Archive for the ‘Wayne Yoshida PIO’ Tag
Who: Huntington Beach Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) team will demonstrate and practice their emergency radio communications skills in a nation-wide drill called “Field Day.” RACES (pronounced “RAY-sees”), is a program endorsed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC Part 97, Section 407), that uses trained amateur radio operators (Hams) during emergencies. Administered by the Fire Department, RACES members use their personal equipment and skills, and volunteer their time to provide this service at no cost to the City of Huntington Beach.
When: Saturday, June 27, 2015, at approximately 11 AM – 5 PM (RACES volunteers will participate 24 hours)
Where: PCH and Goldenwest on the bluffs.
What: During Field Day, amateur radio (HAM) operators from the US and Canada will practice their emergency communications skills over a 24 hour period with the goal of demonstrating portable and completely independent communications. The public and the news media are invited to observe and participate in the radio exercise.
During an emergency, normal lines of communications can fail leaving amateur radio communications as the only means to communicate. In addition, they support public events such as the Surf City Marathon and the 4th of July Parade, and participate in the National Weather Service weather spotter program. Ham radio is a public service as well as an international educational technical hobby. Whether it’s contacting someone across the street or across the globe, or even outer space, ham radio operators are ready to supply reliable communications when normal lines fail. Ham operators range from ordinary citizens to astronauts. There are 18 city RACES groups within Orange County, operated under their respective city and county public safety departments.
More information on the RACES Program, visit www.hbraces.org
Six active Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service – RACES – members were on-hand to meet and greet visitors to the Disaster Preparedness Expo on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Huntington Beach Central Library.
The RACES volunteers explained what the RACES group is and what we do for the City of Huntington Beach. Joe Tom, KB6JOE, brought his portable radio system, shown in some of the pictures. Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ and Public Information Officer (PIO) for the RACES team, brought an Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) beacon, which transmitted the demonstration station location. A screen capture of the map can be seen below. The Expo location is indicated by the eye icon and the KH6WZ-5 callsign. The APRS message also points to the HB RACES website, www.hbraces.org/.
Screen capture of the APRS beacon information. The Disaster Preparedness Expo location is indicated by the callsign KH6WZ-5 as well as the eye icon.
The Disaster Preparedness Expo is an annual, free event where the City’s emergency services organizations educate the public about emergency preparedness and the possible disasters that can happen to the city of Huntington Beach, such as earthquakes and tsunamis. The Expo is also a demonstration and recruiting tool for emergency preparedness volunteer groups in the city.
Additional information about the event can be found on the Huntington Beach Events website.
HB RACES volunteers at the Emergency Expo
Ray Coulon WA6CTS
Mike Fitzgerald KE6WUO
Gary Labb KM6VC
Joe Tom KB6JOE
Jeff Turlis KE6BNS
Wayne Yoshida KH6WZ
Other Groups at the Expo
American Red Cross
FireMed
HB Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)
HB Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)
Huntington Beach Fire Department Urban Search & Rescue (USAR)
Huntington Beach Police Department
National Weather Service
Ready OC
Huntington Beach cable TV channel 3 was at the event, and shot plenty of video of the demonstrations and displays. Several of the event volunteers were interviewed and may appear on TV soon.
Here are some pictures of the event. . . .
Field Day weekend 2013 is now history. Our new location helped to further increase visibility from both Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and the bike path along the beach.
This year, we had many more visitors – Fire Department management, local dignitaries, licensed hams, ex-hams and ordinary people. Our local cable TV channel (HBTV-3) shot lots of video of our operation. There were several minutes of live video from the Huntington Beach Police helicopter via amateur television (ATV).
Below: Huntington Beach Emergency Manager Brevyn Mettler, KI6FRG (left) and Huntington Beach Council Member Jim Katapodis, discuss the Field Day layout and the objectives of the Field Day drill as HB RACES Chief Radio Officer Dr Steve Graboff, W6GOS makes 20 meter SSB contacts.
Al KJ6RIX and Jennifer did an amazingly great job keeping all of us well fed and even sheltered – a huge thanks for their hospitality!
Sometime in the late evening, Tim WD6AWP succeeded in getting a 2-way contact via satellite (OSCAR – Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) – this is a first for HB RACES – way to go, Tim!
Huntington Beach RACES looks forward to another Field Day next year, hopefully with an improved score and even more participation.
Some videos are posted on my YouTube Channel, KH6WZ
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3 of 3
Highlights – City of Huntington Beach RACES Field Day Visitors
Jim Katapodis, Huntington Beach Council Member
Fred Wilson, Huntington Beach City Manager
The guys from Station 46: Bob, Brian, Keith, Mike
Here are some random pictures from the weekend. . .
Below: Robert Thompson, KE6RKG, making contacts at the VHF-UHF station at the W6O Field Day operation in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Below: A view of the trailer and the open grassy area just before antenna installation.
Below: Pete Zilliox, K5PZ working the keyer on 40 meters.
Below: Brevyn getting 15 minutes of fame on HBTV-3, the Huntington Beach cable TV channel.
Below: Tim Sawyer, WD6AWP (left) and Pete Zilliox, K5PZ (right), scanning the sky for an Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio (OSCAR) contact. Tim successfully completed a two-way contact via satellite late Saturday evening.
Below: Brevyn, KI6FRG, making some contacts on 15 meter phone.
Below: The HB RACES Field Day group, 2013: 4A Orange.
City of Huntington Beach RACES Field Day Participants
K5PZ Pete
K6DAA Gordon
KA6HMS Bill
KB6JOE Joe
KB6PAL David
KC6ZOW Shelley
KE6BNS Jeff
KE6OCE Steve
KE6RKG Robert
KE6WUO Michael
KG6IQL Manny
KG6SKD Marshall
KG6ZDP Jim
KH6FL Marilyn
KH6WZ Wayne
KI6FME Mike
KI6FRG Brevyn
KJ6RIX Al
Jennifer
KK6ANY Gus
N6PBW Ginny
N6RAS Peter
N6SLD Roy
N6YDX Darrell
N9KVN Steve
WD6AWP Tim
More images are posted on the City of Huntington Beach RACES website
73,
Wayne KH6WZ
Huntington Beach RACES Public Information Officer
wayneyoshidakh6wz 