|
|
|
Serious concerns will arise when families become separated between home, school, and work. Advance planning for dealing with this situation is a necessity! Remember that communications with your family may not be possible for hours, perhaps even days after the event. Well-rehearsed contingency plans will reduce panic.
You won't be in a position to help others if you, your family, and your home become part of the disaster. Preparation is essential. The preparation must involve all members of your household. You should:
Your family always comes first. When an emergency occurs that affects an entire community, ensure that your family is safe and secure before you consider reporting for mobilization. Adequate preparation prior to an event can ensure that you're well-prepared to provide for your family and others in an emergency.
The following represents reccomendations of equipment and supplies ARES members should consider having available for use. Dress appropriately.
All ARES groups meet and conduct regular training nets.
One of the primary purposes of the National Traffic System (NTS) is to handle Health and Welfare traffic in times of emergency. A system of traffic nets is in daily operation throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in a few other countries where law or treaty permits. One of the reasons for the daily operation is to assure the readiness of a cadre of experienced operators.
Uniform procedures must be followed to ensure efficient traffic handling throughout the system. It is essential that all messages originated within the local ARES operations conform with those procedures - whether messages enter the system via packet radio or directly into the NTS. Every ARES member should be familiar with the NTS approved message format. NTS procedures, including message composition, are covered in the following publications:
Each message contains four elements, each divided by a break (BT) between each element. The elements are: Preamble, Address, Text, and Signature.
The preamble contains the message number, precedence, originating call sign, word count, location of the originator, and date of origin. For example:
NR 100 W W6XYZ 6 SANTA CRUZ CA 1300Z FEB 20 BT NR 12 W N6XYZ 8 WATSONVILLE CA 0846Z JAN 13 BT NR 225 W K6XYZ 7 BOULDER CREEK CA 2230Z MAR 02 BT
A complete address, including telephone number, must be provided. For example:
JOHN W. JONES 12334 WEST 59TH STREET CHICAGO IL 60625 312-444-1234 BT
or
BETTY SMITH 2989 WILLOW LANE PETALUMA CA 94952 707-123-9999
The message must be brief. Carefully edit the contents for both accuracy and brevity. It may be desirable to use the standard ARRL messages when handling welfare traffic. These standard coded abbreviations take the place of more lengthy messages - they use only two or three words. The following are appropriate for disaster related heatlh and welfare traffic:
|
|
|
|
ONE |
Everyone safe here. Please don't worry. |
|
TWO |
Coming home as soon as possible. |
|
THREE |
Am in _____ hospital. Receiving excellent care and recovering fine. |
|
FOUR |
Only slight property damage here. Do not be concerned about disaster reports. |
|
SIX |
Will contact you as soon as possible. |
|
TWELVE |
Anxious to hear from you. No word in some time. Please contact me as soon as possible. |
|
THIRTEEN |
Medical emergency situation exists here. |
|
FOURTEEN |
Situation here becoming critical. Losses and damage from _____ increasing. |
|
FIFTEEN |
Please advise your condition and what help is needed. |
|
SIXTEEN |
Property damage is very severe in this area. |
|
EIGHTEEN |
Please contact me as soon as possible at _____. |
|
NINETEEN |
Request health and welfare report on _____ (specify state name, address, and telephone number.) |
For example:
BT ARL ONE. ARL SIX. BT
Please note that the numbers are always spelled out. There are many more ARRL numbered radiograms, for both routine and emergency messages.
Always include a complete signature with the full name, address, and telephone number followed by a final AR (end of message prosign). For example:
UNCLE JOHN SMITH 54321 29TH AVE VILLA PARK CA 92667 714-123-4567 AR
All ARES members should be skilled in handling formal written traffic in as many modes as possible. This ability will be particularly useful during diasters. Packet radio is fast becoming the primary means of handling health and welfare traffic during emergency situations. The entire message composed in the format shown above becomes the text of the packet message. The following instructions assumes a knowledge of packet.
After connecting with the Packet BBS (PBBS) station and receiving the normal mailbox prompt, you must inform the PBBS of what you wish to do. Type ST (to send NTS traffic) instead of the normal SP (to send a personal message) or SB (to send a bulletin). Follow the ST with a space, followed by the five digit destination ZIP code (ST xxxxx), a space, and @NTSxx, where xx is the official two letter postal abbreviation for the destination state or province. If the message is destined for within California, you should omit the @NTSCA entirely. If a full ZIP code is unavailable, use the first three digit for the city, followed by XX. If no ZPI code at all is available, send it to NTSxx@NTSxx. This will create a delay, but the message should eventually get through. You must always use this format., i.e. ST zip@NTSxx. Here are some examples:
ST 60625@NTSIL Traffic to Chicago, IL ST 94568 Traffic within California ST 96823@NTSHI Traffic for Hawaii ST 841XX@NTSUT Traffic to Utah; full ZIP unknown. ST NTSCO@NTSCO Traffic to Colorado - ZIP unknown ST NTSPQ@NTSPQ Traffic to the province of Quebec, Canada ST NTSPR@NTSPR Traffic to Puerto Rico
The PBBS will then prompt you for the title of the message. Enter QTC 1, the destination city and area code and prefix of the phone number. For example:
QTC 1 CHICAGO IL 606-237 QTC 1 AURORA CO 303-366
The full NTS radiogram is entered as the text of the message. This must include all required message components in the correct order. Only one radiogram may be included in each packet message. Remember that the end of message must always be indicated to the BBS by typing ^Z (CTRL-Z) or /ex on a separate line. Punctuation is usually omitted, as at some point, the message is likely to be handled via means other than packet, such as CW or phone. For example:
ST 80011@NTSCO QTC 1 AURORA CO 303-555 NR 2 W N6ZZZ ARRL 4 APTOS CA 0235 MAR 3 MR AND MRS DONALD JONES 12333 EASY STREET APT 25 AURORA CO 80011 303-555-2111 BT ARL ONE ARL FOUR BT BILLY KIDD 999 RAINBOW AVENUE SANTA CRUZ CA 95061 408 555 1234 AR /EX
|
|
|
|