Mountain View City-Wide CERT Drill
10/22/11

We had 10 neighborhood CERTs participating with 79 people including 23 Hams, 41neighborhood CERT people, and 15 CERT-trained people not affiliated with a specific neighborhood. Here is the table of participation as best it was reported:

Neighborhood	CERT	Ham	Other CERT	Total
Appletree	1 (also a ham)			1
Cuesta Park	9	1	4	14
Dutch Haven	6	1		7
Monta Loma	6	2	4	12
Old Mtn View		3	5	8
Rex Manor	14	2		16
Shady Ridge	2	2		4
St. Francis Acres		3		3
Sylvan Park	1 (also a ham)			1
Varsity Park	1 (also a ham)			1
City EOC	1 (Lynn Brown)	9	2	12
Totals:	41	23	15	79

We handled about 55 packet messages in total. For the City's CERT exercise, we sent 6 packet messages and received 35 for a total of 41. For the County exercise, we sent 6 packet messages and received 8 for a total of 14.

We handled only about 4 voice-delivered ICS-213 Summary forms. Our plan was to direct voice messages to switch from the primary tactical frequency of 146.535 MHz to the secondary tactical frequency of 146.415 MHz which is also the packet station on the Resource Desk. While this eventually worked, we found that if both frequencies were transmitting/receiving simultaneously there was interference. We had to wait until one or the other was clear to complete message passing.

When we did get the voice message, the operator typed the message directly into a PacForm rather than writing it down on paper. This eliminated a whole second step, and also created the logging entries automatically. When the PacForm was sent to the BBS through Outpost (and received from the BBS), it was automatically added to the display screen in the EOC.

The projection of the neighborhood ICS-213 Summary forms into the EOC worked quite well and provided a running situation summary for the City on the top line. (See the examples in the pictures below.) As in previous drills, we learned a few more ways that input could challenge the system. When the BBS master list used "Saint Francis Acres" and the neighborhood PacForm used "St. Francis Acres", that transmission was not added to the total. Similarily, when neighborhoods modified the first two words of the Subject field from "Neighborhood Summary" to something else, those were not picked up. Yet another neighborhood tried to build up a backlog of entries and went into the ASCII file and changed the sending time, but took out a space in the process - that tripped up the system too. Finally, a quirk in the sequence of form to ASCII to packet and back to ASCII occasionally resulted in the "No Access" field being split on two lines with "No" on one line, and "Access" on the next. Those didn't come through either. All these were found during the drill and refinements to the program and PacForms have been made or are under way. We get better each time we do this!

Below are pictures from the Ham Shack and EOC at 1000 Villa, and neighborhoods that have provided them. Corrections, additions or more pictures may be sent to Rick Van Mell    KI6PUR. Enjoy.

MTV Ham Shack & EOC

Come on down ...	Welcome to ...	K6MTV - Ham Shack MTVEOC	CERT Map
Jerry, our EC (Emergency Coordinator)	George Clare at Packet station	Steve & Wes at Tac 1 & County	June at Tac 1 146.535 MHz
Inside the EOC	Operations side	Planning Section desk & projection screen	Varsity Park is first
Showing input detail	Monta Loma is next	Mike & George confer	Wes on Packet
Status at 1417	Andy checking the projection program.	Final tally at 1500.	Debrief at 1000 Villa ...
Jerry leads ...	discussion with ...	a full house ...	of over ...
40 Ham & CERT ...	participants.	Council member Ronit	Front row.

Cuesta Park CERT

Cuesta Park CP ...	trailer open ...	observers ...	Ham table ...
with Gordon ...	& ham rig.	Margaret maps	RO and Planning ...
forms flow.	Volunteer assignment ...	volunteers at work.

Dutch Haven CERT

Dutch Haven CP ...

hard at work.

Monta Loma CERT

Sign in please ...	communications desk ...	bike team ...
another team ...	Jaine has a ...	great computer box.	ready to transmit.

Saint Francis Acres CERT

Marc & Barbara ...	with Leslie ...	just checking ...
Calling it in ...	well done!

Shady Ridge CERT

HAMS at work Phil & Dave

Varsity Park CERT

Varsity Park ...

goes to work ...

Anthony does it all.

Maping incidents.