Report from Louisiana

I am sitting in a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle just north of New Orleans (north of the lake). It is about 9pm local time and I am "minding the store". This is a very high tech communications vehicle with among other things satellite internet.

I am at a food distribution and logistic support area. It is secure with a police presence. There is a large semi-trailer with a kitchen. I think they are feeding 16 shelters. Food and water roll in and out 24 hours a day.

I have direcTV and the situation is about as depicted on CNN. Confusing, scary, heartbreaking and very surreal. I had 4 hours warning. Left my camper and Gloria in California and did a fast run, driving the ECRV from Sacramento CA to Baton Rouge LA.

The job is a technical challange. We have been installing temporary low band (47mhz) mobiles as base units at several kitchens. Tomorrow we do another. Ham radio is being used a lot. We have a 50 foot tower on the truck and will mount a mosley ta-33 jr and a tri-band (6-2-70cm) vertical on it in the morning. We have deployed several laptops and VOIP phones using the T1 grade satellite internet connection. Much more techie stuff to be written about later.

Personal gear is minimal. I have been in three ECRV's and sleep mostly on the floors of various buildings. My thermorest(I think that is the brand) has been great. Better than a hard floor. Used a space blanket (tyvec type) for several days and that worked OK, but the lack of ventilaion caused me to sweat a bit. Managed to scrounge a blanket this morning.

Food is great. Nice to be at a kitchen. We keep two cases of MRE's and two cases of water in the truck. we can be moved at a moments notice to anywhere.

Sorry this is such a disjointed report, but I am doing work stuff at the same time. Just switched from the large generator that supplies the kitchen to the truck generator. The kitchen generator (huge thing) is overloaded and we keep loosing their power. Then the satellite connection drops, loosing all the internet sessions and VOIP calls. VOIP (Voice over internet) works great. Now running on the trucks generator, but low on diesel. Not enough to run all night. Will shut it all down in an hour or so. Hate it when the fuel tank gets low. There is no fuel to be purchased here and if we have to leve suddenly, we won't get far.

No cell or other phones here. No power, no nothing. We are just on the edge of the destruction zone so the roads are in good shape. We are about 1/4 mile from the interstate so the trucks can get here OK. Feels funny to be sitting in air conditioned comfort, playing ham radio, using the internet and making satellite phone calls. When I step outside, I enter a different world.

All is well for me. Probably be here until the 19th. Normal Red Cross tour for my skill is 3 weeks. Probably go back to CA for awhile, then back here someplace.

This is truly a disaster in evey sense of the world, I am making notes and will try to write about it all later.

To see the truck I am operating, check www.ecrv4712.org

nomad

Looking forward to it!

Also, in addition to the big stuff, I'd be very much interested in your day to day ETS-type activities. Being a flashaholic (addicted to flashlights <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ), for example, anything you'd care to share about how / when you're using whatever you're using would be very cool. Any other equipment related reports (like the thermarest), etc.

Other than donations, is there anything a non-ham radio computer geek can do to help remotely? I know I'm not the only full time software person on here, and I'd like to help with more than money. Not sure what that means, though.

Thanks for the update and good luck. We wish you well. Paul

Keep safe, thanks for link to your vehicle. PM your way.

Dave

Ron,

Very cool vehicle - wish ARC had even more of them to station down there thru the gulf coast region. Look forward to hearing about your experiences and "lessons learned".

Tom

Nomad, thanks for the great post. I'm a licensed ham and computer geek and also would be interested in how I can help. I could conceivably deploy to the area as I have time available, but I don't have equipment to provide and I'd need my expenses covered (travel etc). I don't consider myself to be much of a comms or operations expert though. I'm mainly a software developer. So most of what I can do, can be done remotely.

Great report, and cool vehicle. Keep safe and when you're back home, rested and settled, would like to hear how others can approach our local red cross units to begin volunteering. May be too late for me to help on this effort, but unfortunately, there will always be a time in the future when some other group is in need.

Good Luck,

Michael

Nomad,

Sounds like your keeping your head straight when everything else is twisted. Hang tough but loose!

Just a few low piority requests. If you get a moment, see if the 8 KW generator under the hood is an Auragen. What size tank is in the ECRV?

I replaced my OEM diesel tank with a TransferFlow 65 gallon tank to double my range and or run time of my 5 KW Auragen.

Thanks

Generater is Auragen. Good unit except for RFI. We can not run HF when using Auragen. I understand that lots of folks have tried to fix this problem without success. It is a real 8kw and we often power buildings with it. But the RFI is a real problem for us.

Don't know tank capacity, but driving from CA to LA cost over $100 per fill-up.

busy busy busy... been doing lots of repair on transport truck radios and running around Louisana putting up "temporary" low band base systems. Duct tape rules...

