1           Why We Have Nets

During an emergency communication situation, a high volume of disorganized messages can quickly turn an overloaded communication system into a disaster of its own.  To prevent this from happening, we use networks, or nets, to organize the flow of messages.  The mission of a net is to move as much traffic as possible in the least amount of time, accurately and effectively.  Nets can be either formal or informal as needed.

1.1         Informal Nets

During an informal net, there is minimal central control by the Net Control Station (NCS), if there is a NCS at all.  Stations call one another directly to pass messages.  Unnecessary chatter is kept to a minimum.  Informal nets are often used during the period leading up to a potential emergency situation and as an operation winds down.  Smaller nets with only a few stations participating are often run as informal nets.

1.2         Directed (Formal ) Nets 

A directed net is created whenever large numbers of stations are participating, or where the volume of traffic cannot be dealt with on a first-come first-served basis.  In a communication emergency of any size, it is usually best to conduct net operations on a directed basis whenever possible.

In a directed net, the Net Control Station (NCS) runs the net.  Radio operators are not allowed to break into the net or transmit unless specifically instructed to do so by the NCS.   The NCS determines who uses the frequency and which traffic will be passed first based on priorities.   For example,  if the City of Thousand Oaks EOC radio operator wishes to speak with East County Sheriffs Station (ECSS), the City operator must ask the NCS for permission to do so.  “Net Control, City, request direct with ECSS.”  The NCS operator may tell City to stand-by.  When higher priority traffic has cleared, the NCS will contact ECSS and direct the ECSS operator to contact City for traffic.  On a directed net, conversation is discouraged and tactical call signs will probably be used. 

2           Net Missions 

Each net has a specific mission, or set of missions.  In a smaller emergency all the communication needs may be met by one net.  In a larger emergency, multiple nets may be created to handle different needs.  For example, in ACS Area 2 during a large scale emergency, each of our Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) will support a minimum of three nets.  They are:

• Area 2 Voice Backbone Net on the Amgen  449.440 MHz repeater.  This net provides voice communications between our six EOCs, Oak Park CERT, and the Oak Park School District. 
• Area 2 Packet Net on 223.580 MHz.  This net provides packet data communications between our six EOC. 
• Each Area 2 EOC has a specific external (outside of Area 2) net responsibility: 
  • East County Sheriffs Station (ECSS) participates in the ACS County Net
  • City of Thousand Oaks EOC also participates in the ACS County Net
  • Los Robles Hospital main campus participates in the ACS County Hospital Net
  • Los Robles Hospital east campus participates in the L.A. County DCS-22 net
  • California Lutheran University (CLU) runs the Area 2 Info-Net
  • Amgen provides the gateway between the Area 2 Packet Net and the County Packet Net 

3           Anatomy of a Net Operation

A net is run by the Net Control Station (NCS).  The net control station operator controls the flow of messages according to priority, and keeps track of where messages come from and where they go.  The NCS also keeps a current list of which stations are participating in the net, where they are located, their assignments, and what capabilities they have.  In a busy situation, the NCS operator may have one or more assistants to help with record keeping.

If more than one net is operating, the ACS Incident Communications Officer (ICO) will activate and deactivate nets and change net assignments as needed to meet the emergency situation.  For example, during the early stages of an emergency all available Area 2 members will tune to the Area 2 check-in net, on the 2 meter Grissom Repeater, to learn what is happing and to indicate their availability should we be activated.  If Ventura County Office of Emergency Services (OES) does activate ACS, then the Area 2 ICO (initially the Area 2 EC or one of the AECs) will do the following:

• Dispatch available Area 2 members to our EOCs.  The ICO will determine which EOCs are to be staffed based on the situation and availability of Area 2 members.  It is quite possible that all 6 EOCs will be staffed. 
• Activate the Amgen 449.440 MHz Area 2 Voice Backbone Net and designate an NCS.  In accordance with our Area 2 Emergency Communications Plan, Amgen will usually be the NCS for this net. 
• Activate the Area 2 Packet Net on 223.580 MHz.  An NCS is not required for this net. 
• Determine the external net that each EOC is to participate in.  If all six EOCs are activated, then the external net assignments will generally be as defined in our Area 2 Emergency Communications Plan.  However, assignments can change.  If the California Lutheran University (CLU) EOC is not activated, then the job of running the Area 2 Info-Net may be given to Los Robles Hospital east campus, and Oak Park School District Office will be given responsibility for participating in the L.A. County DCS-22 Net. 

