Edited entries are show along with replies written by Art Mayoff

- Couldn't get through.
- Backed up messages.
- Too many standby messages.
Reply: I take that to mean you had a backlog of message to send. Ever phone someone and get a busy signal? In a situation like we encountered during the drill, I intended to create a backlog of messages to "tax" the system and the operators. In a real event, this could be a fact of life. Your site manager or BERT leader will simply say "send this message to the EOC." You will dutifully do it as soon as the radio channel allows, as there is no other choice at hand. (A second repeater or simplex channel would alleviate some of this but managing an additional frequency introduces many more challenges and associated problems including: "Anyone know which channel the EOC is on?")

- Site Manager gave assignments at the correct time but because of radio congestion, we were unable to transmit on queue.
Reply: Not a problem. In a real event the channel might be busy continously for routine traffic. Just "jump in" and notify NCS when there's a momentary lull between messages. Net control will then put you in the queue and call you when it's time.

- Should have followed up on messages not acknowledged.
Reply: Absolutely correct. Messages not acknowledged are incomplete messages.

- At Net Control, at times, we had multiple stations notify us of their need to communicate with the EOC. We needed a better tracking system of these pending messages.
If you have never been Net Control, this situation is a problem waiting to happen. Pay close attention to this one.
Reply:When Net Control becomes backlogged with stations waiting to pass traffic several methods of tracking the backlog are available:

1) Simplest... a lined note pad where entries of waiting stations are entered on each line along starting at the top of the sheet and with a message precedence column at the right margin. The operator will sequentially work down the list, adding new ones at the bottom of the queue and crossing off those that have been handled. When higher precedence message need to be passed, they go first. When several messages of the same higher precedence are in the queue, NCS sees them when he or she visually scans down the right margin and authorizes those one at a time (drawing a line through each as they are completed.) Multiple pages are set side by side.

2) Individual cards (3 X 5) or FAA air traffic control type cards (2 X 6) can be used to allow shuffling of higher precedence messages to the top of the queue.

3) Large style Postit notes (2 X 3 or larger) to effect the same thing as in 2) above.

- We didn't follow proper procedure in going though NCS and then to the EOC.
- Failure to wait for EOC acknowledgement.
- Did not always know if the message was received.
- People transmitting without contacting EOC first
Reply: Yes that was our biggest problem. When NCS would say to contact EOC and pass your traffic, the key word here is Contact. The word Contact in Ham Radio means a two way confirmation that each acknowledges the other. In the digital world we use the term Handshake. We must implement the Handshake before attempting pass traffic.

Let's review the handshake:
Clocktower Shelter: "Net Control. I have traffic for the EOC."
NCS: "Clocktower. Make contact with the EOC and then pass your traffic."
Clocktower Shelter: "EOC. This is Clocktower Shelter. I have traffic for you. Are you ready to copy?"
EOC: "Clocktower Shelter, this is EOC. Proceed with your traffic."
Clocktower (upon completing the message text) "End of message. Do you acknowledge?"
EOC: "Affirmative. Net control, the frequency is clear."

Got it?

- A little too much mike keying before thinking.
Reply: Not uncommon when the pressure's on. Think about what you are suppose to do first, then key up.

- Failure to use FCC Callsigns.
- Did not use callsigns.
Reply: Insert your callsign at the completion of a message. Example ".... End of message. EOC do you acknowledge? This is the Clocktower, KG6XYZ.

- Doubling or multiple stations transmitting at the same time.
Reply: This is an on going problems with conventional 2-way radio systems. There are two ways to attempt to address it. 1) Be alert and listen closely to make sure no one else has begun transmitting before keying up. (Doesn't always work) 2) Listen to a second radio on the same channel with the volume set so there is no feedback when you transmit (or use an earphone). If you hear the sound of multiple stations on at once while you're transmitting, Stop! Release your mike button and wait for the other station to finish. This one will work everytime.

- Early tramsmissions were not following proper protocol.
Reply: Oh really? I didn't think you noticed. <g> I guess some of us need a bit more time to grasp new concepts. Hopefully we'll take this experience with us and learn from it.

- I talked too fast.
- Transmissions were too fast.
Reply: I take this to mean that the person reading the message was speaking too fast. I agree. It happened many times. It is most imperative that when we read a message, we provide the receiving station sufficient time to write the message down. I suggest you read 5 or 6 words at a time and release your mike button and allow the recipient an opportunity to write and then advise you to "continue." Or have your scribe write the message as you transmit it. You can monitor their speed and use it as a guide as when to continue.

Additional items that I observed that no one wrote about:

- Interrupting an on-going transmission.
- A transmitting station might have properly observed the need to let the mike go while the EOC was writing or reviewing the message when some stations jumped in and called NCS before the EOC "released" the frequency back to NCS.
Reply: This situation, to the purest, might be considered a egregious violation of radio etiquette. As with any conversation, it is rude to interrupt. Always wait until you hear the receiving station release the frequency back to NCS.

In an attempt to see if the receiving station was copying properly and reviewing the incoming message, Captain Fiori purposely provided wrong information in one of his replies. In one request he was asked for a ground ambulance to transport injured. His reply was: "Transport team enroute to move patients to Middle School medical site." Where was the medical site? Surely not at the Middle School. Did anyone catch that error?

In another situation the handwriting was a bit difficult to read (as one might expect under the workload) and the word uninjured looked like uninsured. His reply attempted to address the problem of insurance coverage. Anyone catch that one?

Additional comments or discussion can be sent to Art Mayoff.

.