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DRTE 100 and SB Trails Run for 2013
by Rick Whitaker 06 May '13

06 May '13

Please join us for the DRTE100 and the Santa Barbara Trails Run 2013 during the weekend of June 14th to June 16th The DRTE (Dirt Road & Trail Endurance) 100 and the SB Trails Run is what was known as the Blacksmith Endurance Run in 2011 and 2012. The course for both is a little different than previous years and more off road and back woods than previously. The DRTE 100 starts at 1800 on Friday night and runs until noon Sunday. Most runners are completed by Saturday night. There will be more need for operators with off road vehicles and the desire to camp out overnight to support the DRTE 100. The SB Trails Run will be in the morning of Saturday and it will complete by Saturday night. If you can make any of this event please get back to me. I have split it into separate hour shifts of at least two operators. Friday night 1800-0600 Saturday Saturday 0600-1800 Sat/Sunday 1800-0600 Sunday 0600-1200 These are recommendations and some of the positions will be complete by Saturday morning. Please identify if you can participate in any or part of any of these shifts Last year weather came into play and a rare thunderstorm had to cancel the race. Those that participated the year before all had a good time. This is by far a great example of how HAM radio can shine. The course is all in the outback of the Los Padres National Forest and can be very challenging for the runners. The last time it was run (in 2011) the runners had wonderful things to say about us HAM operators. They said they felt a sense of comfort knowing that we were there and the miles of wilderness didn't seem so alone. I hope you can participate from Friday until Saturday night/Sunday morning. Food will be provided by the aid station people. These people are really nice and fun. The website is http://trailrunningseries.com/ 73 Rick Whitaker Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Operations rickwhtr(a)cox.net home: 964-5440 please leave a message cell: 451-3436 please leave a message

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Re: [Sbarc-list] Hams and ecomm
by Rod Fritz 03 May '13

03 May '13

Bill, thank you for passing this on to the group. This highlights an idea I brought up at a recent ARES meeting and I envision SBARC, ARES, CERT and other local groups like home owners assns and neighborhood watch playing important roles. It's about "who ya gonna call" when 911, cell phones, etc are not capable. I see SBARC and others recruiting communicators while ARES trains the leaders and coordinates communication. There's a lot of room for inclusion and creativity to build and prepare a network to be effective in the worst circumstances. The technology, people and motivation are out there, we just need a cooperative team to pull it all together. With the fire season on top of us now, this can't happen soon enough. - Rod WB9KMO Bill Talanian <w1uuq(a)cox.net> wrote: >_______________________________________________ >SBARC-list mailing list >SBARC-list(a)lists.netlojix.com >http://lists.netlojix.com/mailman/listinfo/sbarc-list

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Hams and ecomm
by Bill Talanian 02 May '13

02 May '13

Urgent Communications ---------- California city incorporates hams in response program <http://urgentcomm.com/urgent-communications>Urgent Communications <http://urgentcomm.com/author/glenn-bischoff>Glenn Bischoff Thu, 2013-05-02 11:00 When a disaster strikes, amateur radio operators in the affected area are quick to mobilize. The result is invaluable communications services at a time when they are most needed. In some parts of the world, where the first-responder infrastructure isnt as robust as it is in the U.S., the hams step into that role, as seen in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Within the U.S., the role of hams usually is to provide supportive services, as they did in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy last October, when hams helped the American Red Cross set up communications in numerous ad-hoc shelters established across the region, where commercial communications were rendered inoperable in many places. It is not unusual for an informal connection to exist between public-safety agencies and the local amateur-radio community; such a connection helps the mobilization effort. But, in one southern California city, a formal relationship was established, with the result being the creation of the Peninsula Volunteer Alert Network, or PVAN. Rancho Palos Verde is city of 42,000 inhabitants, located on the Pacific Ocean just a few miles due west of Long Beach. It doesnt have much crime, but it is prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and wildfires. Despite this, it never really occurred to anybody to formally leverage ham radio until the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It dawned on us that there are a lot of big targets in our area. There are refineries in San Pedro [an adjacent city], and lot of shipping goes through there, said PVAN Chairman Denzel Dyer. We needed to prepare for a big event. That realization led to a big idea: establish a way that the citys numerous neighborhood-watch groups could communicate with each other during emergencies, with hams at the center of the strategy. The 150-member strong Palos Verde Amateur Radio Club was the logical place to start. The goal was to ensure that every neighborhood-watch organizationeach of which typically covers about 6 square blockshad a ham in their midst. The PVAN, which started with 4-5 hams in November 2002, now has 86 members, all of them hams, according to Dyer. New PVAN members go through a <http://urgentcomm.com/disaster-response/california-city-incorporates-hams-r…>training regimen that is coordinated by the city and participate in at least one mock emergency drill each year. The radio club not only convinced local sheriffs and fire officials that this effort a good idea, but they also officials that amateur radio was the best option, given the topology of the surrounding area, which consists of numerous peaks and valleys. They asked about FRS (family radio service) and CB (citizens-band radio), but amateur is the most reliable communications you can get, said Alan Soderberg, a PVAN board member. Despite the fact that amateur-radio technology is highly reliable, the topology still creates some challenges, because there are plenty of dead spots. However, <http://urgentcomm.com/companies/harris?intlink=autlink>Harris recently came to the rescue by donating a UHF digital mobile <http://urgentcomm.com/disaster-response/california-city-incorporates-hams-r…>repeater. One of our employees knew a PVAN member, and one thing led to another, said Steve Howard, a Harris regional <http://urgentcomm.com/disaster-response/california-city-incorporates-hams-r…>sales manager. Though grateful for the repeater, Dyer noted that its not yet operational. Now we need a duplexer, he deadpanned. ---------- Source URL: <http://urgentcomm.com/disaster-response/california-city-incorporates-hams-r…>http://urgentcomm.com/disaster-response/california-city-incorporates-hams-r…

