I am creating a custom map for use in my emergency communications kit. This is in the works and very early stages of creation. I am using the base icon kit from Google Icons and creating custom Icons when needed using UI-View custom icons to fit amateur radio stations. Some of the custom data/icons I plan to add is:

• Exit Numbers
• Hospitals
• Fire Departments
• Police Stations
• Roads that are first to flood +3in rain per hour
• Identify Emergency Routes
• Shelters that are normally open
• Ham Radio repeaters/Packet Stations/EOCs

Depending on the size and clutter I will create multiple maps or overlays for the map using transparencies. If needed I will divide the Northern Stafford area on one side and Southern Stafford on the back side.

If you want a custom map created for a poster or other size with custom icons use the contact form and provide some details. I will get back with you for more information.

Download PDF Version AD5QA_Custom.pdf (3.81 mb)

http://www.eham.net/articles/23140

Earthquake Net Frequency 7045, 3720 kHz. All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic related to today's major earthquake in Haiti.

All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic related to today's major earthquake in Haiti.

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, reports that as of 0245 UTC on January 13, nothing had been heard from radio amateurs in Haiti, but that the above frequencies were being kept active in case any Haitian hams manage to get on the air, and in case of other related events in surrounding areas, including aftershocks and a possible tsunami.

The following is from an e-mail from CO2KK:

A few minutes after the earthquake was felt in eastern Cuba's cities, the Cuban Federation of Radio Amateurs Emergency Net was activated, with net control stations CO8WM and CO8RP located in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and in permanent contact with the National Seismology Center of Cuba located in that city.

Stations in the city of Baracoa, in Guantanamo province, were also activated immediately as the earth movements were felt even stronger there, due to its proximity to Haiti. CO8AZ and CO8AW went on the air immediately , with CM8WAL following. At the early phase of the emergency, the population of the city of Baracoa was evacuated far away from the coast, as there was a primary alert of a possible tsunami event or of a heavy wave trains sequence impacting the coast line at the city's sea wall ...

Baracoa could not contact Santiago de Cuba stations on 40 meters due to long skip after 5 PM local time, so several stations in western Cuba and one in the US State of Florida provided relays. CO2KK, as IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator, helped to organize the nets , on 7045 kHz and also on 3720 kHz, while local nets in Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa operated on 2 meters.

As late as 9,45 PM local time 0245 UTC we have not been able to contact any amateur or emergency services stations in Haiti.

Amateurs from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela were monitoring the 40 meter band frequency, that I notified to the IARU Region II executive Ramon Santoyo XE1KK as in use for the emergency, requesting that 7045 kHz be kept as clear as possible ...

We are still keeping watch on 7045 kHz hoping that someone in Haiti may have access to a transceiver and at least a car battery to run it.

All information that has so far come from the Cuban seismologists tell us of a very intense earthquake, and also of the possibility of other events following.

Following the advice of the geophysicists, we are keeping the 7045 and 3720 kiloHertz frequencies active until further notice.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/022010/02232010/529143/printer_friendly

When an emergency such as the recent snowstorm hits Stafford County, the expected departments snap into action: Fire and Rescue, the Sheriff's Office, county administration. On the unexpected side is the Stafford County Volunteer Emergency Communications team.

Curt Bartholomew and 26 of his fellow amateur radio operators worked in shifts for two days earlier this month, helping the county in any way they could.

"These guys come out of the woodwork when there's an emergency," Bartholomew said. "I like to be available when the people of the county need us. They generally don't know they need us. We're always in the shadows."

More accurately, they are always on the airwaves.

In any emergency situation, communication is key. Bartholomew and his fellow "hams" are experts in communication, and can provide a network for transmitting information if the county's own communication infrastructure fails.

Because of that expertise, the emergency communications team has a seat at the table when it comes to planning for an emergency. The group even has its own communications room in the Ford T. Humphrey Public Safety Building, built specifically for its needs. From there, it can support fire, rescue, law enforcement, human services and even the county's 911 call center.

Although the county's communication system has held up during the record snowfall this winter, the hams are still a valuable resource willing to help in any way possible.

Bartholomew estimates there are about 300 amateur radio operators in the county, and they can all provide useful information during an emergency. For instance, local hams provided official snowfall accumulations to county officials during the storm. Those figures were passed on to the National Weather Service.

