| MANITOULIN ARES
The Manitoulin Amateur Radio Emergency
Services group through the Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club was activated
to participate in this SET. We had 12 amateurs activated throughout the
Manitoulin Island area. We had 5 municipalities involved in the exercise;
this was NEMI (Northeastern Manitoulin & the Islands Township), Town
of Gore Bay, Gordon Township, Barrie Island Township, Billings Township,
and Assiginack Township. We had all five EOC’s activated on Wednesday the
3rd October from 9:00an to 12:00am. On Saturday the 6th October 2007 we
were operational from 10:00am to 15:00pm and then again from 6:00pm to
9:00 pm. The other areas of the island that were included were Mindemoya,
Manitowaning, M’Chigeeng First Nation and Maple Point. We had 12 amateur
radio operators situated in different locations of Manitoulin who were
in constant communication with each other.
Number of Amateurs participating:
The Manitoulin Amateur Radio Emergency
Service had eight licensed amateurs participate in this year’s provincial
SET exercise. They were dispatched to different locations on Manitoulin
Island including manning two Emergency Operations Centres one in the east
end in Little Current and one in the west end in Kagawong.
Number of repeaters used:
Total of 5 repeaters were used during
event. 3 on Manitoulin Island and 2 outside the Island area.
VE3RMI – 147.270 + Main Communication
Repeater – CBC tower Little Current
VE3RQQ – 444.300+ Little Current
IRLP Link to VE3EMO PEOC Toronto
VE3RXR - 145.310- Little Current
ERA Link to VE3EMO PEOC Toronto
VE3LTR –146.670+ West end island
emergency repeater at Kagawong
VE3TOP 147.000+ Located in Elliot
Lake link to that city
Estimated person-power cost:
(person-hours $10.00/hour)
Total cost of man-hours 12 amateurs
at $10.00 per hour for 10 hours duration total cost of operation in man-hours
is $1200.00
Estimated cost of equipment used:
(handhelds, repeaters, base stations)
Total cost of equipment with 4 island
repeater systems the base radio equipment used at the EOC’s and members
homes is estimated to be in the $35,000 to $40,000 range
Total estimated cost of service:
(add man hours and equipment)
Estimated cost of operation
– low end $36,200.00
Nets and/or frequencies used (including
repeater call sign):
Locally on Manitoulin we had a VHF
net starting at 1100 hrs on the main repeater VE3RMI 147.270+ located on
the CBC tower in Little Current. This repeater was the main communications
link across Manitoulin Island. The two EOC’s plus all eight ARES stations
were monitoring this frequency. We had an ARES net control station on all
day at hour intervals. A schedule was set up with a different net control
operator each hour. This started at 1100 till 1500 hrs then again from
1800 hrs to 2100 hrs.
Our second repeater VE3RQQ 444.300+
was linked to VE3RMI and to the PEOC at VE3EMO located in Toronto. This
frequency was linked via the Internet Relay Linking Project (IRLP) System.
All stations were able to monitor this frequency as it was on UHF. Formal
traffic was relayed on VE3RMI VHF and then net control would transfer it
to VE3EMO in Toronto.
The VE3RXR repeater 145.310- was
linked to Goring, Ontario through the Escarpment Repeater Association group
which was then linked through the system to VE3EMO this was a back up system
should the IRLP system fail.
The VE3LTR repeater 146.670- was
used as a standby repeater should our main repeater fail. A test was done
every hour during the operation just to make sure this was operational.
HF Communications – We had
Jim VE3LJM at the Emergency Operations Centre in Kagawong in contact on
the provincial emergency frequencies during the day on 80 meters 3.742
Mhz. They were in touch with the National Traffic System and VE3EMO in
Toronto. During the evening hours on 80 meters 3.742 Mhz was utilized with
the same contact stations at the NTS and VE3EMO. Also Rusty VE3WVA also
monitored these frequencies as a back up station from his home base station
located in Mindemoya. As well as Gerry VA3GWK from his home base station
in Manitowaning.
Number of messages handled:
We handled 6 formal pieces of routine
traffic directed and received from VE3EMO at the Provincial Emergency Operations
Centre at EMO Toronto utilizing both the IRLP and HF networks.
