Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club Bulletin

Detailed fire damage assessment map for Fallbrook:

The "Fallbrook After the Ashes" street fair fund raiser for fire victims Sunday the18th of November, went very smoothly, needed a minimum of Ham radio communications. The event having been organized in a extremely short time frame, and  having lots of variables  we had operators W6MF, KD6UAK, KG6QAG, KC6MIE, KG6HSQ, KI6KVF,W6BJO on site and stand beys AA6O, N6PT, K6DLV just in case. Unique traffic passed was Chargers football score request from Supervisor Bill Horn.

Red Flag Patrols

Were run Wednesday November 21st from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Cal Fire. W6MF-Ken, KD6UAK-Randy, W6SJL-Paul, KG6HSQ-Ron participated. Very quite, only action was jump starting a car at Sandia Creak crossing.

Because of fire related electrical problems on Red Mtn. repeaters were down in morning, K6DLV-Phil provided back up assistance via his remote base.

Remember when both of FARC's repeaters are down goto 2m repeater output of 146.175 simplex/direct, no offset, (would not hurt to transmit 107.2 tone) for community back up communications.

Fallbrook Village News story November 15, 2007

Submitted by Ken Dickson-W6MF, with editing by paper.

FALLBROOK - In the midst of a devastating fire, Fallbrook and the surrounding area thrived and will continue to do so.
   Most people have heard of amateur radio.  Many people regard it as a “toy” and an obsolete mode of communications; however, it works when all other communications fail. “Amateur” is somewhat of a misnomer because the ranks of the organization are made up of  people far removed from being amateurs.
   In the Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club there are engineers, teachers, accountants, a doctors, a dentist, a professional chef, an airline captain, a retired State Fire Marshal and many other professional and technical people.  Each has worked to learn technical radio skills and has passed an examination as required by the Federal Communications Commission to earn a license to operate as an amateur.
   Why is amateur radio important to all who live in this community?  First of all, during an emergency such as we’ve just had, some media does not provide very much information about what is happening in our area.  This is disturbing when you’ve been displaced from your home and have no idea whether your home is safe or not and have no means to obtain that information.
   Amateur Radio Station N6FQ was called into service at approximately 9 a.m. Monday, October 22, 2007 by North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) Batallion Chief Don Stevens.
   N6FQ shares space with NCFPD’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at any time there is an activation of the EOC and N6FQ’s services are needed.  Four radio operators responded to that call and manned N6FQ for the next 48 hours continuously.
   Early Monday morning two other radio operators were dispatched to Fallbrook Hospital and stayed with that evacuation until the hospital and long term care facility were completely evacuated.
   Two other radio operators were dispatched to Fallbrook High School, which was designated as a emergency shelter until everyone was evacuated. These operators left their assigned sites after all of the evacuees had been removed and they then evacuated their own families.
   N6FQ continued to operate until approximately 5 p.m. Friday, October 26.  Amateurs do not receive any compensation for their time nor do they expect such.
   During the Rice Canyon Fire, N6FQ was co-located with the CAL FIRE and NCFPD Incident Control Post.  They shared all news, announcements, bulletins, fire progress, closure information and.related issues directly to N6FQ.
   Unfortunately, the listening public was somewhat limited because many people had no means to listen to what was happening except through other radio operators located outside the Fallbrook area.
   There is a simple solution to expanding the listening public.  All amateur radio transmissions are available to anyone listening.  You do not have to hold a license to listen.  The “airways” in the US are basically open to everyone and can be monitored via a radio receiver.
   We suggest that residents of our area purchase and use Scanners to keep abreast of happenings, especially in an emergency such as we’ve just had.  The Village News has carried at least two articles in the past advocating this mode of obtaining information.  Give serious consideration about purchasing a scanner to aid in providing your family with another safety tool.
   Everyone is encouraged to listen to this repeater, especially during any kind of emergency.  The frequency to monitor is either 146.175 MHz or 445.600 MHz. Both frequencies simulcast so the same information is broadcast on both at the same time.
   The transmissions are Frequency Modulated (FM) and both frequencies, along with many others, are readily available on most scanners.  Scanners may be purchased from almost any electronic store.
The Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club at times provides free classes for persons interested in obtaining an amateur license. For further information go to http://www.fallbrookarc.org.

