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Subject: 1988 Bulletin 1 9 8 8 S T A T E R A C E S B U L L E T I N S TO: ALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES/OFFICES IN CALIFORNIA ALL RACES OPERATORS IN CA (OFFICIAL) ALL AMATEURS IN CA (INFORMATION) FROM: W6HIR/GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, SACRAMENTO The State RACES Bulletins are transmitted via the WESTNET packet radio system throughout California and other areas. At the suggestion of the ARRL Headquarters, the State RACES BULLETINS were entered into the nationwide packet radio mailbox system in December of this year. The BULLETINS are intended to be delivered weekly to county and city emergency management agencies by their RACES operators except, of course, in those jurisdictions that do not yet have a RACES unit. The WESTNET packet radio system blankets most of California. Mailing the RACES BULLETINS to jurisdictions would be prohibitive and the RACES is, after all, a radio communications system. The WESTNET packet radio systems blankets most of California. We mail the BULLETINS to those jurisdictions that are out of WESTNET range or do not yet have a RACES unit, and to Amateur publications and newsletters that use the material. If you are not getting these Bulletins or would like more information, please call the State OES Telecommunications Division at 916-427-4281 and ask for the RACES section. The following is a compilation of the 1988 Bulletins. We hope that one or more of them will answer a question or provide some guidance you have sought. Sgd/STANLY E. HARTER, KH6GBX State Amateur Radio Service Coordinator Chief State RACES Radio Officer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 001 CALL WAITING TELEPHONE FEATURE Jan 4, 1988 Call Waiting is an inexpensive option that most telephone companies offer that enables you to accept another call when you are already on the phone. You may answer the caller without losing your first call. This enables you to receive alerts, callouts and emergency calls, for example, without those callers getting a busy signal from your phone. It is recommended for every emergency responder, manager or public safety worker. 002 RACES RESPONDERS Jan 11, 1988 RACES personnel do not and should not self-dispatch themselves to mutual aid incidents. Every Amateur authorized to respond should be provided: 1. Destination and mission; i.e., where, what to do, and the resource request order number. 2. The name and/or title of the official and agency to which he/she is to report. 3. A clear definition and understanding of what to take, what to wear, how long the volunteer may remain on the mission, route of travel, a safety and hazards briefing, and any other information pertinent to the successful accomplishment of the mission. 4. Specific instructions on what communications is to be provided. 5. Exact name, title and organization authorizing the response. 6. Enroute frequencies for subsequent instructions, reports, redirection or recall. Note: State OES has a form for this purpose for use by any jurisdiction. Contact your OES Region office. 003 NEW RACES PATCH Jan 18, 1988 The new RACES patch is available from KB6JHS. Contact Joe for details. It is a 3 inch multi-colored cloth patch that says "EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS THRU AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS" and shows a tower with beam, CW key, satellite, dish antenna and lightning bolts. Our thanks to State of Nevada RACES for the design. 004 BE WINTER WISE - PART 1 OF 6 PARTS Jan 25, 1988 BEFORE THE STORM: Keep first aid and critical medical supplies such as prescriptions, insulin, etc. on hand. Keep a stock of food which requires little cooking and no refrigeration; electric power may be interrupted. Keep a portable radio and flashlights in working order. Have extra batteries on hand; have alternative batteries to replace radio NICADS. Keep your automobile fueled; if electric power is cut off, filling stations may not be able to operate. Keep materials like sandbags, plywood, plastic sheeting and lumber handy for emergency waterproofing. 005 BE WINTER WISE - PART 2 OF 6 PARTS Feb 1, 1988 WHEN YOU RECEIVE A STORM WARNING: Store drinking water in closed, clean containers; water service may be interrupted. If flooding is likely, and time permits, move essential items and furniture to upper floors of your home. If advised to leave your home, move to a safe area before access is cut off by flood water. Leave a note telling friends or relatives where you are going. Before leaving, cut off all electric circuits at the fuse panel by pulling the main switch, or disconnect all electrical appliances. Shut off the gas service at the valve next to the meter, and turn off the water service at the main valve. 006 BE WINTER WISE - PART 3 OF 6 PARTS Feb 8, 1988 DURING THE STORM: Avoid areas subject to sudden flooding. Do not try to cross a flowing stream where water is above your knees. Do not try to drive over a flooded road; you could be stranded and trapped. If your vehicle stalls, abandon it immediately and seek higher ground; many people drown while trying to rescue their cars. Do not sightsee is areas where flooding or snowfall is occurring; do not try to enter areas closed by law enforcement agencies without written authority. 