Messages often need to be passed from one net to another.  To do this, specific stations will be assigned to serve as the gateways between designated nets.  These stations will monitor both nets and act as a go-between.  As indicated in Section 2 above, each of our Area 2 EOCs is designated as a gateway between the Area 2 Backbone Voice Net and a specific outside voice net, or between the Area 2 Packet Net and the County Packet Net. 

4           NCS Operator

The role of the NCS operator is similar to that of a traffic cop.  A traffic cop stands in the middle of an intersection directing vehicle traffic.  The NCS operator resides conceptually in the middle of a radio net directing message traffic.  A traffic cop sees cars approaching and directs them according to current traffic conditions, always away from accidents and points of congestion.  The NCS operator directs the waiting message traffic so that it flows quickly and in a smooth manner to its destination in accordance with message priorities.  Both traffic directors have to sometimes make decisions that sends some of the traffic on routes other than that desired so that the overall traffic flows as smoothly and quickly as possible.

The traffic cop must be nearly unbending in the execution of his job.  Cars must move exactly as directed.  The same is true for the NCS operator.  The NCS operator must take control and be in control of the radio net at all times or there is no control.  That means that the NCS operator must be assertive, ensuring that proper net control procedures for the situation at hand are being followed!  However, assertiveness must never be aggressive in nature or tone and must be done in a manner that does not strain relations with the personnel on the net.  Authority must be exercised tactfully but firmly, with fairness, and without delay.

The NCS operator may be located almost any where that is relatively calm and quiet.  Locating the NCS at a busy EOC is not a good idea.  The noise and confusion at such a location will be extremely distracting, making it very difficult for the NCS operator to concentrate on his or her job.  An excellent location for the NCS during a major emergency is at the NCS operator’s home, provided the operator and his or her spouse is willing to invite two or three assistants into their home to help handle the net.  The NCS operator should not be working alone.     

4.1         Basic Techniques Employed by Successful Net Control Operators

Listen carefully.  When asking for reports or soliciting traffic, listen carefully!  This might seem obvious, but it is easy to miss critical information when operating under the stress of an emergency situation.

Don’t think on-the-air.  If you need a moment to consider what is needed next, tell the net to stand-by and un-key your microphone. 

Keep transmissions as short as possible.  This is extremely important.

Stick to the facts.  Ensure that the members of your net do not discuss event details (victim names or circumstances) over the air unless directed to do so by the Incident Command Section Manager that they are serving.  There are no exceptions!  Emphasis the need for members to always be as accurate as possible and to stick to the official facts as they know them.  Information taken out of context or overheard may be inaccurate and misleading.

Be as concise as possible.  Use the fewest words that will completely say what you mean.  This will minimize the need for repeating instructions and messages.

Be friendly, yet in control.  Speak slowly and clearly with an even tone, but not a monotone.  Speak with confidence, even if you are inwardly nervous.

Do not use angry comments over the air.  Courtesy is contagious.  Please and Thank You are the most powerful tools at your disposal.

Use a script when possible.  This promotes efficient operation.  If you have time, annotate your script with updates before you start the net.  Have the applicable preamble handy, and a roster to keep the net moving smoothly.  A roster also assists in keeping names, calls, and locations together.

Ask specific questions – give specific instructions.  This reduces the need for “repeats” and prevents confusion.

When there is a double.  When there is a double (when two stations transmit on the same frequency at the same time), listen to see if you can identify either station by call sign or by context.  Ask all stations to stand-by.  If you can identify one of the stations, respond to that station first.  If you can not identify either stations, but you got a piece of one of their calls, for example RZ, then ask the station with the call ending in RZ to come back.   Finally, ask the second station to come again with his or her call sign.

