ARRL Simulated Emergency Test Instruction Sheet - October 03, 2020


ARRL Simulated Emergency Test Instruction Sheet - October 03, 2020


The nationwide ARRL Simulated Emergency Test occurs the first Saturday of October every year.
This year Hawaii ARES is simulating deployment of EmComm stations to shelters statewide 
providing reports to American Red Cross shelter managers directly to the Red Cross email system.

The purpose of this COMMUNICATIONS EXERCISE is to verify our ability to deploy equipment to 
shelters and operate using the digital protocols developed in conjunction with Hawaii State 
Red Cross.
  • Who: Participation is open to all amateur radio operators supporting their ARRL ARES District.
  • When: From 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon HST, Saturday, October 3, 2020.
  • Where: Working from designated private shelters (if available). Because of the COVID-19 situation, and concern for the safety of the radio operators, radio operators uncomfortable with shelter deployment should consider operating from their homes.
At approximately 8:00 a.m. or earlier, amateur radio operators setup their equipment at designated private shelters or from their homes. Radio operators are requested to use emergency power, e.g. batteries, solar panels, generators, if available. Otherwise operate from commercial power. If working from home, please try to operate from outside your ham shack, i.e., in your back Yard or close by park to simulate deployment to a shelter. Each radio station will transmit two Winlink messages using Winlink forms. For shelter manager and shelter names, use actual names if available otherwise please make them up for use in the messages sent. Use whatever Winlink mode to send your messages, e.g. Telnet, VARA FM, ARDOP, VARA HF, Pactor, Packet. Voice and Fldigi will also be permitted but the messages eventually need to be sent to ARC and CC radio operators KH7HO and KH6FHI using their Winlink email address. Each ARES District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) and participating groups will organize their operation in the exercise. Message Addressing: Honolulu and Kauai county simulated shelter operators will send messages: To: Paul Klink, ARC Sheltering Lead; email: paul.klink@redcross.org cc: KH7HO Maui and Hawaii county simulated shelter operators will send messages: To: Paul Klink, ARC Sheltering Lead; email: paul.klink@redcross.org cc: KH6FHI

  • First message (to be transmitted between 9am and 10am HST):

    ARC 213 General Message (can be found in Winlink under Standard Forms, ARC Forms) The first message confirms the shelter is operational. In a real-world activation, have a printed blank ARC 213 form for the shelter manager to fill out and sign.
    • Incident Name: Hurricane Makani Pahili 2020
    • Precedence: Routine
    • To: Paul Klink / ARC Sheltering Lead
    • From: (Name / Position) Enter shelter manager/Shelter Name
    • Subject: Shelter Activation.
    • Date and Time: Winlink automatically fills in Date and Time of message creation.
    • Precede the body of the message with "THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE".
    • Message: The (Shelter Name), e.g. Kailua High School Shelter, has been activated at 9:00 a.m. HST. Shelter Manager is Jane Doe, cell phone (808) 555-6789.
    • List the following (make up numbers): # of Red Cross volunteers present, including the shelter manager, e.g. ARC - 2. # of County workers present, e.g. C&C of Honolulu - 5. # of National Guard, e.g. NG - 5 # of Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, e.g., MRC - 1. # of Humane Society volunteer, e.g. Humane Society - 1. # of Ham shelter radio operator(s), e.g., Shelter radio operator - 1.
    • End the body of the message with "THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE".
    • Approved by: The simulated name you used as the shelter manager.
    • Position / Title: Shelter Manager.
First Message Completed Sample

  • Second message (to be transmitted between 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 noon):