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Next ARDF at Tri-City Park May 18
by Marvin Johnston 29 Apr '13

29 Apr '13

Every spring, ham clubs in Orange County organize an outdoor day in Placentia at Tri-City Park where they operate radios, find hidden transmitters and eat lots of good food. The annual "Antennas In The Park" (AITP) event is organized by the Fullerton Radio Club. This year it will Be Saturday, May 18 and FRC will be joined by the Catalina Amateur Repeater Association (CARA). CARA members are providing burgers, hot dogs, and soft drinks. A $5 donation per person is requested if you want to take part in the barbecue. As usual, this year's AITP brings an opportunity to get involved in on-foot radio-orienteering, also called ARDF. It's in celebration of the sixteenth annual CQ Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend. All ages are welcome, so bring the family. AITP transmitter hunts will be simple, informal and intended primarily for beginners. There will be no charge for participation in the hunts, which will begin around 11 AM and continue until 2 PM. Be sure to bring your two-meter handi-talkie! If you don't have the antenna/attenuator system for on-foot foxhunting on two meters with your ham radio handi-talkie or scanner, you can easily make one during this session. Beginning at 10 AM, Marvin Johnston KE6HTS will conduct a clinic for building his kits for measuring-tape yagis and for 90 dB offset-type attenuators. An assembled/tested attenuator in a special housing that goes inside the boom of the yagi is also available. If you want one or more kits, please register in advance by sending e-mail to marvin-at-west.net, so he will have the kits reserved in your name waiting for you. It takes about an hour to put the antenna and attenuator kits together with tools and soldering irons that will be provided. If you're not an electronic technician, don't worry because there will be plenty of experts to help you. We want you to succeed! Then with your HT and the kitbuilt equipment, you will be all set to hunt. Besides the transmitter hunts, AITP participants will probably have at least one HF station on the air and will do some radio-controlled sailboating. The traditional Worldwide Foxhunting Weekend cake will be served to participants in the transmitter hunts. A few canopies and tables will be set up, but for eating and sitting around, please bring your own lawn chair. The main entrance to Tri-City Park is at the corner of North Kraemer Boulevard and East Golden Avenue in Placentia. From the 57 freeway, take the Imperial Highway exit, go east to Kraemer Boulevard, turn right (south), continue to Golden Avenue and turn right into the park. This event will be in the northeast corner (to the right as you enter the park). Look for the FRC banner. Entry and parking are free, but empty spaces near the event site may be difficult to find if the park is crowded, so consider carpooling. A map for navitation to the park is in www.homingin.com Call K0OV on K6QEH/R, 146.97(-) PL 136.5 for two-meter talk-in. Questions about the transmitter hunts? Send e-mail to k0ov(a)homingin.com before May 15. 73, Joe Moell K0OV

