For the past several weeks we talked about radio equipment and lighting you should have in your go-kit. Tonight’s training tip will focus on information you should include in your go-kit. The first kind of information you need to have is…
1. First and foremost is your ARES/EMA ID card. This card will be recognized by police and security people and will allow you to enter the emergency area where you are assigned to perform your emergency communications (“emcomm”) services. This is a special card issued by EMA that will have your picture ID on it, and this will be issued to you at a meeting at the EMA’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the county justice center on East Main Street, on Saturday, March 4, at 9 am. Please be there to get your photo taken and ID card made up. Bring your ARES ID card with you, the one that John W8UL issued.
2. A second item of identification you should have is a Driver’s License or other form of picture ID, and
3. Make sure you have a copy of your Amateur Radio License, in case you are asked by someone in authority to prove you’re a licensed radio operator.
4. You might also include your SkyWarn Weather Spotter ID card, if you have one, in your go-kit. This card was issued to me after I took the NOAA severe weather training seminar. The next seminar is scheduled for March 21, from 6-8 pm, at the County Administration Building next to Wendy’s on the square in downtown Newark. Be sure to attend and hone your severe weather spotting skills. This annual seminar is always well attended by law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical technicians, as well as the general public, so be sure to get there early to get a seat.
The next kind of information to have in your go-kit is…
It’s a good idea to have several maps (both street and topographic maps) of the general area. In my go-kit, I have the following:
1. A road map of Ohio
2. A road map of Central Ohio
3. A road map of Licking County
4. A road map of Columbus and Franklin County
I also have several topographic quadrangle maps of the area from Granville to the east side of Newark.
1. Licking Co, Ohio Emcomm Plan
2. The SOP pages
3. Frequency list of central Ohio repeaters
4. Contact information for other ARES
members, the EC, DEC, SEC etc.
5. Checklist of Action to Take on Arrival during an Emcomm Event
(this is not on the web site yet, but will be soon)
Another good document to have is:
Ohio Section Emergency Response Plan
(http://www.iarc.ws/ohio/SEC/oserp.pdf)
The ARES Emergency Coordinators Roster – Ohio Section is only for ECs and AECs. (Not for public release)
There are several more informational items you should
include in your go-kit:
1. A copy of the Ohio Repeater Directory handy, too. It lists more repeaters than just those in the local area. I believe you can get one at Universal Radio (www.universal-radio.com) in Columbus.
2. The ARES Field Resources Manual is a great handbook to have as well. It’s available from the ARRL web site (http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=5439) or possibly from Universal.
3. It’s wise to keep a logbook of your important emcomm activities, if nothing else, to protect you in case of any later legal problems or investigations into emcomm discrepancies. I suggest the ARRL Minilog, available from the ARRL web site (http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=7539) or Universal.
4. If you are going to be passing formal traffic, and it’s highly likely that you might be, having a pad or two of ARRL Standard Radiogram Message Forms is imperative. You can get these at the ARRL web site (http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1320) or Universal, also.
5. Standard forms used by the served agencies were recommended in one of the books I have, but these change all the time and get out of date. I would not advise you to stockpile any in your go-kit. Until further notice, let the served agencies be responsible for supplying such forms.
6. We discussed this in a previous training tip, but it’s critical to have equipment manuals (or copies thereof) available. You may not remember how to program a frequency into memory or how to apply a CTCSS tone, and not all radios are intuitively obvious. Or you may be assigned to use a radio you’re not familiar with. The manuals for the ham radios in the EMA vehicles and at the EOC will be stored with the radios, but they are also in PDF files on the Licking-ARES.org web site (http://www.licking-ares.org/links.html). You may want to print them out, or at least print out the critical pages from them in case you find yourself assigned to use one of these radios.
7. You could find it very handy to include in your go-kit an up-to-date copy of the local phone directory, which is of course available from Alltel for free. Pick one up next time you’re downtown, and store it in your go-kit.
8. And last, a good information item to include in your go-kit is a professional looking sign. In my go-kit I’ve included a magnetic sign that says “Amateur Radio Communications – N8WL”. You can probably get one from The Signman in Newark, but I got mine at Dayton a couple of years ago from another sign vendor. ARRL has one on their web site. (http://www.arrl.org/catalog/index.php3?category=Public+Service+and+Emergency+Communications). A sign like this can be put on your car or truck, or taped neatly to an operating table or desk. It gives other people important information about the activity you’re performing and what you’re available to do, and it looks very professional. I suggest you get something like that.
Finally, in addition to the information sources already listed, you will definitely need operating supplies like:
Notepads
Pencils (either mechanical or include a pencil sharpener)
Eraser
Pens
Marking pens
Tape
Sticky notes
Paper clips
Rubber bands
Blank envelopes
Stapler, spare staples
Index cards
Don’t depend on the served agency to furnish these. They’ve got their hands full with lots more important things to do than find you paper clips! Show them you’re self-sufficient and prepared for the emergency.
That all the information items I’ve included for tonight’s training tip. If anyone else has any more suggestions, please let me know.