Participating In Public Service Events Around Puget Sound

1. Participating InPublic Service EventsAroundPuget Sound Robert Grinnell, KD7WNV Mike & Key ARC July 16, 2011

2. What We’ll Cover • Why Participate? • Types of Events and the events around Puget Sound • When & Where • Types of Assignments • Resources and Getting Connected • Equipment for Various Assignments • Procedures and Protocols • Questions?

3. Why Participate? • Helping your community • One of the Part 97 Fundamental Principles • Get out of the house, meet new people • Including fellow hams • Why’d you join a club, after all? • Limited from HF by license, logistics, or finances? • PS events are all V/UHF—Tech is entirely adequate • Can be active in many roles with minimal investment • Not getting any action on that repeater when you call? • There’s always (supposed to be) someone on the other end in PS event communications • Interested in Emergency Communications? • This is how you get the practice with your radio and nets

4. Types of Events Around Puget Sound • Parades • Pedestrian Events (Walks, Runs & Triathlons) • Bicycle Rides • Other: • Husky Opening Day Crew Races • WA Special Olympics • Special People’s Holiday Cruise • Auto rallies

5. Parades • Seafair • Community/Local Parades • Where: A Seattle neighborhood or a smaller city • When: Late March to early December (July is busiest) • Some units in common, some unique • Torchlight Parade • Where: Downtown Seattle: Seattle Center to King St. • When: Last Saturday of July (31st in 2011) • Second only to Marathon in number of hams needed • Other? • Lakefair Parade, Olympia, mid-July

6. Parades: Assignments • Types of Assignments: • “Shadow” a parade marshal • Stay near marshal, provide amateur band communications • Marshal may have a land-mobile UHF radio • Station at an operational location • Provide communications for marshals and/or other volunteers at that location (registration/information, etc.) • Station along route (may be alone or as shadow) • You may end up performing more than one function (assembly vs. actual parade run) • Torchlight has 8K/5K run beforehand; may have needs as for Pedestrian Events (see ff.)

7. Pedestrian Events (Walks, Runs & Triathlons) • Walk MS (3 area events) • Where: Husky Stadium; Quil Ceda/Tulalip; Lakewood • When: Early April • See Jane Run Half Marathon, 5K & Kids’ Race • Where: Gas Works - Ballard and around Lake Union • When: Mid-July (TOMORROW!) • Seafair – Benaroya Research Institute Triathlon • Where: Seward Park • When: Late July (Sunday, 24th in 2011) • Seattle Marathon • Where: Downtown & central Seattle, down to Seward Park • When: Sunday after Thanksgiving • Largest area event in number of hams needed

8. Pedestrian Events: Types of Assignments • Shadow the event director or other official on foot • Vehicle ride-along: Provide communications for an event-supplied vehicle (e.g. water truck) • Stationary location (rest/water stop and/or route monitoring) • Bike ham (some may be EMT) • Monitor participants • Escort last-to-finish • SAG vehicle (ham in own vehicle) • If logistics permit, patrol event route and monitor participants • Transport participants as needed • Medical/EMT (medically-trained ham in own vehicle)

9. Bicycle Rides • Chilly Hilly (Cascade Bicycle Club) • Where: Bainbridge Island • When: 4th Sunday of February • Tour Des Engineers • Where: Whidbey Island, southern end • When: Early May • Tour De Cure (Am. Diabetes Assoc.) • Where: Redmond – Granite Falls, various loops • When: Mid-May

10. Bicycle Rides (cont.) • RAMROD (Redmond Cycling Club) • Where: Enumclaw to Enumclaw, around Mt. Rainier • When: Last Thursday of July (28th in 2011) • Ride for Life (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) • Where: Woodinville, Eastside to Mercer Island • When: Last Sunday of July (31st in 2011) • Coordinated and largely staffed by ESCA RACES • RSVP (Cascade Bicycle Club) • Where: Seattle to Vancouver BC • When: MULTI-DAY, 1st weekend in August (5-7 in 2011) • First Time Listed

11. Bicycle Rides (cont.) • Courage Classic (Child Abuse Prevention) • Where: Snoqualmie to Skykomish via 3 passes • When: MULTI-DAY, 1st weekend in August (6-8 in 2011) • First Time Listed • Summer Classic/Challenge (Kiwanis) • Where: Bainbridge Island • When: 4th/Last Sunday of August (28th in 2011) • First Time Listed • Bike MS (National MS Society) • Where: Skagit-Island-Whatcom counties • When: 2nd Weekend of September (10-11 in 2011) • Coordinated and largely staffed by ESCA RACES

12. Bicycle Rides: Types of Assignments • Shadow the event director or other official on foot • Vehicle ride-along: Provide communications for director/official or other event-supplied vehicle • Stationary location (rest/water stop and/or route monitoring) • Bike ham (often a personal choice) • More useful in Pedestrian Events than Bicycle Rides • May be needed to patrol a vehicle-inaccessible section of route • SAG vehicle (ham in own vehicle) • Patrol event route and monitor participants • Transport participants and bicycles as needed • Medical/EMT (medically-trained ham in own vehicle)