On the job training.  One of your jobs as a NCS operator, is to remind members of proper net procedures.  For example, if someone is not leaving enough time between exchanges for others with higher priority to break in, then remind them to leave more time.  Their reaction will typically be,  “oh yes, I forgot.”  If the first parts of their transmissions are being cut off, remind them to wait longer after pushing their mic push to talk key before speaking.  When traffic on the net is intense, people will become so focused on doing their jobs that they forget to identify with their legal FCC calls.  As net control operator, you should remind them to do so at the end of their message exchanges.  However, one thing you must never do is criticize someone on the air.  It is better to lead by example, it produces better results.

Have pencil and paper ready and write down all calls.  Practice writing down calls when you are not the NCS.

During check-ins, recognize participants by name whenever possible. It helps boost morale.

Handling call-ins.  For efficiency when a number of stations are calling in, note on your net worksheet as many calls as you can before you acknowledge anyone.  Acknowledge all stations heard, and then yield the frequency to any station reporting in with emergency traffic.  Clear all emergency traffic first, then turn to stations with priority messages, and finally to those with routine messages.

Handling long exchanges.  Move stations to a secondary net, if possible, when a protracted exchange of information is required between the stations.  If moving to another frequency is not practical, instruction the two stations to leave plenty of time between their exchanges to allow others with higher priority traffic to break in.  In addition, instruction the two stations to periodically turn control back to you (back to NCS).  If you determine that there is not higher priority traffic pending, then you can instruct the two stations to continue with their exchange.

Look for emergency and priority traffic.  Break from the routine of message handling frequently to solicit and clear any emergency or priority traffic.  This is especially true when longer formal messages are being passed.

If the net has been quiet for more than ten minutes, check on operator status.  This keeps the net running more smoothly and insures that you know about equipment failures and missing operators as soon as possible.

Take frequent breaks.  While you may not recognize the stress that being an NCS operator produces, it is constant, and will become evident in you voice.  If you are asking yourself when your last break was, you know it is time to take one.  Turn over the net to your backup at least every two hours and rest.  Do not listen to the net …… rest!  Once rested, listen to the net for a few minutes before resuming as the NCS operator to become familiar with what is currently happening.

Control the tone of your voice.  Be as calm as possible.  Tension tends to cause voices to increase in pitch, and the net members will detect this change.  Use a calm tone and members of the net will tend to remain calm as well.  Remember to speak with confidence and authority.  A weak or indecisive demeanor undermines your effectiveness as an NCS operator, and consequently the productivity of the net.  Panic breeds panic.  The worse the situation gets, the more you must slow down and remain calm.

Making net decision in a dynamic situation.  The best way to enlist the cooperation of the net members in a rapidly changing situation is to explaining to the net what changes you are making in a calm and straightforward manner.  A net is not a democracy.  You are in charge, you make the final decisions.  Having said that, it does not diminish your authority to ask the opinion of someone on the net that is an authority on the particular problem facing the net, or has special knowledge because of their current location or assignment, or is someone who’s judgment you simply trust.  But, …… as the NCS operator, you make the final decision.  You are the one responsible for that decision, not the person giving you a recommendation.  Your decision must be decisive and clear.  You will gain the respect and confidence of the net members by doing this.  They know as well as you do that you are not an expert in everything.

You will make mistakes.  Acknowledging them will earn the respect and support of net members.

Keeping a log.  Finally, keep a “running” log of the important events that took place while you were the NCS operator.  Each entry in the log must be accompanied with the time and date of the entry.  You may need an assistant to do this.  The log will be very important for the person reliving you during a shift change, and quite possibly for after action reports. 

4.2         What Makes a Good NCS Operator?

We all have talents.  Some of us are natural net control operators, some of us are not.  I am not a particularly good NCS operator.  Yes, I can do the job and often do.  But there are many of you, including some of you who are new to amateur radio and ACS, that are much better at the job than I am.  As the Area 2 Emergency Coordinator (EC) I have to assign the job to the best NCS operator that we have available at the time.