    ARC Hawaii Hurricane Daily Shelter Report (Hawaii ARC forms are located under Standard Templates, HI STATE Forms). In real-world shelter activation, check with the shelter manager for the information using a printed ARC Hawaii Hurricane Daily Shelter Report blank form and have the shelter manager sign it.
    • Date: Click for the Date or manually input.
    • Shelter Name / County: Use the assigned Private Shelter name/ Add the county you are located - Hawaii, Maui, Honolulu, or Kauai.
    • Shelter Manager: Fill in a simulated name.
    • Phone: Fill in a simulated phone number.
    • Total Number of Sheltering Workers: Total number to include, all ARC volunteers, County workers, NG personnel working at the shelter, MRC volunteers, Humane Society volunteers, shelter radio operators, to include # of Disaster Health Services workers and # of Disaster Mental Health workers in the shelter (Note: in a real-world situation, all the above categories may not be represented. For this exercise, we suggest you use all.
    • # Disaster Health Services: Simulate the number, 0 or 1; in reality, most hurricane evacuation shelters may not have a Disaster Health Services worker (check with the Shelter Manager).
    • # Disaster Mental Health: Simulate the number, 0 or 1; in reality, most hurricane evacuation shelters may not have a Disaster Mental Health worker (check with the Shelter Manager).
    • SHELTER POPULATION: For the exercise, we will only fill the in the date for the 12 noon Count. Enter simulated numbers for the following categories:
      • Age 0-3 years old.
      • Age 4-7 years old.
      • Age 8-12 years old.
      • Age 13-18 years old.
      • Age 19-65 years old.
      • Age 65+ years old.
    • OPERATONAL REPORTING: Leave blank.
    • NOTES: Type/write in "THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE".
    • Preparer Name: The simulated Shelter Manager's Name used above.
    • Preparer Signature: /s/ Type/write in the simulated Shelter Manager's Name.
Second Message Completed Sample

  • HF Winlink and FLDIGI Frequencies

    Winlink Channels allocated for gateway and P2P. Stations please listen before transmitting!
    Gateway Channel Dial Frequency Center Frequency Comment
    NH6NN KH6ESK AH6QK 40-2300-1 7099.80 7101.30 Channel Spacing 2500 Hz
    KH6SF WH6FG 40-2300-2 7102.20 7103.70
    KH6SF 40-500-1 7105.00 7106.50 Channel Spacing 700 Hz
    NH6NN 40-500-2 7105.70 7107.20
    WH6FG 40-500-3 7106.40 7107.90
    KH6ESK 40-500-4 7107.10 7108.60
    AH6QK 40-500-5 7107.80 7109.30
    NH6NN 80-2399-2 3592.00 3593.50 Channel Spacing 2500 Hz
    AH6QK KH6NS 80-2300-1 3594.50 3596.00
    Hawaii P2P Hubs
    Station Call P2P Dial Frequency Modes
    KH6FHI 3584.00 FLDIGI, VARA 500/2300
    7110.00 FLDIGI, VARA 500/2300

    • ZOOM session for Tech Support and After Action Discussion (starting 8:30 am HST)

      For those who would like to discuss Winlink setup during the SET, a ZOOM session will be open. The host will be Oliver Dully (K6OLI), a member of the Winlink Development Support team, who has extensive experience in Winlink training, support and in conducting exercises. Participants are welcome to join, anytime during the SET for help with any hardware or software issues or just to discuss the exercise and trade experiences with others. This is a chance to ask questions about any adhoc Winlink topic. Time permitting, it might cover these, if there is interest.
      • Use of Winlink activity map
      • The map of active Hawaii Winlink gateways
      • Use of Winlink tactical call signs
      • Entering latitude/longitude station position into Winlink map
      • Keeping Winlink channel list up-to-date
      • Use of "forward without change" messages
      • How to send a P2P message
      Click here to join the session during the 2020 SET. Meeting ID: 268 577 4435 Passcode: 778738

Worked All Europe DX Contest - 6 countries logged

I was able to speak with 6 counties on the radio. I was using a Icom ic-7300 and a G5RV jr antenna with 100 watts: Call sign KH6ML, I was only able to be on the air for a limited amount of time. So getting 4 new ones in the log was great.