13. Other Events • Husky Opening Day Crew Races • Where: UW (Union Bay, Montlake Cut) • When: 1st Saturday of May • Some assignments on boats, others on land • WA Special Olympics • Where: Joint Base Lewis-McChord • When: 1st Weekend of June (Friday – Sunday) • Contact early to allow time for Base-access background check • Assignments? • Special People’s Holiday Cruise • Where: From various docks around lakes Union and Washington – cruise to see Santa, north of I-520 eastern high-rise, and back • When: 1st Sunday of December • Assignments include dockside and cruise; cruise not mandatory • Auto rallies: See list and ask coordinator for information • Assignments are probably stationary along route

14. Resources • Public Service Events list in annual MKARC booklet • Available early March at Flea Market, then Club meetings • Chilly Hilly is only event that occurs before booklet comes out; use last year’s contact • Club website – Public Service page (www.mikeandkey.org/pubserve.htm) • Initially same as booklet list, but updated through the year • Club meetings and minutes – announcement of changes/additions • Seafair Parade Marshals website (www.seafairparademarshals.org) - Schedule page can be useful, and represents updated info, but: • Includes some events that do not use hams (check against above) • SPM Check-In times may not be right for hams (ask coordinator) • Website for event or sponsoring organization often has useful information – use search engine to locate

15. Getting Connected • Contact the listed ham coordinator about a month ahead (if no prior history with event or coordinator) • Two months for Special Olympics or multi-day bicycle rides • Give brief description of radios/capabilities and experience • Indicate any preferences for assignment type or location • Ask any questions you have • Ham coordinator may likely… • Email you some material in advance • Have an advance meeting for training and familiarization • Have a meeting in the morning before the event begins • Have a packet of materials for you to pick up that morning • Once you have participated in an event, you may find that the coordinator contacts you along with other participating hams prior to next year’s event

16. Equipment • Need dual band capability: 2-meters and 70 cm • (Only RAMROD has used 222 MHz, and can probably get by without it even there) • Know your radio; bring along manual, in case • Configurations for PS Assignments • Personal Portable • Vehicle Mobile • Installable Vehicle Mobile • Bike Mobile

17. Equipment Configuration: Personal Portable • You are on foot, or at least away from vehicle • Start with: Handheld Transceiver (HT) • Recommended first accessories, in order: • Spare battery (Li-Ion or NiMH), 3rd-party OK • Speaker-mike or headset • Gain antenna (replace stock rubber-duck) • Match design to band coverage of radio • For parades, have a pair of over-the-ear headphones on hand—marching bands!

18. Equipment Configuration: Personal Vehicle • Can get by with HT for many stationary and some mobile assignments • Must get signal out of car (Faraday cage!): External antenna • Either magmount or permanent install (confirm connector match to radio, esp. for HT) • Mobile antenna with car as ground plane is much stronger than any HT antenna—big bang for buck improvement over just HT • Cigarette lighter cord (if parked, mind your battery, but probably safe with HT) • Speaker-mike to avoid moving HT and attached cords around with every transmission • Graduate to mobile rig ($$) for additional power, permanent install • Power: Cigarette lighter is often adequate, but for permanent install, probably want to wire to draw from engine/battery

19. Equipment Configuration: Installable Vehicle • Sometimes may be supplied for you by ham coordinator(s) • HT or mobile rig • Power: • Cigarette lighter cord/adapter • May have small, portable battery (e.g. 7A SLA) • Magmount antenna • Run coax through open window if situation and weather permit, otherwise between door and vehicle body – away from hinged side of door to reduce pinching force on coax • Speaker-mike if HT • May want headphones to shut out noise or keep radio from disturbing others

20. Equipment Configuration: Bike Mobile • Radio: HT • Interface: • Need at least speaker-mike • Ideally, headset—should be single-ear style (remember, you’re wearing a helmet) • If using HT’s antenna, don’t wear HT on chest as if on foot—leaning over, body blocks • Back pocket (cycling jersey) or mount on bike • Upgrade to bike-mounted mobile antenna • Not much ground plane; half-wave design is good

21. Some Other Equipment • General • Hi-visibility safety vest • Always good to have, sometimes required for event • Better ones may provide pockets for radio, other gear • Clothing appropriate to weather • Any SAG: • Regular and space blankets • Water • First Aid kit • SAG for bicycle ride: • Reliable bicycle rack • Good high-pressure floor pump, dual valve-style • Basic tools

22. Procedures and Protocols • Nets are typically semi-formal • Ask permission of Net Control to contact another station directly • Use prowords “Emergency” and “Priority” to break in with a situation of that severity • Use tactical call (if assigned), or FCC call sign, to break into a conversation without a priority situation • Tactical calls: • PS events will often assign tactical calls to identify hams by function/location (e.g., SAG 3, Rest Stop 2, Milepost 7, Start/Finish, Sweep, Director [Shadow]) • You will be called by your tactical • When calling, use other station’s tactical and your tactical at beginning; identify with FCC call as required at end

23. Procedures and Protocols • Don’t use VOX • Do use your HT’s keypad lock function to keep frequencies in place once you have them set

24. Final Tip • For Seafair Parades: The Seafair Pirates sound their siren just before firing their cannon—that’s your warning to cover your ears!

25. Questions?