007 BE WINTER WISE - PART 4 OF 6 PARTS Feb 15, 1988 DURING THE STORM (continued): Avoid unnecessary trips; if you must travel during the storm, dress warmly and advise others of your destination. Use the telephone only for family emergency needs or to report dangerous conditions. Beware of downed power lines; report them immediately to your local gas or electric utility company, police or fire department. Keep tuned to one of your local radio or television stations for emergency information. 008 BE WINTER WISE - PART 5 OF 6 PARTS Feb 22, 1988 AFTER THE STORM: DO NOT TURN GAS BACK ON YOURSELF; rely on utility company crews. Do not use fresh food that has come in contact with flood waters. Make sure drinking water is not contaminated; wells should be pumped out and water tested before drinking. Do not visit disaster areas without written authority; your presence will probably hamper rescue and other emergency operations and you might be in danger. 009 BE WINTER WISE - PART 6 OF 6 PARTS Feb 29, 1988 AFTER THE STORM (continued): Do not handle live electrical equipment in wet areas. If electrical equipment or appliances have been in contact with water do not use them until local authorities tell you they are safe. Use flashlights, not lanterns or matches to examine buildings; flammables may be inside. Report broken utility lines to police, fire or other appropriate authorities. Continue to beware of downed power lines or broken gas lines. Stay tuned to radio or television for vital information. 010 STATEMENT OF MISSION Mar 7, 1988 The primary mission of the State Office of Emergency Services (OES) is the coordination of emergency activities to save lives and minimize property damage during natural disasters and other emergencies, and to expedite recovery from their effects. On a day-to-day basis, OES provides leadership, assistance and support to state and local agencies in planning and preparing for the most effective use of federal, state, local and private sector resources used in emergency operations. The OES functions as the immediate staff and coordinating organization of the Governor's Office in carrying out the state's responsibilities under the Emergency Services Act and applicable federal statutes. The OES acts as the conduit for federal natural disaster grants and other federal agency support. The OES also administers the state Natural Disaster Assistance Act (NDAA) which provides relief to jurisdictions in the form of grants to assist them in the repairing of roads, bridges, municipal buildings, and other public facilities. The program areas administered by the OES are: EMERGENCY MUTUAL AID SERVICES: - Provision and coordination of Mutual Aid (including RACES). - Development and utilization of emergency communications systems (including the RACES). - Development and implementation of emergency plans. The State, its 6 Regions, every county, and each city using Amateurs should have a RACES plan in accordance with the new model plan format. - Management and maintenance of state resources. ADMINISTRATION FIXED NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PLANNING NATURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 011 POLICY AND PRACTICES Mar 14, 1988 This statement is intended to clarify the confusion about some Amateur Radio operators who have multiple public service interests, activities or responsibilities. A jurisdiction's RACES Radio Officer, assistants, alternates and their key management and operations staff accept their RACES responsibility as their primary Amateur radio public service activity by choice. They are free, of course, to belong to any organization, club, or allied activity that does not interfere with or detract from their RACES function--again, by their own choice. Not all Disaster Service Worker volunteers, of course, are key management or operational people as described above and thus are not expected by OES to place RACES as their priority activity of choice. Any jurisdiction has a right to reasonably expect their key volunteer staff to serve and respond in a responsible manner; to expect their volunteers to respond to them as their first choice--by choice. 