"Many leading contesters claim the WAEDC to be the most challenging contest of the year. Being a true blue DX contest, only intercontinental QSOs between DX and Europe are counted (exception is the RTTY part). Therefore the number of DX QSOs here may be similar to the amount of DX usually worked in the CQWW." -https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/referat-conteste/worked-all-europe-dx-contest/en/

 I was able to speak with 6 counties on the radio. I was using a Icom ic-7300 and a G5RV jr antenna with 100 watts: Call sign KH6ML

1 2020-09-13 06:25 E7DX 20M 14.250 SSB JN84ix Bosnia and Herzegovi E7DX Team Contest Callsign

2 2020-09-12 06:45 LY9Y 20M 14.258 SSB KO16la Lithuania JURGIS IGNOTAS

3 2020-09-12 06:30 US1Q 20M 14.235 SSB KN86iu Ukraine Alex UW2QU

4 2020-09-12 06:23 DP7D 20M 14.286 SSB JO32pc Germany HF Contestgruppe Schoeppinger Berg DP7D

5 2020-09-12 06:19 OM3BH 20M 14.228 SSB JN99ge Slovak Republic RASTISLAV HRNKO


6 2020-09-12 06:12 ES5TV 20M 14.255 SSB KO38cs Estonia TONNO VAHK
Moreover, the unique feature of QTC-traffic adds much fun and another operating challenge to the contest. Here the DX stations transfer real telegrams to the European stations. These telegrams contain data of previously logged QSOs. Each of these records counts one additional point for the sender and the receiver, given that the complete record was logged correctly. Thus, a DX station can actually double its score by sending QTCs. Some European stations, and not only the leading ranks, gain more than 70 percent of their score from QTC traffic.  - https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/referat-conteste/worked-all-europe-dx-contest/en/

WAE DX Contest, SSB: 0000Z, Sep 12 to 2359Z, Sep 13
  Geographic Focus: Europe
  Participation: Worldwide
  Mode: SSB
  Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
  Classes: Single Op (High/Low)
Multi-Op
  Max operating hours: Single Op: 36 hours, off times of at least 60 minutes
Multi-Single: 48 hours
  Max power: HP: >100 Watts
LP: 100 Watts
  Exchange: RS + Serial No.
  Work stations: Once per band
  Score Calculation: (see rules)
  Submit logs by: September 20, 2020
  E-mail logs to: (none)
  Upload log at: https://www.dxhf.darc.de/~waessblog/upload.cgi?form=referat&lang=en
  Mail logs to: (none)
  Find rules at: http://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/referat-conteste/worked-all-europe-dx-contest/en/

RARE Contact with Åland Islands

Today I made a voice contact with OH0B on The Åland Islands. 

The Åland Islands or Åland is an archipelago province at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It is autonomous, demilitarised and is the only monolingually Swedish-speaking region in Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations.Wikipedia

2020-09-06 07:34 OHØB 20m 14.254 SSB
Aland Islands Martti J. Laine OH2BH Contest


Live interviews at Tiki's Grill & Bar KHON Limit of 5 per party.

Dallis Ontiveros | KHON2 interviews me Michael Miller in three live segments on the morning TV show. Most of the Questions relate the the  Mayor's Emergency Order 2020-24 Act Now Honolulu - No Social Gatherings August 19, 2020 from  OFFICE OF THE MAYOR CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU EMERGENCY ORDER NO. 2020-24 (COVID-19 [Novel Coronavirusi).



Restaurants. This section applies to restaurants only. For purposes of this section, a ‘Restaurant” means a place which is regularly and in a bona fide manner used and kept

Open for the serving of meals to patrons for compensation and which has suitable kitchen facilities connected therewith, containing the necessary equipment and supplies for cooking an assortment of foods which may be required for ordinary meals. Additionally, to be considered a “Restaurant” under this section, at least thirty percent (30%) of the establishmenfs gross revenue must derive from the sale of foods. Restaurants in the City may provide seated table service dining under the following requirements, conditions, and privileges:

Continued compliance with all State of H awai’i and City regulatory and legal standards for operating a food services business.
Compliance with Social Distancing Requirements (as modified by this “Restaurants” section).

Development, posting, and implementation of written protocols (“COVID-19 Mitigation Plan”) consistent with this section; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) guidance (available here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/201 9-ncov/communitv/guidance- business-response.html), as updated or superseded; and, to the extent practicable, the National Restaurant Association’s Reopening Guidance (available at https://restaurant.org/Downloads/PDFs/business/COV ID I 9- Reopen-Guidance.pdf).


