RACES Notes 09/13/2006

News and Announcements

1) Upcoming Events
All of September - Emergency Preparedness Month
9/29 Benson Hospital Disaster Preparedness Display
10/7 Parade in Willcox
10/14 Parade in Benson
10/14 Cochise Perimeter Cycling Classic
10/22 Parade in Tombstone
12/2 XMAS Parade in Sierra Vista

2) We are looking for a couple volunteers to assist at the Benson Hospital
on 29 September from 9-3.  They are putting on an emergency preparedness
fair and have asked for RACES to be represented.  Al Haines (WA7PIQ) has
volunteered to assist but we really could use a couple more folks to help
with this effort.  A portable station would be a good addition to this
effort. If you can assist for a shift from 9-12 or 12-3 or the whole day,
let Al know if you can help out. Al can be reached at:
hainesink@theriver.com. The hospital address is 450 S. Ocotillo St.  When
you come off I-10, Ocotillo St. is exit 304. 

3) Also a reminder that the Cochise Perimeter Cycling Classic is only about
a month away so please contact RB Rice to sign up for an assignment. The URL
for the race is:
http://www.pbaa.com/Home.html#4Cs

4) I am looking for a volunteer to take the net on 27 September.  I will not
be available and would appreciate someone filling in. Roger, W7RGP, will
have the county pager and handle callouts for the period 16-30 September.  

5) Paradise Report - Most of you will have seen the Paradise After Action
Report.  If are not on distribution yet for the Net Notes and other notes
that are sent out occasionally, please send me an email at the following
address: N7INK@cox.net. I will be happy to add you to the distribution list.
The After Action Report and several photos can be found at www.k7rdg.org.
Look for the Paradise 2006 info on the main page and click to the link.

Training - Tonight we will cover a couple MCU update items.

MCU Radio Change - One of the MCU updates that we made over the Paradise
weekend was to modify the radio channel list for all the Kenwood public
service VHF radios: the cab radio, the ACU stack radios and also the primary
radio operator position.  We added the nationwide interoperability channels
known as VTAC channels to the channel load.  We covered that subject a few
weeks ago. In my mind though, the most significant change was to move our
more commonly used channels closer together.  If you ever get lost in the
channel list (over 160 active channels), press the [A] button.  That will
take you back to the Home Channel which is the SO-1 CW or aka Sheriff's
Office Channel 1 - County Wide.  This is the channel we report in to the
Sheriff's Dispatch Office when we start a mission and check out upon
completion.  Pressing the Up and Down arrows on the right side of the radio
will move you to other channels.
Pressing the right up arrow will quickly take you to the channels we most
commonly use:
  SO-1 CW
  SO-2 CW 
  County SAR
  CMA or County Mutual Aid 
  VTAC-2
  AZ SAR
  Portal Rescue

We will be printing out the updated channel list to assist you in moving
quickly to other channels which may be required.
As an aid to using the Kenwood radios, here is a key to the basic buttons
found on the front of the radio:
The power button is on the top left of the face plate.
  A = Home Channel (SO-1 CW)
  B = Scan Del/Add (Not Used)
  C = Function (Not Used)
  D = Public Address system (Not used)
  MON = Temporarily turn off the squelch to hear everything on the channel.
  Left Up/Down Arrows = Volume Control
  Right Up/Down Arrows = Channel up/down selection.

Mast Camera Operations

There is a new Sony video camera installed on the back side of the pneumatic
mast.  The mast does not need to be deployed to use the camera.  It is
basically live on the network whenever the AC power is active.   It is
network accessible ( uses an IP address) from either computer by clicking on
the INTERNET icon, wait a couple seconds and then go to FAVORITES and select
the Sony Camera from the drop down menu.  There may a few-second delay as
the camera is accessed over the network and another popup menu with several
options comes up.  Select "ActiveX Viewer".  The camera view will now appear
on the screen.  To control the camera view and manipulate it, select the
"Control" icon above the active video screen. You will now be able to move
the camera up/down, right/left, and zoom in/out using the various controls.
Although you have the ability to rotate 360 degrees, there is a "Stop" which
prohibits continuous left to right or right to left in the direction of the
mast.  Once you reach that point, you will have to move the camera in the
opposite direction.  And since the camera is below the top of the mast,
there is also a blind spot trying to look through the mast itself.  You will
need to consider that when parking the MCU and the direction of the primary
incident from the vehicle.  In other words, don't point the front of the
truck directly at the incident. 

Video Capture
To capture video as a still for transmission (email), select the "Capture"
icon. A thumbnail of the shot will appear on the screen.  If that is what
you want, right click the mouse to save the photo as a JPG file.  You will
now be able to attach that JPG and send it as an email attachment using the
MSN Hotmail account. 

Within a week or so the wide screen monitor will be installed on the wall
above the hatch to the driver's compartment.  It has arrived and is
undergoing testing and configuration in Bisbee.  I had hoped to have it
installed this morning but one of the technicians got sick and the other one
has been tied up working on radio issues caused by the nasty weather on the
mountain tops the past couple days.

That's all for this evening, now let's go down the roster for comments.  

Bob
Robert L Hollister