FEMA RECCWG Region 4 and 6
Exercise
We are being asked to participate in this Exercise being held on
May 31 and June 1.
Our Section Emergency Coordinator, Arc Thames is asking for a lot of
participation from Florida in this exercise....
Hi Team,
Please share this with your local teams and let’s have a ton of
participation from Florida. Anyone with Winlink capability can
participate in this exercise, it does not have to be from an EOC
station. Agency teams that have SHARES capability may also participate
with their SHARES station.
The step by step instructions are included in the attached PDF. Please
participate in this exercise if you have Winlink capability over the
air or even just via telnet on the internet. Part of this exercise is
to see how well we can mobilize our teams so it is critical that you
participate if you have the capability.
Thanks,
Arc
Here. is the
instructional pdf for for this exercise.
We are being asked to use Winlink, either with or without radio to
provide "Ground Truth" (already made up for you, don't improvise) from both
in and out of the impacted area. You are being asked to provide YOUR
ACTUAL GPS LOCATION as part of the report. We learned how to obtain our
GPS location using an app on your phone in a previous drill. You could
also get an inexpensive GPS receiver and follow the instruction in the
document also posted on this site (see article below) to automatically fill in this
information.
Using
GPS while on location
It is important to know exactly where you are when in a disaster and
deployed. You may need to report to the Incident Commander about a
situation and the pricise location. Installing a GPS receiver on your
computer to use with your radio could be invaluable.
Here. is an
instructional pdf for installing two different GPS receivers that I
have used. These are not the only ones, but two that are inexpensive.
Columbia ARES Simulated Emergency Test 2021
This year we are going to participate in the October SET.
It is scheduled for Saturday October 2, 2021. The exercise will be from
0900 to 1100 with a Hot Wash at the Columbia EOC immediatly following
the exercise.
Read
the Exercise Plan here.
Read
the Exercise AAR/IP here.
Tropical
Storm Elsa
Elsa came up the west coast of Florida and briefly reached
Hurricane status before making landfall. She was down graded to a
Tropical Storm by the time she reached Columbia County.
Read
the Incident AAR/IP here.
Whirlwind
Boom Exercise
Friday March 19, 2021
Participate in this drill to practice your skills. You can use
VHF or HF, voice and data.
Columbia ARES will participate and I am looking for operators to join
in.
Here is the draft version of the exercise plan for our county to
add to the main plan. I will be adding more information here as it
unfolds!
Read
the Full Exercise Plan here.
Read
the Full Exercise AAR/IP here.
Read
the "Columbine County" Exercise Plan here.
Read
the "Columbine County" AAR/IP here.
Preparation
Now is the time to work on your individual skills. If you haven't moved
a "radiogram" in a while, read up a bit. If you've never tried Winlink
peer-to-peer, that is fun! The Florida Winlink Net every Monday
provides huge opportunities for practice and is HEAVILY subscribed! If
you've never done PSK31 using FLDGI or other platforms, give that a
try! Charge up that battery, find a backup antenna idea, and think
about LIGHTING.
Last
zoom conference is Thursday, March 18 7PM
Meeting ID: 895 3074 1792 for those coming in on telephone.
Meeting February 27th
We will have a planning and preparation meeting this Saturday,
February
27th at 1400 at the Lake City Baptist Temple. Bring your go box!
American
Red Cross Distaster Drill
Saturday November 14, 2020
Participate in this drill to practice your Winlink skills. You can use
Telnet, VHF or HF.
Drill Instructions FAQ Weather Statement
Why
We Have Nets
Any list of the major strengths of Amateur Radio in an
emergency setting includes our abilities to share information in a
“group setting” in real time across multiple locations and even
multiple served agencies. Unlike many other types of communications,
our radio messages can be heard by everyone in the group at once — and
they can respond. This gives flexibility to emergency response
managers, which is very useful. During an emergency communication
situation, a high volume of disorganized messages can quickly turn an
overloaded communication system into a disaster of its own. To prevent
this from happening, Amateur Radio operators use regular protocols
called a “network” or “net” to organize the flow of messages. The
mission of the net is to effectively move as much traffic as accurately
and quickly as possible. Nets can be either formal or informal, as
needs dictate. Nets can be conducted via voice, Morse code, or digital
modes, depending on the situation.
Read more of the article from ARRL EC001
Class Here...