If residents are stranded at home without power, a member of the amateur radio crew with a four-wheel-drive vehicle can take them supplies or transport them to a shelter.

With their willingness to help and access to local information, Stafford's hams are an important resource during difficult times.

"I'm really proud of the team," Bartholomew said. "We've come a long way in this county. We only had about five people in the late '90s."

He also credits the county staff for its professionalism and willingness to incorporate volunteers.

"It's more tiring than my day job," Bartholomew said, "but you feel good after you're done."

Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/81598067.html

Over the past few days, Charlie Wooten has had his ear on his ham radio. Steadily listening to updates from the devastation in Haiti.

He's one of hundreds of amateur radio operators or "hams" in our area. He runs his ham from what he calls his shack at his home.

When the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, hams were the first ones to break the news.

"Ham radios were on the air within an hour of getting the news about the earthquake," Wooten said.

Communications are still limited, but Wooten has been able to hear a Haitian priest and a U.N. worker on the Salvation Army’s amateur radio network.

"They want to set up some repeaters, vhf repeaters. They need the radios, equipment, walkie talkies to make that system viable for them to be able to hear in Port Au-Prince," Wooten said.

In Wooten's back yard, you'll find this 70-foot tall beam tower. The tower rotates to find the best signals, giving ham operators like Charlie a way to communicate and provide a helping hand to those who can't be heard.

"The equipment is so compact and very efficient and doesn't require a lot of sophistication more than a car battery and a piece of wire to be able to be on the air to talk hundreds even thousands of miles," Wooten said.

Charlie, who worked at Newschannel 7, said back in 1969, he and some of his fellow hams went down to cover Hurricane Camille.

He said for ten days, his crew was the only line of communication out of Pass Christian, Mississippi.

He calls his work an expensive hobby, but a very important hobby.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/082007/08212007/309525/index_html

Alert action by two ham radio operators recently helped bring speedy assistance to the scene of a recent two-car collision near northern Stafford County.

During a heavy rainstorm on July 27, KG4UCM was driving south on State Route 612 in Fauquier County along the western edge of Quantico Marine Corps Base. "I took that route," he said, "because, in that weather, I thought it would be safer and easier than I-95."

At 6:30 p.m. he came upon two cars that had plunged into the southbound ditch. They had collided head-on minutes earlier. Other vehicles had stopped. Debris was in the road and people were running back and forth.

KG4UCM is Siegfried Gates, a North Stafford resident who is also a ham radio operator. "I pulled over and asked a guy if a first-aid kit was needed. He said 'yes' and I got my kit from the car and began to treat one of the victims."

Gates asked if anyone had called 911 and he was told there was no cell signal in the area. Gates had a 2-meter radio in his car. He turned it on and sent out a 911 call. Almost immediately, a voice came back. It was N2CLB.

N2CLB is Camden Bullock. He was driving south on Interstate 95 to his home in Fredericksburg from his job in Woodbridge. He was about 10 miles in a straight line from the accident. As usual, he was monitoring messages on his short-wave radio.

"Suddenly I heard Gates break in with emergency traffic," Bullock recalled. "He had just come upon a two-car, head-on accident with one victim trapped. He said he had no cell phone coverage."

Bullock turned on his mic and called "N2CLB break," which asked other amateur operators to keep off that frequency so that Bullock could stay in contact with Gates. At the same time, he called 911 on his cell phone; the call was routed to the Prince William County dispatcher. "Knowing the area, since I am an [emergency medical technician], I asked to be transferred to Stafford County's dispatcher because they were closer to the scene."

From Gates to Bullock to the Stafford dispatcher and back again, information flowed concerning the location of the accident and the medical condition of the one seriously injured victim. "After a short time, KG4UCM radioed me that the patient was declining and that I needed to contact 911 again," Gates said. There had been a mix-up over the route number. Another ham operator, who had been listening and who knew the area, cut in to clarify the accident location. Within minutes the Stafford emergency unit arrived and the victim was taken to Mary Washington Hospital.

N4SJX is T.J. Pittman of Spotsylvania County. He is secretary of the Stafford Amateur Radio Association. "This story brings great credit to two of our operators," Pittman said afterward, "and also to the police dispatchers and the medical teams who responded to the aid of our citizens during this time of need."

by Hugh Muir