CT Region 3 ARES

Here is the background on what we are up against this year.  Please see what you can do to get the word out to the Statewide ARES members.  Our role in this event is primarily as volunteers to the event.  Most of our duties are course related and involve tactical deployment and situational awareness reporting on course status and rider safety.  These are not the typical passive communications positions.  The command center is a high stress environment managing course tactical and situational awareness activity, committee communications, cell phone reports from riders and others, emergency communications, local services links, etc.  Rest stop posts will be as we know them from other bike events.  Everyone who participates will have a full tactical resource deployment and management experience that will simulate much of the real world support that might be required in a local disaster.  You can include some or all of these comments or not at your discretion.

The 2010 Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Walk & Ride is scheduled for June 12, 2010.  At this annual event participants raise money for cancer research by entering one of five events.  There are the 10, 25, and 50 mile rides that have been part of the event for years and this year they have added a 5 mile walk and a 75 mile ride.  The committee reports registration of over 1500 this year.  This event is widely publicized and covered by local media making it an excellent opportunity to show our communities what amateur radio can do.

Amateur Radio has provided communications for the event for several years for SAG wagons, mechanics, rest stops and trailing vehicles with cell links to motorcycle riders traversing the course for safety.  In previous years amateur radio operators stepped up and became SAG vehicles which helped considerably increasing the number of riders that could be helped by eliminating the “radio rider” from the scenario and making more room in the vehicles.

This year we are seeking additional help for the event.  The new 75 mile course doubles the miles to cover with SAG’s, mechanics and motorcycles.  Much of the new 75 mile course goes through Region 5 around the reservoir and the Farmington River.  Rest stops will be located in East Hartland CT, Peoples Forest along the Farmington River in Pleasant Valley CT, Enders Forest in Granby CT, Sodom Mountain Campground in Southwick MA, and Wells Street School in Granby CT.

To fill the SAG positions, we are seeking help from amateur radio operators who can offer a mobile equipped pickup or SUV capable of transporting riders (with their equipment) who are unable to finish from the course to the start area.  We are asking any motorcycle rider with or without amateur radio capability to consider joining the motorcycle team to help provide course safety awareness during the race.  We have several positions in the command center that offer new and seasoned operators alike the chance to learn and/or support the central tactical communications roles.

This is a fun event with lots of action for everyone who participates.  You will be a volunteer for the event with the added communications capability making you part of an elite group that will manage and provide the safety and communications support for the event courses.  At the conclusion of the rides there is a cookout and band concert at the start/finish line in Simsbury for all who participated and volunteered.  Tee Shirts are available for everyone.

If you can help us this year, the start time is 0700 hours in Simsbury CT or Pleasant Valley CT depending on the portion of the course you will cover.  Deployment will commence at 0800 hours.  As the trailing vehicles pass each post on the course those posts will close and resources will be reallocated or released based on course status at the time.  Everyone should be released by 1500 hours.

If you can help, please contact Skip (W1FTE) clcolton@att.net or Richard (KB1ONM) richard.hodge@cox.net.

From our SEC:

Greetings!

As a previous AngelRide ham radio volunteer, I hope you will be able to assist again this year!

CT ARES will be assisting with communications for the AngelRide two-day charity bike ride on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend (29May10 and 30May10). The ride originates at the Yale School of Music in Norfolk early on Saturday morning. They travel 85 miles east to Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford and stay overnight there. On Sunday they ride 50 miles south from Ashford to the Mystic YMCA.

Over 250 hundred riders are expected for the weekend! We need ham radio operators for rest stops, some key road intersection checkpoints, and a few for SAGs. We will use the KB1AEV-linked repeater system on Saturday and several Region 4 repeaters on Sunday. In most route locations you will need a mobile radio or “go box” to get into the repeaters. There are only a few spots where a handheld will work OK.

