HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 3LAH_ECC_DRAFT-Minutes_Nov-3-2015.doc 1
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Emergency Communications Committee Minutes -
DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Town Council Chambers.
26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
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
Ben H. L. Hu KK6HH P
Edwin R Jones, EC W7WPO E
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 P
Larry Carr, CERT Recon KE6AGJ P
Bill Gibbons, associate K6GH P
Neil Katin, associate AI6FI P
Greg Olsen, associate K6XM P
Bert Raphael, associate KK6GNB P
Maynard Stevenson, associate W7MVT P
1.Roll Call: Co-chairs: Scott N6NXI/Jim W6EB
2.Minutes: Oct. 6 meeting DRAFT. Dru KG6LAD, secretary. Motion to approve by Bob Anderson
KC6ZWG, second by Jim Heintzelman KD6Y. Roll call. Approved.
3.Public comments from the floor:
a.The membership welcomed newly appointment ECC member Ben Hu, KK6HH, who was
appointed by council in October.
b.Scott N6NXI discussed plans and sought volunteers for the ECC Annual Ham Bake holiday
dinner and meeting. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. Jim KD6Y said he would help; Duncan
KI6VMY volunteered for the “Safeway” run, and bringing traditional décor; Dru KG6LAD
will be out of town the week of the meeting, but will help Scott with the invitation setup and
room reservation with City Clerk, and with sending Scott a summary of Ham Bake logistics
details. The dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. and
brief. Scott asked volunteers for setup to be there by 5 p.m.
4.Reports:
a.SCC EC: Ed W7WPO, EC, was out of town, so his report was deferred. However, relative to
the Nov. 14 County drill, Neil AI6FI explained the county expectations for the drill activity.
b.LAH City Council report: Gary Waldeck, K6AIR, Council Member & Liaison gave his
report and focused on an update to the LAH Volunteer coordination planning that is going
LAH_ECC_DRAFT-Minutes_Nov-3-2015.doc 2
on with city staff, CERT, and ECC aspects. He explained that there are two volunteer
agencies – CERT, trained and managed through the LAH County Fire District, and the town
council appointed ECC standing committee of licensed hams trained in emergency
communications. He praised each as the “best around” but said the discussion is focused on
good coordination and communication both with the town and between and among the
responding groups. As has been evidenced in emergencies, such as the recent Napa
earthquake situation, response and effective use of volunteers can get chaotic and signals can
get crossed in emergency response situations. The town, he said, wants to ensure that doesn’t
happen in LAH with the different organizational structures.
c. Roster report: Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY reminded the group that he had sent out on
10/22/15 the latest updates to the roster and Monday night net script. He will send it again.
d. Member/Associate report: Ray Egan W6FQY was not in attendance and his report was
deferred to January, 2016.
5. Old Business:
a. ECC QRG (Quick Reference Guide): Sub-committee update. Neil AI6FI reviewed the
discussion of the last subcommittee meeting, and the progress on the QRG to date. He also
brought up consideration of an independent internet link, and a backup packet station. He
said there had been a quote from a vendor to a CERT inquiry to provide a link to Black
Mountain. However, Sam K6MSR said he had that link capability. The discussion was taken
offline and Sam and Neil will pursue the details.
b. LAH antenna ordinance update, Planning Commission report: Jim W6EB updated the group
on the developments of the pending antenna ordinance. He said that the Planning
Commission subcommittee that includes Jim and Kavita Tankha will be meeting the next
week for a follow up discussion on the results of the issues addressed at the Planning
Commission meeting. Several members provided a variety of feedback relative to the
ordinance details to consider.
c. Update on Cell Tree modifications: Jim W6EB & Scott N6NXI reported that the cell
company had sent a survey crew to look at the antenna “tree” in response to Jim and Scott’s
concerns about the initial cell tower modification plans. Scott said he looked over the revised
plan and it looks improved from the prior; primarily they had to ensure that there would
clear space around the emergency communications antennas that serve the town.
d. Generator testing plan: deferred to Jan, 2016.
6. New Business:
a. Monitoring schedule: Local repeater activity. Scott N6NXI requested the group make it a
practice to more regularly monitor the local repeater. He said he rarely finds anyone on air
and suggested that people just leave their home station on. The SPECS repeaters are set to be
quiet in late evening; the local one could be too, if requested.
During a discussion of emergency need access, it was noted that the national calling
frequency is 146.52.
b. Distinguish ECC activities from Monday night LAH/area hams net. Rotation/participation is
open to all interested hams. Dru KG6LAD noted that since the Monday night net is an
activity for interested LAH hams, regardless of committee or other affiliations, she
suggested that the candidates for the rotation be open to any ham willing to take on a
responsibility turn. She reminded the group that the net should refrain from ECC topics
because town committee discussions need to be limited to regular or specially noticed
meetings. Everyone understood that.
Scott added that the Monday night net is part of the SPECS net structure, and is in place to
ensure hams and their equipment can go to the local city nets to check equipment, and
practice communications response. Larry KE6AGJ added that the purpose of the net is to
build emergency communication equipment use and skills because one cannot assume that
everything will work in an emergency, practice and regular testing is important.
LAH_ECC_DRAFT-Minutes_Nov-3-2015.doc 3
c. Pacificon 2015 Highlights: Bob and Dru Anderson, Ben Hu, and Neil Katin attended the
October Pacificon western region annual conference in San Ramon. The following were
highlight areas shared with the membership by those attending.
i. Portable HF antenna for ICOM 7000 concept. Bob KC6ZWG shared the information
about the Buddy Pole, which offers portable HF antenna capability for that use. He
said since the town owns an excelled ICOM 7000 unit, he suggested the town
spending the minor amount for the equipment, which is a carryable bag, which
would give a capability to be able to use the 7000, rather than have it sit around.
ii. Gordon West key tech training hints. Dru KG6LAD described the Gordon West
presentation on effective technical training, as well as participating in the follow on
class that earned her a certificate in the instructional area. She referred people to the
website for additional materials of interest in on-going technical skills buildup.
iii. Pacificon talk by Bob Heil K9EID on the art of “Listening” and maximizing the
mid-range audio in equipment. Dru KG6LAD also attended the presentation by Bob
Heil, renowned for his development of microphones widely used in the music
industry. Bob Heil credited his early interest and work with ham radio as a pre-teen
and teen to his ultimate involvement and contribution to microphone technology.
Dru referred people to his website and to the rock and roll hall of fame website.
iv. Emergency Communication talk: Ben Hu KK6HH/Neil Katin AI6FI presented slides
and discussion from a talk at Pacificon by Duane Mariotti WB9RER on “The Future
of Emergency Communication” that covered concerns for ARRL to further develop
national standards and coordination with national emergency response plans.
7. Tech Talk:
a. Training on the new CERT IR (Incident Report)Form: Neil AI6FI walked the group
through the key points of the newly development form. Scott suggested that ECC as well
should consider incorporating the form.
b. Safety & Operational Best Practices: Batteries and Battery Chargers: Scott N6NXI/Jim
W6EB. Deferred to January, 2016.
8. Adjourn. On a motion by Bob KC6ZWG, and seconded by Jim KD6Y, and unanimous
approval, the meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
Dru Anderson KG6LAD, ECC Secretary