Here are the things that I look for in a good NCS operator.

·         A clear speaking voice:  someone who talks as though they have a mouth full of marbles won’t do.

·         Fluency in the language:  if you have a thick accent or cannot use the language precisely, it may make it difficult for others to understand you.

·         The ability to think quickly, focus your thoughts, and say what you mean in as few words as possible.

·         The ability to handle mental and physical stress for long periods.  Information and demands will be coming at you from all directions all at once, sometimes for hours on end.  Can you handle it without losing your composure, or your voice?

·         The ability to listen and comprehend in a noisy and chaotic environment.  Can you tune out all the distractions and focus only on the job at hand?

·         Good hearing.  If you have hearing loss that makes it tough to understand human voices, it is probably not a good idea to have you be the NCS operator of a voice net.

·         The ability to write legibly what you hear as you receive it.

You may look at this list and think, well that lets me off the hook.  I never have to worry about being a net control operator.  I will probably disagree with your personal assessment and you will find yourself, at some point, running one of our Area 2 nets. 

We all need to practice the net control operator skills, including complying with the above list the best that we can.  For that reason, I will ask each of you from time to time to serve as the NCS operator in non-critical situations such as our Tuesday night check-in net or during public service events.  This is important because there will be situations when you are the best NCS operator available.  We all need to train so that we can step in and do the job if necessary. 

 Basic Emergency Radio Communication Skills 

5           Why Are Emergency Communication Techniques Different?

Life and death communications are not part of or daily experience.  Most of what we say and do each day does not have the potential to severely impact the lives and property of hundreds or thousands of people.  In an emergency, any given message can have huge and often unintended consequences.  An unclear message, one that is delayed or misdelivered, or never delivered at all can have disastrous results.

6           Listening

Listening is at least 50% of emergency communications.  Discipline yourself to focus on your job and “tune out” distractions.  If your attention drifts at the wrong time, you could miss a critical message.

Listening also means avoiding unnecessary transmissions.  While you are asking, “when will the cots and blankets arrive?” for the fourth time that hour, someone else with a life and death emergency might be prevented from calling for help.

One of the most important services that we offer to our Area 2 customers is providing them with “big picture information” on the extent and magnitude of the evolving crisis.  Collecting that information involves a lot of listening.  In some cases it may be 100% listening as you monitor voice communications such as police and fire channels on which we are not allowed to transmit.  You may even be monitoring County ACS voice frequencies that we are not allowed to transmitted on unless expressly asked to provide status updates.  For example, there may be a severe emergency in Santa Paula that is completely dominating the County repeater on 146.880 MHz.  The last thing that County will want is us calling in to ask what is happening.  However, knowing what is happening in Santa Paula could be extremely important to East County Sheriff’s Station (ECSS).  So our assignment may be to quietly monitor the County frequency to “learn what is happening” and to report that to our ECSS Incident Command System (ICS) Planning/Intel Section Chief.  We could also be given similar assignments to monitor the Los Angeles County DCS-22 traffic (our ACS counter parts in L.A. County) to learn what is happening in Calabasas and Agoura Hills.  Passive listening is a big part of “Intel Collection.”

Sometimes the job of listening is complicated by noise.  You might be operating from a noisy location, the signal might be weak, or other stations may be causing interference.  In each of these cases, it helps to have headphones to minimize local noise and help you concentrate on the radio signal.

7           Microphone Techniques

Even something as simple as using your microphone correctly can make a big difference in intelligibility.  For optimum performance, hold the mic close to your cheek, and just off to the side of your mouth.  Talk across, rather than into, the microphone.  This will reduce breath noises and “popping” sounds that can mask your speech.

Speak in a normal, clear, calm voice.  Raising your voice or shouting can result in over-modulation and distortion, and you will not be heard any louder at the receiving end.  Speak at a normal pace.  Rushing your words can result in slurred and unintelligible speech.  Pronounce words carefully, making sure to enunciate each syllable and sound.