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Two Day Amateur Radio Technician License Class

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
621 Stage Coach Ln.
Fallbrook

It will be held on January 19th and 26 from 8AM-5PM with breaks for lunch and others as needed.  There is no cost for the class.

The testing session is currently planned for 5PM to 7PM immediately following the last session on the 26th.  The test is planned to be administered by SANDARC with a cost of 5$.

If individuals are interested please contact me at 639-0839 or by my e-mail address greg.greenwood"replace this with at symbol"cox.net .  If anyone wants to take the test and not the class I will need to know what level test they plan to take at least 48 hours prior to the test so the team can be prepared with the correct test materials.

Thanks
Greg KE7JC

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Emergency Notification: Register Your Cell Phone and E-mail Address

One of the key factors in saving lives and property during last week’s fires was the mass notification system, known to most people as Reverse 911.
We would like this to be expanded to cell phones and e-mail addresses, and here’s how you can be part of the system

Residents who live in San Diego County, which includes all 18 cities and the unincorporated areas of the County, are encouraged to register their cell phones and e-mail addresses for emergency notifications by visiting
http://www.alertsandiego.org .

Once e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers are registered, it will take up to 24 hours for that information to be updated into AlertSanDiego, the County of San Diego mass notification system that is commonly referred to Reverse 911.

AlertSanDiego will provide emergency alerts to your cell phone and e-mail address including evacuation notices. This is in addition to the land line calls received by those who have land line phones.

Residents are able to register multiple cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses by reopening the Web page. Residents without computers may access this Web site from one of the County libraries. There is no charge to use the computers at County libraries.

If a City resident has registered a cell phone number with the City of San Diego Reverse 9-1-1 system that information is automatically shared with the County cell phone registry. To register an e-mail address computer users must register with the County system.

Please note that while the County Mass Notification System is considered effective and efficient, you should not wait or rely exclusively on a call for evacuation directives. If you think you are in danger, you should evacuate immediately. If you are directed to evacuate by emergency personnel, you should follow their direction.

Supervisor Bill Horn

Motorola Buys Yaesu

From: ARRL Headquarters Newington CT November 5, 2007
To: all radio amateurs

Subject: SB SPCL ARL ARLX007 Motorola buys Yaesu

Motorola USA has announced its intention to launch a tender offer to acquire a controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co, Ltd. Vertex Standard is the parent company of Yaesu. Motorola will own 80 percent of Vertex Standard; Tokogiken, a privately held Japanese company, controlled by current president and CEO of Vertex Standard Jun Hasegawa, will retain 20 percent, forming a joint venture. The total purchase price for 80 percent of the outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis will be approximately US $108 million.

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W1AW 2007/2008 Winter Operating Schedule

CERT Volunteers Active in Fallbrook Fire Cleanup

FALLBROOK -- Trained emergency volunteers based in Fallbrook said Monday that they were forced to wait until after last month's fire died down to get involved, after the blaze became too dangerous for them to help with search and rescue or assist in the evacuation.

Last month's Rice Canyon fire started east of Interstate 15 on Oct. 22 and destroyed 206 homes as it roared through 9,000 acres in Rainbow, Fallbrook and De Luz. The blaze was 100 percent contained on Sunday, Oct. 28 and extinguished on the following Saturday.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/06/news/inland/3_01_2511_5_07.txt

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President Bigs Parker, KG6GIU, called the meeting to order at 1505.

The pledge of allegiance was recited.

Bigs announced that his home had been destroyed in the recent fire along with some of the Field Day equipment that had been stored at his home.  He said that it appeared that the metal objects would be usable but the canvas cover that was the main cover for the field day event was destroyed.  He asked if there was anyone that had storage space for the items that survived.  Millie, KI6FXS, said that she had a storage building that could be used.    Arrangements need to be made to remove these items from their present location at Bigs property and re-locate them to Millie’s storage area.

Bigs also announced that he would not accept a nomination to return as president of FARC for the next year.  He asked club members to begin a search for someone that could serve as president.  

Due to the large number of attendees at the meeting Bigs asked our visitors to introduce themselves.  There were several visitors that were introduced .

Ken, W6MF, gave the following financial report.

