Oakland County Amateur Radio Public Service Corp (ARPSC) Meeting Minutes: 2 April 2003 On 2 April 2003 at 7 pm, Joel Goldberg, W8HIU, Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oakland County ARPSC called the meeting to order in the County E.O.C. The order of business included; (1). Comments from Joel Goldberg, EC: Gary Sklar, K8IKW, was pointed by the State ARRL to be Oakland County's ARPSC Information Officer. Phil Ode, AA8KR, is the Coordinator for the March of Dimes Walk in Troy, Michigan on Sunday 27 April 2003. He is asking for amateur radio volunteers to help and can be contacted at aa8kr@arrl.net or 248-641-9723. Thanks go out to Murray Scott, KE8UM, who placed a tone squelch unit in the Kenwood tri-band radio at the E.O.C. Three coaxial cables now run from communication center inside the E.O.C. to a box outside the building. This cable can be interfaced with outside antennas and operations in case the county tower fails. There will be a General Membership Meeting, Wednesday, 7 May 2003. A light supper will be served prior to the meeting, and members are requested to RSVP to the E.O.C. at 248-858-5300. Steve Murphy, County Radio Services, is working to de-bug the repeater. He has already discovered a nearby heater that may interfere with it and has placed filters to help. The Motorota repeater equipment is very sensitive to over deviation with radio transmissions. This problem can be resolved by talking softer. Steve has indicated that if anyone is interested, to bring their radio equipment into the E.O.C. at an appointed time and he will check for over-deviation. Should over-deviation be found, this will be up to the owner to fix the problem. Also, it was recommended to wait a second or two after keying up before beginning a conversation on the repeater. This will prevent the first word(s) being clipped off. (2). Comments from Barry Kaufmann, WD8JWM, Deputy Emergency Coordinator (D.E.C.): A Procedural Manual for siren testing is nearly complete and will be sent out to subnet operators before May. (3). Comments from Jim Thompson, N8USP, DEC: An IS-2 Class will be offered Saturday, 14 June 2003, at 9 am. More details will follow. (4). Comments from John Moore, K1DE, on weather service: New repeater links are being made with some county E.O.C's so they can better communicate with the MICON National Weather Service link. There have been some who haven't been able to communicate to the repeater. (5). Comments from Steve Iannucci, Oakland County Emergency Response and Preparedness: The State Government is requesting all amateur radio volunteers who are members of the ARPSC to have background checks for security purposes. Those certified with prior background checks will be permitted on official business into disaster areas. A request for certification from the Sheriff's Department was passed to members at the meeting. (6). Miscellaneous Items: Joel Goldberg stated that in the future, there should be a security officer at the E.O.C. front door who permits entry of ARPSC members into the building. If no one is at the door, members should call into the E.O.C. back room phone - 248-858-5551 or even call over the repeater for help. Should security clearance become a problem, a mechanism exists to review the problem. Photos for RACES cards will continue to be taken, but the cards will now be delayed until security clearance is issued. Repeater inference: An ARPSC member complained that Charter Communication Cable transmissions were interfering with repeater reception in Brandon Township. Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR, Coordinator for the June 2003 Field Day operations at the E.O.C. requested interested participants to notify him at 248-855-6615. The following ARPSC members volunteered assist Jim Thompson, N8USP, to serve as trainers and help develop new training programs: (1) Rick McKibben, KC8KTW; (2) Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR; (3) Ken Barnes, N8COQ; (4) Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM; (5) Ted Davis, N8ZSA; (6) Lloyd Suter, N8NGQ; (7) Bill Wallace, KC8JAY, (8) Len Wanetik, K3QMU. (7). Training Certification Program - 2nd reading to the ARPSC members: This certification program is an attempt to establish a standard of training for all ARES and RACES members in District 2, recognizing that individual counties may wish to modify some of the requirements. This training will recognize the possible need for mutual aid and provide information as to the training level of participants. At this time this document is a draft copy and has not been adopted by any agency. Level 1: Basic membership (ARES) requirements: (1) licensed amateur radio operator, (2) registered with Oakland County Emergency Response and Preparedness, (3) available 2 meter radio equipment, and (4) eighteen years of age or older for full membership. Discussed was a 2 meter radio requirement to include a 5 watt minimum with pl capabilities. Level II Requirements: (1) Skywarn trained (minimum each two years to meet NWS requirements), (2) Tactical traffic training (T.E.L. System), (3) Participation in routine nets, (4) 2 meter mobile radio equipped (or hand-held with amplifier). Discussed was the additional participation in ten local, regional, or national amateur radio nets, with five of them in Oakland County. Level III Requirements: (1) IS-2 (Emergency Preparedness USA) certified, (2) RACES member, (3) Flash traffic trained, and (4) Public Service training. Flash traffic message handling train is a form to handle message traffic to Lansing. A session will be planned to instruct ARPSC members. Suggested was the requirement for members of this level to participate in four public service events every two years. Level IV Requirements: (1) IS-3 FEMA Course Radiological Emergency Management (2) IS-5 Hazardous Materials: A Citizen's Orientation, (3) IS-271 Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk, and (4) participation in additional County level training courses (as provided). These FEMA Courses are available on the FEMA website (http://www.fema.gov/). County level training courses are not yet defined, but are expected to consist with either classes or the availability of educational material. A question arose on whether this Level IV should participate in SAT exercises every two years. Management Level I requirements: (1) IS-7 FEMA course - A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance, (2) IS-120 An Orientation to Community Disaster Exercises, (3) IS-195 Basic Incident Command, and (4) Net Control Operator certification - Skywarn Net operation - Siren Net operation - general net operation. Also, members are encouraged to take relevant Michigan State Police classes. These classes may be viewed at (http://www.msp.gov/emd/). EMD stands for Emergency Management Division. Management Level II requirements: (1) Key Station training/certification at EOC Operating Center with (a) Packet, (b) APRS, and (c) Gab and Go. There are additional notes for the above levels of training. Recognition and credit will be given for comparable ARRL Course Content. Certification for pervious work will be recognized. The above requirements are specifically detailed for Oakland County's needs. Jim Murphy, N8SML Secretary, Oakland County, ARPSC 20 April 2003