The golden rule in emergency situations is “the worse it gets, the more you have to slow down and stay calm !”

If your radio has a microphone gain control, it should be adjusted so that a normal voice within 2 inches of the mic will produce full modulation.  If your microphone gain is set too high, your mic will pick up extraneous background noise that can mask or garble your voice.  The 2 meter, 220 MHz, and 440 MHz FM radios that we use for local repeater and simplex work generally do not have microphone gain adjustments available to you.  The gain is set internal to the radio and can only be changed by members of our technical team.

Voice operated transmission (VOX), available on HF transceivers and some 6 and 2 meter SSB radios, is not recommended for emergency communications.  It is too easy for background noise and off-air operator comments to be accidentally transmitted, resulting in embarrassment or a disrupted net.  Use a hand microphone with a push to talk key.

When using a repeater, be sure to leave a little extra time between pressing the microphone’s push to talk key and beginning to speak.  Usually a count of “one, one thousand”  is adequate.  Failure to do this is probably the most common voice communication mistake that we all make. A variety of delays can occur within a radio system that will cause the first few words of your transmission to be lost if you begin talking too soon.  These delays can include:

• CTSS tone decode delays,
• Transmitter turn on time, including time to come out of the “power-saver” mode,
• Time for the transmitters in a string of linked repeaters to all turn on. 

Providing this extra time will ensure that all of your message is heard.  If you start speaking too soon, the receiving station will have to ask you to repeat the first part of your last transmission, wasting valuable time.

Lastly, pause a little longer than usual between transmissions any time there is a possibility that other stations may need to break in with emergency traffic to pass.  Failure to do this is also one of the very common mistakes that we all make.  Again delaying for a count of “one, one thousand” is usually sufficient.

Summarizing the above.  If you need to transmit, then you of course wait until the person currently transmitting has finished.  Then you wait for a count of “one, one thousand” before pushing your microphone push to talk key.  Then you wait another “one, one thousand” before beginning to speak.

8           Brevity and Clarity

Each communication should consist of only the information necessary to get the message across clearly and accurately.  Extraneous information can distract the recipient and lead to misinterpretation and confusion.  If you are the message’s author and can leave a word out without changing the meaning of a message, leave it out.  If the description of an item will not add to the understanding of the subject of the message, leave it out.  Avoid using contractions within your messages.  Words like “don’t” and “isn’t” are easily confused.  If someone else has drafted the message, work with the author to make it more concise.

Make your transmissions sound crisp and professional, like the police and fire radio dispatchers and the air traffic controllers.  Do not editorialize, or engage in chitchat.  An emergency net is no place for “Hi Larry, long time no hear,” “Hey, you know that rig you were telling me about last month …..” or any other non-essential conversations.

Be sure to say exactly what you mean.  Use specific words to ensure that your precise meaning is conveyed.  Do not say, “that place we were talking about’” when “Medea Creek School” is what you mean.  Using non-specific language can lead to misunderstandings and confusion.

Communicate one complete subject at a time.  Mixing different subjects into one message can cause misunderstandings and confusion.  If you are sending a list of additional food supplies needed, keep it separated from a message asking for more sandbags.  Chances are that the two requests will have to be forwarded to different locations, and if combined one request will be lost.

9           Plain Language

As hams, we use a great deal of “jargon” (technical slang) and specialized terminology in our daily conversations.  Most of us understand each other when we do, and if we do not on occasion it usually makes little difference.  In an emergency, however, the results can be much different.  A misunderstood message could cost someone’s life.

Not everyone involved in an emergency communication situation will understand our slang and technical jargon.  Even terms used by hams vary from one region to another, and our ACS non-hams will have no knowledge of most of our terminology.

For these reasons, all messages and communications during an emergency should be in plain language that everyone understands.  “Q” signals, 10 codes, and similar jargon must be avoided. 

Avoid words or phrases that carry strong emotion.  Most emergency situations are emotionally charged already, and you do not need to add to the problem.  For instance, instead of saying, “horrific damage and people torn to bits,” you might say “significant physical damage and personal injuries.”