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Re: SBARC-list Digest, Vol 117, Issue 5
by mst56 28 Apr '13

28 Apr '13

Great publicity! Michael On 4/28/2013 12:00 PM, sbarc-list-request(a)lists.netlojix.com wrote: > Send SBARC-list mailing list submissions to > sbarc-list(a)lists.netlojix.com > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.netlojix.com/mailman/listinfo/sbarc-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > sbarc-list-request(a)lists.netlojix.com > > You can reach the person managing the list at > sbarc-list-owner(a)lists.netlojix.com > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of SBARC-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. AIS Santa Barbara (Bill Talanian) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:53:22 -0700 > From: Bill Talanian <w1uuq(a)cox.net> > Subject: [Sbarc-list] AIS Santa Barbara > To: sbarc list <sbarc-list(a)lists.netlojix.com> > Message-ID: > <20130428045311.BYQL29932.fed1rmfepo102.cox.net@fed1rmimpo305> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > <http://www.noozhawk.com/> > Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News > > > [] > PRINT THIS PAGE > > > Andrew Seybold: Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club > Helps Chart Ships in Local Waters > > http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate… > > By Andrew Seybold for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club > > This screen shot was taken from the website tracking Automatic > > This screen shot was taken from the > <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>website > tracking Automatic Identification System-equipped > vessels in and around the Santa Barbara Channel on a recent Sunday afternoon. > > [] > > > At any given time there are hundreds of boats and > ships in and around Santa Barbara passenger, > cargo, tankers, yachts, U.S. government, > including the <http://www.uscg.mil>Coast Guard, > and many other vessels. Did you know there are > two ways of tracking them on > <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>a > map? The first is run by the government and this > data is not available to the average boating > enthusiast, but the second is an open-source > system that tracks all of these vessels around the world. > > Each tracked vessel has an Automatic > Identification System (AIS) device onboard. The > larger commercial and government ships have a > type-A device that sends out data every few > seconds while the smaller vessels are equipped > with type-B devices that send out information > less frequently. In the Santa Barbara area there > are two stations that track this data. The first > is located at <http://www.ucsb.edu>UC Santa > Barbara and the second, which was just installed, > is operated by the <http://sbarc.org>Santa > Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC). The nonprofit > SBARC also has plans to install two more of these > receivers, one on a mountain site north of Santa > Barbara and one on > <http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/santa-cruz-island.htm>Santa Cruz Island. > > The data that is collected from each of these > receivers is sent via the Internet to a central > processing center located in Greece and then > distributed on the web. > <http://www.marinetraffic.com>Click here to view > the data or > <http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100>click > here to view the local data. You can click on > each ship and see exactly what it is. If there > are pictures available they are included, and you > can track where it came from and where it is heading. > > Any vessel that is equipped with an AIS device is > tracked as long at the device is on. Depending on > the ship, the device might be shut off; for > example, a police boat or Coast Guard vessel, > and, of course, panga boats won’t have > operational AIS devices either! Many > <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>marine > radios offer built-in AIS and they are very > inexpensive. They are not only used to track the > vessels but also for collision avoidance since > boat owners or captains can see other vessels > around them even if they do not have radar onboard. > > These sites are also viewed by the Coast Guard > and others and are used to track the vessels, > including their speed and if there is a problem > with pollution from the ship. Speed is important > because there are limits in this area to protect > whales and other sea animals. Now with a click of > a mouse, the exact speed of all of the ships in > the area can be tracked and any exceeding the > recommended speeds can be contacted by radio and > warned to slow down. The last part of the system > enables a ship to send out a distress signal that > is then received by the ships around it, and > therefore are close enough to offer assistance. > > MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users can see exact d > > MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users > can see exact details of a vessel’s journey. > > Although the government’s system is for its use > only, the open-source system is available to all > on the Internet. However, many times government > vessels in these waters will run with their AIS > system on to help prevent collisions, and > recently we tracked several > <http://www.navy.mil>Navy ships and one submarine > that had surfaced and was heading into port. If > more boats in this area opt into AIS (pleasure > craft only need type-B AIS equipment), the waters > around Santa Barbara will be even safer for all. > > This is only the newest in a series of services > being offered by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio > Club. We already host > <http://diablo.voneicken.com/imageview.cgi>a > camera on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island that > is used by many pilots and ships that are heading > for the islands. Another camera location is > provided to homeowners in the > <http://www.missioncanyon.org/>Mission Canyon > Association; it looks toward the mountains from the SBARC location in the city. > > We also run numerous weather stations that are > all connected via the Internet and are used by > the <http://www.weather.gov>National Weather > Service, paragliders and others. We provide an > emergency communication link between homeowners > associations and the > <http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/oes.aspx?id=376>Santa > Barbara County Emergency Operations Center, as > well as assist public safety, the > <http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-barbara>American > Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter and > others during major incidents, parades, marathons > and the <http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org>Old > Spanish Days Fiesta Parade. And we monitor the > local emergency beacon channel that is used by > airplanes as well as boats, and provide direction > finding assistance when an alarm is received at one of our sites. > > <http://sbarc.org>Click here for more information > on the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. > <http://sbarc.org/donations.html>Click here to > make an online donation to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. > > Andrew Seybold is vice president of external > affairs for the <http://sbarc.org>Santa Barbara > Amateur Radio Club. The opinions expressed are his own. > > http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate… >

