HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 11
Minutes
Town of Los Altos Hills
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
July 01, 2014 @ 7:00 PM, City Council Chambers annex
Roll call (11 members + 1 other): P = present, E = excused, no mark = absent
Member Call Sign Attendance
Jim Abraham W6EB P
Dru Anderson KG6LAD P
Bob Anderson KC6ZWG P
Ray Egan W6FQY E
Andy Fawcett KI6MAF P
Jim Heintzelman KD6Y P
Edwin R Jones, EC W7WPO P
Andrew Kirk WB6CLS P
Duncan MacMillan, Chair KI6VMY P
Scott Overstreet N6NXI P
Bob Rowe, Vice Chair AF6LD P
Sam Wood K6MSR P
Others Present Call Sign Attendance
Bill Gibbons K6GH P
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by chair Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY, who
took roll call as documented in the attached ICS 211A Check-in List.
2. Review and approve past meeting minutes – Upon a motion by Bob Anderson KC6ZWG ,
duly seconded, version 2 of the June 03, 2014 minutes are unanimously approved as
written.
3. Public comments from the floor – None.
4. Update on County and State – Ed Jones W7WPO noted that there will be a County drill
on July 19 and he will send out an email when details are available. A reminder was
made that LAH will be responsible for the SPECS and UHF/220 Monday night nets for
July. The following members volunteered:
DATE SPECS UHF/220
7/7 Bob A Andy K
7/14 Ed Duncan
7/21 Dru N/A
7/28 Andy F Gary W aldeck
5. Comments by Council Liaison – No report since Gary Waldeck K6AIR was not present.
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6. Old Business
a. Back-up EOC – Duncan noted no news other than Gary's comment in an email
that the Town is considering continued use of the HH as an EOC. In the event of
a failure of the HH, a trailer is being discussed. More news at the August meeting.
b. Increasing ARK-EOC connectivity – Andy Fawcett KI6MAF discussed his Python
script replacement for OUTPOST in ARK-EOC communications and that he
expects to be able to work on it more this month . OUTPOST would still be used
for EOC-County communications.
c. Increasing K6AIR effectiveness at the ARK – Andy Fawcett KI6MAF and Scott
Overstreet N6NXI discussed the results of characterizing the problems at Lot 7,
which took place on June 12, 2014 (the summary report and participant list was
provided to all members, attached). Scott discussed the multi-path character of
radio communications in Lot 7 as a function of K6AIR locati on, parking lot
occupancy, hills and various reflectors in the immediate area. It appeared that the
Yaesu FT60 out-performed the iCOM W32 and other HTs as a receiver, likely due
to better selectivity and more front-end filtering. The summary report of the
evaluation noted the recommendation that all radios in Lot 7 (ECC and CERT) be
operated at low power (5W) to minimize de-sensing CERT radios and that a
mobile radio be provided to the CERT net control position. The type of antenna to
use at the CERT net control position will require more work, which the committee
is happy to perform and might involve specifying a Yagi (directional) antenna. Dru
Anderson KG6LAD urged the committee to specify the ideal CERT net control
arrangement as completely as possible, including the site/s to use, so there is no
second-guessing or undue delay during a real activation.
7. New Business:
a. Message passing and future training opportunities – Duncan commented that the
message passing class which he and others attended was very worthwhile, in his
opinion, for experienced as well as new hams. Dru suggested that he provide an
abridged version at an upcoming meeting. Duncan encouraged members to
attend upcoming classes, which are highlighted under "Upcoming Events."
b. Election of officers for 2014-15 – The election was not held since no members
were willing to stand for chair or vice chair. Upon a question from Bob Anderson,
Duncan described that an officer could stand for a third term if an exemption was
obtained from the City Council. Duncan said he would be willing if there were
members who would stand for vice chair and, in particular, secretary. There being
none, Duncan withdrew his willingness to stand for chair or anything else unless
some candidates appeared for something. Hoping that the elections can take
place at the August meeting, it was suggested that candidates be recruited from
the ranks of associate members with the following assignments being agreed to:
1) Andy Kirk - Mark Bailey
2) Andy Kirk - Greg Olsen
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3) Dru - Dave Stewart
4) Duncan - John Pfefferle
5) Jim A - Dave Gilmour
8. Upcoming Events (https://www.scc-ares-races.org/activities/events.php) – Members were
asked to review the following:
c. Los Altos Hills July 4th parade, 07/04, 1000, Fremont Road
d. Cupertino July 4th Fireworks Event, 07/04, 1600, Cupertino High School
e. EC Council Meeting, 07/10, 1900, SCC EOC
f. County Drill, 07/19, details to be distributed by Ed later
g. Gilroy Garlic Festival Communications, 07/25, 0730, Gilroy Christmas Hill Park
h. Net Control - Type III, Part A training, 08/02, 0900, Cupertino Community Center
i. Cross-band Repeating/Antenna Fundamentals, 08/16, 0900, venue TBD
j. Introduction to Emergency Comm. NIGHT, 08/20, 1800, 777 S. Main St, Milpitas
k. Net Control - Type III, Part B training, 09/13, 0900, SV Public Safety HQ
l. Fundamentals of Emergency Comm., 09/17, 1800, 777 S. Main St, Milpitsa
9. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:11 pm upon a motion
by Bob Anderson KC6ZWG, duly seconded and unanimously approved.
Prepared and respectfully submitted by Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY