials. Your information below is an important addition to the record. Please complete and return this form to the Public Service Branch at ARRL Headquarters. Thank you.

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1. Nature of activity (Check one).

    Communications Emergency. Amateurs supplied communications required to replace or supplement
    normal communications means.

    Alert. Amateurs were deployed for emergency communications, but emergency situation did not develop.

X Special exercise. Amateurs supplied communications for a parade, race, etc.

   Test or drill. A training activity in which amateurs participated.

2. Brief description of activity: Communications Support for the 1998 Dog Jog, a combined 1 Mile and 5K "fun run" with the family dog, on existing cross-country ski trails.

3. Places or areas involved: Anchorage, AK

4. Number of amateurs participating: 6

5. Event start date/time: 24 Jul 98/0800L                   6. Event end date/time: 25 Jul 98/1400L

7. Duration of event (hours): 6                                              8. Total man-hours: 36

9. Number of repeaters used: 1

10. Estimated manpower cost: $360 (man-hours times $10/hr)

11. Estimated cost of equipment used: $4,000 (hand-helds, repeaters, etc.)

12. Total estimated cost of service: $4,360 (add amounts from lines 10 and 11)

13. Nets and/or frequencies used (including repeater call signs): KL7G deployable public service UHF repeater, 449.65/444.65 MHz

14. Number of messages handled: Continuous tactical traffic

15. Names of agencies receiving communications support: Friends of Pets

16. Please list call signs of amateurs who were major participants: KL0CW, NL7NN, KL0CY, KL7GR, KL7TS, NL7EA

17. Other comments: See attached summary article. There was an actual emergency.

Please attach photos of amateurs in action, newspaper clippings or other data.

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Name of Amateur Radio organization providing service: South Central Amateur Radio Club

Location of organization: City or town: Anchorage                     State: AK

Your name: Larry K. Petty                             Call sign: KL5T

Address: 2631 W. 27th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99517

ARRL appointment, if any: ASM, VE, ARES             e-mail address: [email protected]

Telephone:  (907) 552-2448          (907) 248-3864
                              (days)                           (evenings)

I attest that the information provided above is complete and true to the best of my

knowledge.

 LARRY K. PETTY                                                                                        25 Oct 98
 
 

Friends of Pets is an organization dedicated to matching dogs, cats and other animals found in the local animal shelter with individuals and families interested in adopting these deserving creatures. The fourth annual Friends of Pets "Dog Jog" invited the public to attend a fund raiser at Kincaid Park, on Saturday, July 25, 1998. Activities were set up in an open field near the Nordic Ski Club's Timer Shack, and the main event consisted of a combined 1 Mile and 5K "fun run" with the family dog, on existing cross-country ski trails.

Amateur radio was employed in support of race logistics, trail assessment, trail sweeps, and in emergency medical evacuation.

The following amateur radio operators provided communications coverage for the event:

Clyde Raymer KLÆ CW Bicycle mobile Trail sweep / Rover

Susan Woods NL7NN Pedestrian mobile Lower Tunnel

John Lynn KLÆ CY Pedestrian mobile Upper Tunnel

Gary Rasmussen KL7GR Pedestrian mobile 5K – 1 Mile junction

TJ Sheffield KL7TS Pedestrian mobile 5K Road Crossing

Hanne Kelliher NL7EA Pedestrian mobile Race Director liaison

The South Central Amateur Radio Club (SCRC) 440 MHz Public Service Repeater (KL7G) was set up on a hill overlooking the event. The hill was accessible using what is essentially a jeep trail. The repeater was deployed in an "emergency portable" configuration, operating on battery power and located inside a 4WD Volkswagen Vanagon camper. The camper was parked and left unattended for the duration of the event.

"Emergency portable" is simply locating the machine inside a vehicle, and parking the vehicle in a location that provides optimum coverage. This technique should be considered in situations where existing repeater systems are down, or in areas where there is no local repeater coverage. The portable repeater fed 10 watts to a Diamond X-300 antenna, rated at 9 dB gain, and was powered by a 60 Ah gel-cell battery.

Individual operators used 440 MHz or twin-band H-Ts to access the repeater. Each operator configured their hardware based on personal preference, but followed the basic Public Service radio equipment approach:

"Walkman" style headsets, to improve receive audio in areas of high ambient noise. These headsets will not contribute to distracting race officials, as when incidental radio traffic is "broadcast" from a radio speaker.

Boom mic / headset. Use only push-to-talk (PTT) mode, since voice-operated transmit (VOX), plus high ambient noise, can trigger an open or "hot" mic. An open mic on a net frequency can significantly reduce the communications team’s effectiveness.

Speaker mic / headset. The speaker mic portion is disabled by jacking in the headset, which again reduces "noise pollution" from incidental radio traffic.

These microphone / headset combinations improve both transmit and receive audio, while allowing the H-T to remain secured on the operator’s belt or in a chest pouch.

Extra batteries (or larger capacity, external gel-cells) are mandatory for maintaining uninterrupted radio communications. A small, 4 Ah external 12 vdc battery allows most H-Ts to operate at high power for extended periods, if necessary.

The "new" flexible rubber-duck style gain antennas are useful in improving both transmit and receive signals from the H-T, and take the abuse of field conditions better than the telescoping metal variety.

1). Staff

Expect about 15% "operator attrition" when staffing any Public Service event. This number is fairly constant in my experience, and for whatever reason, some operators will be forced to cancel. Cancellations are typically on short notice, so this means invite more operators than you need, but don't over do it! Expect late arrivals, since some operators can't make it at or near their scheduled time(s).

