SONOMA COUNTY CERT ASSOCIATION

Promoting Community Emergency Response Team training
in Sonoma County Communities

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No, we're not talking about certified hams, or CERTS who like to ham it up, but CERTs who are also licensed ham radio operators.

There are some CERT members who have been hamming it up for many years, while some of us have only recently passed the test for Technician and are still learning our radios and protocols.

Ham radios may play a key role during disasters when electricity is out and cell phone networks are down. Ham radio operators can not only communicate with local and county emergency ham operations, but with each other, to get a sense of what is happening in different areas.

The Sonoma County CERT Association would like to create a database of CERT members who are ham operators, so we know who is ham trained, where they live (city and zip is fine), their call sign, phone number, and email address. If you want to be added to this database, please send this information to the SCCERT webmaster.

We would also like to set a regular time to 'meet' on a particular 2M band, to get to know one another and give us newbie hams some much needed practice.

Emergency Nets
CERT hams (and Red Cross volunteers who are incorporating ham radios into their disaster response duties) are invited to do guest check-ins on the following weekly emergency nets.

For those new to emergency nets, during the course of the weekly on-air 'meeting' of the emergency nets, Net Control (the person leading the Net that night) will provide an opportunity for guests (people not part of the existing Ops or ACS net) to "check in" (identify themselves by call sign, first name, and city name), after the area Ops leaders have reported in.

Net Controls follow a set format, such as this script used by the Sonoma County Repeater Society (SCRA). You can see Net Control modeled in this Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Operations video prepared for the Sonoma County Healthcare Ham Net Training for SoCo hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities.

For those who can reach the Mendocino County repeaters, the Mendocino County Amateur Radio Communication Service (McARCS) also has regular Net check-ins.

SCHEDULED HAM CLASSES & TESTS

PHONETIC ALPHABET AND 24 HOUR TIME
While most ham communication is in clearspeak, you do need to be able to rattle off and understand the phonetic alphabet hams use as it not only comes in handy when you are dealing with static, it can be vital during emergency situations. If you aren't sure what they are, here is a handy little cheat sheet you can print out and stash around your desk and in your car. A good way to practice learning the alphabet is to read out license plates and short street names and traffic signs while you are driving or stuck in traffic. You can also annoy your friends, family and co-workers by stating times in 24 hour. Only through repetition and practical use will these systems become second nature to you.

Phonetic Alphabet & 24 Hour Time