Lincoln County NM RACES / ARES Standard Operating Procedure
Activation, When the RACES program is first alerted to activation, the following procedures will be followed:
1. The RACES County Radio Officer (RO) will notify the local RACES membership and ARES EC of the situation and the following process will happen:
2. The assigned RACES members will report to the EOC for net control duties, they will bring any needed equipment with them. See attached Check Lists.
a. Lincoln County EOC at Carrizozo
b. Ruidoso EOC at Ruidoso (primary or backup)
c. Ruidoso Downs EOC at Ruidoso Downs
3. The assigned RACES members will report as follows:
a. Radio Station
b. TV Cable
c. Hospital
d. Shelters
e. as needed and directed
4. VHF/UHF Repeater networks will provide the networking between the EOCs in the county and the other communication points needed. There are three 2 meter repeaters and one UHF repeater that may be utilized for radio networks. There may be a need to establish two or more networks on different repeaters. If the Mea Link or Upper Rio repeaters are used, the control operator may configure them for Emergency use.
5. VHF/UHF simplex (short range) radio networks may be established as needed if traffic is heavy.
6. VHF/UHF Repeater failure procedure:
a. If the EOC does not have an HF antenna, then a radio network will be established between each EOC and a local Amateur HF station on VHF/UHF simplex channels. These HF gateway stations will provide communications between the EOCs and also will provide communications outside the area. They may be utilized to send messages to the State EOC as needed.
b. These HF stations will provide communications between the EOCs and other RACES networks on 3939 kHz or 7245 kHz.
c. Additional VHF/UHF simplex local coverage networks will be established as needed. These networks will coordinate their network with the county wide HF network.
7. Frequency Utilization:
a. This plan will utilize the frequencies designated in the FCC rules and regulations. Any authorized band or frequency may be used if enough stations are available to support such use.
b. For short range networks 2 meter and UHF simplex channels will be used first.
c. Local 2 meter and UHF repeaters will be used if they are still in service.
d. HF radio networks will be established if required.
e. Planed frequencies are noted in the Appendix A, but these may be changed as circumstance dictates.
8. Suspense procedures:
a. When the mission is suspended, the Net Control Station will announce that the network is being shut down as soon as each station is accounted for and closed out.
b. This may mean that only a single network may be suspended, and those stations on the network may be re-assigned to another network, or purpose.
c. In the case of a complete shut down, the RACES RO or in the case of a ARES network, the EC will send a formal message to all participating stations noting that the event has been completed and recording the list of stations currently active. The network will be maintained until each station is closed out of the mission. The net control station will insure that each member has returned to its home base before closing down.
9. Debriefing, as soon as possibly after the event is closed down, a debriefing will be done to insure that any problems are corrected and incorporated into future plans. At the debriefing the RO and EC will provide their reports statistics of the operations.
This plan may be modified and updated as required. 19 April, 1999
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Lincoln County NM RACES / ARES Preparation and Equipment Check List
During a disaster / emergency event within Lincoln County New Mexico, RACES / ARES members should be prepared to support Lincoln County, and each governmental subdivision within the county.
During the first six to twelve hours of a major event, outside support may not be available, and all RACES / ARES members will need to be capable self sufficiency during that time. The following is a recommended list for preparation of such an event.
If such an event occurs in adjacent counties, RACES / ARES should be ready to provide any needed support to those areas if needed.
This list is based upon a long term event requiring self sustained operation for a period of days, or for mobile support to a adjacent area. Do not consider supporting an adjacent area without an official invitation, and self sufficiency for at least 3 to 7 days.
In your official invitation, you may be told that you will be provided with most of your needs, but be prepared to be self sufficient, as things can change in the area of the event.
Training will be held in message handling procedures, net control procedures and emergency radio installation requirements.
Use the check lists to inventory your equipment and prepare yourself for the unknown. Planning, training , and preparation are the only way to meet such events.
During a disaster or emergency event, or even during training, you will be working with other people, and stress will be high, if tempers flare, just keep your cool, and when it is all over with you should get an apology, if the other individual remembers what happened. You will find yourself under stress, but try to keep calm, no matter what happens.
Most messages will be informal and will be sent as rapidly as possible, use a note pad, to make sure you have any details correct. Any formal messages will be written and must be sent as written, the originator is the only one that can change the message. Keep your messages short, but concise, and when you send a message, make sure the receiving station has everything correct. If you are relaying messages from people that understand radio, they will compose them so that they can be sent easily, but if you are working with someone who does not use radio, you may need to assist them in making the message short enough.
Use the phonic alphabet to spell out any non standard words or names. On of the best ways to learn to handle such traffic is to join a listen or join a HF traffic net, these meet every day and are great ways to learn to handle radio traffic.
When you participate in a formal network, you will have a Net Control station who controls the flow of traffic. One of the first rules is not to transmit unless the net control allows you to. Also do not send unnecessary messages. Most net controls will establish a condition level indicating the level of messages that the net may utilize. An example is:
Condition RED Emergency Messages only
Condition Yellow Emergency Messages, and Priority Messages Only
Condition Green Emergency Messages, Priority Messages, and Operational Messages
No Condition Emergency, Priority, Operational, and informal QSOs
If possible a secondary back up Operational network can be used to conduct non emergency, priority messages. This is very easy to do with dual band radios.
