ARES/RACES
BeachNet
Emergency Plan,
Operations under unusual conditions
Serving our
Communities
in times of need
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Amateur Radio is the Hobby, Emergency Communication is the Commitment
Emergency Configuration
The
BeachNet
System was built primarily to support
Emergency Communications
in the southern coastal region
of Washington State.
As normally configured, the
BeachNet
System operates as a multi-county, wide range network, providing
a convenient way for
users to communicate nearly anywhere in the
"Lower Left Corner" of
Washington State.
During times of
Emergency or Disaster,
some changes in the configuration of the links between individual repeater
stations within the
BeachNet
system may be implemented. A single, multi-county, wide-coverage network is
very useful in "normal" times, but during a communications
emergency, each jurisdiction may require its own resources to conduct
their operations.
The radio links connecting our repeaters
together into a single cohesive network can be
selectively switched off,
allowing any of the repeaters to become a single stand-alone
machine. This allows fragmenting the network to meet local
requirements.
Additionally, many of these links can be reconfigured using
alternative, secondary paths, providing a great deal of
flexibility in the possible groupings of portions of
the system.
The 441.675 KO Peak, 440.675 Naselle, and 444.800
Long Beach repeaters incorporate frequency-agile remote
base transceivers that can be used on virtually any Amateur
radio VHF/UHF frequency and completely controlled remotely.
Nearly
all the rest of the
BeachNet
repeaters incorporate multi-channel link systems that allow
a great deal of flexibility. These can be remotely switched
to connect through any of several other link paths.
This allows
linking around a failed repeater site in the network, or
assembling smaller groupings of repeaters
("mini-networks") to serve a
particular need that might arise.
Grays Harbor County
The four Grays
Harbor County repeaters,
444.700 Neilton, 444.200 Ocean Shores, 145.390 Cosmopolis, and 444.050 Minot
are likely to be separated from the rest of the network.
One or more of these may operate as stand-alone resources,
but more likely, all four may be linked together.
This configuration provides continuity within
the County, and allows
all four repeaters
to be monitored with a single
radio at the EOC.
These four repeaters combine to
cover virtually all of Grays Harbor County.
The Grays Harbor County ARES
Emergency Coordinator (EC)
has complete
authority to control these repeaters.
The 444.950 Olympia repeater, although physically
located in Thurston County, is a
Grays Harbor County asset, and in a communications
emergency, will likely be disconnected from
BeachNet,
to operate as a stand-alone resource. This station
is designated to be used for
direct access to the Washington State
Emergency Operations Center (State EOC) at
Camp Murray from most of
ARES
District Three. Grays
Harbor County
is "first in line" to use this repeater,
with Pacific County second
in line. Other Emergency Management jurisdictions
may use this repeater on a not-to-interfere basis.
The Olympia repeater also serves as
a back-up for the ARES
District Three Net, which operates during any
regional emergency. Normally this net is held on
the
145.470
Capitol Peak Repeater (not part of
BeachNet),
but in case of
a failure, the Net moves to the 444.950 Olympia
machine. These two repeaters are
located within 100-yards of each other
at the same site, but are in different buildings, on
individual towers and with separate generators.
This makes them as independent as possible, while
sharing a similar coverage area.
The Grays Harbor County ARES
Emergency Coordinator (EC)
has complete
authority to control this repeater.
Wahkiakum County
The 444.500 Nicolai, 444.300 Cathlamet, and
147.020 Grays River repeaters serving
Wahkiakum County may be disconnected from
BeachNet
to operate linked together or as stand-alone repeaters,
covering that county and the
surrounding area. The 444.500 Nicolai repeater provides
critical coverage into Longview and
Vancouver, WA., including much of ARES District Four,
of which this county is a member.
The network link to Pacific County, and through it to Camp
Murray, may be reestablished at will as necessary.
The Wahkiakum County ARES EC has complete authority
to control these three repeaters.
Pacific County
The 224.040 KO Peak repeater normally operates as a
stand-alone machine. Its contribution to
Emergency Communications
is to form a direct tactical voice connection between
the Emergency Operating Centers
(EOCs) of Grays Harbor, Pacific, Wahkiakum,
Clark, Cowlitz, and Lewis counties of Southwestern Washington
and the State
Emergency Operations Center (State EOC) at Camp Murray, as
well as each other.
The 224.820 South Bend repeater, although normally linked into
BeachNet
will probably be disconnected from the network to fulfill two
important functions. First, this repeater is used as an
intra-county intercom between the
two county EOCs, at South Bend and Long Beach.
In the unlikely event that communications were to be lost between
these two EOCs, this repeater can be pressed into service
as a direct audio connection for coordination.
Second, this
repeater incorporates a 6-meter remote base used to monitor
or join emergency nets in the Puget Sound area.