012 NEW 2-METER SIMPLEX PLAN AVAILABLE Mar 21, 1988 A new 2-Meter band simplex plan for California's 58 counties was released this month. Local communications should be conducted on simplex wherever possible during a widespread emergency. A disaster may cripple repeaters. Commercial power may fail. Emergency power may fail or not be available. Emergency power fuel may be used up and refueling may be difficult or impossible. Repeater site access roads may be impassable. LPG systems may have only a large tank with no provision for using more readily available LPG bottles in an emergency. Repeater racks may be toppled, cables snapped or antennas downed by an earthquake. Where some repeaters fail and others survive, there will be even greater contention among operators to use the surviving repeater(s). This can be compounded by undisciplined operators and unnecessary communications. Sheer volume of essential communications alone may overload a repeater. The STATEWIDE 2-METER RACES SIMPLEX FREQUENCY PLAN divides California's 58 counties into seven groups--Group A through Group G. The counties in any group are separated by many miles and intervening terrain. There are 13 simplex frequencies in each group for every county. Six channels are common statewide. The counties in Group A, for example, are Del Norte, Tehama, Sonoma, Sacramento, San Mateo, and Inyo. The frequencies were carefully selected so as to minimize interference with existing operations and systems. The simplex plan may be implemented immediately by all counties north of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. In all counties south of San Luis Obispo, Kern and Inyo counties a special rule applies: Each frequency in each applicable group must be approved in writing prior to plans or use by the State OES Southern Area RACES Coordinator, 2151 East D St. - Suite 203A, Ontario, CA 91764; telephone 714-391-4485. The reason for this is that repeaters in Southern California developed at a greater rate before present day band plans and there can be conflicts between existing systems and the simplex plan in certain areas. We wish to express our appreciation to Dave Tyler, N6DRT, of the Pacific Division American Radio Relay League for his major contributions in both the concept and preparation of this plan. Action required: (1) Obtain a copy of the plan from your State OES Region office. (2) Amend your county RACES plan to include these new frequencies. (3) Include your simplex frequencies in your county RACES plans yet to be written. (KH6GBX) 013 VOLUNTEERS DEFINED Mar 28, 1988 It has become increasingly apparent that there are or should be two levels of RACES operators. A paper is now being written on the subject of various levels of emergency management agency volunteers. It will go into considerable detail because the word "volunteer" means different things to different people. Because some jurisdictions are having growing pains and administrative problems, it is appropriate to disseminate guidance in advance of the proposal now being studied. The proposal is to provide all volunteer Disaster Service Workers with a receipt of such registration. There are two levels of RACES operators in California. (The RACES section in any local government provides emergency communications support via Amateur radio in accordance with a written plan.) LEVEL 1 volunteers are key staff with on-going RACES duties for, and responsibilities with, the State or a local government in California. It is recommended that a local government photo ID card be issued this category of volunteer. A Level 1 volunteer chooses and agrees to respond to his/her agency when called upon with a priority over all other volunteer activities. For RACES, the State OES form 99 DISASTER SERVICE WORKER REGISTRATION AND LOYALTY OATH (or equivalent local government form) is required plus a local record check is required by most jurisdictions. A LEVEL 2 volunteer may be all other Amateur Radio operators choosing not to be a Level 1 volunteer. This group should, ideally, include every Amateur in a county that is not a Level 1. Only the OES 99 (or local equivalent) is required. No local government ID card need be issued. Level 2 RACES personnel have no duties, on-going assignments or responsibilities, and are not required to attend meetings or training. The purpose and intent is to register all Amateur Radio operators as Disaster Service Workers so that their services may be utilized by governments unprepared to register volunteers at or during a disaster or emergency. It is a State RACES policy not to use unregistered volunteers. What is missing at this time is a standardized Disaster Service Worker receipt that shows the bearer's name and with what government he/she is registered in lieu of a government ID card. Since a DSW is good for life, such a receipt will not be an ID card or a special area pass. Questions and comments from jurisdictions should be directed to State OES, ATTN: State RACES radio Officer. (KH6GBX) RACESBUL.014 SUBJECT: RESPONDERS CHECKLIST Date: 4/4/88 Dave Larton (N6JQJ), principal coordinator of the 1988 Emergency Response Institute seminar in Cupertino, March 26-27, presented a checklist of 10 items for any fireground communications unit responder. These can well apply to other major incidents requiring RACES and ARES personnel to be self-supporting in the field for an extended or indefinite period: 1. Map(s) of the area(s). Ability to read and interpret maps is essential. Ability to interpret topographic and township information on forest fires is important. 2. Compass. Ability to use the compass is, of course, important. Known directions are necessary to orient directional antennas usually required for packet radio terminals. 3. Flashlight with extra batteries. 4. Extra food and water for 72 hours. You can get by without food but not without water. 