2). Equipment

Expect equipment problems. In our case, John Lynn (KLÆ CY) was well equipped to loan gear to those who needed it (i.e. headsets, H-Ts, batteries) and was able to provide a replacement battery for a Kenwood rig after an external 12v, 4 Ah gel-cell shorted it's pigtail and literally went into wiring "meltdown".

The KL7G Public Service Repeater functioned flawlessly for the event. After a half-day of steady use, the 60 Ah gel-cell still registered 13.7 vdc.

One consideration when using a repeater (or cross-band mobile rig) in an "emergency portable" configuration is the need for a control link. The KL7G repeater has a standard repeater controller with 3 minute time-out timer and 10 minute CW ID'er, however there was no remote "control link" established, either by radio (operating above 222.15 MHz) or by telephone, to provide positive control over the system. Recognizing that the control operator was always in the area, "local control" was considered established for this event.

The repeater location provided outstanding coverage of the area near the open field, but only adequate coverage was obtained on the running trails. Placing the repeater on the hill behind the biathlon rifle range is convenient, since a 4WD vehicle can haul gear up to the high point, but a portion of the running trail known as the "Roller Coaster" is in the repeater’s shadow. Scouting alternate repeater locations revealed a more centrally located hill that should provide complete, low power coverage of the entire event. Radio checks from the "new" location, to all checkpoints and along the trail system, will be accomplished prior to next year’s event.

The new location is not 4WD accessible, so the repeater, battery, feedline, antenna, mast, guy rope and base plate will have to be packed in by volunteers. An opportunity for interested SCRC equipment specialists may be to repackage a W. R. Communications or Hamtronics style repeater into a back-pack, field portable configuration. The current KL7G Public Service Repeater is housed in the factory chassis, designed for a 19" rack mount. This is fine if you have a vehicle for transport, but is less desirable in terms of weight and bulk if you have to deploy the system on foot.

3). Medical Emergencies

At many Public Service events the most you are going to have to deal with are requests to transfer various and sundry items from location to location. In our case, we did all of this, plus responded to a real life medical "emergency".

In my experience, the amateur radio operator is often the "First Responder" at Public Service events. One of the event participants will pass your checkpoint, see that you are carrying a radio and wearing a badge, and advise you that "someone is hurt" down the trail.

You call it in, and then go have a look. Gary Rasmussen (KL7GR) was on the trail at the 5K - 1 Mile junction when someone told him that about half-way back there was a person with a sprained or broken ankle. He hoofed it over to the injured party, and having had First Aid training in the Navy, assessed the situation, decided it was serious, and called for more help.

I was at a road crossing when the second call came in. Here we got lucky: A pickup truck had just gone through and the driver was locking up the gate. I asked if he could help, and again, we got lucky. Not only would he drive his truck down the trail to the injury, he was a Registered Nurse (RN) who worked at the Providence Hospital Progressive Care Unit.

We drove off down the jeep trail, asking the various "dog joggers" to please let us by, since we were in route to a medical emergency. Needless to say they were quite surprised to see a pickup truck that far back in the woods. I overheard one participant say "this better be good" as we drove by.

Gary advised us of his location using the radio. When we arrived a woman was lying in the weeds off the side of the trail, in obvious pain, and any movement of her leg or ankle brought tears to her eyes.

Fortunately, Doug Krieger, the Providence RN, knew just what to do. We improvised a "blanket carry" and transferred her to the truck bed. I drove the truck while Doug stayed with the patient. Advising the net of our progress, Lorie Raymer (wife of Clyde Raymer, KLÆ CW), also an RN, was waiting for us at the Start / Finish line. The professionals took over, comforting the patient with blankets and pillows borrowed from various locations and activated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) by calling 911.

We stationed a radio operator at the entrance to the open field, who waved in Medic 12 when they arrived. This ambulance is a large red van, and they may have had some trouble negotiating the jeep trails leading to the original injury site. When making a 911 request for emergency vehicles, be sure to inform their team of any special logistics or transportation issues!

The paramedics stabilized the patient, and she was transported to Providence hospital where she was treated for a broken ankle. She was released on Sunday afternoon and is recovering.

Throughout the medivac, the net continued to operate normally and deal with race logistics in a very professional manner. My thanks to the volunteer operators for their professional handling of this situation!

Now we open a can of worms. Have you, the most likely responder at a Public Service event, had First Aid training? What are our obligations in these situations? What about liabilities, both as a club and individually? Where do we stand with respect to the "Good Samaritan" laws? Should we station vehicles at checkpoints (for quick transport), or let EMS handle everything? These are questions that need more investigation and discussion. I certainly don’t have the answers, any more than I have had First Aid training!

Recognizing that I was in over my head on Saturday, I opened a discussion with the American Red Cross Director of Health and Safety, Delynn Lindberg, about appropriate First Aid training for amateur radio operators at Public Service events. I also spoke with Mike Laughlin, an attorney and member of Anchorage Amateur Radio Club, about our obligations and liabilities with respect to Public Service events. I will open a discussion with ARRL Headquarters and see where the national organization weighs in on these and other Public Service questions.

I am exploring the possibility of First Aid training, either at the American Red Cross or using the staff and facilities at Elmendorf Air Force Base, for amateur radio operators. The American Red Cross has already proposed putting a group of their volunteers through radio school, where they can obtain an entry level amateur radio license. The Red Cross has invited the local radio clubs to share an information booth at the Alaska State Fair, with demonstrations of HF and satellite radio communications as part of the program. In my opinion, this partnership with the American Red Cross should be encouraged.

All in all, quite a few lessons were learned at the 1998 Friends of Pets Dog Jog.