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AIS Santa Barbara
by Bill Talanian 28 Apr '13

28 Apr '13

<http://www.noozhawk.com/> Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News [] PRINT THIS PAGE Andrew Seybold: Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Helps Chart Ships in Local Waters http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate… By Andrew Seybold for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club This screen shot was taken from the website tracking Automatic This screen shot was taken from the <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>website tracking Automatic Identification System-equipped vessels in and around the Santa Barbara Channel on a recent Sunday afternoon. [] At any given time there are hundreds of boats and ships in and around Santa Barbara passenger, cargo, tankers, yachts, U.S. government, including the <http://www.uscg.mil>Coast Guard, and many other vessels. Did you know there are two ways of tracking them on <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>a map? The first is run by the government and this data is not available to the average boating enthusiast, but the second is an open-source system that tracks all of these vessels around the world. Each tracked vessel has an Automatic Identification System (AIS) device onboard. The larger commercial and government ships have a type-A device that sends out data every few seconds while the smaller vessels are equipped with type-B devices that send out information less frequently. In the Santa Barbara area there are two stations that track this data. The first is located at <http://www.ucsb.edu>UC Santa Barbara and the second, which was just installed, is operated by the <http://sbarc.org>Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC). The nonprofit SBARC also has plans to install two more of these receivers, one on a mountain site north of Santa Barbara and one on <http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/santa-cruz-island.htm>Santa Cruz Island. The data that is collected from each of these receivers is sent via the Internet to a central processing center located in Greece and then distributed on the web. <http://www.marinetraffic.com>Click here to view the data or <http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100>click here to view the local data. You can click on each ship and see exactly what it is. If there are pictures available they are included, and you can track where it came from and where it is heading. Any vessel that is equipped with an AIS device is tracked as long at the device is on. Depending on the ship, the device might be shut off; for example, a police boat or Coast Guard vessel, and, of course, panga boats wont have operational AIS devices either! Many <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amateur…>marine radios offer built-in AIS and they are very inexpensive. They are not only used to track the vessels but also for collision avoidance since boat owners or captains can see other vessels around them even if they do not have radar onboard. These sites are also viewed by the Coast Guard and others and are used to track the vessels, including their speed and if there is a problem with pollution from the ship. Speed is important because there are limits in this area to protect whales and other sea animals. Now with a click of a mouse, the exact speed of all of the ships in the area can be tracked and any exceeding the recommended speeds can be contacted by radio and warned to slow down. The last part of the system enables a ship to send out a distress signal that is then received by the ships around it, and therefore are close enough to offer assistance. MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users can see exact d MarineTraffic.com data is interactive, so users can see exact details of a vessels journey. Although the governments system is for its use only, the open-source system is available to all on the Internet. However, many times government vessels in these waters will run with their AIS system on to help prevent collisions, and recently we tracked several <http://www.navy.mil>Navy ships and one submarine that had surfaced and was heading into port. If more boats in this area opt into AIS (pleasure craft only need type-B AIS equipment), the waters around Santa Barbara will be even safer for all. This is only the newest in a series of services being offered by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. We already host <http://diablo.voneicken.com/imageview.cgi>a camera on Diablo Peak on Santa Cruz Island that is used by many pilots and ships that are heading for the islands. Another camera location is provided to homeowners in the <http://www.missioncanyon.org/>Mission Canyon Association; it looks toward the mountains from the SBARC location in the city. We also run numerous weather stations that are all connected via the Internet and are used by the <http://www.weather.gov>National Weather Service, paragliders and others. We provide an emergency communication link between homeowners associations and the <http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/oes.aspx?id=376>Santa Barbara County Emergency Operations Center, as well as assist public safety, the <http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-barbara>American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter and others during major incidents, parades, marathons and the <http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org>Old Spanish Days Fiesta Parade. And we monitor the local emergency beacon channel that is used by airplanes as well as boats, and provide direction finding assistance when an alarm is received at one of our sites. <http://sbarc.org>Click here for more information on the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. <http://sbarc.org/donations.html>Click here to make an online donation to the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. Andrew Seybold is vice president of external affairs for the <http://sbarc.org>Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club. The opinions expressed are his own. http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/andrew_seybold_santa_barbara_amate…

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AIS Antenna
by Bill Talanian 25 Apr '13

25 Apr '13

Adam Houser, KK6AXY, tie wraps coax hardline after installation of SBARC's AIS antenna. AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a required location device on every large vessel. SBARC is pleased to provide location information to local boating enthusiasts with Class B encoders as well as the shipping and commercial entities. The two parabolic reflectors are part of SBARC's wide bandwidth linking system.

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FirstNet and Boston IED's
by Bill Talanian 23 Apr '13

23 Apr '13

Andrew Seybold, W6AMS, is a frequent contributor to Urgent Communications. He is on the Board of SBARC and serves as VP External Affairs. Urgent Communications ---------- Boston bombings raise sharing questions for FirstNet Mon, 2013-04-22 16:28 Network-congestion issues during the aftermath of the Boston bombings should spur FirstNet members to ask some hard questions before agreeing to potential sharing arrangements with commercial operators. By Andrew Seybold The bombings during the Boston Marathon were a terrible tragedy, and the news media got a lot of things wrong in the first few hours after the blasts. One report, later retracted by the Boston Globe, was that the federal government had ordered all commercial networks to be shut down. No one knew if the bombs had been set off via <http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet#>cell phones, which is one of many ways they could have been detonated. The idea was that the networks were shut down was based on a fear that there could be more bombs, and the networks could be used to detonate them. The real story was that the networks were not ordered to shut down, but they were so overcrowded that many call requests could not be put through. So many people being denied access to the networks led to the assumption that they had been shut down. Even so, the fact that the networks were overloadedas they are in times of major incidentsshould be of concern to <http://urgentcomm.com/organizations/ntia-firstnet?intlink=autlink>FirstNet. Because FirstNet is exploring the possibility of sharing the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) with commercial operators, which will in turn make use of excess capacity on the network, the following questions need to be considered in the final network design. These questions are applicable during commercial-network overload, as well as whenand ifcommercial networks are ever ordered to shut down. 1) If the commercial networks were to be shut down or become overcrowded, and the network operators had a sharing agreement to use the FirstNet network, would all of the users on the commercial networks be shifted over to FirstNet, causing increased traffic and congestion on the NPSBN when it is needed most by the first responders? 2) If commercial users had access to FirstNet and the commercial networks were shut down, does this also mean that the NPSBN would have to shut down, because a commercial device on this network would also be capable of detonating a bomb by remote control? 3) Whatif anysafeguards will be built into the sharing agreements between FirstNet and the commercial network operators, and how will the load between FirstNet first responders and commercial users be monitored and managed? Will it be possible to shut down access to the NPSBN for secondary users (commercial users) when the commercial networks are shut down or are overloaded? The FirstNet system design is based on public safety having pre-emptive access to the network. In theory, pre-emption would occur in two phases. The first would be to limit the bandwidth and capacity available to non-first-responder users during incidents. The second would be ruthless pre-emption, in which a first responder who accesses the NPSBN would be granted that access instantly, even if it meant terminating a commercial (secondary) users connection. This sounds great in theory, but in todays real world, any type of true pre-emption might not be possible. One of the committees I serve on is made up of some of the brightest <http://urgentcomm.com/technology/long-term-evolution?intlink=autlink>LTE engineers in the business. They have participated in the standards body work for LTE, designed LTE systems, worked with LTE systems, and have more knowledge and hands-on LTE experience than any other group I have worked with or talked with. When I raised the following issues, they dug into them, and their top-line answers are shown after the statements. Assertion 1:If the signaling channel is overloaded, then a User (UE) with maximum priority and pre-emptive rights may not be able to access the network. Top-Line Answer:This is essentially a true statement, especially in <http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet#>a network that is shared with commercial users. Assertion 2: LTE provides a way around this problem (as stated in Assertion #1) that can be implemented to ensure full priority access when needed. Top-Line Answer: Mitigation tools exist in the <http://urgentcomm.com/governance/standards/3gpp?intlink=autlink>3GPP standards, but due to a wide range of potential scenarios and causes, to characterize this as solved would be an oversimplification. There is much more to the response from this group that I will publish soon in my Public Safety Advocate e-newsletter, but the reason for the response is based on the following overlying characteristics of LTE (or any cellular-like network): 1) In order to make a call (or get onto the network), the device must send a request for access to the network. The network then verifies that this unit is permitted access and attaches the device to the network. 2) The signaling channel input is located at each cell site, and it sends the request to the network. If the number of requests for service exceeds the capacity on the signaling channel, some of the requests will not be processed. If the request for service or pre-emptive service is not delivered to the cell site and transmitted to the network, the network has no way of knowing the request was even made. Further, if the requests overload a number of cell sites, they may not travel from the cell site to the network for processing. In other words, if the LTE signaling channel (RACH) is congested, the level of priority makes no difference. If the cell site does not receive the request for service, it cannot be processed. So in reality, there is no true pre-emption in LTE today. Note: One of the arguments we used with Congress to have the D Block allocated to Public Safety was the fact that pre-emptive access on commercial networks was neither practical nor feasible to accomplish. The earthquake centered in Virginia and the following hurricane proved our point, becausewhile the commercial networks remained operationalthere were many instances when access was totally blocked because the signaling channels were overloaded. The bottom line is that implementing the public-safety LTE system will be a real challenge. I am sure the FirstNet is up to it, but the solution will need to be carefully focused on the needs of public safety during incidents when access to the NPSBN will be critical for the public-safety community. serves as your VP Wireless communications consultant Andrew Seybold is a communications advisor to both the National Sheriffs Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. ---------- Source URL: <http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet>http://urgentcomm.com/blog/boston-bombings-raise-sharing-questions-firstnet