The remainder of
BeachNet
covers Pacific County,
and is at the disposal of
Pacific
County ARES,
to provide
Emergency Communications
in support of the
Pacific
County
Emergency
Management
Agency. The
441.675 KO Peak repeater provides direct access to Camp Murray.
The high terrain surrounding Pacific County tends to cut this rural
county off,
and the integral remote base station can connect to numerous repeaters in
Western Washington and Oregon, helping to mitigate this
isolation. This transceiver stack includes the FM portions of the
29.9-29.7; 50.1-54; 144.1-148; 222.18-225; and 440-450 MHz bands.
This remote base
function is also available on the 440.675 Naselle repeater,
on the 144.1-148; 222.18-225; and 440-450 MHz bands as well.
The 444.800 Long Beach repeater
also includes a remote base, featuring
transceivers for the 2-meter, 1.25-meter
and 70-centimeter
bands. The South Pacific County AEOC
is less than a mile away,
making this repeater an integral
part of the Amateur radio
compliment available for communications
from this emergency station.
The nature of the various
links between the repeaters allows for
flexibility in the configuration
of the network. The
442.675 and 147.340
South Bend
repeaters normally operate
coupled together and linked to
the rest of the system.
This critical
piece of the network overlooks
the Pacific County EOC, and can
be split apart into two
independent repeaters, with the
link to the rest of the
system following on either
(or neither) of them. Thus,
one repeater could remain
part of
BeachNet
while the other may be used simultaneously as a stand-alone,
independent repeater for local operations.
The 147.180 Megler repeater and its four associated
remote receivers operate as a unit. The
BeachNet
system link can alternatively connect this repeater
to the Naselle station,
allowing the Megler 2-meter machine to follow whatever the
Naselle remote base is linked to. The Megler link
can also connect to several other alternate stations.
Of course, the Megler system
link can also be switched off to make the repeater stand-alone.
The 444.400 and 145.310 North Cove repeaters
operate independently from each other.
The 2-meter repeater is normally
linked to the network through the KO Peak hub, however
that link can be redirected through any of several other
network stations, or disconnected altogether. The
UHF repeater normally operates as a stand-alone machine, but has
a network link that can be switched on. The North Cove UHF repeater
is reserved for local use by the Shoalwater/Tokeland/Grayland area
emergency responders. It is important to
note
the Remote Receiver for the 145.310 North Cove VHF
repeater makes its link not to the repeater itself, but through
the KO Peak system linking hub. If the network link from the
VHF repeater is switched off, the remote receiver will not
follow.
The 145.170 Ocean Park repeater can potentially link to any of
several other sites. One is the 444.925 Megler IRLP repeater.
Although this normally provides a 2-meter port to the UHF IRLP circuit,
the repeater
has a different emergency communication function.
IRLP operation is dependent upon the Internet. If local
Internet service
is down, there will be no IRLP function, however the repeater
itself should still operate as a normal machine in
stand-alone service. The
Pacific County Amateur Radio Club 146.860 Ilwaco repeater
can also link to the 444.925 Megler
IRLP repeater. This potentially
forms a mini-network
(145.170 Ocean Park
- 444.925
Megler IRLP -
146.860 Ilwaco) which
can be
used
for
Fire/Medical Support. The
three repeaters
combined cover the entire
length of the Long Beach
Peninsula, and the Ocean
Beach, Columbia Memorial and
Seaside Providence hospitals.
Resource Ownership
BeachNet
comprises private property with a number of owners. The owner,
or owner-designated trustee
of a repeater, or other Amateur radio station, has the final word
on who may use that station. The FCC has reaffirmed this principle
on numerous occasions. Any individual or
organization intending to use a particular
Amateur Radio repeater during emergency or public service activities
should approach the owner/trustee of the repeater to secure prior
permission for its use. All too often, well-meaning groups assume
they may use the repeater(s) they normally use everyday during
such events, only to find they are not welcome when they count
on it most. Plan ahead.
The 444.950 Olympia repeater and associated packet
radio station is owned by Doyle Wenzel,
N7UJK, of Aberdeen, WA.
The 444.700 Neilton,
444.200 Ocean Shores,
444.050 Minot, and
145.390 Cosmopolis,
repeaters
are owned by N7UJK, with portions
on indefinite loan by NM7R,
to N7UJK,
as trustee, representing
Grays Harbor County ARES/RACES/ACS.
The 444.500 Nicolai repeater and associated packet station
is owned by Gordon Spalding, WA6TTR, of Cathlamet, WA., except
for some pieces of equipment that are on loan from NM7R.
The 224.040 KO Peak repeater is owned
by Loren Flindt, KB7APU, of Vancouver, WA, and is on
indefinite loan to NM7R and N7XAC, as joint trustees.
The remainder of the
BeachNet
System is owned jointly by Shane Madsen, N7XAC, and Frank Wolfe, NM7R,
as equal partners.
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