Technician Class Series - Emergency!

Hello everybody and welcome back to Everything Hamradio! Today we are going to continue our series on the Technician Class License Question Pool! Today we will be talking about Emergencies.

As always, the correct answers will be in bold. I also recommend that you only read the correct answers when studying for your test. If you do this, when you take your test and you see a question, there will be a better chance that the correct answer will jump out at you easier. Some say that this approach is kind of like cheating, but the way that I see it, you will always be learning something in this hobby and you don’t have to know everything there is to know about the hobby to get your license.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the Technician Class study book, written by Gordon West, WB6NOA with Eric P. Nichols, KL7AJ, that this series is loosely based around, below is a link to it.

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Let’s move on to the good stuff, shall we?

T2C06Â Which of the following is an accepted practice to get the immediate attention of a net control station when reporting an emergency?

Repeat the words SOS three times followed by the call sign of the reporting station
Press the push-to-talk button three times
Begin your transmission by saying “Priority” or “Emergency” followed by your call sign
Play a pre-recorded emergency alert tone followed by your call sign

Let’s say that you are sitting at home and you suddenly hear your weather alert radio go off announcing that your county has been put under a severe thunderstorm warning. In most areas, that right there is enough for your local Emergency Management to request that a Skywarn net be brought up. So a net is brought up and you grab your gear and head out to your spotting spot. Fast forward thirty minutes and the storm is in full swing. A spotter on the other side of the county is giving a report when you notice a funnel cloud forming. When that spotter unkeys you key up and say Priority or Emergency. That will basically hold all traffic on the net and the net control operator will acknowledge you and wait for your traffic.

So what is the difference between Priority and Emergency Traffic?

Emergency traffic is where there is imminent danger to life
Priority Traffic is where there is imminent danger to property

T2C07Â Which of the following is an accepted practice for an amateur operator who has checked into an emergency traffic net?

Provided that the frequency is quiet, announce the station call sign and location every 5 minutes
Move 5 kHz away from the net’s frequency and use high power to ask other hams to keep clear of the net frequency
Remain on frequency without transmitting until asked to do so by the net control station
All of the choices are correct

This is probably one of the most important things that you could ever do while participating in an emergency net. I have had a couple of times while I was acting as net control of a skywarn net where one of more of the spotters would leave the frequency without saying anything and at the end of the net after everyone has checked out there is still one remaining. Several of us went to this persons last known location and attempted to find them. Only to find out later that they were home in their bed.Â

T2C01Â When do the FCC rules NOT apply to the operation of an amateur station?

When operating a RACES station
When operating under special FEMA rules
When operating under special ARES rules
Never, FCC rules always apply

Â Â§97.103 Station licensee responsibilities.

(a) The station licensee is responsible for the proper operation of the station in accordance with the FCC Rules. When the control operator is a different amateur operator than the station licensee, both persons are equally responsible for proper operation of the station.

T2C05Â Which of the following describes the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)?

A radio service using amateur frequencies for emergency management or civil defense communications
A radio service using amateur stations for emergency management or civil defense communications
An emergency service using amateur operators certified by a civil defense organization as being enrolled in that organization
All of these choices are correct

RACES is an emergency service used for civil defense by the amateur radio community. Check out this post to learn more.

Â Â§97.3 Definitions

(a) The definitions of terms used in part 97 are:

Â (38) RACES (radio amateur civil emergency service). A radio service using amateur stations for civil defense communications during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies.

Â§97.407 Radio amateur civil emergency service.

(a) No station may transmit in RACES unless it is an FCC-licensed primary, club, or military recreation station and it is certified by a civil defense organization as registered with that organization. No person may be the control operator of an amateur station transmitting in RACES unless that person holds a FCC-issued amateur operator license and is certified by a civil defense organization as enrolled in that organization.

(b) The frequency bands and segments and emissions authorized to the control operator are available to stations transmitting communications in RACES on a shared basis with the amateur service. In the event of an emergency which necessitates invoking the President’s War Emergency Powers under the provisions of section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 606, amateur stations participating in RACES may only transmit on the frequency segments authorized pursuant to part 214 of this chapter.

(c) An amateur station registered with a civil defense organization may only communicate with the following stations upon authorization of the responsible civil defense official for the organization with which the amateur station is registered:

(1) An amateur station registered with the same or another civil defense organization; and

(2) A station in a service regulated by the FCC whenever such communication is authorized by the FCC.