The Maritime Mobile Service Network (MMSN)




The Maritime Mobile Service Net is operational every day from 12:00pm until 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time, and from 12:00pm until 10:00pm Eastern Daylight Time, on the 20-meter *Global Emergency Center Of Activity frequency of 14.300 MHz as outlined by the International Radio Union.

All amateur radio operators are invited to participate simply by checking in.

WH6FXL MAKES THE NEWS in Great Britain

Radio Society of Great Britain



Propagation News – 26 July 2020

| July 24, 2020

We had quite a quiet week with the Sun with zero sunspots and a settled geomagnetic field. The solar wind speed was slow, between 280 and 330km per second, and its magnetic field was weak, with no significant negative deflections in its important north-south Bz direction. Therefore, the resultant geomagnetic activity was settled.

On the 21st a sunspot appeared around the Sun’s limb. Now classified as sunspot group 2767, on Thursday it contained one sunspot, but its simple uni-polar magnetic signature suggests it is non-threatening.

We do expect the Kp index to rise on Friday, the 24th, due to the arrival of a coronal hole high speed stream. Modest magnetic enhancement is also forecast for 25 July with the possible arrival of a slow CME from the 19th.

Expect a possible pre-aurora enhancement followed by the potential for suppressed maximum usable frequencies over the weekend and into early next week.

HF conditions have been generally lacklustre, but Laurie, G3UML reports that WH6FXL and WA6QDQ/KH6, both in Hawaii, were both quite readable signals on 20m SSB at 0800 on Wednesday. Tom, GM4FDM reports working two JAs on 17m using his newly-erected dipole. The 10m UK Net group on Facebook also reported an FT8 opening to Japan on Monday as well.

This just goes to show that you shouldn’t just write off the summer as being no good for DX.

Next week NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain in the high 60s with the Kp index between two and three. This generally suggests that HF conditions will remain similar to last week. Expect sporadic E openings on 10 metres to continue, although not at the rate that we had earlier in the month.

VHF and up

A series of low-pressure systems passing close by northern Scotland and various fronts crossing the country mean that there are likely to be few opportunities for tropo this week. High pressure is displaced to the south over France so any tropo will be mostly likely from southern England into the continent or across Biscay to Spain. That brings rain scatter on the GHz bands onto the agenda for many regions of the UK at some time or other during the coming week.

Sporadic E still warrants a mention, but it is becoming more elusive as we move towards August. It’s not a ‘no chance’, but it will need some strategy for being in the right place at the right time. The best options will be to monitor 10m or 6m mid-morning and again late afternoon or early evening. Paths on FT8 will prove good indicators of which direction might deliver as the Es develops.

With the Moon declination negative and falling further as the week progresses, Moon visibility windows will shorten and peak elevation will be just 32 degrees this Sunday and falling, leading up to minimum declination a week from Sunday.

Perigee will be Saturday, 1 August, so path losses are now increasing. 144MHz sky noise peaks at 2,500 Kelvin on Friday, so low noise preamps won’t help you that day.

The Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower has a broad peak from the 26th to the 31st with a Zenithal Hourly Rate of 25, so look for enhanced meteor scatter activity in the coming week. In Europe, the shower radiant is above the horizon at night or in the early mornings.

Category: GB2RS Propagation News

WH6FXL - Results EARCHI.org END FED 6–40 Meter Multiband HF Antenna FT-8, Winlink, SSB

WH6FXL - Results  EARCHI.org END FED 6–40 Meter Multiband HF Antenna FT-8, Winlink, SSB
25 foot pole with 66'8" of #14 wire sloping in the air
Counterpoise  66'8 of #14 wire on the ground
25' of Coax to a AT-100ProII LDG auto tuner and into a ICOM 7300 running around 100watt. No Amp.