5. Extra clothing, preferably wool and never synthetics. Wear proper footwear. Wear long sleeves on fire incidents. 6. Sunglasses. Carry eyewash (2-3 bottles). 7. Pocket knife. 8. Matches in a waterproof container. 9. Candle or other firestarter such as superfine steel wool. 10. First aid kit with snake bite kit, personal medications (allergy?), and aspirin. Summary: Be prepared mentally and physically. Don't overextend your capabilities. Recognize and possess the wisdom to say "No". Do not become a problem to yourself and others. ---Stan Harter, KH6GBX, Chief State Radio Officer RACESBUL.015 SUBJECT: RADIO OFFICER'S DATA BASE Date: 4/11/88 RACES personnel helping out on incidents outside of their jurisdiction is a common occurrence. This is part of MUTUAL AID operations and procedures. It is not necessary to be registered as a Disaster Service Worker in more than one jurisdiction. This practice is, in fact, improper. A Volunteer should have only one ID card and should surrender an old card when transferring to a new jurisdiction. As a part of the Communications classification of Disaster Service Workers, all RACES personnel are a part of the CALIFORNIA MASTER MUTUAL AID SYSTEM. To access additional Amateur Radio resources through this system, a jurisdiction contacts the next level up of government. For example, a City Radio Officer would contact the County Radio Officer with the request. The County Radio Officer will coordinate with other city RACES organizations and his own organization to fill the needs. If the County Operational Area organization cannot fill the need, the County Radio Officer contacts their State OES Region RACES Coordinator, who will work with the other counties in the OES Mutual Aid Region to obtain the needed resources. This system does not prohibit the establishment of AUTOMATIC AID AGREEMENTS between the Emergency Management Organizations of two (or more) adjacent jurisdictions; the Regional RACES Coordinator, however, should be advised when an Automatic Aid situation is in progress, so that OES Region staff is aware that resources in those jurisdictions are not available. Accurate records are a prerequisite for Radio Officers at all levels --- city, county and OES Region. Every new Radio Officer needs to develop and maintain a roster of names and telephone numbers for their counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions. If yours is not complete and current, we urge all emergency management agencies and Radio Officers give this top priority. Another bad fire season is predicted. A major earthquake could happen at any time. Your jurisdiction could receive a request through channels to provide RACES operators for an incident hundreds of miles away or even in an adjacent state. This happened in the 1987 fire season and, because RACES was still in the formative or non-extant stage in many jurisdictions, RACES mutual aid response was slow, disorganized and inefficient. Region Radio Officers need to know how to contact every participating county in their Region and, in some cases, cities. Every county Radio Officer should know the names and telephone numbers of their Region, cities, and adjoining county Radio Officers. It is a common practice for jurisdictions to equip their Radio Officers with a radio pager. We recommend this practice. (Continued in RACESBUL.016) RACESBUL.016 SUBJECT: RADIO OFFICER'S DATA BASE (cont.) Date: 4/18/88 Any level calling for mutual aid assistance usually requests a specific number of personnel, the personal skills required, and the type and quantity of communication equipment required. A Radio Officer or agency should not put out a call for "all available Amateurs report to --- ." Whenever possible we will try to pre-alert jurisdictions to the possibility of a mutual aid callup so that you will be better prepared with an answer if and when you are called. In major incidents that are common knowledge, you should survey your resource availability before you are called for mutual aid. Then, if possible or appropriate, report to the next higher echelon Radio Officer what you have willing and able to respond; i.e., city to county, county to State OES Region, Region to OES Headquarters. Many mutual aid requests may come direct to State OES Headquarters (from CDF, USFS, etc.); it helps us a lot when we have heard from those Regions that have RACES resources available to respond. Those Regions with hams ready to go will usually get the nod. There are increasing requests for ATV (Amateur TV). Radio Officers should develop who and where they are on their data base. We also request that all ATV teams be reported now to your State OES Region Office so that we may build an ATV data base. What is required are the principal contact names and telephone/pager numbers. All Radio Officers (at all levels) should include all ARRL EC's (Emergency Coordinators) in their resource data base. There are many hams whose services are available only in a crisis or on an infrequent basis and choose not to be a member of a RACES unit. This is why we urge all hams to register as Disaster