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).

2. Brief description of activity: Communications Exercise, COMMEX 981105.

3. Places or areas involved: Anchorage, AK; Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska

4. Number of amateurs participating: 12

5. Event start date/time: 17 Nov 98/2026L              6. Event end date/time: 17 Nov 98/2043L

7. Duration of event (hours): .28                               8. Total man-hours: 3.36

9. Number of repeaters used: 0

10. Estimated manpower cost: $33.60 (man-hours times $10/hr)

11. Estimated cost of equipment used: $4,200 (hand-helds, repeaters, etc.)

12. Total estimated cost of service: $4,233.60 (add amounts from lines 10 and 11)

13. Nets and/or frequencies used (including repeater call signs): Big City Simplex Net, 146.52 MHz

14. Number of messages handled: Continuous Tactical Traffic

15. Names of agencies receiving communications support: N/A. Communications Exercise.

16. Please list call signs of amateurs who were major participants: KL5T, WL7CKB, KL4E, KL7CC, AL7RE, KL7HHO, NL7SK, KL7EQX, WL7NS, KB8JXX, WL7BER, WL7CUC

17. Other comments: See attached exercise summary below.

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 Radio Club, Anchorage Amateur Radio Club, ARES

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                                                                                                    17 Nov 98
 
 

A communications exercise (COMMEX 981105) was held on the Big City Simplex VHF phone net on 10 Oct 98. The net is held each Tuesday evening at 2000L on 146.52 MHz. After net check-ins tapered off, net control, KL5T, initiated the exercise.

The purpose of this exercise was to improve our operational survivability by practicing restoring normal equipment casualties. Our goal was 100 percent from all net check-ins.

Six emergency actions items were identified, then we ran down the roll and rolled a die (as in dice). The number that popped up on the die equated to the action item the station was to be tasked with. The following was our list of action items:

1. Blown Fuse - You must either replace your fuse or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

2. Bad Microphone - You must either replace your microphone or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

3. Bad Speaker - You must either replace your rig's speaker, plug in an external speaker, use earphones, or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

4. Lose AC power, or discharged you batteries - Activate emergency power (in the case of AC loss), or replace batteries in the case of a free standing battery powered station. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

5. Bad Antenna - Replace antenna, or shift to another rig and antenna. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

6. Lightening Source or high wind condition - Shift to an indoor antenna/rig to indoor installation. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control."

Of the 16 stations checked into the net, 12 stations were available to participate in the exercise. Of those 12 stations, 9 were able to successfully comply with their instructions and make communication with the net. The exercise commenced at 2026L and terminated at 2043L for a total elapsed time of 35 minutes.

Overall, everyone did a great job. The only item to note was that 4 net check-ins failed to advise net control they were leaving the net, and as such, were unavailable to participate in the exercise.

A hearty congratulations goes out to the following exercise participants: KL5T, WL7CKB, KL4E, KL7CC, AL7RE, KL7HHO, NL7SK, KL7EQX, WL7NS, KB8JXX, WL7BER, WL7CUC.

Again, many thanks to those who participated in this evening's COMMEX. I highly encourage all to take the time script a communications exercise.

73,

de KL5T

Following is the script for the exercise:

STATE: "Attention all net stations, attention all net stations, this is KL5T. This net will now conduct a communications exercise. I repeat, this net will now conduct a communications exercise. This exercise will be identified as COMMEX 981105. The current time is 2026L."

STATE: "The purpose of this exercise is to improve our operational survivability by practicing restoring normal equipment casualties. Our goal is 100 percent participation from all check-ins.

STATE: "Tonight we're going shoot some craps. I'll go down the roll and roll a die for each station. You'll get a number from one to six. I've got in front of me a chart with six different actions that can be taken. You'll take the action identified by the chart and the number rolled for you. The following casualties are on the list:

1. Blown Fuse - You must either replace your fuse or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

2. Bad Microphone - You must either replace your microphone or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

3. Bad Speaker - You must either replace your rig's speaker, plug in an external speaker, use earphones, or shift to another rig. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

4. Lose AC power, or discharged you batteries - Activate emergency power (in the case of AC loss), or replace batteries in the case of a free standing battery powered station. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

5. Bad Antenna - Replace antenna, or shift to another rig and antenna. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control.

6. Lightening Source or high wind condition - Shift to an indoor antenna/rig to indoor installation. Wait 5 minutes and check back in with net control."

STATE: "Do the best you can to complete the directed action. Perhaps you might need to relocate to your vehicle with its mobile rig. When you check back in after the 5 minute wait period, advise net control if you were, or were not able to comply with the prescribed action."

STATE: "Some of these actions may require you to switch to lower power, or lower gain antennas. This may result in a need for relays. All stations be aware of this and be prepared to relay information to net control."

Start with the first check-in and roll the die. Repeat for each station on the net. Confirm each station was able to perform the directed action and note accordingly.

After all stations have passed their traffic, STATE: "This is KL5T declaring ENDEX. The current time is 2043L."

STATE: "Tonight we had 12 that took direct part in this COMMEX. Of those 12 stations, 9 were able to comply with their instructions. The exercise commenced at 2026L and terminated at 2043L for a total elapsed time of 35 minutes. Are there any comments or suggestions?"

Note any comments or suggestions for inclusion into the written exercise summary.

STATE: "This is KL5T, net control for the Big City Simplex Net COMMEX. I want to thank all net stations for their participation in the exercise this evening. A written summary will be provided in the SCRC and AARC newsletters. I highly encourage net members to take the time to script communications exercises of their own, either for insertion into scheduled nets, or for upcoming monthly COMMEXs. Please contact me, KL5T, or any radio club or ARES officer or participant if you'd like to become more involved in our effort to improve and enhance our emergency communications preparedness. We need your help."