Except in the case of a major disaster event, most communications will began to return to near normal, and emergency, priority messages will drop to a point that most of the RACES members can stand down, these same members can be utilized to handle ARES health and welfare messages if needed.
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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:
RACES, SKYWARN, ARES, identification, state Drivers License. ______
Radio Gear:
For each radio set, a microphone and head phones ______
Hand Held radio(s) 2 meter and 70 cm. ______
Charged Batteries for Hand held radio(s). ______
Charger for Hand Held radio batteries. ______
Alkaline Battery Pack for Hand Held radio(s). Alkaline Battery Pack(s) see note 1 ______
Spare Alkaline Batteries. ______
Gain Antenna for Hand Held Radio(s) with coaxial cable. ______
Mobile Unit with installed radios: ______
2 meter and 70 cm mobile unit with gain antenna. ______
VHF/UHF Magnet mount Antenna ______
50 Feet RG-8 Coax with UHF Connectors and UHF Barrel ______
HF radio (optional) either installed or safely packed. ______
AC power supply, 7 Amps VHF UHF or 20 Amps. HF minimum. ______
AC Power Extension Cord 50 to 100 feet long ______
AC Power block with six outlets ______
HF antenna (optional) installed on vehicle. ______
HF portable (optional) antenna with coaxial cable and barrel ______
Extra coaxial cables, UHF and BNC adapters. ______
SWR meter(s) to measure UHF, VHF and HF. ______
Spare Fuses.
Writing Gear:
Ball Point Pens (3) ______
Pencils (3) ______
Erasers (3) ______
Clipboard ______
Message Forms (25) ______
Log Book Pages (25) ______
Note paper (1 Pad) ______
Small Note Pad ______
Flashlight and batteries ______
Personal Gear:
Peanut Butter Snacks (10 Packs) ______
Canteen 2 Qt. (with fresh water) ______
Candy bars (5) ______
Throat Lozenges (1 Box) ______
Aspirin (100 Tablets) ______
Extra Prescription Glasses and Sun Glasses ______
Rain Gear ______
Drinking Water (5 Gal.) ______
MRE meals (10) ______
Mess Kit ______
Camp cookware ______
Dish Soap ______
Candles (5) ______
Waterproof Matches (1 Box) ______
Sleeping Bag with Pad ______
Camping Lantern with mantels ______
Solar Blanket ______
Back Pack ______
Toilet Articles ______
Alarm Clock ______
Money cash and credit card ______
Ice cooler ______
First Aid Kit See Appendix A. ______
Tool Box See Appendix B. ______
Other Tools See Appendix C. ______
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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:
Appendix A.
FIRST AID KIT
eBand Aids (100) ______
dBand Aids (100) ______
2x2 Compresses (25) ______
3x3 Compresses (25) ______
4x4 Compresses (25) ______
2Roller Gauze (2) ______
4Roller Gauze (2) ______
2Cling Gauze (3) ______
Triangular Bandage (1) ______
Arm Sling (1) ______
dAdhesive Tape (2) ______
2Elastic Bandage (2) ______
4Elastic Bandage (2) ______
Elastic Ankle Wrap (1) ______
Scissors ______
Antihistamine (5) ______
Water Purification Tablets ______
Antacid Tablets ______
Insect Repellent ______
Thin Rubber Gloves (6 Pr) ______
Cold Pack ______
Sewing Kit ______
Solar Blanket ______
Waterproof Matches (1 Box) ______
Small Flashlight (1) ______
First Aid Guide ______
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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:
Appendix B.
TOOL BOX
Slot Point Screw Driver Large ______
Slot Point Screw Driver Small ______
Phillips Head Screw Driver Large ______
Phillips Head Screw Driver Small ______
Pliers ______
Socket Wrench Set, Allen wrenches ______
Electrical Tape ______
Soldering Iron ______
Solder, Resin Core ______
Dikes (cutters) ______
Needle Nose Pliers ______
Fuses and other spare parts. ______
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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:
Appendix C.
Other Tools
Hatchet / Ax ______
Hand Cross-Cut Saw ______
Combination Camp / Pick / Shovel ______
Siphon ______
Jumper Cables ______
3/8Hemp Rope (100 feet) ______
Highway Flares ______
Oil Automotive Engine ______
Compass ______
Map(s) ______
Optional Equipment:
Portable generator set. ______
GPS Navigation Set ______
Scanning Receiver Set ______
Portable AM / FM / Short-wave Radio Receiving Set ______
Camera with Film ______
Video Camera with tape and Charger and Batteries ______
Tape Recorder Player with batteries and extra tapes ______
ATV System ______
Reading books ______
Cellular Phone with charger and batteries ______
Portable computer with charger and software ______
Packet Radio TNC with cables ______
Air to Ground Radio Set ______
Any other items that will improve the attainment of reaching the mission objective(s).
[ Emg Plan | Self | AppendixA | AppendixB | Aplications Membership | Parent ]