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Vessel Tracking
by Bill Talanian 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

UCSB and SBARC provide vessel tracking system to monitor ships position, speed and heading. Newly installed system at our Mesa site helps provide vital data. For a view go to: <www.marinetraffic.com> <http://www.noozhawk.com/> Noozhawk.com Santa Barbara & Goleta Local News Whales, Air Quality Targets of Plan to Slow Ships in Santa Barbara Channel http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_t… By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer | <http://twitter.com/magnoli>@magnoli Protecting gray whales in the Santa Barbara Channel is among th Protecting gray whales in the Santa Barbara Channel is among the aims of an incentive program proposed by the Santa Barbara County <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>Air Pollution Control District. (Condor Express photo) The county Air Pollution Control District is working to implement an incentive program for ocean-going vessels Large ships traveling through the Santa Barbara Channel produce more than half of the entire countys nitrogen oxide emissions and are a threat to the whales that frequent the area, so the <http://www.sbcapcd.org/>Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District is working with other agencies to implement a <http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/shipemissions.htm>marine vessel speed-reduction program like the one used by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Representatives from the county, the <http://www.noaa.gov/>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the <http://www.edcnet.org/>Environmental Defense Center gave a presentation to the <http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Government/Council/Meet_Us/>Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday with an update on <http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/shipstudies.htm>the initiative and efforts to get funding from the state. The partnership is looking at the vexing problem of heavy shipping traffic in the channel and along the California coast, which has <http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/pdfs/ship_strikes.pdf>big impacts to local air quality, climate control implications and a threat to whales, said Brian Shafritz, Air Pollution Control <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>District manager. The channels shipping lanes are about 12 miles off the coast and span 110 miles in the county, which makes the channel a congregation point for trans-Pacific ships from Asia that come to deliver cargo at the ports. Large container ships have engines like mini power plants; they spew out tons of pollutants, he said. Over the 110-mile span, one ship crossing from north to south there on the one lane is equivalent to 40,000 cars of ozone-forming pollutants, just one transit. The City Council and many other agencies have <http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/VSR-support-SBCAPCD.pdf>already sent letters of support for the project. Assembly Bill 32 funds could pay for an incentive program to get ships to slow down to 12 knots, which could reduce greenhouse gas, other pollutants and the lethality of ship strikes on whales, the Air Pollution Control District says. The district submitted a vessel speed-reduction incentive initiative to the <http://www.arb.ca.gov/>California Air Resources Board last March. The Long Beach and LA ports speed-reduction <http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/print/santa_barbara_whales_air_quality_tar…>incentive programs have participation rates over 90 percent, and the county wants to develop its own incentive structure over a pilot program period. Slowing ships to 12 knots will reduce shipping greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and nitrogen oxides air pollution by 56 percent, the initiative states. The ports spend about $2 million per year on their programs, and this partnership estimates that it would cost $5 million to expand it to the Santa Barbara Channel. Ship trips through the channel peaked at more than 7,000 annually in 2006 and 2007, dipping ever since with the recession and the states lower-sulfur fuel rule for the area