10       Phonetics

Certain words in a message may not be immediately understood.  This might be the case with an unusual place name, such as “Franconia” or an unusual last name, like “Smythe.”  The best way to be sure it is understood correctly is to spell it.  The trouble is, if you just spell the word using letters, it might still be misunderstood, since many letters sound alike at the other end of a radio circuit.  “Z” and “C” are two good examples.  For that reason, radio communicators often use “phonetics.”  These are specific words that begin with the letter being sent.  For instance, “ARRL” might be spoken as “alpha romeo romeo lima.”

To reduce requests to repeat words, use phonetics anytime a word has an unusual or difficult spelling, or may be easily misunderstood.  Do not spell common words unless the receiving station asks you to.  In some cases, they may ask for the phonetic spelling of a common word to clear up confusion over what has been received.  Standard practice is to first say the phrase, ”I spell,” then spell the word phonetically.  This lets the receiving station know you are about to spell the word he just heard.

Several different phonetic alphabets are in common use, but the one used by public safety agencies, and those of us in ACS, is the ITU Phonetic Alphabet show below.  Others use military alphabets.

Many hams like to make up their own phonetics, especially as a memory aid for call signs, and often with humorous results.  Unfortunately, this practice has no place in emergency communications.  In poor conditions, unusual phonetic words might also be misunderstood.  We need to be sure that what we say is always interpreted exactly as intended.  This is why most professional communicators use standardized phonetics.

Numbers are somewhat easier to understand.  Most can be made clearer by simply “over-enunciating” them.

Numbers are always pronounced individually.  The number “60” is spoken as “six zero,” not “sixty.”  The number “509” is spoken as “five zero nine,” and not as “five hundred nine” or “five oh nine.”

11       Tactical Call Signs

Tactical call signs can indentify the station’s location or its purpose during an event, regardless of who is operating the station.  This is an important concept.  The tactical call sign allows you to contact a station without knowing the FCC call sign of the operator.  It virtually eliminates confusion at shift changes or at stations with multiple operators.

Tactical call signs should be used for all emergency nets and public service events if there are more than just a few participants.

Tactical call signs will usually be assigned to provide some information about the location or its purpose.  It is often helpful if the tactical call signs have a meaning that matches the way in which the served agency indentifies the location or function.  Some examples are:

• Net – for net control
• T.O. EOC – for the city’s Emergency Operations Center
• Checkpoint 1 – for the first check point in a public service event
• T.O. Shelter – for the Red Cross shelter at Thousand Oaks Community Center
• Los Robles Main – for Los Robles Hospital main campus

         11.1     Informal And Directed Nets

In an Informal Net, you are expected to directly call the station that you want to talk to, presuming that the frequency is not in use.  For example, “Los Robles Main, T.O. EOC what is you status?”  However, in a Directed Net, the net is controlled by the Net Control Operator.  If you want to speak with another site, than you must ask Net Control for permission to do so.  Net Control may tell you to “stand-by” until higher priority traffic as been handled.  Once that traffic has cleared, Net Control will tell you to proceed with your traffic

11.2     Calling With Tactical Call Signs

If you are at T.O. EOC during a directed net and want to contact the net control station, you would say “Net, T.O. EOC”.  The tactical call of the station that you are calling is first and your call is second, following the “To” “From” format.  If you had emergency traffic, you would say “Net, T.O.EOC, emergency traffic,” or for priority traffic “Net, T.O.EOC, priority traffic.”

Notice how you have quickly conveyed all the information necessary, and have not used any extra words. 

If you have traffic for a specific location, such as Los Robles Main, you would say “Net, T.O. EOC, priority traffic for Los Robles Main.”  This tells the Net Control Operator everything needed to correctly direct the message.  If there is no other traffic holding, the Net Control Operator will then call Los Robles Main with, “Los Robles Main, call T.O. EOC for priority traffic.”

Note that no FCC call signs have been used so far.  None are necessary when you are calling another station.

