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Emergency Communications Committee: Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Los Altos Hills City Council Chambers. 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Roll call: (9 members; + 10 others): P = present, E = excused, no mark = absent
Member Call Sign Attendance
Jim Abraham, Co-Chair W6EB P
Dru Anderson, Secretary KG6LAD P
Bob Anderson KC6ZWG P
Andy Fawcett KI6MAF P
Jim Heintzelman KD6Y P
Edwin R Jones, EC W7WPO P
Andrew Kirk WB6CLS P
Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY P
Scott Overstreet, Co-Chair N6NXI P
Sam Wood K6MSR E
Others Present Call Sign Attendance
Gary Waldeck,
Council Liaison K6AIR E
Ray Egan - associate W6FQY P
Burt Raphael - associate KK6GNB P
Bob Rowe - associate AF6LD P
Bill Gibbons – associate K6GH P
Neil Katin – associate AI6FI P
Bill Lattin - associate KK6PCA P
Greg Olsen - associate K6XM P
Ben H. L. Hu - CERT Recon AI6FY E
David Gilmore – associate WQ1K P
Dave Stewart – associate KJ6JQT P
Marsha Hovey - guest KG6CYV P
1. Roll Call: Co-chairs: Scott N6NXI/Jim W6EB. Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Jim W6EB.
2. Minutes: May 5 DRAFT. Dru KG6LAD, ECC Secretary. Dru asked that all suggested changes to the
minutes be brought to the meetings for necessary review and approval by members. Changes
requested by Duncan KI6VMY were logged. Motion for approval, with acceptance of Duncan's
changes, was made by Bob KC6ZWG, seconded by Scott N6NXI. Approved unanimously.
3. Public comments from the floor:
a. Neil AI6FI informed the group that he had done a volume purchase of Ed Fong cable
antennas and brought them for people who had requested and paid.
b. Dru KG6LAD noted that the city staff had generated artwork and production of member
recruitment self-standing posters, per her request, for display at the town picnic. She thanked
City Clerk Deborah Padovan and Mee-Ching Ng, Administrative Assistant, for their quick
and creative design help – including providing sign-in boards and forms.
4. Reports:
a. SCC EC: Ed W7WPO, EC. Ed reported that there is not a County drill scheduled until
November. Therefore, the planned ECC Summer Drill will be in late July and for LAH only.
He also sought recruits for the July duty of LAH for the SPECS net including the UHF
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repeater (2 meter and 440). The dates are July 6, 13, 20, 27. Volunteers included Jim W6EB,
Bob KC6ZWG (2 nets), Neil AI6FI, Jim H. KD6Y, Duncan KI6VMY (UHF), and Ed
W7WPO. Ed, as EC, is the lead for the coverage of the July SPECS net for LAH.
b. Report: ECC member activity: Monday night check-in: Ray W6FQY. Ray showed a chart he
prepared of the member/associate check-in and event participation. He pointed out that he
also has notations for visitors and CERT members who attend. He requested that event
leads/net controls be sure to email him the Monday night reports of net and of event
participation, such as the July 4 LAH parade. The chairs thanked Ray for his monitoring of
the member/associate participation. Net opinion: participation looks good.
c. Roster update: Duncan KI6VMY. Duncan reminded people of latest roster update, which
was sent via email to the ECC member/associate distribution on May 3.
5. Old Business:
a. ECC QRG (Quick Reference Guide): Update. Neil AI6FI is the lead for the QRG
subcommittee. Participants include, in addition to Neil, Andy F. KI6MAF, Dru KG6LAD,
Ray W7FQY, and Bill KK6PCA. An initial meeting is being setup. His plan is to have each
sub-committee person take on particular sections, such as frequencies update, ECC/EOC
overviews, various radio equipment guidelines, etc. Scott emphasized that “how to run a
radio” guidelines are very important. He also encouraged that, in addition to digital, there be
hard copies available, including in the Radio Room, for easy access and reference. Scott
thanked Neil and the participants for their volunteering for the project.
b. Report on May 9 LAH Pathway Run. Duncan KI6VMY. What did we learn? Ed W7WPO
reported that drills seem to reinforce that each ham really DOES need to know how to run
his/her radio, not just from the pre-programming, but from manual standpoint to be able to
deal with transmission issues that can come up in the field. He cited that a tone change had
caused some momentary trouble-shooting to resolve. The idea is: “Don’t rely on pre-
programmed lists,” Duncan KI6VMY noted that in the future, there is a need for a J -pole at
Position 11 on the run. Ray suggested that a procedure be included to ID the last person on
the Run, to make sure no one is left in need on the trail. Ed pointed out that an event
organizer should ensure that there’s a planned “sweep”. Duncan suggested sharing that idea
with Sarah in LAH Parks and Recreation. Scott said he monitored the Run net remotely, and
felt it was “well done, a good exercise.”
c. LAH antenna ordinance progress, Planning Commission subcommittee: Jim W6EB. Jim
reported that he, Dru, and Town Planning Director Suzanne Avila.met with Dave Kornfield,
Los Altos city planner to get input regarding Los Altos’ existing antenna ordinance. Mr.