Today headed for bougalusa(spelling) LA. only contact from there is by sat phone, although I think there is a ham that has been trying to set something up. Not much ham activity. Most are trying to get their lives together. But those that are able to participate are doing a great job. There are several nets that are supporting various governmental (police rescue etc) and doing it very well.

Some repeaters active but most are down. We use ham radio a lot and it will continue to be useful for months. But there needs to be more of it. I could use several ops to go in delivery trucks when traveling out of the reach of our low band stations. We could use the exsting repeaters to extend our range. Right now we have several trucks "going it alone" into bad situations. No police escort, no radio. Just two women that are willing to make the drive, trip after trip after trip.

We will probably be leaving this site soon. Ordered a portable satellite internet system to replace our truck. Soon as it arrives we will be off for a new assignment.

nomad

Not much time to write. Very busy. We are now entering the area south of NO. Unable to enter city proper yet as it is under water. Areas south of NO are mostly wind damage. Lots of people there. Found about 500 yesterday. They have had only military in the area so far. We are first red cross. Deploying our medical people to Harvey area. Too far from our big (40,000 meals a day) kitchen to transport warm food so they will get packaged stuff. MRE's and heater meals (which I eat daily).

All sorts of reasons why people stayed thru the hurricane. Spoke with a VietNam vet that got out of the hospital after major surgery just before the winds hit. Could not be moved without skilled medical help which was not available. We were the first folks they saw in about 14 days. His wife said they were very scared and would have left if they could have gotten help. we heard the "would have left if we had gotten help" story many times. I guess the governmental agencies said they would provide busses etc but they never came. I hear that Amtrack provided a train which eventually left NO empty cause the transport to the train never happened.

Looks like the medical people will be setting up shop south of NO and the remainder of the services will follow. But we are running thin. It is not only the level of destruction which is severe, but the geographical area which is so great. There are just not enough resources for the task at hand.

Nomad

Amazing stuff. Please keep updating us when you can. Stay well and kudos for making a difference!

Well I am back in California after 22 days in and around NO. Need to get some rest and get our lives back in order.

Longer post to follow.... Probably be at least 2 weeks before I will have time to write much.

And here comes another Hurricane...

Nomad

I wrote this for another group but it applies to the many hams that populate this forum. The intended audience is ham radio folks so it is loaded with "geekspeak". If you are a ham, or technically inclined and willing to learn, perhaps this will interest you.

A lot is a repeat from previous posts here, but it was easier to just post the whole thing rather than edit out the repeated parts.

Nomad
----------------------- Recruiting blurb follows ----------------


I am a Red Cross Volunteer. As a ham, my function with the Red Cross
has a decidedly ham radio flavor. For the past 3 weeks I have been in
the thick of the "action" in and around New Orleans LA. My role with
the Red Cross is to drive and operate a $300,000 communications
vehicle. We need more help. I hope to interest a few of you in
joining the Red Cross.

As a ham, you will use your technical skills. During the past weeks,
I have set up several low band portable base units, relocated a
satellite tracking system, fixed quite a number of radios in ERV's
(food and supply transportation vehicles), helped users with computer
problems and in general functioned like I was at an extended field
day. Not to mention, running the ECRV or Emergency Communications
Response Vehicle. Some field day.......

First a bit about the vehicle I operate. It is a Ford Explorer,
4wheel drive, diesel that has been extensively modified for
communications use. There are 16 mobile radios covering all of the
public service, military, amateur and business frequencies. There are
also 10 UHF multi-channel portable radios on Red Cross frequencies as
well as several low-band Red Cross portables as well.

There are three HF radios. In the forward console is an Icom 706m2g.
In the rear panel is a Kenwood TS-2000 and a commercial HF radio. We
have a SGC tuner and 500watt amplifier that can be connected to any of
the HF rigs. There is also a KAM for digital amateur communication.
The tuner and amp feed a SGC whip or the whip can be removed and a
wire antenna attached.

On the roof is a 50' extendable tower capable of supporting our
TA-33-jr tri-band beam, as well as several UHF/VHF/Low band antennas.
Oh, there is also a remotely controlled video camera mounted there as
well.

Audio and control from all voice radios are routed to a voice switch,
which allows us to cross connect any number of radios into individual
nets, or interconnect the various nets. Any or all can also be routed
out via normal phone lines or sent via satellite to the Red Cross
telephone system in VA, and from there to anywhere. Sort of like a
giant cross-band repeater with phone patch.

Also mounted on the roof is a V-sat, a high capacity satellite system
that links a T1 grade circuit with the Red Cross Headquarters in
Virginia. I can (and often do) deploy 10 wireless laptops and 10 VOIP
(voice over internet ) phones. This allows Red Cross teams to
communicate world wide without passing thru the local communications
systems, which are usually non-existent during a disaster like Katrina.