mandated in 2009. The rule was meant to reduce emissions of diesel particulate, but the majority of ships started going around the islands to avoid the regulation, according to NOAA. The channel has the largest seasonal population of blue whales in the world, and having shipping lanes is like having a highway running through your kitchen, said Kristi Birney, a marine conservation analyst with EDC. Incentivizing ships to slow down to 12 knots through the channel as the ports have would reduce the probability of fatal collisions, and the benefits will be easily tracked through air pollution and the marine sanctuarys existing system of tracking cargo ship speeds and routes. The groups want a <http://www.sbcapcd.org/itg/SBCAPCD-toCARB-030713.pdf>voluntary incentive program, not regulations, said Sean Hastings, the resource protection coordinator for the <http://channelislands.noaa.gov/>Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. He reminded the City Council that NOAA is within the <http://www.commerce.gov/>Department of Commerce, so it definitely doesnt want to stop shipping. They believe theres a way to work with the shipping industry to achieve a cleaner climate, public health benefits and smaller likelihood of whale fatalities, he said. According to the Air Pollution Control District, marine shipping makes up 54 percent of the countys nitrogen oxides sources, and by 2030, it expects that to increase to 72 percent. Every ship emits radio signals so NOAA antennae can track who they are, what theyre carrying, where theyre going, and how fast, Hastings said. He tried to work with the shipping industry to slow down for the sake of whales alone, but they had zero cooperation in the past. An incentive program would be between a friendly ask and a regulation, he said. Moving the ships entirely isnt a viable option, but slowing them down is, he said. Cruise ships, which are visiting Santa Barbara with more frequency now, also have been known to hit whales. An unusual mortality event was declared in 2007 for blue whales after five carcasses were discovered between Santa Cruz Island and San Diego, all with injuries consistent with ship strikes, according to a 2011 paper, Reducing the Threat of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans in the Santa Barbara Channel Region and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Historically, three was the most blue whale fatalities in this region for a single year. Scientists arent sure why the whales arent getting out of the way of ships, even though there are dozens of us working on this issue, Hastings said. Its something we simply dont understand. This initiatives partnership includes the Air Pollution Control District, NOAA, the county and city of Santa Barbara, the EDC, Community Environmental Council, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and shipping representatives Marine Exchange and PMSA. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are also partners in the effort. <http://www.noozhawk.com>Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at <mailto:gmagnoli@noozhawk.com>gmagnoli(a)noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: <http://twitter.com/noozhawk>@noozhawk, <http://twitter.com/noozhawkNews>@NoozhawkNews and <http://twitter.com/noozhawkBiz>@NoozhawkBiz. Connect with <http://www.facebook.com/noozhawk>Noozhawk on Facebook.

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AIS Vessel Tracking System in service
by Bill Talanian 06 Apr '13

06 Apr '13

SBARC NOW SUPPORTS VESSEL TRACKING SYSTEM A donation of equipment was received from the estate of Robert Block, K6LX, through the personal efforts of Mike Wapner, K6QD. This equipment is an Automatic Identification System (AIS). The AIS system is now 100% operational from our Mesa site and is Station 533 signing SBARC. The AIS system is now seeing ocean "targets" more than 100 nm from Santa Barbara. There are only two stations in our local SouthCoast area. A second AIS system is located at UCSB as Station 1325, signing UCSB. A full tutorial of AIS is available on the internet which explains how this system is used in identifying Class A and Class B vessel traffic. Start here: <http://www.marinetraffic.com> Have fun ! Bill Talanian

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