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July, 2006 |
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GF06 and Violent Twister
Another month has come, and
we are all recovering from the latest MARS exercise.
Emergency Operations Update Now that our “Tune-Up” exercise and GF-06 are over with, it’s time to start planning and preparing for the next exercise. The few topics that need some added attention on the training nets were not major problems and a little effort by net controls and members should cure the deficiencies in short order. The one major problem continues to be the After Action Reports—or rather the lack of AARs from a few members. That problem may respond to another approach. Aside from those issues, the exercises went well and a sincere thanks Is due to all who participated. So far as what is coming in the future, we are halfway through the year and about halfway through our 2006 goal of 12 exercises. As we have been doing, I’m sure some of them will be one-hour shots, some will cover several nets, and there should be a few more extensive exercises. The longer ones have the great advantage of being able to develop a scenario, following through the initial hours of an emergency, while the shorter “micro” and “mini” exercises are excellent for working on specific skills. Whatever the schedule may be, remember that the only reason for MARS membership is to become proficient in handling emergency traffic. There’s really only one way to do that, and it certainly isn’t being a passive listener on the nets. Part of our overall emergency communications plan has digital operations as an integral part of the system. In the last year, we have made substantial strides in that direction. Between the keyboard-to-keyboard training and the RMS system coming on line (and being a great success), we are far ahead of where we were a year ago. Although the overall direction of our digital capabilities hasn’t exactly been my job, I can safely say that the training is not only going to continue but expand a bit to cover Pactor/Winlink and packet operations. There’s some interesting stuff coming up soon. We’ve come a long way and we will be going further—stick around for the fun! This is my last time on the soapbox as the Emergency Operations Officer. The keen-eyed among you might have noticed my seldom-used callsign above, and everybody has read the “help wanted—EOO” ad that appeared in your e-mail recently. The opening is a fine opportunity to be part of a great staff, do a worthwhile job, and along the way learn a tremendous amount about MARS. You don’t have to have been a MARS member for decades or even several years (I sure wasn’t when I took the job). What is needed is a desire to serve and learn. Actual emergency operations experience, not limited to communications, is a plus but not a necessity. Along the way, you will get solid support from those who have previously held the job, as well as other knowledgeable members. We have a number of members who are good candidates, with proven records of participation, and who would do a great job. Think about it. Also, think about what happens if nobody is willing to do a job, not just in TN MARS but also in any organization. Thanks to all who have made our state participation in the exercises, short, medium and long, something that we can be proud of. When you look at the record of many states, you realize that Tennessee is doing a great job. Keep it up!
Training By July 1st, All NCS and ANC should have received the first packet of “Training Messages” to be used on their nets. I encourage each one of you to send at least one per net. Also, I encourage the membership to do their best to copy each message, and use the information presented to promote discussion or promote the group to come up with further information on the same topic. This leads us into July’s helpful hints for managing net training on our Mars nets. It is essential that the NCS, or the person training, ask questions that bring out the desired educational goals. There is more to good questioning technique than simply asking the question. The following principles were developed by Richard L. Loughlin and provide an excellent set of guidelines for the NCS who wishes to develop good questioning techniques. Principles of Questioning 1. Do your best to make sure that each net member has heard the questions so that all, including out of state members, are involved. 2. Balance factual and thought-provoking questions. 3. Ask both simple and exacting questions, so that the less experienced MARS member may participate and the more experienced members may be extended. 4. Encourage lengthy responses and sustained answers. (Avoid yes-no questions, questions overlaid with afterthoughts, fragmentary questions, and those that tug or encourage guessing. NOTE: If you catch yourself asking a yes-no question, add "Explain.") 5. Stimulate critical thinking by asking: "To what extent?" "How?" "Under what circumstances?" "Why?" a.
Avoid: "Does anyone know...?" and "Who can tell us...?" 1)
Phrase questions clearly. 6. Promote a dialogue by asking net members to comment on the answers of other net members, without putting a person down.. a.