Service Workers so that they can serve without any administrative delays. By the same token, we expect ARRL EC's to keep RACES officials posted with any information necessary to achieve and maintain close coordination. ---Stan Harter, KH6GBX, Chief State Radio Officer RACESBUL.017 SUBJECT: CALTRANS Date: 4/25/88 THE IMPACT OF AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ON HIGHWAY SAFETY by James J. West, N6AAD Assistant State RACES Radio Officer for California Department of Transportation. Each day the over 60,200 licensed Amateur radio operators in California make a significant contribution to the public as they travel the roads and highways of our state. Many people are misled by the designation of "Amateur". It denotes that the FCC license for the Amateur Radio Service is not for commercial use. Although the Amateurs have equipment that could easily compete with the best commercial service, this is not permitted. He is even restricted from using an Amateur radio telephone phone patch to phone ahead for a hotel reservation. At any moment in time, hundreds, if not thousands of these operators are traveling on the roads and highways of California. Many of them have varied skills that make them anything but amateur. Their ranks include doctors, lawyers, firemen, policemen and their fraternity includes skills as varied as a high school student to the position of King to his country. Each day these radio operators use their skills and equipment to summon aid to a location, to aid in fighting fires, calling police to handle accidents, alerting police dispatchers as to the needs of injured traffic accident victims. Because of new technology available within the Amateur Radio Service many city, county and State government agencies have begun to take advantage of the billions of dollars of equipment within the Amateur Radio Service. At long last, these operators are being allowed to support emergency management programs with the encouragement they deserve from government. (continued) RACESBUL.018 SUBJECT: CALTRANS (continued) Date: 5/2/88 The low power walkie-talkie is a powerful communications tool when its signal is received and boosted to high power through a mountaintop repeater. While walking down a street with his hand held radio, he is able to talk to radio stations over a hundred miles away with the sound clarity of his home or office telephone. The computer has been married to the Amateur Radio equipment to greatly increase its message handling capability. With a program called "packet" his station is almost fully automated, giving him a wide range of receiving, storing, transmitting and hard copy printing services. With appropriate software programs, he can set up his own electronic mailbox system, call an on-line bulletin board system for information or news items, or send messages several thousand miles to a specific Amateur Radio computer station. Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) is one of the latest agencies to begin the procedures necessary to utilize the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), a program that is outlined in the Federal Communications Commission regulations and coordinated by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. The FCC regulations do not make a RACES program. It is the contributions of Caltrans employees who will provide the energy required in our department. A successful program will save lives, protect property, and aid in deploying the appropriate people to face the task of making California a safer place to live. RACESBUL.019-022 SUBJECT: ORGANIZATION Date: 9-30 May 88 Every RACES unit is comprised of Amateurs committed to serving State and local governments by planning, preparing for and providing emergency communications in the Amateur Radio Service. Judging from the reports I am receiving, there are several reasons some state, county and city jurisdictions around the country do not have the RACES. Most of the reasons are based on their being misinformed or their rejecting the program for a variety of personal reasons. An acceptable reason, of course, can be that there are no Amateurs in the jurisdiction. Let us review some of the reasons: 1. The local civil defense/emergency services agency has a limited understanding of the RACES. Briefly, there are four broad roles for the RACES in any jurisdiction in the nation: a. Supplement. The RACES is used to supplement the existing government radio systems by carrying the overload communications traffic, and to be in place and operating in the event of a partial or total failure of regular systems. b. Augment. The RACES provides radio communications between the EOC and operational government elements not equipped with radios. c. Replace. Adequately staffed and equipped RACES can replace government two-way radio systems when they fail. d. Vertical communications. RACES systems should link the Emergency Operations Centers of cities with their county EOC and county EOC's with the state EOC. In California, counties should link to their State OES Region office/EOC, and the six Regions link to the State OES Operations Center. 