""Trifilar wound, 9:1 UNUN (unbalance to unbalance) toroid matching transformer that will match the high input impedance of an end fed antenna into the range where most antenna tuners can produce good performance. The matchbox handles 100 watts of power. This project requires an antenna tuner to achieve satisfactory SWR. If you need an auto tuner, we recommend the LDG line of auto tuners, shown to work well with these matchbox antennas, and highly rated by users. http://www.earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf

ORDERING A MATCHBOX ANTENNA FROM EARC.- http://www.earchi.org/proj_homebrew.html
Volunteers of the Honolulu Emergency Amateur Radio Club (EARC) carefully assemble the 6-40 End Fed matchbox antennas for those who prefer not to build one. For a donation of $56 (Including USPS priority mail shipping) club volunteers will build and deliver a 6-40 matchbox with a 30 foot antenna wire anywhere in the U.S., we do not ship internationally. Note that coax cable is not included. Aloha EARC.
We only ship to the USA only, sorry no International Shipping. Thank you.
1
 2020-07-29 06:42 DL8UI 17m 18.102 FT8 JO41 Germany



2 2020-07-29 06:40 JR1AQI 17m 18.102 FT8 PM95 Japan



3 2020-07-29 06:38 F4FCE 17m 18.102 FT8 JN17 France



4 2020-07-29 06:36 JH0EHQ 17m 18.102 FT8 PM96 Japan



5 2020-07-29 06:35 F4HIK 17m 18.102 FT8 JN06 France



6 2020-07-29 06:34 JH3IOY 17m 18.102 FT8 PM74qr Japan



7 2020-07-29 06:32 VA7ILO 17m 18.102 FT8 CN89 Canada



8 2020-07-29 06:29 F6EQZ 17m 18.102 FT8 JN19xf France



9 2020-07-29 06:22 OE3XMC 20m 14.075 FT8 JN88dc Austria



10 2020-07-29 06:21 PC1Y 20m 14.075 FT8 JO21gx Netherlands



11 2020-07-29 06:19 OE3KLU 20m 14.075 FT8 JN88fd Austria



12 2020-07-29 06:13 JA4JKO 20m 14.075 FT8
Japan



13 2020-07-29 06:13 VE7UM 20m 14.075 FT8 CN89 Canada



14 2020-07-29 06:10 EA3GCT 20m 14.075 FT8 JN01 Spain



15 2020-07-29 06:09 MI0NWA 20m 14.075 FT8 IO64 Northern Ireland



16 2020-07-29 06:05 ON7WM 20m 14.076 FT8 JO21 Belgium



17 2020-07-29 06:03 I3BUI 20m 14.076 FT8 JN55 Italy



18 2020-07-29 06:01 PB75A 20m 14.076 FT8 JO22ga Netherlands



19 2020-07-29 05:31 AI6ZC 40m 7.186 SSB CM98JP United States

20 2020-07-28 06:24 7L4LKK 20m 14.160 SSB QM06gi Japan

Winlink Stations reached using EARCHI.org END FED 6–4

 Winlink Vara Connection to KH6NS USB Dial: 3585.000 at 2020/07/29 07:06:36 *** Station Bearing: 298, Range: 116 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to WH6FG USB Dial: 7105.500 at 2020/07/29 07:09:56*** Station Bearing: 289, Range: 118 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to K6SDR USB Dial: 7102.200 at 2020/07/29 07:17:39*** Station Bearing: 053, Range: 2384 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to KJ6IX USB Dial: 7100.000 at 2020/07/29 07:23:47 *** Station Bearing: 053, Range: 2548 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to N7TRY-2 USB Dial: 7101.000 at 2020/07/29 07:30:16 *** Station Bearing: 042, Range: 2570 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to K6MBY USB Dial: 7101.500 at 2020/07/29 07:43:13*** Station Bearing: 038, Range: 2657 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to K7HTZ USB Dial: 7101.200 at 2020/07/29 07:47:44*** Station Bearing: 039, Range: 2635 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to KO0OOO USB Dial: 7096.500 at 2020/07/29 08:00:05*** Station Bearing: 059, Range: 2745 miles

Winlink Vara Connection to N0DAJ USB Dial: 7106.500 at 2020/07/29 08:03:25*** Station Bearing: 062, Range: 2860 miles

Hurricane Douglas July 23 2020 Shelter HAM Radio operational notes KH6ML - Covid-19

Hurricane Douglas July 23 2020 Shelter HAM Radio operational notes KH6ML

We were already aware Hurricane Douglas from early news reports and started to review a few things sound the house and my radio grear

Clem Jung - KH7HO who volunteers as the a Pacific Section Emergency Coordinator with the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES). Reached out asking if I would be available to deploy as a volunteer radio shelter operator if shelter need to be opened.  I said yes. 