There is more.... much more, a weather station, Low orbit satellite
phone, analog cell, digital cell....but you get the idea. Oh, for
power we have an 8 KW alternator driven off the diesel engine. We ran
it for almost 2 weeks straight, 24 hours a day.

I was in California when we were told to deploy. 4 hours notice. It
is 2225 miles from Sacramento to Baton Rouge. Lets just say that we
moved right along.

For the next 3 weeks we stayed at the forward edge of Red Cross
deployment. There were 3 other ECRV's along the coast. One in Baton
Rouge, supporting the Red Cross Operations Center. As soon as we
could get a "fly away" kit (portable satellite system) installed, this
ECRV re-deployed to Lafayette supporting the Cajun Dome until it could
get its communications in order.

To the east, was another ECRV at Covington LA, supporting the local
government (police, fire, rescue and Red Cross).

We were at Abita Springs supporting a forward kitchen. This kitchen,
a large semi-trailer owned by the Red Cross, can make 40,000 meals a
day. Abita Springs was also a forward dispersal area for material and
supplies. Abita Springs is at the north end of the bridge across the
lake. This made a natural re-supply point for New Orleans as soon as
the bridge was opened.

To our east in Slidel was another ECRV supporting local government.

A typical day for me was to get to the ECRV about 6am and make sure it
was still running ok. I would make arrangements to have fuel
delivered and then check our e-mail and do the routine stuff, reports
and logging.

Usually there was a base station to be set-up at a forward shelter.
We did several of these and it allowed me to get out and around .
Setting up a base station meant finding some way to put a collinear
antenna up about 20 or 30'. Usually we used PVC pipe and rope guys,
frequently attaching the whole thing to a building or tree. Sometimes
the hardest part was getting the coax into the building. Like most
modern buildings, these schools, churches or whatever had no gaps or
opening windows. The base station is usually in a large pelican box.
It has about 100' of coax, a transceiver and A/C power supply. Most
shelters have some sort of AC, either from the mains, or from a generator.

We also did a lot of "forward observing". This means we would travel
with a team of medical and food providers into areas that had not yet
seen the Red Cross. Our task was to scout for suitable radio
locations and try to get a sense of coverage from existing and planned
locations. I went to most of the affected area and saw first hand
what a force 5 hurricane does to a city.

I also did a lot of repairs to the other vehicle radios. Driving thru
downed trees, wires and building parts is rough on antennas and gear
in general. Mostly we would just replace the mounted radio with
another that is packaged in a small pelican box. The mobile box
contains a low-band radio, mag mount and power cord. The radio is
bolted into the case and we just tape it to the truck someplace. Duct
tape rules....

A typical large scale equipment deployment is a call center. We went
into a very devastated area and used our truck to link about 17 phones
via the Internet. People could come into the call center and place
calls that, because of our satellite line, jumped over the ruined
local telephone system and entered the public switched telephone
network in Virginia. Many of these phones are Ethernet connected to a
local hub and then to a hub in the truck, then to the IP router and
out the V-sat to Red Cross Headquarters in Virginia. Some network
and computer experience is helpful as we are always making cables,
replacing routers and all the normal things that are required to
maintain a network. We can also do the same thing using wireless
access points (WAP's), but Ethernet links are easier to maintain.

We carried a few cases of MRE's and two cases of water. Most of the
time we found supper in a shelter or Red Cross kitchen, but I ate a
lot of MRE's in that 3 weeks. At night we would find a Red Cross
shelter someplace (sometimes a 40 mile drive thru uncertain territory
at night). Accommodations were sparse. Usually a clear spot on a
concrete floor with a couple hundred of your friends. But I never had
a problem sleeping.

To support me, there is the NOC, or network operations center in
Virginia. If I have a problem or don't remember how to run a
particular device, or need to fine tune the Internet satellite
connection, I call the NOC.

I will leave my personal observations about the hurricane for another
time. What I want to convey here is the need for hams that have hands
on experience with radio and computers. This is not a "communicator"
type job. You will do very little "traffic handling". But if you
enjoy the technical challenges of maintaining, deploying and operating
a very sophisticated and complex communications system, then this may
interest you.

Take a look at the following URL. http://ecrv4712.org

It has a better description of the vehicle and information about
training. I think there are about 30 or so qualified operators (those
who can operate the vehicle independently) and 9 vehicles. At two
people per vehicle after 3 weeks, we are running short of skilled
people. You won't be trained in time for Rita, but there is next
year, and the year after that. We deploy for fires, terrorist
attacks, large public gatherings and a whole bunch of other events.

Blinky lights, a billion switches and wires, lotsa radios, computers
and assorted other toys. What more could a ham want?