Checking Balance September 30, 2007	$2061.82
Petty Cash Balance September 30, 2007	$29.48
Total	$2091.30
OCTOBER  INCOME
Tech Class Textbook (1 @ $20.00)	$20.00
FARC Membership Dues	$120.00
Total	$140.00
OCTOBER  EXPENSES
ARRL Liability Insurance Renewal	$320.00
Total	$320.00
Checking Balance October 31, 2007	$1881.82
Petty Cash Balance October 31, 2007	$29.48
Total	$1911.30

 
 Ron, KG6HSQ, gave a short briefing on the upcoming Christmas Parade, which will be held on December 1, 2007.  The regular meeting of the Chamber of Commerce that was to be held last week was cancelled due to the evacuation order for Fallbrook.  He said that the Shriner’s would be in the parade this year with their miniature cars.  He said that as of last meeting there were three bands that would be in the parade.  He indicated that there would possibly be other bands added.  Ron said that the Radio Volunteer Roster was posted on the FARC website and that he could still use volunteers.  Additional volunteers will be needed this year because the parade is going back to a 10 unit format rather than the 8 units they had last year.   He also said that the Clydesdales may be here this year but the Chambers involvement with advertising them would be much less involved than last year.  Their arrival has not been confirmed as of this date.

Bigs reported that the FARC technical committee was in need of some equipment for some parts for a repeater backup system.  A motion was made by Stephen, KC6MIE, that funds up to $200.00 be provided to the technical committee for the needed equipment and parts.  The motion was second by Randy, KD6UAK.  The vote for approval was unanimous.

Smed, KG6QAG, informed the membership that he had located an outlet for “Fire-Jell” for about $90.00.  He said that the product usually cost around $200.00.  For further information regarding this protective agent contact the Vista Fire Safe Council.

The program was presented by Ron and it was a synopsis of Rice Canyon Fire as it related to the North County Fire Protection District, Cal-Fir, ARES and FARC.  He gave a timetable of events as they unfolded.  Many local amateurs were involved in traffic handling both at the Dewey Center and in the Field.   The amateur radio activity began early Monday morning with Randy, KD6UAK, contacting some of our local operators and asking them to do some visual spotting of the fires.  Later that same Monday morning Battalion Chief Don Stevens asked that the FARC call-up plan be activated.  The Dewey Center was activate around 9:00AM Monday and ran for approximately 40 straight hours with 3 or 4 operators on duty.  Wednesday thru Friday the Dewey Center was operational from early morning until the evening each day.  Ron described the excellent liaison and working conditions with both NCFPD and Cal-Fire.  He said that as time went on our mission was changed and the Dewey Center became the source of information for many of the evacuees from the area.

Ron distributed copies of press releases that were immediately made available to the Dewey Center operation for dissemination.  Maps that had been prepared during the fire by Cal-Fire were distributed.  He also showed many photos of the fire taken by several people over the duration of the fire.  He played a recording of the actual evacuation notice.  Several members contributed stories of their own about activities during the fires.

Hayden, KG6YVD, talked about hearing problems with “weak” signal stations during the emergency.  Many operators trying to reach the FARC repeaters were having difficulties at times due to power and most importantly antenna restrictions.  He said that this was a good learning experience and that we should all consider constructing or having available portable external antennas that can be called into service from distant locations when operating from unfavorable locations.  This is especially true with hand-held units.  He also suggested the use of dual band radios in automobiles that can be put into ‘cross-band’ configuration.  With this configuration an operator can access and operate his/her automobile transceiver through a hand held transceiver.  This configuration enables the hand-held transceiver to have essentially the same capabilities as the mobile unit it is cross banding with both in the transmit and receive mode.

Bob, W6VR, said that that FARC’s 440 repeater had been repaired and was now running full power.  He also said that an unfiltered temporary repeater that had been set up on the mountain caused the interference last week to our 2-meter repeater.  Another repeater on Red Mountain was also affected by this temporary setup.  He said that the problem has now been resolved and our 2-meter equipment is working properly again.

With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 1635

Kenneth P. Dickson, W6MF
Secretary/Treasurer

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Comments and items of interest for publishing should be directed to: N6FQ@fallbrookarc.org
Ron Patten - KG6HSQ