Hurricane Douglas was a strong tropical cyclone that became the closest passing Pacific hurricane to the island of Oahu on record, surpassing the previous record held by Hurricane Dot in 1959. After leveling off as a strong tropical storm due to dry air, Douglas began rapid intensification on July 23, becoming the season's first major hurricane the following day and peaking as a Category 4 hurricane. 

Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale.

A big mahalo to all of those who spent time, money and effort to design, build and maintain repeaters, software, and servers, and also trained users.  It was good to know that so many of you were on monitoring and while many of you also had other responsibilities to your families and jobs. 

I volunteered with Kevin, WH6OHM, to serve at the Red Cross Shelter at Kalaheo High School (“Kalaheo HS”) on Oahu.  We reported two hours before the shelter opened, at 7 am, and stayed for 15 hours until we’re told to demobilize. 

We introduced ourselves to the Red Cross shelter manager and gave him a letter of introduction prepared by Clem, KH7HO.  He asked us to get screened by the National Guard in attendance. They took our temperature and asked us a series of questions related to COVID-19. 

We then asked for help from Mr. B who was in charge of facilities for Kalaheo HS. The first location was a storeroom in the cafeteria. Kevin, WH6OHM, pointed out that it only had one outlet and would be loud, if and when the shelter filled up.  We were also concerned with coax cable and antennas being possible trip and fall hazards.

Mr. B then pointed to another building, but its distance was a concern. We discussed the options, walked the grounds, and then he opened up a computer lab. Bingo! What a great spot! 

This location was at the same level as the shelter and just 25 yards away with concrete walls, close to large trees to hang the antennas. There were also power outlets to run all items on until we needed to go to battery power or the generator. Whiteboards were available for notes and to tape up notes. Desks, tables, carts, and rolling office chairs were aplenty, much better than student plastic chairs or metal folding. The computer lab space also helped with COVID-19 concerns, to ensure safe distance needed for both operators.

There was a large flat-panel TV with limited cable stations, but we could watch the news and  could have utilized an HDMI CABLE to connect our laptops for streaming and Winlink message reading by the shelter manager or other officials as needed, without compromising our 6-foot distance protocols.  Also, in the room were printers and other components such as a good size UPS that we charged, but subsequently found that it created a large amount of RFI when plugged in. The Cat 5 and other wires and cables may also have proven handy if needed. And the room had AC that was large enough for each of us to set up a rest/sleep area with lots of space. 

Mr. B helped us find the perfect room for set up and knew who to call to grant us Wifi access and checked back with us often and was back 15 hours later to lockup. And his principal stopped in and who also made things easy and reviewed limiting access to only those tested for COVID with no symptoms. We were very aware that we were trusted guests and treated the room accordingly. 

The WH6OHM station was set up as VHF/UHF with a 50W dual band mobile coupled with a DRA-30 sound card to a Windows 10 laptop as a Winlink station and for voice transmissions. We pushed an empty metal file cabinet near the station, and with a mobile magnetic mount on it, near the window. We then tested it to ensure he could reach repeaters and send test Winlink messages to Vara FM gateways NH6NN and WH6FXL. 

We both had Anytone 868 handheld radios with us and we monitored DMR Hawaii-1 off of the Waimanalo repeater and different analog repeaters. 

On my side of the room, we had a backup VHF radio with a mag mount antenna set up outside on a large metal locker. I set up an HF Winlink station with Icom Ic-7300 and an LDG auto tuner. An Anderson power pole distribution box hooked into a power supply and could fast change over to batteries. The Windows 10 laptop with Winlink was set up with a paid version of Vara HF for faster speeds using a single USB cable. 