2. One of the most common excuses for having no RACES is "We have good radio systems so we don't need anything else." Every experienced public safety and telecommunications manager knows that there are never enough communications in major emergencies -- even when none of the day-to-day systems fail. 3. Another excuse a jurisdiction can give the hams (or other organized volunteer groups such as MARS, Civil Air Patrol, C.B., ARES, etc.) is "Yes, we will call you out if all other communications fail." Think about that one for a minute. Unfortunately, some variations of this theme are more prevalent than we would like to think. Their use of hams never gets off the ground because of some government managers' belief and misunderstanding that the volunteers should be called in only if all else fails. In other words, "a doomsday resource." To those administrators we would point out that: a. the hams and other volunteers won't be available to you if you call on them only once -- you will have been too late. b. volunteers are of little value without prior training to understand your mission, your organization, your procedures and their role. 4. An unsatisfactory experience. An unpleasant episode or individual in the past may have "turned off" government towards volunteers. You know the old saying, "One bad apple spoils the barrel." One emergency services administrator reportedly had an unpleasant experience with an intoxicated volunteer and has been against volunteers ever since. 5. Other administrators complain that "volunteers cannot be expected to do the job." This type of statement is frequently made by someone who has no experience in, or is unfamiliar with, personnel management and -- more importantly -- managing volunteers. Volunteers are only as good as their government managers equip them to be. They cannot be left to their own devices and be expected to perform as may be expected. Criticism of volunteers comes easy after the fact. It can be generally avoided by training and a clear definition of expectations before the fact. 6. Inadequate staff. This is a legitimate concern, particularly in a small jurisdiction that has a one person OES/CD office. Such a person may feel that there is no way they can take on a RACES program. If there is no experienced RACES Radio Officer already attached to such an office, it would indeed be an overwhelming task to startup a viable RACES program. It has been done, but we can appreciate those not willing to assume such an undertaking. That doesn't automatically mean, however, that there cannot and should not be a RACES unit -- not at all. What such jurisdictions (and even much larger ones) may not know is that the RACES function may be delegated by the CD/Emergency Services director (coordinator, administrator, manager, etc.) to another agency in the same government. This usually makes the difference of that jurisdiction having a RACES unit or not. CD/Emergency Services may delegate the RACES function to a department willing to accept the program management. The agency most widely delegated the RACES function in a county is the sheriff. Other county and city departments delegated the RACES include communications, general services, police and fire. Delegating the RACES to the jurisdiction's law enforcement agency is the most widespread practice where it is not directly administered by the CD/OES. There are several reasons this works well: a. The law enforcement agency is a primary response agency in all civil defense/emergency services operations. b. The RACES requires volunteers who are comfortable functioning in a disciplined, cohesive organization; serving as directed, both alone and as a team. Law enforcement agencies perform in just such a manner. c. Law enforcement agencies have and appreciate the need for highly effective and responsive communications. d. An active, professional RACES unit reflects favorably upon its parent organization and is an excellent public relations tool for the jurisdiction. The value of these benefits is not lost upon elected officials. In short, the RACES can make an agency look real good. There is a caution we must make when considering the delegation of the RACES from CD/OES to another department. The Federal Communications Commission authorizes the RACES only to the civil defense support mission. The RACES and Amateur Radio must not be used for or in place of day-to-day non-emergency communications services. Since virtually all elements of any government are a part of the civil defense (emergency services), the CD/ES director may delegate the RACES to one of these elements willing to accept the responsibility. By the same token, any delegated department must not consider or use RACES solely as its own. For example, if a sheriff accepts the delegation of the RACES from the county civil defense coordinator, the sheriff's department is assuring that the RACES shall support all county departments equally. In other words, the RACES shall support the public works, parks, health, airports, roads and any other county department. The RACES shall also provide mutual aid, if