1. VE3AJB Ontario Section Manager
to Director of Operations - VE3EMO PEOC
2. VE3WVA from VE3RMI to VE3EMO
PEOC
3. VE3LJM to VE3EMO PEOC
4. VA3GWK to VE3EMO PEOC
5. VE3EMO PEOC to VE3WVA
6. VE3EMO PEOC to VE3AJB
Names of agencies receiving communications
support:
The following agencies on Manitoulin
Island that received communications support are listed as such;
• Municipality of NEMI at their EOC
• Municipality of Billings at their
EOC
• Municipality of Barrie Island
EOC
• Municipality of Gordon EOC
• Municipality of Assiginack EOC
• Municipality of Gore Bay EOC
• Chief and Council M’Chigeeng First
Nation
• Ontario Provincial Police Manitoulin
Detachment
• UCCM Tribal Police – M’Chigeeng
First Nation
• NEMI Volunteer Fire Department
• Billings Volunteer Fire Department
List call signs of amateurs who
were major participants:
1. VE3AJB Allan Boyd – Section Manager
Ontario, Emergency Coordinator Manitoulin – Net Control EOC NEMI
2. VA3JKC Jack Carmichael – Assistant
Emergency Coordinator – EOC Billings
3. VE3WVA Rusty Auxier – Assistant
Emergency Coordinator - Mindemoya
4. VE3LJM Jim McLean – Vice President
MARC – Maple Point
5. VE3LMJ Lorraine McLean – Treasurer
MARC – Gore Bay
6. VE3ACZ Archie Corbiere – ARES
Member – M’Chigeeng First Nation
7. VA3GWK Gerry King – ARES Member
- Manitowaning
8. VE3FJH Frank Horsfall – ARES
Member – Little Current
9. VA3AKL Alton Hobbs- Clerk Assiginack
Township
10. VE3BSA Maggie Kin-
Ares member- Barrie Island
11. VE3CLK Carrie Lewis
– Clerk Gordon Township
12. K9AUC / VE3 Jim Hastings
– ARES Member Gore Bay
Other comments:
The Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club
and the Manitoulin Amateur Radio Emergency Services group were activated
to participate in the Provincial Wide Simulated Emergency Test supported
through the Radio Amateurs of Canada and Emergency Management Ontario.
The test took place on Saturday 06 October 2007 from 0900 hrs through to
2200hrs that day for a total of 10 hours of duration.
The Manitoulin ARES group was able
to provide 8 amateur radio operators who were all ARES trained to assist
with communications on Manitoulin Island. We had two municipalities participate
including the two Community Emergency Management Coordinators (CEMC). Also
other communities were notified and amateurs residing in those communities
were able to monitor the exercise from their home base stations and relay
communications back to the municipalities. Also included in the island
test were members from the Manitoulin Ontario Provincial Police along with
officers from the UCCM Tribal Police Service representing the 6 First Nation
Communities on Manitoulin. Two volunteer fire departments were represented
and were able to monitor communications through radio’s that were supplied
to them from the radio club.
Communications continued throughout
the day with an emergency net being conducted on VE3RMI our main communications
repeater. We had a different net control station each hour of the exercise.
We also checked into the provincial SET emergency net on the IRLP frequency
each hour and on the HF frequencies. Manitoulin maintained constant radio
contact during this time and we could send and receive formal traffic too
and from Manitoulin. During the SET our club sent 4 formal pieces of routine
traffic and received two formal messages. EOC’s along with police and fire
monitored communications.
The EOC’s had emergency generator
capabilities for emergency power, as did all the amateurs participating
in the exercise. Between generator and battery back-up, all stations were
able to operate during a power failure. Our three main repeaters on Manitoulin
had emergency power. VE3RMI had battery back-up. VE3RQQ, VE3RXR and VE3LTR
had generator back-up power.
Prior to the SET beginning all ARES
members met at Anchor Inn Hotel in Little Current for a briefing and direction
of where amateurs were assigned to station allocations. Also a schedule
of net controllers during the exercise was established. At 1000 hrs all
stations headed to their respective locations to set up and make the radio
ready checking all equipment and emergency power. At 1100 hrs the set officially
began with all stations being contacted and checking in.
During the SET radio communications
were tested between the municipalities on Manitoulin including the EOC’s.
Also tested were communications to the Manitoulin OPP and UCCM tribal Police
utilizing portable VHF/UHF radio’s at the detachments and one in a police
cruiser. Fire Dept’s had the local VE3RMI repeater frequency installed
in their fire radio’s and could transmit and receive on our frequencies.
The amateur operators operating from their home were in telephone contact
and back up by simplex frequencies to the respective CEMC’s of the municipality
they lived in. Also a portable radio was placed at the local Manitoulin
Health Centre (Hospital) so they could monitor the operation and transmit
if required. Formal traffic was relayed between these stations on a local
basis too.
At the conclusion of the set at 2100
hrs all stations left their respective locations and an informal net was
conducted with a minor debriefing on the days events. It was followed up
the next weekend with a formal debriefing with all operators in attendance.
All agencies were contacted after
the exercise and a discussion on how the events went. Overall impression
from all agencies including the local EMO Community Officer who oversaw
the operation was quite impressed with the efforts of the Manitoulin Amateur
Radio Emergency Services.
This was an excellent SET and worked
extremely well, Manitoulin ARES has been involved in the past with actual
emergencies including 911 and long distance outages, power failures and
a major storm last year on July 17 2006 when Manitoulin was the first Ontario
community hit with a major micro burst storm. We were on the air with-in
minutes after the storm with all three repeaters on emergency back-up power,
which lasted three days in duration without power. All in all the need
for a provincial SET is necessary for all communities and local agencies
to keep in communication and with the support of Emergency Management Ontario
these exercises can only get better with time. I look forward to future
SETS.
Allan Boyd, VE3AJB
Emergency Coordinator
Manitoulin District |