Once that was set, we ran coax cable out of a louvered window and knew we needed to keep it well above anyone’s reach. The first spot we looked at would have needed more coax cable. (Note to self get more coax cable for the kit.)  I gave Kevin a clean sock and paracord, he added a rock for weight and it only took 3 throws to get it high enough in the tree and into a good position. I attached the G5RV JR and he pulled it up and tied it off. 

If the winds increased we would have dropped it until it was safe to put back up. The G5RV JR Wire Antenna hung about 25 feet in the air in a monkeypod tree, as an inverted V and legs tied to the palm trees with a  bungee cord which allowed the legs to remain taut, but still have play for the wind and gave us HF multi-band coverage. Forty meters 7.088 LSB was the frequency that was issued in advance that would be monitored by amateur radio operators statewide.  Sixty and 80 would have been a challenge, but with time we could have gotten up on those bands. 

A great way to test propagation and equipment without tying up designated frequencies for the emergency is using FT-8 and pskreporter.com. It allowed us to see that we could reach out to the US mainland and other countries if needed. 

I tested HF voice with a call and was picked up by Carter KH6FV.  His voice was recognizable, but his call sign had been changed to the station that he was running. Then we sent a test message via the Kauai Winlink gateway. 

When the Emergency Management sirens sounded statewide, DMR Hawaii Net was on talk group Hawaii-1. They had operators report in their area and note if they’d heard the siren. As WH6OHM and I were in the same room, there was no need for both of us to give a report.

Kevin, WH6OHM, used a Winlink template, filled in a American Red Cross ARC-213 and sent it to the assigned address, as well as me. (This allowed both of us to see what was sent as well as validate that it got out.) 

Check-ins at designated times with the shelter manager allowed us to fill out an ARC shelter report that had some modifications as the shelters were only set up for hurricane evacuation, not for displacement of people from their homes, so no food and very limited services were being offered to the evacuees. The main information that was needed was age groups and counts of both evacuees as well as volunteers and what agencies they were from.

We limited the use of radio to Winlink and sometimes used Telnet to keep frequencies clear in case other stations needed to transmit. Using Winlink in an emergency situation is a powerful tool, but much like handing someone an advanced weapon to shoot down a plane. Without the proper training you may be able to get something fired off, but will it hit its designated target? 

So practicing well in advance and at the start of deployment is critical to having success when passing messages via amateur radio. This goes for both digital modes such as Winlink, as well as voice messages.

Volunteering from 7 am to 10 pm - 15 hours did make it a long day. However, it was rewarding getting to know my fellow operator, as well as providing community service and testing our own equipment when deployed. We were tasked with passing messages via amateur radio, voice, and data modes, and sending emails via Winlink. 

More about Douglas,  After moving into the Central Pacific basin, Douglas slowly weakened as it approached Hawaii. The storm later passed north of the main islands as a Category 1 hurricane, passing dangerously close to Oahu and Kauai, causing minimal damage, and resulting in no deaths or injuries. Douglas weakened to tropical storm status on July 28 as it moved away from Hawaii, before dissipating a day later. 

MAHALO to God for keeping us safe. 

Mahalo to my fellow amateur radio operators that deployed to shelters and other critical organizations.

Mahalo to those who brought all their own equipment to serve the community, and to those operators that supported us from home. 

Mahalo to all the volunteers, the Red Cross, the Medical Reserve Corps, National Guard, and government employees that were kind to the evacuees and volunteers who were extremely professional and served their community. 

Mahalo to my wife who helped me load up, made sandwiches, packed my lunch, and more; and kept working on getting ready just in case. The plan was she and our dog, Kula, would come to the shelter if the situation worsened, home was a 7 minute drive away.

We also build masts, ready to deploy with additional antennas. We brought backup batteries and radios, a generator with 36 hours of fuel (plus fuel in vehicles that could have been siphoned if the need was critical enough) in addition to power cables, wire and computers, connectors, a soldering gun and other tools.

We are now back to “normal." Luckily Douglas was nice to us and just passed Oahu by. Maybe he heard about the mandatory 14-day quarantine?