Please let me and your DEC know if you can assist on either or both days. Also, please follow this link and formally register as an AngelRide Volunteer. Under Volunteer Task Selection, choose #11 ARES Radio Operator. Note: you do not need to make or get any cash donations unless you want to!

https://www.teamholeinthewall.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=829&tab=2

They are also looking for volunteers for other tasks as listed on their website. So your non-ham spouses or friends are welcome to sign up, too!

73, Wayne, N1CLV
SEC – CT ARES(r)

Bike MS: bkm/Steelcase Ride 2010, Sponsored by CT Chapter of the National MS Society.

June 6, 2010, all day from 6:30am until late afternoon (depending upon rider completion times).

Ride starts at the Griffin Office Park in Windsor (just off Blue Hills Avenue) near Bloomfield.

We need the following capabilities:
(1)  2m HT, extra batteries recommended.
(2) Portable Magmount antenna with cable to connect to your HT (SMA, BNC as appropriate).
(3) Portable manual bicycle pump is recommended as it can be helpful in aiding some riders.
(4) If you are equipped with 2m mobile capability (car or motorcycle) please let AC1N – ac1n@arrl.net or WA1VVB – wa1vvb@arrl.net know.
(5) Appropriate clothing and food for an all-day event. Please also check the weather ahead of time to ensure that you are attired appropriately.

APRS is *not* required for this event.

We need both mobile operators with their own equipped vehicles and operators who can ride with the sag wagons, which is why the portable magmount is recommended.

The event is to raise money for the National MS Society. There are often upwards of 1000 riders and other participants. Because of the distances involved and the routes that riders may take, much of Region 3 will be involved.

Further information from the MS Society is at http://bikectn.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_CTN_Details_Windsor .  Please contact WA1VVB or AC1N for communications questions or to sign on as a volunteer with BARC / BARENS.  Please do not contact the MS society directly with inquiries or your intention to volunteer with communications at this time.

Josh Rozovsky, Bloomfield EC, AC1N   ac1n@arrl.net
Mark Simcik, Bloomfield Amateur Radio Club (BARC / BARENS) President, WA1VVB  wa1vvb@arrl.net

Shenipsit Striders 2009 Soapstone Mountain Trail Ride Public Service Event

At 0700 on Sunday, May 17 a group of amateur  volunteers met at the Redding Rock Riding Club in Somers CT to establish communications support for the 25th annual Soapstone Mountain Tail Race sponsored by the Shenipsit Striders running club.

The weather was cool and damp.  The trail was wet and overrun with mosquito’s and other critters searching for a warm body on which to feast.  A quick review of the layout of the trial and the assignment of volunteers to posts was done and we waited for the runners (170) to get signed in and the races to begin.  At approximately 0900 runners were released from the starting line in groups and the races were underway.

At the end of the day only one injury on the course was reported.  The event was a great success for the sponsors and amateur radio helped them achieve that goal.

The communications team covered the starting line reporting the release times of the groups (Eileen N1TUJ & Richard (K1ST), the tower which was the first landmark the runners saw after an arduous climb up a 150 ft rocky trail (KB1ONM), and three rest/water stops along the trail at appoximately 4 mile intervals (Bob AB1RB, George AB1GL & Frank KB1LFD).  A roving vehicle was on course to provide backup support to the other communications volunteers (Richard KB1ONM) and our link with the organizing committee was established and maintained by “shadows” for the co-chairmen (Eileen N1TUJ & Richard (K1ST).  Simplex, MTARA repeaters and cross-band communication was established and managed by Net Control (Dan W1CDT).

Thanks to all who volunteered.

I received this email from our SEC today regarding the event, so I updated this post.  He is so much more of a wordsmith than I!

Jonathan, KB1KIX, DEC Region 3

Greetings!

AngelRide 2009 will take place on Memorial Day Weekend (Saturday, 23 May and Sunday, 24 May). This 130 mile bike ride raises money for children with cancer and other serious diseases. Last year’s ride raised over $450,000!