Start the crossfire by asking, "What's your opinion of that answer...?" NCS
Check List for Artful Questioning 2. Since method cannot be divorced from content, the NCS must master his/her subject if he/she is to perfect his/her questioning technique. There is no substitute for sound scholarship. 3. Questions must be guided by definite aims. They should be asked:
4. Good questions are:
5. There is a language of questioning. In addition to "what," the NCS should ask "why" and "how." His/Her questions should call upon net members to explain, illustrate, justify, trace, discuss, compare, contrast, agree or disagree, interpret, evaluate, and summarize. 6. Question types that should be avoided include:
7. Questioning will be most effective when questions are planned. Improving Specific Teaching Techniques
Handling answers is an important part of the questioning procedure. The NCS should be prepared to handle incorrect, partially correct and fully correct answers. Each type calls for careful follow-through. None of this is easy. Only though trial and error and practice will we be able to ask the right question at the right time to promote learning on our nets. These were just some ideas for all NCS and ANC station to try and practice. I would like to thank all of you for your assistance and participation.
Getting On The Same Page--Interoperability
Hello all. In our continuing efforts to 'get everyone on the same page', TN Army MARS members have been challenged to add to their knowledge store by completing the ARRL Emergency Communications courses. These courses, given the course designators EC-001, EC-002 and EC-003 can be taken either as mentored on-line modules or as self-study. The final exams for self-study are offered at various locations, and members can find a location and time by searching at this link: http://www.arrl.org/cce/activity-list.php3 The ARRL very recently instituted changes in EC-003, resulting in a new course designated as EC-003R2 that reflects changes wrought in the domestic security landscape since September 11, 2001 and their effects on emergency communications. For MARS members who have taken EC-003 already, there is sufficient new material to justify obtaining the new Level III book and re-taking that test. As the movement towards a more formally trained amateur volunteer radio cadre evolves TN MARS members will find themselves at the forefront as far as credentials go. The ARRL Emergency Communications courses are an excellent tool for not only picking up ideas that will help us to be better MARS operators, they're also rich in insights as to just how the organizations we'll be expected to serve with all fit into the Big Picture, ourselves included. And that's what interoperability is all about.
Field Day Antenna
Comparisons Although not a MARS event, valuable information was learned from comparing operational characteristics of several antennas at the W4EM ARRL field day site this year. The existing 500-foot end-fed longwire at 260 feet above ground could not be used during the contest since it is an existing antenna. However, prior to the contest comparisons were made between it and the RLM broadband antenna manufactured by AAA9AT. As expected, signals were stronger on the longwire, however due to the received noise level, some signals, although weaker on the S-meter, were clearer on the broadband antenna. Another longwire was erected for the contest, running out the rear of the transmitter building, to about the seventy-foot level on the 500-foot tower, and then across a field to a tree at about thirty feet. This produced a total length of about 200 feet of wire. The RLM broadband antenna was erected in a field with two supports, resulting in a somewhat distorted rectangle loop, with the return end positioned on the ground. During the morning prior to the event, about a S-9 broadband white noise was received on this longwire antenna and not on the RLM broadband antenna. I never did discover the source of the noise, but it slowly faded down to about S-3 after several hours. The Kenwood TS-570 transceiver used at this operating position had two antenna connections, so the longwire was connected to one and the RLM broadband antenna was connected to the other. A manual tuner was used between the 50-Ohm coaxial cable and the feedpoint of this antenna. Again, most of the time signals, although weaker, had a better signal to noise ratio on the broadband antenna. Many contacts were made on 7 MHz CW using only the RLM broadband antenna. I sometimes switched to the longwire for transmitting if there was a significant signal difference between the two. The RLM broadband antenna performs exactly as advertised – continuous operation from 2.5 to 30 MHz with slight internal antenna adjustments on some frequencies, and a better signal to noise ratio on receive. Next, I switched to the 14 MHz band and compared the longwire, the RLM broadband antenna, and the quarter-wavelength vertical we used at WUG-231 for the AFD communication tests. All antennas worked well. The vertical was usually better than the longwire on receiving and transmitting, and the broadband antenna worked quite well with a slight reduction in signal strength from the vertical. I switched to 21 MHz when the band opened and ran only on the broadband antenna with good results. Conclusions: All antennas performed well. The vertical would be too large for operation on 7 or 4 MHz frequencies due to the wavelengths. The takeoff angle would be too low for optimum coverage within the state. The broadband antenna may be erected with only one or two supports, while a longwire usually requires two supports and a good ground system or a counterpoise. Use whatever antenna works best for you depending on frequency, support equipment, and grounding at your location. The broadband antenna worked well for quickly switching between many frequencies without retuning. |