(d) All communications transmitted in RACES must be specifically authorized by the civil defense organization for the area served. Only civil defense communications of the following types may be transmitted:

(1) Messages concerning impending or actual conditions jeopardizing the public safety, or affecting the national defense or security during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies;

(2) Messages directly concerning the immediate safety of life of individuals, the immediate protection of property, maintenance of law and order, alleviation of human suffering and need, and the combating of armed attack or sabotage;

(3) Messages directly concerning the accumulation and dissemination of public information or instructions to the civilian population essential to the activities of the civil defense organization or other authorized governmental or relief agencies; and

(4) Communications for RACES training drills and tests necessary to ensure the establishment and maintenance of orderly and efficient operation of the RACES as ordered by the responsible civil defense organization served. Such drills and tests may not exceed a total time of 1 hour per week. With the approval of the chief officer for emergency planning in the applicable State, Commonwealth, District or territory, however, such tests and drills may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours no more than twice in any calendar year.

T2C12Â What is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)?

Licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service
Licensed amateurs who are members of the military and who voluntarily agreed to provide message handling services in the case of an emergency
A training program that provides licensing courses for those interested in obtaining an amateur license to use during emergencies
A training program that certifies amateur operators for membership in the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service

Â ARES is under the flag of the ARRL and is used by amateur radio operators after the immediate threat of a disaster. Check out this post for more information.

T2C04Â What do RACES and ARES have in common?

They represent the two largest ham clubs in the United States
Both organizations broadcast road and weather information
Neither may handle emergency traffic supporting public service agencies
Both organizations may provide communications during emergencies

Both are used in a time of disaster, RACES is during the actual disaster, ARES during the aftermath. Check out this post for more informationÂ

T2C09Â Are amateur station control operators ever permitted to operate outside the frequency privileges of their license class?

No
Yes, but only when part of a FEMA emergency plan
Yes, but only when part of a RACES emergency plan
Yes, but only if necessary in situations involving the immediate safety of human life or protection of property

Yes they are, however, only when it is a true emergency(immediate safety of life or protection of property). Also, even though you may not have issues, if you do talk on a frequency outside of the amateur band in an emergency, it is best to only do it when there is no other option of communications, just to be on the safe side.Â

T2C10Â What is the preamble in a formal traffic message?

The first paragraph of the message text
The message number
The priority handling indicator for the message
The information needed to track the message as it passes through the amateur radio traffic handling system

The preamble contains all the information that people will need to see that the message is delivered where it is supposed to. For example, who it is going to, where they live, how many words are in the message, who sent it, etc.Â

T2C08Â Which of the following is a characteristic of good emergency traffic handling?

Passing messages exactly as received
Making decisions as to whether or not messages should be relayed or delivered
Communicating messages to the news media for broadcast outside the disaster area
All of these choices are correct

Our job as communicators, especially during an emergency is to pass traffic. This does not mean that we choose what information to pass and what not to pass. If we are asked to pass it, and it is not illegal to do so, it is our jobs to pass it to the best of our ability and with the utmost precision.

T2C03Â What should be done to insure that voice message traffic containing proper names and unusual words are copied correctly by the receiving station?

The entire message should be repeated at least four times
Such messages must be limited to no more than 10 words
Such words and terms should be spelled out using a standard phonetic alphabet
All of these choices are correct

Anytime that you are passing a message using voice mode, if there is a word that is a normal spelling word or a proper name, it should be spelled out. Also, it should be spelled out using the standard phonetic alphabet, not just a word substitution(i.e. use Sierra Tango Whiskey instead of Sam Tom King)Â

T2C11Â What is meant by the term â€œcheckâ€ in reference to a formal traffic message?

The check is a count of the number of words or word equivalents in the text portion of the message
The check is the value of a money order attached to the message
The check is a list of stations that have relayed the message
The check is a box on the message form that tells you the message was receivedÂ

Â In the preamble of the message there is a word count that will be passed with the message. After you have received the entire message, always double-check the word count with the number that was passed onto you in the preamble to make sure that you have the entire message.Â

So that brings us to the end of this section. Next week we will be talking about Weak Signal Propagation! Please share my blog with your friends and if you have not done so already, please subscribe to my email list to get the latest and quickest notifications of any new post that I publish. You can sign up in the box on the sidebar. If you would rather, you can also sign up for my RSS feed. Please Like me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and StumbledUpon. Links to all of these can be found under social on the menu.

Thanks for stopping by. If you have any questions or comments about today’s post, please leave them in the comments below or shoot me an email aÂ k5clm@everythinghamradio.com.

Until next time…

73 de Curtis, K5CLM

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