On Saturday they ride east from Norfolk in Region 5, through Region 3, and end up in Region 4 at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford for an overnight. On Sunday they ride south from Ashford through Region 4 to Mystic YMCA. An overview map of the course is attached. Details of the ride can be found on the AngelRide website:

http://www.angelcharitabletrust.org/therides.php

CT ARES has again committed to supporting this very worthwhile public service event. We will need radio operators for rest areas, SAG vehicles, etc for this two-day ride. If you can assist on either or both days, please let your Regional DEC know as soon as possible!

Also, please register as an AngelRide Volunteer on their website — note: “ARES” is now one of the available choices in the scrollable menu:

https://www.teamholeinthewall.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=647&tab=2

The Communications Plan for LAST Year’s AngelRide is attached for your info. This year’s plan is in early draft form. I hope we can include your name as one of the operators for this year!

(More detailed plan will be available for volunteers – Jonathan)

Thanx & 73, Wayne Gronlund, N1CLV
Connecticut Section Emergency Coordinator

Join us for the 2009 NBC 30 Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride in Simsbury on June 13, 2009.  This is the third year we have been asked to coordinate communications for this  annual event and it is not only fun for everyone involved but offers us high visibility as a public service organization.

Coach Calhoun sponsors this annual event to benefit The Carol and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center and Coaches vs. Cancer, a program established in 1993 by the American Cancer Society.  The ride is open to everyone who wants to join Coach Calhoun in the fight against cancer.   There will be non-competitive rides of 10, 25 and 50 miles, with riders participating from across the Northeast.  The event culminates with a summer cook-out with live music.  It is a day you won’t want to miss!

There are five roles for the communications team during the event. 

A base station is established at the start/finish line and all race course communications be they by phone, town radios, committee radios or amateur radios pass through this net control station.

The mechanic vehicles will each have an amateur radio operator aboard to pass traffic to and from the course.  This is the mode used to dispatch the mechanics to locations around each course where riders have requested assistance. 

The “SAG” wagons, as they are called, continually move about the course to lend aid to riders who for any reason decide to terminate their ride anywhere but at the finish line.  These vehicles pick riders up and return them with their equipment to the finish line.

There are three vehicles assined, one each, to the three courses. These vehicles remain behind the last rider on each course. Their location at any point during the event marks the end of that ride. The volunteer operators for these positions should have a vehicle upon which a safety sign can be mounted to warn traffic of riders in the road ahead. Your new BMW may not be the best choice for this post.

There are rest stops for the riders that provide liquids, fruit and nutrition bars along each of the three courses.  An amateur radio operator is posted at each of these sites to relay information about rider progress and safety, communicate information about the course status from riders and to provide the link from the committee to the site regarding provisions.

We envision placing twenty + operators at the posts noted above and ask anyone interested in participating in this year’s event to register with us as early as possible.    If you want more information about the event you can click on the title to go to the event web page.  To volunteer for this event please contact richard.hodge@cox.net.

Shenipsit Striders

The Shenipsit Striders hold an annual trail race in Somers, CT.  This year it takes place on Sunday May 17th.  Radio communications provided by Connecticut ARES Region 3, with assists by assorted other ham operators.   The race has a long and short loop, both through woods on rough and difficult foot trails.  Volunteer coverage is needed from 7 am to 1 pm, although the race itself usually lasts no more than 4 hours.  An equestrian team acts as sweep, and other race volunteers man checkpoints, water stops, start/finish line, and a refreshment stand with hot and cold food. Porta potties are available only at the start/finish area.

Ham volunteers can reach all their positions with their own vehicle, although some roads are rutted, rock-strewn dirt and require 4wd and higher ground clearance than others.  Race committee guide will lead volunteers to their positions in a car caravan.

Radio equipment required: although we will request use of the Mt. Tom repeater, we must be prepared to use simplex.  Bring plenty of batteries, a good external antenna and a minimum of a 5-watt radio; mobile rigs may be necessary at certain checkpoints due to terrain.

Ham volunteers at remote checkpoints will be on station for up to six hours. Bring adequate food, water, and any required medicine to be self-sufficient.

Looking for 8 to 10 volunteers in addition to those already signed up.