Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Training Course - There is a 200+
page PDF document on Ham Radio Emergency communications. It is free
and can be downloaded from the site listed below. It is an amazing
document and parts of it will be used for training for some time to
come. It covers just about everything imaginable about ham radio and
emergencies including calculations for how long your emergency battery
will last with various radios at various power settings. VERY
INFORMATIVE!
I highly recommend this free manual to anyone who is involved in ham radio. It is located at:
www.fresnoares.com/downloads/Emergency_Com_Training_Course.pdf
The above reference was placed here back in September. I am repeating it because of its importance and so that it can be downloaded by those who did not get it last time.
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Summary:
When you show up at an emergency command center, step one is to determine who is in charge. You do not operate independently of that person. If ham radio communications have already been established, you are there to assist. If not, then you can start the ham radio communications AFTER checking in with the person in charge. In Utah they should be happy to see you show up, in some other states the attitude toward ham radio operators is less than friendly.
Your role can change often during your time on site. Sometimes you might be a leader, other times you will be a follower.
When you check in, explain that you have been assigned to set up a communications station for that location and who made the assignment. If there was no assignment, explain that hams always volunteer to provide communications in disaster/emergency situations.
When leaving, be sure that things are in as good a shape as when you arrived. DO NOT leave your area in such a condition that the served agency hopes they never see you or any other ham radio operators again.
If you are given a desk to operate from, remember that NOTHING on or in that desk is yours. Do not even use a pencil. Provide your own equipment and supplies. If there are items on the disk and a box is available, place all the items on the desk in that box and secure the box. When you leave, place the box on the desk with all its contents intact. You are a guest, not one a Attila The Hun's marauders.
If there is a debriefing session, attend it if at all possible. You will get valuable input and you will also be able to provide valuable input.
If you have a copyo of the ARRL Emergency Communications Handbook, please review chapter 17 about large scale disasters. It is VERY good information.
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-N7OZH-
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