Kornfield has been in Los Altos city planning for 25 years. He went over the city’s
ordinance, how it was developed, and how it is managed. Jim said the group received really
good input and LAH Planner Avila gave good input as well. Jim and Suzanne will be
conducting soon an “antenna ride-along” to give the LAH Planner and possibly another
member of the Planning Commission a look at various antenna installations in the town and
in nearby communities.
d. Review go-kit objectives for July Summer Drill: Ed will confirm date for Summer Drill and
get the information to Scott. The drill will include a go-kit “show and tell.” He said that per
the drill procedures he’s developing, everyone should have a collection of antennas to meet
the assignments. For the Ed Kong antenna format, he suggested running it through some
plastic tubing with a string to pull it over something and pull it up. A mag mount or a J-pole
also is suggested. He said a 5W-HT setup does well with a mag mount. There also was
discussion of lithium AA cells and a comparison of lithium verses “Energizer” alkaline
batteries. Shelf life of lithium is 15 years; once again, be careful in storage; put tape on
contacts because if they short out, it could cause a fire. Some previously popular battery
brands are not manufactured as well anymore, and tend to leak.
e. Radio Room & EOC access update. Jim KD6Y found that the cover was off at Westwind
Barn antenna. Reminders were made to be sure to lock up at Westwind antenna, as well as
EOC & radio Room, if accessed. The code has been changed at the barn location. The group
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discussed the importance of including RG58 Coax and BNC connectors, as well as other
standard connectors in go-kits.
f. Radio Room clean-up, update, and re-organize. Jim KD6Y reported that he worked on
cleanup of the room and reorganizing of drawers for pencils, paper. Duncan added that the
file drawer in the desk has the various forms. Andy KI6MAF said he labeled the drawers.
The Radio Room wall as well as go-kits should have the latest in frequency lists.
6. New Business:
a. Develop operational protocol for running Monday night nets from EOC. Dru KG6LAD
introduced the concept of developing, as part of the QRG, and posting in the Radio Room, a
protocol for bringing up and shutting down the radios and related gear. No action taken. It
will be addressed at QRG update development. There also was a discussion of
member/associate access. Marsha Hovey will look into installation of a real-estate type lock
box which would lessen the needs for multiple key issuances.
b. Volunteers for set-up/equipping/staffing ECC table at Town Picnic June 7. Ed W7WPO will
setup and equip the table and bring the ARRL banner. Volunteers for the table included Ed,
Dru, Duncan, Bill G., Andy F., Scott, Jim H., Jim A., and Bob. A. Mike Sanders of
LAHCFD will provide table and shade equipment. Dru will send volunteer names to Mike.
c. Volunteers needed for LAH July 4 Parade. Dru took names of volunteers for the July 4
Parade, and will send to the CERT lead for the parade. Bill G., Bob Rowe, Ed Jones, Andy
Kirk, Duncan, and Bill Lattin were among the volunteers.
d. Action to procure antenna for the ICOM 7000. Jim H. KD6Y. Deferred to July meeting.
e. Consideration of purchase of Yaesu repeater(s) for use by the LAH EG. There was
discussion of seeking EC support for the Town purchase of two Yaesu Fusion
System repeaters to take advantage of a limited time sale offer. The equipment
provides additional technical capabilities. Dru KG6LAD moved that the ECC
support purchase for the LAH EG repeater group of 2 Yaesu repeaters, pending
verification of usability for the LAH EG equipment support for the town’s
emergency needs. Bob KC6ZWG seconded. The motion was unanimously approved
by the 9 members in attendance. Member Sam K6MSR was absent from the meeting.
7. Tech Talk: Monday night net procedures practice; radio room tour & packet station operation.
a. MARSHA HOVEY’S SLIDE SET IS TO BE INCLUDED IN ECC MEETING LOG.
b. Marsha Hovey, town consultant for emergency planning, presented an overview of
the EOC documentation and setup. She explained that part of her job is to ensure
that the city is legally compliant on an emergency program in its EOC setup and
operation. She is part-time at LAH and also serves Portola Valley and West Valley
and Mission CC. Marsha’s professional background includes being a 911 dispatcher
from 1978 to 1998, then transferred to Santa Clara County OES where she worked
for 2 years, then went to Cupertino from 2000-2010 with Santa Clara County Fire.
The group discussed potential processes to cross-reference the EOC documentation
and the ECC QRG and the inter-communication needs between the Radio Room and
the EOC Management and Staff desks. The presentation was to ensure that when
ECC volunteers respond to the EOC and radio room, they understand the EOC
operation and the location of critical information. Her slides illustrated the EOC
documentation highlights. She said she can always use a helping hand, and several
of the group volunteered to help with various update, review, document
management, and updated CERT zone maps. A walk-through of the EOC setup was
deferred to July meeting. Marsha passed out an EOC Directors Checklist and will
email the EOC file to Dru for test and review.
8. Adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 to the EOC, but it was decided to defer tour to July.
Respectfully submitted:
Dru Anderson KG6LAD, ECC Secretary