11.3     Station Identification

In addition to satisfying the FCC’s rules, proper station identification is essential to promote the efficient operation of a net.  The FCC requires that you identify at ten minute intervals during a conversation and at the end of your last transmission.  During periods of heavy activity in tactical nets it is easy to forget when you last identified, but if you identify at the end of each transmission, you will waste valuable time.  What to do?

The easiest way to be sure you fulfill FCC station identification requirements during a net is to give your FCC call sign at the end of your information exchange with another site.  That is, when you have finished your conversation with that site.  In an emergency situation, most exchanges will be far shorter than ten minutes.  This serves two important functions:

1. It tells the Net Control Operator that you consider the exchange of information complete and that you are releasing the net back to Net Control.  If you use this procedure, there is no need to say “back to Net Control.”  Simply giving your call sign conveys that information, saving time and extra words. 
2. It fulfills all FCC identification requirements. 

For example, suppose that you are T.O. EOC and that you requested Net Control for a “Direct” to Los Robles Main, that is, you are requesting Net Control to allow you to talk directly to Los Robles.  Net Control gives you permission for your “Direct”.  During your conversation with Los Robles you may give your tactical call a couple times, but you will give your FCC call only once, at the end.  When you complete your conversation with Los Robles,  you would say “T.O. EOC, N6MDA.”  This fulfills your station identification requirements and tells the Net Control Operator that you completed your “Direct”.

If the Net Control Operator believes the exchange is complete, and T.O. EOC had forgotten to identify, then the Net Control Operator should say, “T.O. EOC, do you have further traffic?”  At that point, T.O EOC should either continue with the traffic, or “clear” by identifying as above. 

12       Habits To Avoid

• Thinking aloud on the air: “Ahhh, let me see.  Humm.  Well, you know, if …”
• On-air arguments or criticism
• Rambling commentaries
• Shouting into you microphone
• “Cute” phonetics
• Identifying every time you key or un-key the mic
• Using “10” codes, Q-signals, or anything other than plain language
• Speaking without planning your message in advance
• Talking just to pass the time.

ACS Area 2  Message Handling Forms

13       Introduction

One of our primary ACS tasks is to quickly and accurately send customer messages from one location to another over our voice nets. To do this we need message handling forms that are simple to use and yet contains all of the necessary information to get messages to their intended destinations.  The message forms shown in Figures 1 and 2 achieve that objective for messages that we can expect to handle in Area 2.

The most important aspect of our Area 2 message traffic is that it is predominately “single hop”.  That is, a message is usually sent from the message originator directly to the recipient without intermediate stops or relays along the way.  For example, if City EOC needs to send a message to East County Sheriff’s Station (ECSS), the message is transmitted directly from the City EOC radio operator to the radio operator at ECSS.  This is very different from cross country health and welfare message traffic handled by the ARRL National Traffic System (NTS).  In order to get an NTS message from California to New York, the message generally must pass through many relay stations along the way.  For example, a message originating in Thousand Oaks may be first transmitted to Sacramento, then to Reno NV, then to Salt Lake City, ………., finally arriving at its destination in Buffalo NY.  The NTS message forms are necessarily complex in order to successfully route and accurately transmit messages through these many hops.  In contrast, our Area 2 message forms are very simple.

An Area 2 message is typically handled by 6 people.  They are:

·         Message Originator:  Our customer at an EOC will use a Message Out form (Figure 1) to compose the message he or she wants us to send.

·         Sending Site Message Handler:  One of our message handlers will accept the completed form, ensure that it is properly filled out and readable, resolve any problems with the message author, and take the message to one of our radio operators.

·         Sending Site Radio Operator:  The radio operator transmits the message to the radio operator at the destination site

·         Receiving Site Radio Operator:   The radio operator at the destination site receives the message and copies it onto a Message In form (Figure 2).

·         Receiving Site Message Handler:  Our message handler at the destination site delivers the message to the addressed recipient.

·         Message Recipient:  The recipient receives the message.

There are several key aspects to this process.

First, the job of our radio operators is to listen to all of the radio traffic, sending and receiving messages as needed.  They can not deliver messages that they have received or accept messages from our customers to send.  If they did, the distraction and time away from the radio could cause them to miss critical messages. 

