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Emergency Communications Committee Minutes
DATE: Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016
TIME: Meeting: 7 – 9 p.m.
LOCATION: 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 O
Ben H. L. Hu KK6HH P
Edwin R Jones, EC W7WPO P
Andrew Kirk WB6CLS P
Duncan MacMillan KI6VMY P
Scott Overstreet, Co-Chair N6NXI P
Sam Wood K6MSR P
Council/Staff Call Sign Attendance
Gary Waldeck, Council Liaison K6AIR O
Associates Call Sign Attendance
Bill Gibbons, associate K6GH P
Neil Katin, associate AI6FI P
Greg Olsen, associate K6XM P
Bob Rowe, associate AF6LD P
1. Roll Call: Co-chairs: Scott N6NXI/Jim W6EB called the meeting to order @ 7 p.m.
2. Minutes: Nov 3/Dec 1 minutes. Approved, with suggested typo corrections. Dec moved by Scott,
seconded by Ed. Approved with the Andersons abstaining since did not attend. November approved.
3. Public comments from the floor:
a. Bob KC6ZWG & Dru KG6LAD shared a memo they each had received from
Senator Dianne Feinstein in response to their support for the Amateur Radio Parity
Act of 2015, which has been introduced to direct FCC to clarify that amateur radio
stations may be installed regardless of any private land use restrictions. It is currently
awaiting consideration by Senate Committee on Commerce, science, and
Transportation.
b. Andy Fawcett KI6MAF suggested that the committee support acquisition in the EOC
of a 220 radio he described that would be effective in being able to reach 3 of the
county’s packet station, however, not the one in the south county. Neil supported the
idea, citing that potentially a second unit would free up the 440 for voice, thus make
CERT ham operation easier with no signal conflict. The group supported the idea of
Jim and Scott bringing up the equipment addition to City Manager Carl Cahill. The
thought was to start with one at the EOC, evaluate the related antenna hookups, then
later consider also for the ARK operation.
LAH_ECC_FINAL-Minutes_Jan-5-2016 2
c. There was a reminder to attend the Jan. 30th at 9 a.m. meeting of SPECS at El
Camino Hospital. Program is available on www.specsnet.org as are renewals and
profile updates.
4. Reports:
a. EC: ED W7WPO: Sought signups for the January SPECSnet coverage by LAH.
Volunteers included Bob KC6ZWG; Ed, Jim W6EB, Duncan, and Andy WB6CLS.
He also reported a discussion about the county disaster planning for the upcoming
Super Bowl at Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, on Feb. 7. He said the EC Council now
meetings quarterly at the Sheriff headquarters.
b. LAH City Council Report: Gary Waldeck, K6AIR: Did not attend. Deferred.
c. Roster Report: Duncan MacMillan K16VMY. Updated roster “in the mail.”
d. Member/Associate Report: Ray Egan W6FQY. Deferred to Feb. 2016.
5. Old Business:
a. ECC QRG (Quick Reference Guide): Sub-committee update, Neil AI6FI. Reported
that the holiday season cut short time to meet, but that the subcommittee will resume
activity soon.
b. LAH Antenna ordinance update, planning commission report: Jim W6EB. Jim
reported that he anticipates the item will come back to the PC possibly in February.
Discussion is around height adjustments and approval process, and holding tight on
costs.
c. Update on Cell Tree modifications: Jim W6EB/Scott N6NXI. Said the cell tower
item is due back to PC on Jan. 6 meeting. It involves refreshing the tree and
rebuilding the antennas on the tree. Scott has reviewed. They did not have details on
potential down time, and the contractor schedule.
d. Relative to the encouragement for people to more frequently monitor, actively use
the repeater, Scott said so far, there is little activity that he has detected. He
reinforced the idea of more actively monitoring. Dru KG6LAD suggested we again
try the suggestion of aiming for an 8 a.m., noon, and 5 p.m. rendezvous time for
those available, as we did in the past to some success. There was no action.
6. New Business:
a. Sub-committee for 2016 drill planning: Ed W7WPO said he would chair the
planning and coordination of ECC participation with CERT and County drills, and
would call in people as needed and available.
7. Tech Talk:
a. Safety & Operational Best Practices: Batteries and Battery Charges: Scott
N6NXI/Jim W6EB. Scott and Jim led an interactive discussion on battery safety,
storage, and the differentiation of use and safety among the lithium, AA cells. There
was discussion of storage relative to temperature. If kept in freezer, they have to be
thawed first. Best is to keep @40 degrees – so refrigerator likely better for more
quick access if needed, as frozen batteries have limited capacity until thawed.
Lithium batteries are less sensitive to cold. They also discussed the comparative shelf
life of lithium v cell. Some of the problem areas of corrosion, fire hazard were
discussed along with the warning to “don’t overcharge.” Once your unit is charged,
unplug it.
8. Adjourn. On a motion by Scott N6NXI, seconded by Bob KC6ZWG, and with unanimous
approval, the meeting was adjourned at 9 pm.
Respectfully Submitted: Secretary Dru Anderson KG6LAD