Salvation Army Support for
2009 Holiday Dinners
Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009

Communications Plan

Version 1 November 21, 2009

Event Description:

Each year for nearly 20 years, the Salvation Army has served dinner to thousands of people in need in the community. This year the Salvation Army expects to serve about 4,500 dinners at six locations around Colorado Springs. For many of those 20 years, hams have helped by providing logistical communications to help coordinate distribution and replenishment of meals and to meet any other communications needs. I'm recruiting hams now from the local community, from various clubs and organizations, to provide that needed communications.

Date/Time:

There are two events:
- Thanksgiving, November 26, from 0800 to 1500
- Christmas, December 25, from 0800 to 1500
You should arrive no later than 0800 to begin setup. Meals will be served to the public beginning at 1030 until around 1430, although that time may vary depending on location.

Objective:

To provide logistical communications supporting the distribution and replenishment of meals to the serving sites, and to meet other communication needs.

Mission Coordinator:

Rob Roller N7LV, 282-0204 (home), 291-6168 (cell),

Served Agency:

The Salvation Army

Agency POC:

Jolene Davis or Alma Scott; Each serving site also has its own point of contact (see below)

Locations:

There are six serving sites at which meals will be served, and at which amateur radio support is needed:

- The Salvation Army, 910 Yuma St
- Fountain Valley Senior Center, 5725 Southmoor Dr
- Manitou Springs Town Hall, 606 Manitou Ave
- Marian House, 14 W Bijou St
- Salvation Army Mobile Canteen, Mitchell H.S., 1205 Potter Dr
- New Song Fellowship, 5515 Palmer Park Blvd

Event Schedule:

-0800 Arrival at station

-0900 Radio test and roll call

-1030 Dinner service starts

1400 Dinner service ends

1430 Teardown and station close

Operating Frequencies:

- Primary repeater: 448.000 MHz (-) (107.2 Hz) Cheyenne Mountain Repeater Group
- Secondary repeater: 146.760 MHz (-) (no tone) Cheyenne Mountain Repeater Group
- Alternate: 146.490 MHz (simplex) (no tone required)
- Optional: 144.22 MHz (USB) (vertical polarization)

Once your station is set up, perform a radio test with NCS on all frequencies.

All locations except for the Manitou should have good signal transmission and reception to the repeater or to the NCS via simplex. Manitou, because of its proximity to the mountains, will likely have multipath distortion so antenna placement will be important. Be prepared to move the antenna slightly to reduce or eliminate multipath distortion.

Required Equipment:

Radio Equipment:

-REQUIRED: VHF single band, or VHF/UHF dual band transceiver capable of 30 - 50 watts; HTs may work in some locations, but they should not be counted on

-If you bring an HT, bring enough batteries to run a full 8 hours

-REQUIRED: Portable antenna and coax; you should not have to run coax out to an antenna outside the building, although you are not prohibited from doing so if the building allows it (such as an open window nearby or a door that can be propped open; plan on an indoor antenna and mast, either a J-pole or similarly sized antenna, or use a mag-mount on a metallic surface; Note the indoor antenna must be located so as not to be a radiation hazard to others.

-REQUIRED: Coax; enough to run from the radio to the antenna; if an indoor antenna, 30 feet might be enough; if you’re going to set up an outdoor antenna then bring 50 feet or more.

-REQUIRED: Portable power supply and 50-ft extension cord; indoor locations will have 120 VAC power; if you’re at Mitchell H.S. you’ll operate from your vehicle.

-REQUIRED: Headphones are required, however they might not be needed if you are set up in a location where radio volune is not so loud to be annoying to other volunteers

-OPTIONAL: If you have 2m SSB equipment, you’re encouraged to bring it and use it. We won’t do much on that band but will do it strictly to test its use; If you use 2m SSB, make sure this is not your primary radio; you should have a separate FM radio for monitoring the primary net.

Miscellaneous:

-Paper, pencil or pen, clipboard, message forms (NTS or ICS)

-City map

-Portable table, portable chair

-Duct tape (in case you have to tape down cable runs)

- This operations plan

Personal:

-Food should be provided by the Salvation Army; you will be able to eat a full meal there; if you have a preference for a particular drink, you should bring your own drinks.

Assignments:

Location / Physical Address / Operator
Assignments / Tactical Callsigns / Contact Person
Salvation Army Headquarters / 910 Yuma St
Colorado Springs 80909 / Henry Russell
Bill Hecker / Main / Jolene Davis
Fountain Valley Senior Center / 5725 Southmoor Drive
Fountain 80817 / Dave Sloan
Don Noffsinger / Fountain / Evelyn
Manitou Springs Town Hall / 606 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs / Dan Scott
Aaron Pelouze / Manitou / Andy Wells
Marian House / 14 W Bijou Street
Colorado Springs 80903 / Larry Mann
Ed Hoepner / Marian House / Frank Mora
Salvation Army Mobile Canteen / Mitchell High School
1205 Potter Drive 80909 / Bob Antion
Bill Hecker / Mitchell / Jolene Davis
New Song Fellowship / 5515 Palmer Park Blvd
80915 / Neil Larson
Ralph Rohrig / New Song / Dee & David Thornhill
Net Control / Home station / Sid White / Net Control / N/A
Coordinator / Mobile / Rob Roller / Coordinator / N/A

General Information:

Upon arrival, make contact with the Salvation Army point of contact and identify yourself as the amateur radio operator for that serving site. Determine the best operating location, which will likely be in a side room, or along a perimeter wall near the kitchen or serving center so you are relatively close to the POC.

Cables and electrical extension cords and portable antennas must be positioned so as not to be in the way of the other volunteers working at the site.

Attitude:Bring a positive attitude and cooperation, and a desire to serve as well as to learn.

Appearance:Always be neat and clean in appearance. Feel free to wear a shirt or name tag that identifies you as a ham radio operator.

Use of Tactical Callsigns:Use your tactical call when contacting NCS, clear with your FCC callsign.

Directed Nets:This will be a directed net. Contact Net Control by transmitting only your tactical callsign, wait for acknowledgement, then make your call. There is no need to include “Net Control” in your call; example: Don’t say “Net Control, Manitou”. Say: “Manitou”.

Contacting Other Stations:To contact another station directly, contact NCS, and once you have his acknowledgement, call the other station. No need to ask for permission - you have the frequency when you have NCS acknowledgement. Example: Say “Manitou”. wait for acknowledgement. Then say “Marian House, Manitou”.

Repeater Protocol:Key your mic and wait 1/2 second before transmitting to prevent the first syllable or word from being lost.

Radio Programming:Program all frequencies prior to the event. Know how to program your radio in case there is a need to use an additional frequency. Know how to control your radio to listen to the repeater input frequency if necessary. Bring your radio manual.

Leaving the Net:If you must leave the frequency, contact NCS and let him know (no need to tell him why), also let him know an estimate of when you will return. Check back in with NCS when you return.

Stuck microphones:If someone has a stuck microphone transmitting, attempt to contact NCS on one of the other assigned frequencies. NCS will also try to contact everyone to move everyone over to another frequency.

VOX Operation:VOX, or “voice operated” operation, is prohibited.

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