Our message handlers are the interface between our customers and radio operators.  Our message handlers will get to know our customers well, and our customers will know them.  When a customer has a message to send, they know who to give it to.  When a message comes in, our message handlers know who to deliver the message to.  This personal relationship between our message handlers and our customers is extremely important in crises situations when everyone is under stress.

Customers compose the messages that they want us to send using the Message Out form.  It is easier for customers to write out their messages on Message Out forms than to dictate messages to us. If necessary, we can explain to them how to use the message forms when they come on their shifts.  They learn quickly.

The radio operators are the ones who fill out the Message In forms.  Each message that a radio operator receives is copied into a Message In form.

Our ACS operating procedures require us to have copies of all customer message traffic that we send and receive.  To do this, our message forms are printed on two part paper, a white top sheet and a yellow second sheet.

For Message Out forms (those written by our customers), the white top sheet goes to our radio operator and our customer keeps the yellow copy.  The white top sheet is usually easier to read and thus must go to radio operator so that he can accurately transmit the message.  Once transmitted, the radio operator will place the Message Out form into a sent message box.

For Message In forms, the white top sheet goes to our customer.  Our radio operator places the yellow copy in his message received box. 

14       Message Out Form

The customer enters the Time, Date, and circles the message priority (Emergency, High, Routine, Low) at the top of the form.  The person the message is being sent to is entered in the “To: Name” field along with the organization the person belongs to (To: Organization), and the location of the person (To: Location).  The person composing the message enters his or her name in the “From: Name” field along with their organization (From: Organization), and location (From: Location).  The body of the message is entered into the Message section of the form.  The last line is completed by our message handler

The Organization and Location fields require some explanation.   Organization is the organization that the person belong to, such as, Thousand Oaks Finance.  Location is their current location which may be different from what you would think.  For example, at the time the message is composed and sent, the Thousand Oaks Finance person may actually be located at the East County Sheriffs Station EOC, not the City EOC as you would expect.

The customer hands off the message to one of our message handlers when the form is completed.  The message handler checks over the form for completeness, ensuring that it is readable, and works with the customer to make any appropriate changes, perhaps changing the message priority.  The message handler enters his or her ACS number in the Message Handler ID field, and enters the time and date in the appropriate fields at the bottom of the form.  The message handler separates the form, giving the yellow copy to the customer and delivering the white top sheet to our radio operator for transmission.  The radio operator transmits the contents of the message form to the destination site. 

MESSAGE OUT

Figure 1

The Time and Date entered by the message handler at the bottom of the Message Out form constitutes the time and date that ACS took responsibility for sending the message.  To minimize transmission time, and avoid confusion, only the time and date entered by the message handler is transmitted.  The time and date entered by the customer is not sent.  The customer’s time and date information is available on the original copy of the Message Out form saved at the transmitting site should it be needed. It rarely is. 

Every message that we send and receive must be uniquely identified.  Trying to control message sequence numbers from all of our sites across multiple shift changes is extremely difficult if not out right impossible.  In addition to a sequence number, each message must identify the message handler involved in generation of the message so that if there is a question about it, we know who to ask. 

The message handler’s ACS number is unique.  The Time and Date entries will also be unique for that message handler since he or she can only complete one message form at a time.  Thus the Message Handler ID, Time, and Date fields provided a unique message sequence number that must travel with the message all the way to the message recipient.

15       Message In Form

MESSAGE IN

Figure 2

At the receiving site, the radio operator writes the message that he is receiving into a Message In form.  The Message Handler ID, Time, and Date fields sent by the transmitting site are filled into the MH, Time, and Date fields of the Message In form.  The additional information received from the transmitting site is filled into the corresponding fields of Message In form. When the Message In form is completed, the radio operator hands it off to the message handler for delivery to the customer.

MESSAGE OUT

When reading the MESSAGE OUT form, please follow the numbers:

1.  Message handler ID
2. Time
3. Date
4. Priorty Type
5. To: read line
6. From: read line