capable, to requests from other jurisdictions. We hope this answers some of your questions in this regard. Send us more if there is any aspect of the RACES program that is unclear. STANLY E. HARTER, KH6GBX Chief State RACES Officer Governor's Office of Emergency Services Sacramento, CA May 5, 1988 RACESBUL.023 SUBJECT: LEVEL 1 AND 2 VOLUNTEERS Date: 6 June 1988 The following exchange is designed to clarify the differences and answer some questions that have been raised. Q. "I read the new definitions of the Level 1 and Level 2 volunteers and how it applies to the RACES. Some of us hams have questions. Does Level 1 mean you are nailed down to only the activities of their own RACES unit?" A. "No, not at all. Let's say that you accept an assignment or responsibility on the Alpha County RACES staff. This means you are a Level 1 volunteer who has chosen to be a part of the Alpha County emergency communications effort. Alpha County will issue you an ID card." Q. "OK, but let's say there is an incident in Bravo County and they have asked for my assistance. I can't do that if I am a Level 1 volunteer with Alpha County, right?" A. "Wrong! Of course you can go where you want to, but common organizational courtesies and procedures should be observed. You should contact your Alpha County Radio Officer and tell him what you'd like to do if there is no objection. Your Radio Officer, you see, may be gearing up to provide official mutual aid and you may already be a part of those plans. On the other hand, you may be released to do as you please. Remember, however, that your volunteering to assist Bravo County is not an official Alpha County RACES mutual aid unless the Alpha County Radio Officer says so." Q. "Then those Amateurs who choose not the be a part of a specific agency are not Level 1 volunteers in the RACES, do not have a government ID card, but can be Level 2 volunteers?" A. "That is correct." If you have any questions, please send them to us. ---KH6GBX RACESBUL.024 SUBJECT: ACCIDENT REPORTS BY RADIO Date: 13 Jun 88 Here is a checklist on how to report accidents and other incidents to the Highway Patrol or other law enforcement agencies. Thanks to Lolly Craig, CHP dispatcher, and the Kern County-Central Valley Amateur Radio Club "Communicator". REPORTS_OF_ACCIDENTS: 1. Exact LOCATION: a. If a freeway, confirm which freeway by comparing name and route number. b. Distance and direction from crossroad or major landmark. c. Direction and travel and lanes involved if blocked. 2. Are there any INJURIES? a. If yes: (1) Is an ambulance needed? (2) Is anyone pinned inside a vehicle? 3. Roadway CONDITION? a. If blocked, can vehicles be moved? b. Spillage? Fuel or load? REPORTING_OTHER_INCIDENTS 1. Vehicle or Suspect Description: a. Color and Size of vehicle if make and model are unknown. b. Location, as specific as possible. c. Moving suspect or vehicle: (1) Time frame. (2) Direction of Travel. (3) Do you or can you still observe the vehicle or suspect from a safe location? ---KH6GBX RACESBUL.025 SUBJECT: EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM Date: 20 Jun 88 We have received several questions about the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) and its alert tones. California is divided into 29 EBS Operational Areas by the FCC and the State Emergency Communications Committee. Unless they specifically request otherwise, every AM, FM and TV station is a participating member of the EBS. There are four levels of EBS priorities: #1 is Presidential, #2 is local, #3 is State, and #4 is region wide. All broadcast stations in the U.S. are required to have an EBS receiver tuned to a primary radio station specified by the FCC. These EBS receivers have a decoder that "opens up" the receiver upon receipt of the EBS alert tones. These special tones are 853 and 960 Hz sounded simultaneously for over 10 seconds. These tones are purposely different from DTMF (TouchTone) frequencies. Every radio and TV station is required to broadcast an EBS test once a week during daylight hours. These tests must be logged (both those sent and received). The FCC says that the tests must be straight forward and not have any music or other production embellishments. We ask that you let me know should you ever hear a "jazzed up" EBS test by date, time and call letters. One common misconception and question is "What is the EBS station serving this area?" The correct answer is that every radio and TV station serving your area is an EBS station. --- KH6GBX RACESBUL.026 SUBJECT: FERRITE BEADS AND RADIO INTERFERENCE Date: 27 Jun 88 There is an excellent handout on "Using Ferrite Beads to Keep RF Out of TV Sets, Telephones, VCR's, Electronic Equipment, Burglar Alarms and Other" available with a SASE from the Stanislaus Amateur Radio Association, P.O. Box 4601, Modesto, CA 95352. Many of us have been bedeviled with HF-SSB interference on EOC telephone lines from RACES, CAP, MARS and other transmitters. If you have or have had similar problems, this handout has a wealth of information for serious troubleshooters. (Thanks to the SARA, N6OCV, and Palomar Engineers. ---KH6GBX)